Party Games: The Name Game

I am starting to get moving on a few of the details for the Bean's party. I find that after Christmas, everything moves so fast! The Bean's birthday is a little under 2 months away, so yes, I still have ample time to plan, but I'm starting to get things moving! Her invites are done... maybe I'll share those if I figure out how to blur out all of the personal info! I started working on the place cards, menu and game list yesterday. I will gradually continue to pull the party together over the next couple of weeks - I can;t wait to share it all with you!

As I was putting the list of games together, I realized that many of these girls have been coming to the Bean's parties since they were six! Crazy! Needless to say, these girls are not six any more! I doubt they want to be playing the same party games they've been playing since they were six! So, I'm doing a little research to expand my repertoire and find some games that are better catered to 14 year olds! Today, I;m sharing one of the newer games that I have found. I haven't played yet (or animated it, actually!) but it sounds so fun and I am excited to see the girls play this.

This game initially stood out to me because the bean is having a tea party and is asking all of her friends to come in party dresses. That means, I am straying away from my typical obstacle courses and funny dancing games. During this game, I will have the girls sitting at the table. I think this game will give them the opportunity to be animated and have a good laugh while remaining ladylike :)

Here is how you play...

First, give each party guest 5-10 blank pieces of paper and a pen or pencil. The Bean usually has 8-12 girls at her parties, so I will probably stay closer to 5. If you have 10 guests at your party and yo give them each 5 pieces of paper, you will be playing with 50 prompts. If you give them each 10, you will be playing with 100 prompts. You will need to decide which total is better suited for your group of guests.

Ask each of the guests to write down one name on each of the pieces of paper. The names they write could be celebrities or everyday people, they could be dead or alive. But, make sure to tell the players that the names they write should be people that they all know. Here are some examples...

• celebrities (think Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift...)
• school related people (teachers, principal, friends...)
• people at the party (party guests, host's family members or pets...)

Once everyone has filled their allotted paper, ask them to put them in a common area - I'm going to use a bowl to keep all the names in one place. Once all of the names are in the bowl, split the girls up into 2 teams. I'm going to split the teams by how they are sitting. So I will go around the table giving each girl a number (1 or 2) to indicate their team. This ensures that there an even number of players on each team and the distribution will lead to an equal amount of turns.

Then the rest of the game will happen in three rounds. Here is how it will go -

In the first round, the bowl of names will start with a player (I always start with the birthday girl). That player will have 30 seconds to pull names from the hat and have her team members guess which name they pulled. The clue giver is allowed to give any clues but they cannot say the name on the card. After 30 seconds, that player keeps the names they successfully got their team to guess and passes the bowl on  to the next party guest who will repeat the same process. The game will go on like this until the bowl is empty. Each team will count their points and scores will be recorded.

In the next round, the bowl will be passed around similarly to the first round. Wherever the bowl starts, that guest will have 30 seconds to have their team mates guess as many names as they can. However, this time, the person giving clues can only use one word. They are allowed to use a word from the previous round, but they can only pick one and then their team has to guess. If the team cannot guess the name on the card based on the clue, the name goes back in the bowl and the clue giver picks a new card.

Finally in the third round, the game will still follow a similar pattern - names go back in the bowl, clue giver has 30 seconds to have their team mates guess a name. BUT this time the clue giver has to act out the name charade style. The person can rely on descriptions used in the previous rounds but they cannot use any words.

Doesn't this game sound fun!? I'm thinking I'll do the first two rounds at the Bean's party and leave out the third round. I'm a little worried about presenting such a big challenge to a room full of 14 year old girls! I recommend seeing how the first two rounds go before presenting the third round! The goal is too keep everyone having fun! I'll let you know how it goes.

See you tomorrow with a recipe for Cookies n' Cream cupcakes!