The 10 Best Party Games for Adults of 2023

Best Overall

Quickwits Quickwits Party Card Game

4.7

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For a competitive crew, Quickwits is going to be your go-to game for your next game night. This fast-paced card game is suitable for large groups but works for groups as small as three players. It’s strongly suggested that players be teenagers and older, as the topics can quickly get raunchy.

The objective of the game is to name items within certain categories. Each card has one of six different symbols and when two players have the same symbol on the card on the top of their pile, they both race to give as many examples of their opponent's category as they can without repeating a phrase. The fastest player takes his opponent's card and places it facedown in his score pile.

After testing, this game proved great for big groups during house parties because it’s fine to leave off when players want to pause for a chat or a refill. Each round is only about 20 to 30 minutes long, so you can play again and again without getting bored. It has a high replay value and will prove a different game with every group you play with.

"QuickWits truly delivers on its promise to make you think faster and yell louder than your friends. Our group of seven loved this game and it was far and away our game night favorite," they shared. However, we took some points off for setup since instructions were tricky to understand, plus the fact that it could be difficult to follow in the hustle. Luckily, there are helpful video instructions available for anyone who needs a refresher.

Price at time of publish: $15

Play time: 20-30 minutes | Age Range: 17 years and up | Number of Players: 3 or more

Best Team Building

Czech Games Codenames

4.2

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Codenames is great for groups; the more the merrier!, according to our tester The game starts with naming two spymasters, one from each team. Spymasters are the only players in the game that know the secret identities of the 25 agents.

The premise of the game is for the spymasters to try and get their teammates to guess the cards that correspond to their spies' codenames using just one-word clues. Guess right, and your team gets a point—or more if you can find a word that encompasses more than just one spy's codename.

In road testing the game, it took even the youngest players about two minutes to understand and set up themselves, earning Codenames a perfect score for setup. Some players weren't exactly hyped at the educational aspect, and some of the one-word clues are tricky to play out, so this left some players feeling defeated from time to time. But overall, this is a fun game for anyone who loves a good word challenge.

Price at time of publish: $16

Play time: 15 minutes | Age Range: 10 years and up | Number of Players: 2 or more

Best for Families

Exploding Kittens Card Game

4.9

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In its most basic explanation, Exploding Kittens is a game of hot potato, and it's really easy to learn—which is why our testers gave this a perfect score for setup. The objective of the game is not to draw an Exploding Kitten card, which eliminates you immediately from the game. Unless, of course, you have a Defuse Card or other game-shifting cards that allow you to pass the card or skip your turn. Diffuse cards include laser pointers, kitten yoga, catnip—anything that can distract the kittens.

This game comes in six different versions, all in various stages of appropriateness. So depending on who is attending your get-together, you can choose the right one. Both the kid-friendly (ages 7 and up) and adult-friendly (ages 17 and up) versions can accommodate the same number of players

Our testers gave the game high scores on design, thanks to the cards' hilarious graphics and sturdy and glossy finish. Because it's not really action-packed and there’s quite a bit of downtime as you wait for each player to make his or her choices, the actual play duration can make the game feel long.

Price at time of publish: $12

Play time: 15 minutes | Age Range: 7 years and up | Number of Players: 2-5

Best Funny

Cards Against Humanity The Main Game

4.2

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No list of the best adult games would be complete without Cards Against Humanity. This game is a cult favorite for a reason. Marketed as a “party game for horrible people,” this is one extremely entertaining and wildly inappropriate choice, so it’s important to know the group you’re playing with as some topics are highly sensitive or triggering for some.

1. That said, if your group is into inappropriate humor, then that is one of the reasons to love it. Like Apples to Apples, a judge is designated to pick their favorite fill-in-the-blank sentence created by the Black and White cards. To play, the Judge draws a Black Card that has a sentence or phrase for all players to see. Once this card is drawn, each player chooses from their hand of White cards that also have words and phrases, most of which are hysterically inappropriate, to fill in the blank. From there, the judge will then choose their favorite outrageous combination.

Price at time of publish: $29

Play time: Not listed | Age Range: 17 years and up | Number of Players: 4-20

Best for Coworkers

Mattel Games Apples to Apples

4.6

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Apples to Apples is a classic party game great for large groups and is easy to understand. The object of the game is to select a card from your hand that best represents the card played by the judge.

To play, each player receives seven red apple cards face down to start. In each round, the judge picks a green apple card with descriptive adjectives and reads it aloud to the group. To win, players must win a certain amount of rounds designated by however many people are playing.

This game of comparison is very similar to games like Cards Against Humanity and What Do You Meme?. However, unlike those games, Apples to Apples relies on more wholesome humor, making it a good pick for coworkers, new friends, or parties with family in attendance.

Price at time of publish: $25

Play time: 30-75 minutes | Age Range: 12 years and up | Number of Players: 4-10

Best for Large Groups

What Do You Meme? Core Game

4

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This is a game for meme-lovers. In each round, one person is designated as the judge, and everyone else is dealt cards from a deck of potential captions. The judge selects a meme card and displays it to the group. Everyone then competes to create the funniest meme by drawing from their hand of caption cards, and the judge then selects a winner. It doesn't take long to explain and understand the logistics of the game, so our tester gave it a perfect rating for setup.

This game is a better bet for large groups because it still covers funny, pop-culture references, as well as raunchy, sexual, and explicit phrases that make a game like Cards Against Humanity so fun, without some of the more offensive jokes. "If you’re not comfortable sharing an extremely dirty, insensitive joke with any of those people, you should refrain from playing," says our tester. It scored well overall, but our testers noted that as time went on, the plays became more predictable.

Price at time of publish: $30

Play time: Not listed | Age Range: 17 years and up | Number of Players: 3-20

Best for Friends

The Voting Game The Voting Game: The Adult Party Game About Your Friends

4.2

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Similar to the superlative selection process from your high school days, The Voting Game asks you to vote on the “most likely” candidates from your group.

To play, a question card is drawn, for example, “Who would you ask for help if you needed to leave the country?” or as awkward as, “Who snoops through their significant other’s phone on a regular basis?” Players then vote anonymously for the person they think best fits the question. Results are then tallied, and points are earned by guessing who voted for you.

In testing, we found that this game is best suited for a close group of friends or family members around the same age. "The Voting Game offers a fun platform to reminisce and poke fun at one another so I’d highly recommend it for a reunion of old friends," they said. They noticed, however, that after a couple of rounds, the game became more and more predictable.

Price at time of publish: $24

Play time: 30-90 minutes | Age Range: 15 years and up | Number of Players: 4-10

Best for Parties

That's What She Said The Hilariously Twisted Party Game Adults Only

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Spice up your next birthday party, Bachelorette party, or game night with That's What She Said—the hilarious party game that's definitely aimed at adults. Guaranteed to cause laughter, the card game challenges players to match setup cards with the iconic joke—"that's what she said."

There are 400 phrase cards and 58 setup cards, so there are endless combinations for hilarious fun. You'll need at least four people to play this game, but the more players the better. All senses of humor are welcome and even the toughest friends are bound to break with this game. Every round, each player discards one card that just doesn't hit the mark for them to ensure every round is funnier than the last. There's also an expansion pack available for more players, more games, and more laughs.

Price at time of publish: $17

Play time: 30-60 minutes | Age Range: 17 years and up | Number of Players: 4+

Best Conversation Starter

No Wrong Answers Adults Only Edition : Non-Burning Questions to Kick Off Conversations

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For a more chill party game that still leads to hilarity and tons of fun, we recommend No Wrong Answer- Adult Edition. The travel-friendly card game asks outlandish questions such as "What celebrity do you think you could legitimately pick up in a bar?" or "Which historical figure probably had the best butt?"

The thought-provoking questions spark hours of debate, conversation, and fun for any group of people from families to friends to complete strangers. Every group of friends will play the game differently, so the replay value is extremely high. It's also a great pick to take on road trips or other travels to pass the time in a fun and meaningful way. There's also an original pack for ages 12 and up, and a junior version for younger kids.

Price at time of publish: $25

Play time: Not Listed | Age Range: 17 years and up | Number of Players: No Limit