Office Party Games and Ideas

Office parties can often be stiff and uptight affairs. However, a few innovative office party ideas and games can go a long way to break the ice and liven up things. For example, a great office party idea is to incorporate some theme such as getting the party attendees to come dressed as famous politicians, or their favorite star or celebrity. Or, perhaps you could have a hippie’s ‘60s or psychedelic ‘70s party, with dressing up according to that period and also playing the music of that time. Or, simply go for the old favorite – come in fancy dress. Or, if it is an office Christmas party, why not have a Santa Claus dress-up, along with some great Christmas office party games? Apart from the theme, to set the mood, here are a few office party games that will turn your office party from being a bore to a blast!

Guess the Movie Game: Before the party, jot down the names of several well-known movies on slips of paper, and put these in a bowl. Tell the party attendees to pair up, and then select one pair to be the first actors. They must pick a slip from the bowl and enact a scene from the movie written on it. The others must guess which the movie is. The first person that guesses correctly will become the next actor along with his/her partner. The game can be continued until every pair has had a chance to become actors.

Famous Movie One Liners: Before the party, write down famous bits of quotes from well-known movies, e.g. "I'll be back." – Terminator, "Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?" – Hell's Angels. Then, during the party, read out these quotes one at a time, with the guests having to guess which movie it is from. Whoever guesses right gets a point. After every quote has been done with, whoever has the most points becomes the winner. To make it more challenging, extra points can be given if they can name the character, actor or actress who said it.

Statue: Explain the rules of the game once the guests arrive. One person has to be chosen as the statue. At a certain point of the party, this person must turn into a statue, in the middle of whatever he or she may be doing. As the other people begin noticing, they too turn into statues. Whoever notices what’s going on last becomes the ‘statue’ for the next round. This game can be quite hilarious, especially when people have to turn into statues in the middle of saying something.

Liar, Liar: Let the guests gather around either a table or just in a circle, and appoint someone as the score-keeper. Each person tells one statement about themselves that is true, and two that are untrue. As each player finishes his/her turn, the others must vote on which statement was the truthful one. The truthful statement is then disclosed, with the player given a point for each incorrect guess. After all players finish, the person who ends up with the highest score is given the title: ‘The Biggest Liar in the Office!’

Transferring the Cotton Balls: This is a hilarious game, and before long everybody will be razzing and laughing at the proceedings. You will require 2 buckets, 2 chairs, some cotton balls, a large serving spoon, a blind fold, and a timer.

Place the two chairs about five feet apart, both in the same direction. Put a bucket in each of those chairs. Put the cotton balls in one bucket. Blindfold the first player, turning him/her around 2-3 times and placing him/her in front of the chair that has the cotton balls. Give the player the spoon, placing it at the edge of the bucket that has the cotton balls, in order to give the player an indication where it is, and setting the timer according to a specified time, say about 2 minutes.

As soon as you say ‘go’, the blindfolded player must start using the spoon to scoop the cotton balls up and putting them into the empty bucket, on the other chair. After each person finishes his/her turn, count the cotton balls that were actually put into the empty bucket. After everybody has had their turn, the one who could successfully transfer the most cotton balls is declared the winner.

Although this game may not sound like anything much, however, it can be a hilarious sight to see the blindfolded player carefully transporting the often empty spoon to the other bucket and gingerly putting empty air into it.

Give Me: This is a fairly simple game, which nevertheless can be quite fun. Get a caller to go in front of the room, and call out the names of various items, like:

• red lipstick
• black shoe
• $10 bill
• nail clipper
• pack of Kleenex
• a picture
• a quarter or some other specific coin
• a flowery handkerchief

Whoever runs up first with any of the items gets a prize.

Always ensure having the prizes ready before the party. You can buy little novelty items from the dollar store or inexpensive gift certificates.