Many of us play games, whether they be card games, board games, or video games. They’re a great way to relax at the end of the day and to challenge yourself by pushing your skills to the limit, but above all, they’re immensely fun.
In the past, games were almost always played in groups, but the advent of video games made single-player options more attractive and more common.
Despite that, gaming with your buddies is still a great way to bond and spend time with the people you love. It gives you the perfect excuse to get together, helps to facilitate conversation, and provides a way for you to channel your competitive energy.
So if you’re thinking about hosting a game night for you and your pals, here are some things to consider to make it a success.
Choose Your Games
The games you play are an important part of your game night. This shouldn’t be too surprising, since the clue is in the name.
You may be tempted to just pick your favourite, but that risks excluding some of your guests if they have different tastes. Instead, you’ll want to pick a game or games that you know everyone will enjoy. You might find that you can’t get a single title that ticks everyone’s box, so you might have to take a vote or pick a couple and rotate between them.
Card games are a popular option for game nights because almost everyone has played them and it’s usually pretty easy to learn the basics. There are often many variants of popular options, for example, blackjack players can usually choose between options like classic and premium which use different numbers of decks and have unique side bet options. However, even if some of your friends have played different variants, they can usually switch to whichever set of rules are agreed on by the group.
Perhaps you and your friends like playing trading card games, such as Pokemon or World of Warcraft. Then meeting up regularly for swap shops and to play games is essential to build the ultimate collection. These games are increasingly popular so it’s easy to find fellow players. Pokémon has sold over 34 billion cards as of March 2021 and there are new releases all the time. This May look out for the release of the Pokémon Sword & Shield Astral Radiance expansion pack to give your collection a boost.
Alternatively, you might choose a board game or video game. While video games are fun, unless everyone’s bringing their computers or consoles with them, you’ll end up with one person playing while everyone else watches and waits for their turn. Board games are generally a good option provided everyone is happy with the choice.
Set Up the Venue
Most game nights take place at someone’s house, so you’ll need to make sure that you have enough space to accommodate everyone. This might mean moving some furniture around, having a clear-up, or even asking people to bring their own chairs if you don’t have enough places for people to sit.
While you might not go as far as building your own dedicated gaming table, if you plan on playing card or board games, you’ll likely need a flat surface for people to sit around, so it can help to get this set up ahead of people arriving.
Also, think about the temperature, if your home is warm generally, it might get a bit too hot with a lot of extra bodies radiating their own heat into it. In which case, it might make sense to open a window or turn down your heating.
Prepare Some Snacks
No game night is complete without some delicious snacks to go along with whatever you choose to play. Of course, you can always order some pizzas to be delivered, but you might want to get a bit more creative.
Everyone loves cake, so you could use your game night as an opportunity to show off your baking skills by serving your own homemade carrot cake or chocolate and banana cake.
Remember to consider everyone’s dietary requirements. While some people may not mind, it can make some people feel left out if you haven’t thought about getting food that they can eat.
If you plan to host game nights regularly, you can rotate who is assigned the task of bringing the snacks so that it doesn’t all fall on you. Alternatively, ask your guests to each bring along one snack with them. This way everyone can share the responsibility equally.
Most of all, remember to have fun, since that’s really what game nights are all about.
