We had lived in Veracruz, Mexico, for just under six months, courtesy of an exchange program between the Mexican and United States Navies, and we wanted to have some of our new friends over.

The problem?  Our acquaintances represented five different native tongues.  If we left them to their own devices at a party there existed the extreme possibility of awkward conversation and excruciating silence.

To avoid this scenario, we considered renting a movie.  But sitting in front of a screen really didn’t meet our goal of getting to know these people better.  Besides, have you ever seen a movie that offered multiple subtitles in Croatian, Portuguese, German, English, and Spanish?

So we decided to play a game that required little reading and crossed cultural barriers –Pictionary.  Dividing into teams of the men vs. the women, we played long into the night.  The girls won, of course, but that is beside the point.  The game accomplished our goals of creating easy interaction and camaraderie.  Plus, we laughed hysterically.

Games, whether card or board, offer a low stress way of socializing.  There are a few guidelines to picking out the right game:

1.       The game should allow everyone at your gathering to participate.  To start a game of cards, for example, that is limited to 4 players, but you have 5 or more guests, is the height of rudeness. 

2.       Rules should be easily taught.  Pick a game that anyone can learn in three minutes or less.  If you plan on playing a more complicated game, like Risk or Euchre, tell your guests in advance.

3.       The perfect group game should last less than 45 minutes.  You can always play a second or third round.  If people know that the game isn’t going to take FOREVER, they are more likely to participate.

4.       There should be a certain amount of luck in winning.  Games of great skill tend to be more divisive. 

5.       If you can, play in teams.  This allows the loser to have someone to sympathize with.

Some perfect party games:

For groups of five or more:

Pictionary

Apples to Apples

Balderdash

Bonkers

Loaded Questions

Cranium

For groups of 2-4 people:

Blokus

Catch Phrase

Uno

Set

Yahtzee

Settlers of Catan (Note: This game takes longer than 45 minutes, but it’s a great game.)