Hilarious House Party Games For Adults

At the time of writing, it’s hoped that all restrictions on social gatherings in the UK will be lifted by the end of June, 2021. As summer fast approaches, everyone’s planning on what they’ll do once we all stop putting the word ‘new’ in front of ‘normal’. If you’re a particularly extroverted adult, something you may have badly missed during the last year is the humble house party. Much cheaper and less of a hassle than going out to nightclubs, sharing a few drinks with your best pals in the comfort of your own home is a fantastic way to celebrate the weekend.

One of the joys of a great house party is breaking the ice and filling your cups for a round or two of drinking games. But it's been so long since we were last able to party properly that some of us might have forgotten the rules! If that sounds like you, don’t worry: OnBuy can be your personal referee! Whether you need to double-check the beer pong rules or want to buy a new adult card game ready for when lockdown ends, you’ll find some classic drinking games and adult card games here. They’re fun, frantic and definitely adult-only!

What list of adult card games would be complete without Cards Against Humanity? Since its release in 2011, this crass card game has continued to top the list as one of the most popular card games. The mixture of dark humour and simple rules make it an ideal addition to your house party must-haves.

To play Cards Against Humanity, you deal each player a set of white cards that have a phrase or concept written on them. The sentences range from the weird to the downright disgusting. A new black card is dealt each round, which has the beginning of a sentence written on them. Your task is to fill in the blank with the phrase on one of your white cards to create the funniest sentence possible. Fair warning: the cards in Cards Against Humanity are deliberately risque and offensive, and you’ll need a pretty wicked sense of humour to play!

Another reason why Cards Against Humanity keeps selling is the many expansion packs that the creators keep releasing! These range from simple updates to new despicable card combinations and even themed sets released for special events or nations - yes, there’s a UK version. Even better, it’s incredibly easy to add your own cards to the deck, making Cards Against Humanity the most adaptable of all adult card games!

Even if you’ve never played this particular drinking game before, you’re almost certainly familiar with it. The reigning king of house party drinking games, beer pong has been around for at least 50 years and has featured in dozens of sitcoms and films. The rules are fairly simple, but in case you’re blanking on them, here’s a reminder. 

There are two things you’ll need to play beer pong. The first is a simple ping pong ball; the second is a set of drinking cups. You could use your own drinkware, but you risk shattering them with one misplaced punt. For safety’s sake, buy a set of reusable plastic party cups. For convenience's sake, you can buy beer pong sets that contain both cups and a ball - all you need to add is the beer! Once you've gathered your beer pong equipment, it’s time to set it up.

Divide twelve cups into two groups of six, then arrange them in pyramids at opposite ends of a narrow table. The cups should have a 3-2-1 formation. Next, fill each cup half full with your drink of choice. Large cups work better, so fill them with a weak alcohol like beer or a light cocktail. Playing is simple - you and another player take turns trying to throw the ping pong ball into one of the cups. If it lands, the targeted player has to drink the liquor in the cup. If you’re a particularly bad shot (or you don’t want to drink that much), you can play it in teams of two or three to ease the burden.

One consequence of drinking is slurred speech, and this genius adult card game takes full advantage of that! Incohearent forces you to try to make sense of your friends as they spout a load of gibberish. 

At the start of each round, a player draws one of the double-sided cards from the deck. The side that the drawing player holds up to their face has a phrase written on it; the other side bears a set of seemingly unrelated words. 

In reality, the words have been very carefully chosen. If you pronounce the unrelated words in the right way, you’ll say the code phrase. For example, if you say ‘thirds teeth or stay’ while slurring you’ll end up saying ‘thirsty Thursday’. The player holding the card has to judge which of their slurring friends manage to pronounce the code word first!

It might sound a little complicated to pick for one of your house party games, but trust us when we say that this crazy tongue twisting card game is great fun! With its brash playing style and naughty phrases hidden in the cards, it’s the perfect game for your first post-lockdown house party. Brought to you by the same designers behind the ultra-popular card game, What Do You Meme?, Incohearent promises side-splitting hilarity each and every time.

Another one of those legendary house party drinking games, 'Never Have I Ever' is the ultimate game to learn a whole bunch of secrets about your friends! It’s also super easy to remember, as there’s only one rule to keep in your head. Just follow the words ‘never have I ever’ with something you’ve never done - the more risque the better. Anyone who’s done it has to take a drink. You’ll soon be learning all sorts of facts about each other! 

While never have I ever is one of the easier drinking games to play, it can be pretty hard thinking of good prompts to suggest in the moment - particularly once you’ve had a few. Luckily, you can buy ready-made Never Have I Ever box sets. These boxes are stuffed with great questions to ask your friends. Simply deal the cards out like normal adult card games and start confessing.

Okay, so you’ve probably played Jenga a fair few times before, right? As a kid, it’s wholesome family fun, but with the addition of a few extra rules, it can easily be turned into one of the best drinking games of all! Once you’ve stacked the Jenga pieces into the tower, each player starts removing planks as normal. The kicker is, once you’ve wiggled the jenga piece out of its position, you have to take a drink! The player who is unfortunate enough to topple the tower has to finish the rest of their drink in one. 

If you want to add variety to the game and reduce the amount of booze you’re knocking back, you can swap out the drinking rule with dares. So, instead of taking a sip after removing a brick, you’ll complete a nail-biting dare from one of your fellow players. Be warned though - refusing to complete the dare may result in a hefty forfeit! 

Alternatively, you can even buy adult-only versions of this tried and tested game, perfect for raising the stakes and keeping the anticipation alive. With a combination of blank blocks and ones containing commands, you never know what you might have to do next. Plus, some prompts even put your peers in the firing line, keeping you all on your toes with each and every move!

And there you have it - five ultra-easy games to take your house parties to the next level! If you’re looking for even more ideas for your next boozy bash, why not take a look at our fully-loaded adult and drinking games category? You’ll find a whole host of hilarious and hectic adult-orientated games to play there, so you’ll never have to worry about a humdrum house party again!

Of course, you can’t play drinking games without something to drink! Check out our full range of wines, beers and spirits while you’re here and pick up some tasty tipples to tantalise your guests. From crowd-pleasing lagers to pre-mixed cocktails, there’s truly something for everyone. You can even grab some mixers and treats for your teetotal friends in our soft drinks selection.

As it stands, we should be able to mix indoors in England from Monday, May 17th (with a maximum of six people or two households), so house parties are still on hold for the time being. While we wait, why not host a garden party in accordance with current lockdown restrictions or try out some of these fun-filled games with the adult members of your household? Whatever you get up to, always drink responsibly. For more information, visit the Drinkaware website here. 

Please note: the information in this blog is correct at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.