60+ forfeit ideas that are actually funny

Every party game needs a stake, and a forfeit is the one everybody can pay: the designated drivers, the "I'm pacing myself" crowd, and anyone who'd rather perform than sit out. These are doable in a living room, need zero props, and don't humiliate anyone who didn't sign up for it.

This guide explains the traditional game as it is played offline. Antics (iPhone and Android) is a party-only app built on forfeits and contains no drinking instructions.

The forfeit rule that works in any game: wherever a game's traditional rules say drink, do a forfeit instead. Same stakes, same laughs, everyone plays the same game. Keep forfeits short (under 30 seconds) so the game keeps moving.

PHONE REVEALS The modern truth serum

  1. Show the room what the player on your left is saved as in your phone.
  2. Eyes closed, scroll your camera roll for 5 seconds, show the group where you land.
  3. Read out your last three Google searches.
  4. Show the group today’s screen-time report.
  5. Show the room your pinned chats.
  6. Play the room the last voice note you sent.
  7. Show the room the oldest photo on your phone.
  8. Show the room your ChatGPT history.
  9. Show the room your Uber rating.
  10. Show the room everyone who can see your location.
  11. Read your most recent notification aloud.
  12. Text a group chat “big announcement soon” and nothing else.
  13. Text a close mate 'saw this and thought of you'. Attach nothing.

BRITISH CLASSICS Everyone has lived it, now act it out

  1. Inspect the sofa like a builder. Sharp intake of breath, shake your head, quote a price.
  2. Receive an invisible haircut. Watch it go wrong in the mirror. Say ‘lovely, thanks’.
  3. Shuffle down an invisible train aisle, apologising to every single seat you pass.
  4. Make a lost-child announcement for yourself: describe your outfit, then wait to be collected.
  5. Hype up the player on your left like a stranger in the club toilets.
  6. Act casual. Your ex has just walked in.
  7. Hold your phone under your chin and shout “can you hear me?” like a nan on FaceTime.
  8. Dance like an uncle at a wedding when his song comes on.
  9. Squint at the player on your left like the club lights have just come on.
  10. Ask the player on your left if they’re seeing anyone yet, like an auntie at Christmas.
  11. Tut and sigh at the player on your left like they’ve just pushed in front of you. Say nothing.
  12. Chat to the player on your left like you’ve forgotten their name.
  13. Take the register like a supply teacher. Get every name wrong.
  14. Give a 20-second estate agent tour of this room.

AIMED AT SOMEONE Roasts, compliments and verdicts, to their face

  1. Give a backhanded compliment to the player opposite.
  2. Give the player on your left a compliment that slowly becomes a warning.
  3. Apologise to the player on your left for something they did. Be the bigger person.
  4. Tell the player opposite exactly how they’d die in a zombie apocalypse.
  5. Tell the player on your left their biggest red flag.
  6. Break up with the player on your left. Let them down gently.
  7. Pitch the player on your left to the room, Dragons’ Den style. Everyone says “I’m in” or “I’m out”.
  8. Do ‘snog marry kill’ for the players in the room.
  9. Knight the player opposite with an invisible sword and a made-up title they keep.
  10. Shout the player opposite’s full name like their mum when they’re in trouble.

SILLY AND PHYSICAL Harmless, and nobody looks cool doing it

  1. Try and do a one-hand push-up.
  2. Attempt the worm.
  3. Spin ten times, then walk a dead-straight line.
  4. Try to lick your elbow. Really try.
  5. Attempt the moonwalk.
  6. Perform the “trapped in a box” mime.
  7. Carry an invisible pig across the room.
  8. Fry like a strip of bacon on the floor for 15 seconds.
  9. Pretend to be a robot vacuum meeting the edge of a rug.
  10. Do the Macarena with no music.
  11. Bowl one invisible bowling ball. Hold the follow-through.
  12. High-five everyone in the room in under five seconds.

SHORT RULES For the next few cards

  1. Read the next card in the poshest voice you can manage.
  2. Read the next card like a train station announcement.
  3. Sing the next card to the tune of Happy Birthday.
  4. Propose to the player on your left by reading them the next card.
  5. The room answers the next card for you.
  6. End everything you say with “allegedly” for the next three cards.
  7. Start every sentence with “as per my last email” for the next three cards.
  8. T-rex arms for the next three cards: elbows glued to your sides.
  9. Neigh every time someone says your name for the next three cards.
  10. Say everything twice for the next three cards. Say everything twice for the next three cards.

QUICK CONTESTS AND GUESSES Somebody always loses

  1. Rock, paper, scissors against the player on your left. Lose and they pick your forfeit.
  2. Thumb war the player on your left.
  3. Survive ten seconds of questions from the player on your left without saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
  4. The player on your left sings the first line of any song. Sing the next line.
  5. Hum a song until the other players guess it.
  6. Do an impression of someone in the room until the players guess who.
  7. Describe a film’s plot as badly as you can. The room guesses the film.
  8. Draw someone in this room on your phone in ten seconds. The room guesses who.

Choosing forfeits that keep the night fun

A good forfeit costs dignity, not wellbeing: performances beat endurance, and the phone forfeits work because the stakes are social. Agree one standing rule before you start: anyone can swap a forfeit they genuinely won't do for two others. Pressure stays theatrical, the game stays fun, and nobody's night gets ruined over a card.

Forfeit FAQ

What's a forfeit in a party game?

A short, silly penalty: physical, performance, or phone-based, taken by whoever loses the round. It keeps every player in the same game with the same stakes.

What are good forfeits for someone who doesn't drink?

Short ones the whole room gets to watch: reading out their last three Google searches, a lost-child announcement for themselves, a 15-second interpretive dance of their last situationship. Under 30 seconds, no props, funny for the room rather than punishing for the player.

Can a whole drinking game be played with forfeits instead?

Yes: wherever the traditional rules say drink, do a forfeit, and games like Ring of Fire, Never Have I Ever and Truth or Dare run completely sober. The Antics app for iPhone and Android is a party-only edition built on forfeits from the start: a stack of games, thousands of cards, and no drinking instructions.

Play it right: forfeits exist so everyone plays the same game: keep them kind. Nothing dangerous, nothing that leaves the living room, and the swap rule above is sacred.

Forfeits like these, dealt automatically

Antics deals forfeits like these across a whole stack of party games and thousands of cards. It is a party-only edition built on forfeits, with no drinking instructions, no ads and no sign-up.

Get Antics free