Games to play with friends
No board, no box, no "let me just read the rules". The best games for a group of friends need nothing but the people there and a phone, and they work whether you are on a sofa, in a group chat, or halfway through a night out.
The problem with most games is the admin: someone has to own the box, learn the rules, and keep the pieces. Pass-the-phone games skip all of it. One person reads a prompt, everyone answers, the next prompt comes. Here is what to play, sorted by the situation you are actually in.
On a night in
When you are all in one room, lead with the games that build. Never Have I Ever breaks the ice and gives the night its shared history; Most Likely To turns that history into an argument; Truth or Dare raises the stakes once everyone is warm.
→ Never Have I Ever: rules and questions
→ Most Likely To: rules and questions
→ Truth or Dare: rules, truths and dares
Planning a girls' night in? Girls' night games has fifty free cards picked for it, and the order to play them in.
Only three or four of you? Party games for small groups covers which games still work and how to tweak the rest.
Still arguing about it? The party game picker asks three questions and picks one or two games for your group.
Hosting it at yours? How to host a games night at home covers who to invite, how to set up the room, snacks that don't stop play and when to switch games.
Over the group chat
Not in the same room? The vote-and-answer games move straight to text. Post a Would You Rather and let everyone reply; drop a Never Have I Ever and watch who goes quiet. It is the easiest way to keep a night alive when you are scattered across the city.
When you are just bored
The fastest cure for a flat evening is What Are The Odds: dare a mate, name the odds, count down, and something happens. It needs zero setup and gets a dead room talking inside a minute. Most Likely To does the same job with less nerve required.
Before a night out
While everyone is getting ready, you want games that scale as people arrive and do not stop the flow. All of the above work; if you want one game with a proper beginning and end, The Four Kings is the classic circle-of-cards game, forfeit-based so everyone plays the same game. See the full write-up on the classic party games. At uni? Party games for uni covers pres and flat parties.
Try six of them free, no download
The app has nine games, and six of them play free in your browser: five question generators and the Imposter word dealer, drawn from the app's own cards and words:
One app, all of them
Every game here lives in Antics, a party-only app with nine games and thousands of cards on one phone. No ads, no accounts, built on forfeits so drinkers and non-drinkers play the same game. It is the easiest way to never argue about what to play again. Already using another party app? Here is how Antics compares with Picolo.
Games to play with friends: FAQ
What games can you play with friends with no equipment?
Never Have I Ever, Truth or Dare, Most Likely To, Would You Rather and What Are The Odds all need nothing but the people there and, at most, one phone to read from. No board, no cards to buy, nothing to print.
What games can you play with friends over text?
Never Have I Ever, Would You Rather and Most Likely To all work in a group chat: one person posts the prompt and everyone replies. It is the easiest way to keep a night going when you are not in the same room.
What can you play when you are bored with friends?
Open one phone and deal a round of What Are The Odds or Most Likely To. They need zero setup and get a bored group talking within a minute. The Antics app runs all of these games from one phone.
A stack of games. One phone. Zero prep.
Get every game and thousands of cards in the Antics app. No ads, no accounts, free to download.
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