Girls' night games for a night in: fifty cards, one phone, nothing to set up

The takeaway is ordered, someone has brought the good face masks, and the group chat that took three weeks to organise all this has finally gone quiet because everyone is in the same room. This is the point where a girls' night either turns into the best catch-up you have had in months or into five people scrolling their own phones on one sofa. A game tips it the right way.

Below are fifty cards for a grown-up girls' night, to read straight off this page, lifted word for word from Antics, our pass-the-phone party games app. Every one of them is in the free version of the app, so if you would rather not read off a web page all night, download it and let it deal them for you, with everyone's actual names dropped in.

A few cards below name a player. In the app that is whoever you put in the game; on this page we have made up the names.

What makes a girls' night game work

The best girls' night games run on stories, not performance. Nobody wants to be told to stand up and do interpretive dance at eight o'clock with a sheet mask on. What they want is a reason to finally tell the story about the situationship, and a card that makes asking for it feel like the game's fault rather than yours.

So the test is short. One phone, no setup, nothing to print, and rules simple enough to explain while somebody is still hunting for a plate. A pass-the-phone game passes it, because the only equipment is the phone already in your hand, and it works as well on the floor or at the kitchen island as it does on the sofa.

It also has to work for whoever isn't drinking tonight. Every penalty in Antics is a forfeit, never a drink, so the friend who's driving home plays exactly the same game as everyone else and nobody has to explain anything.

Start with Never Have I Ever

It needs no shared history and no confidence, which is why it opens the night. Read the card out. Everyone who has done it takes a forfeit, and anyone is allowed one follow-up question. That second rule is where the night actually happens: the card says "ghosted someone and then bumped into them", and the follow-up is "where, and what did you say?"

These twelve are the free Never Have I Ever cards that suit a girls' night best: exes, group chats and the odd regrettable taxi.

FREE IN ANTICS Never Have I Ever: 12 for a girls' night

  1. Sent a message to the group chat that was meant for one person.
  2. Texted an ex something I instantly regretted.
  3. Blocked someone, then unblocked them just to have a look.
  4. Ghosted someone and then bumped into them in person.
  5. Been in a situationship I refused to call a situationship.
  6. Pretended to be single when I wasn’t.
  7. Lied about my body count.
  8. Had a one-night stand.
  9. Snuck out before someone woke up.
  10. Done a walk of shame past someone I knew.
  11. Woken up somewhere with no idea how I got there.
  12. Thrown up in a taxi.

Most Likely To is where the arguments start

On three, everyone points. Whoever collects the most fingers does the forfeit, and pointing at yourself is allowed.

It works best with friends who know each other well, which is exactly what a girls' night is. You already have opinions about each other. The card just gives you permission to say them out loud, and the fun is watching one person collect every finger in the room and demand a recount.

FREE IN ANTICS Who's most likely to…

  1. Text an ex tonight.
  2. Stalk their ex online at 2am.
  3. Have the messiest situationship.
  4. Start drama in the group chat.
  5. Have the most chaotic camera roll.
  6. Flirt their way out of trouble.
  7. Get engaged after three months.
  8. End up on Love Island.
  9. Get kicked out of a club.
  10. Accidentally join a cult.

Every card on this page is in the free version of Antics, with thousands more behind them in Premium. Get Antics free on iPhone or Android.

Would You Rather, for after the food

Would You Rather is the slow game, which is why it belongs after the takeaway, when everyone has gone horizontal. Nobody has to perform anything. The fun is making each person defend their answer, and a good one will run for ten minutes on its own while somebody explains, at length, why the bank balance is obviously worse.

FREE IN ANTICS Would You Rather: 7 to argue about

  1. Your group chat leaks, or your camera roll leaks?
  2. Everyone knows who you fancy, or the person you fancy reads everything you’ve said about them?
  3. Get caught deep-stalking their profile, or get caught rehearsing a conversation with them?
  4. Date your boss, or get back with your ex?
  5. Every person you’ve ever kissed walks in right now, or your last month of DMs is read out loud?
  6. Only first dates for the rest of your life, or married by Monday to someone in this room?
  7. Ten grand right now, or a hundred a week for life?

Truth or Dare, once everyone is warmed up

Save it for later in the evening. Truths first, because they cost nothing but a bit of honesty; dares once the room is loud enough that nobody minds being watched. Every dare below works on a sofa, and none of them needs anything except a phone and a bit of nerve.

FREE IN ANTICS Truths

  1. What’s the biggest red flag you’ve ignored because they were hot?
  2. What’s the biggest ick someone’s ever given you?
  3. Who did your last risky text go to?
  4. Whose profile did you last look at on social media?
  5. Who’s the last person you ghosted?
  6. What was your honest first impression of Jess?
  7. What’s the worst thing you’ve done on a night out?
  8. If you got cancelled tomorrow, what would it most likely be for?

FREE IN ANTICS Dares for the sofa

  1. Show the group your screen-time report. No explanations allowed.
  2. Read out the last thing you typed in your notes app.
  3. Do your best impression of the player on your left.
  4. Let the player on your right send one emoji from your phone to anyone they choose.
  5. Perform your go-to flirty dance move on the count of three.
  6. Twerk for 15 seconds.
  7. Eyes closed, describe Becca’s outfit in full.

Antics mode, for when nobody wants to pick a game

Antics mode deals from every game at once. A confession for the whole room might be followed by a vote, then a card with someone's name on it, then a rule that lasts a few rounds. By eleven o'clock nobody wants to decide what to play next, and this way nobody has to. These six are from its free deck.

FREE IN ANTICS Antics mode cards, exactly as dealt

  1. Take the forfeit if you still follow your ex on Instagram.
  2. Take the forfeit if you’ve got a screenshot of someone in this room saved.
  3. Point at the biggest flirt. Most votes takes the forfeit.
  4. Point at who’d win Love Island. Most votes takes the forfeit.
  5. Priya, show the room your lock screen or take a forfeit.
  6. Take the forfeit if your battery is below 50%.

How to run the night

Arrivals and the takeaway: Never Have I Ever. Everyone is seated, it takes no effort, and it does the catching up for you while the food is on its way.

Once the food is on its way: Most Likely To, while everyone is still sitting up.

After the food: Would You Rather, from the horizontal position.

Late: Truth or Dare. Or hand the rest of the night to Antics mode and stop choosing.

And stop while it is good. Twenty minutes of a game, then let the conversation it started carry on without you. The best bit of a girls' night is usually the story somebody tells because of a card, not the card itself, and the phone will still be there when it goes quiet again.

Hosting at yours? How to host a games night at home covers setting up the room, snacks that don't stop play and when to switch games.

If you want something different

The imposter game is the other one that works brilliantly on a night in. Everyone gets the same secret word except one person, who has to bluff their way through a round of one-word clues. It needs one phone, it is free, and you can deal a round in your browser right now.

You can also play Never Have I Ever, Most Likely To, Would You Rather and Truth or Dare in your browser, free, with no download and no sign-up.

Skip anything that doesn't suit the room: it's one tap and nobody notices. The app also remembers what it has dealt, so you see fresh cards before old ones come round again.

Common questions

What games can you play on a girls' night in?

Pass-the-phone games are the easiest, because they need no props, no printing and no setup: Never Have I Ever, Most Likely To, Would You Rather and Truth or Dare. Antics has all four plus five more games, nine in all, on one phone, so whoever is hosting just passes theirs round.

What are good Never Have I Ever questions for a girls' night?

The ones about exes, group chats and nights out land best, because everyone has a story and nobody needs to know each other's history to play. Start with something gentle, like a message sent to the wrong group chat, then work up to situationships and walks of shame.

How do you play Most Likely To?

Read the card out, count down from three, and everyone points at the person they think fits. Whoever gets the most fingers takes a forfeit. Pointing at yourself is allowed, and it works best with friends who already know each other well.

Are these girls' night games free?

Yes. Every card on this page is in the free version of Antics, which is free to download on iPhone and Android, with no ads and no sign-up. Premium unlocks the full decks, with thousands more cards. You can also play a few rounds in your browser at anticsapp.com/play.

Do you need to drink to play these games?

No. Antics is built on forfeits: every penalty is something like talking about yourself in the third person for the next three cards, never a drink. Everyone plays the same cards whether they are drinking or not.

Let the app deal them

Antics is nine party games in one app with thousands of original cards. One phone goes round the group and nothing in it depends on drinking, so everyone plays. No ads, no sign-up, no accounts.

Get Antics free