Last year we did a 1920s Speak Easy and had Craps, Poker, and Blackjack and were a huge hit. This year was pirate themed and had Liars Dice and poker again. When we try to get everyone in on games they usually do not work out well. So we just provide some and let them go on their own.
We played "Winking Killer" and it went over very well.
After the slips of paper were distributed (victims and one killer) I explained the game a bit more. The victims' slips said "Uh oh! You're a victim! After you've been "killed"(winked at) allow the killer time to escape then perform a death scene that will wow the critics! Best death scene wins a prize!"
We had a prize for the best "death scene" and got some very inspired performances! The funniest, and most unexpected aspect to me, was that when people "died", they stayed dead! We had people strewn about all over the house, and at one point my wife offered pillows to the "corpses". It didn't drag on too long, and when there were just a few people left standing I asked if any of the survivors wanted to make an accusation. We ended up giving prizes to the killer, the accuser who figured out who the killer was, and the best death, a friend who literally "kicked the bucket"!
I did "tempt your fate" and nobody wanted to play except two people (teenagers) who got all the prizes. Not sure if I'll do it again. I was really excited about this, but apparently the guests weren't
I think it depends on your crowd. We had our first party and everybody really got into the murder winking game. It was great and did not kill the party just the guests lol!
__________________
Lion: I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks. I do! I do! I do! I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks. I do! I do! I do! I do!
Witch: You'll believe in more than that before I'm finished with you.
I also did tempt your fate, but it was a huge success! Like blackfog said, I think it totally depends on the type of friends you have. Most of mine are pretty out-going. We had balloons filled with fates, and some people would force others to pop them and be like "ohhhh you have to do it!!" and they actually would. I had about 42 fates and of those, only 8 were "kind". (I even told everyone that when asked.)
The best one had to be the "move a penny around the toilet seat using your tongue". My boyfriend let it slip that there was a "toilet one" and so every time as balloon was popped the whole room went silent to see if it was the dreaded toilet fate. Some how...this one didn't get popped until very last. So once everyone saw there was only one balloon left they "forced" a pal to pop it and the reaction to the fate was priceless. The best part ------ he DID it. After 3 attempts he pushed a penny about 5 inches around the seat before it fell into the toilet and we let him stop. hahah (We're evil.)
I think I would definitely play this game again at another party. Good thing I have a whole year to plan out new fates.
We rented the arcade version of Dance Dance Revolution and it was very fun (when it was working - had some trouble with it freezing, and in explaining this & our other problems to the rental company they were TOTAL ASSES and I'd never rent from them again - see my blog for full details).
But anyways, it was great because it was fun to play AND to watch people play. All but 1 couple were awful, even the basic level perplexed us, then one duo rocked out the expert level and it was hilarious! People who didn't want to didn't have to, but those who felt like moving around had a great opportunity. We're all in our late 20's early 30's and got a kick out of it. I'd recommend renting it again, just not from the company we went through. Cost just over $300 delivered and picked up.
We did a mashup of Tempt Your Fate and Wink (basically, using the Wink mechanism to get people to participate in the Fates, which mostly meant death scenes). People were a little lukewarm about it at first, but they eventually got into the spirit of it. Some were more enthusiastic than others. One friend had "death by Macarena" and he volunteered to die a second time!
At our last party we did the "Guess My Name" game, where you get a name (all halloween/horror related, of course) stuck on your back and have to guess who you are by asking Yes-or-No questions. This one is good because it's an icebreaker early in the party, but also because everybody is an independent agent at getting it running. The problem with Wink is that if you get a few people who don't want to participate, it kind of stalls.
We did the Tempt your Fate for the second time. It was very successful as before. We also did the balloon version, but you have to be diligent on getting others in on the game. I explained it at the beginning and then throughout the night I would walk around with a handful of balloons and offer them to the guest if they were interested. It really keeps it going and people rarely went in to get a balloon, but were more than willing to participate if they were presented with their pic of the bunch. So much fun!! The hard part is coming up with different fates every year. But, well worth it.
__________________
Every now and then I have a quiet chat with the skeletons in my closet-just so they don't come looking for me on their own
Games this year...duds or not?
Linear Mode
