Dinner Party Games

Dinner party games to play at the table, with nobody standing up: press Pick 3 new games.

Dinner Party Games

Two-Word Sentences Until the Plates Land1. In the gap between two courses, nobody may say more than two words in a row. 2. The conversation has to keep going all the same: "More water?" "Yes, please." "Lovely soup." 3. A third word in a row costs the speaker a point, and the guest who catches it calls "three." 4. The rule ends when the next plate touches the table. Course: between any two courses. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
Ten-Second Napkin Sketch, Passed Down the Table1. The host whispers one thing to the first guest, such as a wheelbarrow. 2. That guest has ten seconds to draw it on a napkin and show it to the next guest only. 3. Each guest draws what they think they saw, from memory, in ten seconds. 4. The last guest says what it is. Lay the napkins out in order. Course: between any two courses. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: paper napkins and a pen.
Place Card Quiz Swap1. Each guest writes one question on the back of their place card. It should be one that only they can answer for sure but that anyone could guess, such as how many countries they have slept in. 2. Pass the cards around the table, and everyone writes a guess on a napkin for each card. 3. The writers give the answers in turn. 4. Closest guess takes each point. Course: after the main course or with coffee. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 12 min. Props: the place cards, paper napkins and pens.

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How it works

These dinner party games for adults are all played from a chair, by six to ten people at one table. Each one names the course it suits, and many need no props at all.

Read the full guide

Dinner party games for small groups, by course

The All games menu keeps one kind. Openers while people sit down fill the wait for the first plate. Between-course games that survive plates arriving can stop mid-round and pick up again.

Save the long ones for coffee

Longer games for coffee run eight to fifteen minutes. More filters, the last entry of the menu, sorts by head count, minutes and course.

Tips

Put a pen at every place before guests arrive. About a third of the games here need one.
A game that runs during a course stops by itself when a plate needs both hands.

Questions and answers

What are good formal dinner party games?

Quiet ones that leave the table as it was laid. Turn the Table, The Slow Category and The Course Without Names need no props and no raised voices, and they run alongside the conversation.

Which dinner party table games need no props?

Many of them. The Occasion in Six Numbers, Name Five Things in the Sauce and One-Word Review, No Repeats are played with nothing but talk. In More filters, the Course menu shows which fit each stage of the meal.

Do the games work with strangers at the table?

Yes. The openers are written for guests who have just met: One True Thing About the Chair on Your Left gives each guest a neighbor to introduce.

All 36 games

Openers while people sit down 8

Eyes Shut, Every Guest Named Clockwise 1. After everyone has said their name once, the first guest shuts their eyes. 2. Starting with the neighbor on their left, they name every guest around the table in order. 3. A wrong name or a gap ends the turn, and the table counts how far the guest got. 4. Each guest takes a turn. The longest run wins, and by the end everyone knows every name. Course: as guests sit down. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: none.
Letter Round on the Laid Table, No Pointing 1. The host names a letter. 2. Going around the table, each guest names something on the table that starts with it. Nobody may point. 3. A guest who repeats a thing or takes longer than five seconds drops out of that letter. 4. The last guest left in picks the next letter. A crowded table gives the longest rounds. Course: as guests sit down. Players: 4 to 10. Time: 5 min. Props: a laid table.
One True Thing About the Chair on Your Left 1. Each guest has until the first plate arrives to learn one fact about the person on their left that nobody else at the table knows. 2. Go around the table. Each guest introduces that neighbor with the fact. 3. Anyone who already knew the fact knocks on the table. 4. A fact that draws no knock scores a point for the guest who found it. Course: as guests sit down. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: none.

Show all 36 games (33 more)

Openers while people sit down, continued

The Route You Took Here 1. As guests sit, each one tells the table one thing they passed on the way tonight, and nothing else about the trip. 2. When everyone has spoken, the host names a guest. 3. The table tries to say what that guest passed. The first right answer scores a point. 4. Go on until every guest has been named once. Course: as guests sit down. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: none.
Sealed Forecast for the Evening 1. Each guest writes one forecast for tonight on the back of their place card, such as someone will mention a dentist, or a fork will hit the floor. 2. Cards go face down under the water glasses. 3. Whenever a forecast comes true, its writer turns the card over and reads it out. 4. At coffee, read out the ones that never happened. Most forecasts come true wins. Course: as guests sit down. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 4 min. Props: the place cards and a pen.
Ten Yes-or-No Questions About the Main Course 1. The host keeps the menu secret and answers only yes or no. 2. Guests take turns asking one question each about the main course, ten questions in all. 3. After the tenth question, everyone says a dish at the same moment. 4. The closest guess is served first, and the host decides what closest means. Course: as guests sit down. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
Whose Hands Set This Place? 1. Before dinner, ask each guest who helped in the kitchen to set one place a little differently: a turned fork, a folded napkin, a spoon above the plate. 2. When everyone sits, the table studies the places. 3. Each guest guesses which helper set their own place. 4. The helpers own up one by one. Course: as guests sit down. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: the place settings.
Your Day in Three Words, Matched to the Guest 1. Each guest sums up their day in exactly three words and says them without explaining. 2. When all have spoken, the host repeats one set of three words. 3. The table has to name who said it. The guest who gets it right repeats another set from memory. 4. Carry on until nobody can recall a set that has not been used. Course: as guests sit down. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: none.

Between-course games that survive plates arriving 8

The Course Without Names 1. For one whole course, nobody may say a name or point at anyone. 2. To ask for the bread, describe who has it: "Could the person who came by train pass the basket?" 3. A guest who says a name or points takes a point. 4. When the plates are cleared, the fewest points wins. Course: between any two courses. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
Name Five Things in the Sauce 1. As a dish is served, the cook says only its name. 2. Each guest in turn names one ingredient they think is in it. 3. The cook says yes or no. A yes scores a point, and a no costs one. 4. Stop when five have been found, or when the cook admits there were only four. Course: between any two courses. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
One-Word Review, No Repeats 1. When a course is finished, go around the table. 2. Each guest gives the dish a review of exactly one word. 3. No word may be used twice, and a guest who takes longer than three seconds drops out. 4. Keep going around until one reviewer is left. The cook may overrule any word. Course: between any two courses. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 4 min. Props: none.
The Slow Category 1. The host sets one category for the whole course, such as things that are sold in jars. 2. Any guest may add an answer at any time, in the middle of any conversation. 3. An answer that has already been said gives its speaker a point against. 4. When the plates are cleared, the fewest points against wins and that guest sets the next category. Course: between any two courses. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
Thumb on the Table Edge, Last to Notice 1. The host names one guest as signaler by a tap on the shoulder while bringing in a dish. 2. At any moment during the course, the signaler lays a thumb on the edge of the table and keeps talking. 3. Anyone who notices does the same, without a word. 4. The last guest to notice takes a point and becomes the next signaler. The game stops by itself when a plate needs both hands. Course: between any two courses. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
Turn the Table 1. For the first course, everyone talks only with the neighbor on their left. 2. When the host taps a glass, everyone turns and talks only with the neighbor on their right. 3. At dessert, each guest reports the most surprising thing they heard from either side. 4. The table votes by show of hands for the best find, and nobody votes for their own. Course: between any two courses. Players: 6 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
Two-Word Sentences Until the Plates Land 1. In the gap between two courses, nobody may say more than two words in a row. 2. The conversation has to keep going all the same: "More water?" "Yes, please." "Lovely soup." 3. A third word in a row costs the speaker a point, and the guest who catches it calls "three." 4. The rule ends when the next plate touches the table. Course: between any two courses. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
What Just Happened? Five Questions After the Plates 1. During a course the host quietly notes five small things: who took the last roll, who poured water for a neighbor, who told the airport story. 2. When the plates are cleared, the host asks the five as questions. 3. Guests call out answers, and the first right answer takes the point. 4. The winner keeps the notes during the next course. Course: between any two courses. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: a pen and a card for the host.

Talking games with a winner 5

The Case for a Wrong Opinion About Food 1. Each guest draws a slip with an opinion to defend, such as soup is a drink, or a hot dog is a sandwich. 2. They have thirty seconds to argue for it in earnest. 3. The guest opposite gets ten seconds to reply. 4. The table votes with thumbs. A speaker who wins over half the table scores. Course: after the main course or with coffee. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 12 min. Props: opinion slips in a bowl and a watch.
The Occasion in Six Numbers 1. A guest thinks of an occasion from their own life, such as a move, a race or a long drive. 2. The table asks six questions that can be answered with a number: how many people, how many miles, how many hours. 3. The guest answers each with the number alone. 4. Each guest then guesses the occasion. The closest guess, as the storyteller judges it, takes the next turn. Course: any, from the first plate to coffee. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
One Deliberate Mistake 1. One guest talks for a minute about something they know well: their trade, their town or their hobby. 2. Somewhere in the minute they slip in one thing that is not true. 3. Each of the other guests names the sentence they think was the mistake. 4. The speaker scores a point for every wrong guess, and each guest who spotted it scores one too. Pass the turn to the left. Course: after the main course or with coffee. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 12 min. Props: a watch.
Two Neighbors Tell It: Whose Memory? 1. Two neighbors whisper for a moment and choose a true story that belongs to one of them. 2. Both tell it in the first person, taking the story a few sentences each. 3. The table may ask each of them two questions. 4. Everyone points left or right. The storytellers score a point for every guest who points at the wrong one. Course: after the main course or with coffee. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
Where on the Scale? One to Ten 1. One guest draws a card numbered from one to ten and keeps it hidden. 2. The host names a scale, such as the worst to the best place to be stuck for an hour. 3. The guest gives one example that sits at their number on that scale. 4. Everyone else says a number. An exact guess scores two, and one away scores one. Course: after the main course or with coffee. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: ten number cards.

Pen-and-napkin games 8

Finish the Drawing Across the Fold 1. Fold a sheet of paper in half. The first guest draws half a thing, right up to the fold, and lets two short lines cross over it. 2. They turn the paper so that the next guest sees only those two lines. 3. That guest finishes a drawing from the lines without seeing the first half. 4. Open the sheet. Each pair of neighbors makes one, and the table votes for the oddest whole. Course: between any two courses. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: paper and pens.
Haiku for the Main Course 1. Each guest writes three short lines about the main course, unsigned. 2. Aim for five, seven and five syllables, and count on fingers. 3. The host reads them aloud in a grave voice. 4. The table guesses each poet. The cook picks one to keep. Course: after the main course or with coffee. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: paper and pens.
Napkin Map: Whose Way Home? 1. Everyone draws a map of their way home from this table on a paper napkin, with no names of streets or towns. 2. The host collects the napkins, shuffles them and holds them up one at a time. 3. The table guesses whose map each one is. 4. A point for each right guess, and a point to the mapmaker whose napkin fooled everyone. Course: after the main course or with coffee. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: paper napkins and pens.
Place Card Quiz Swap 1. Each guest writes one question on the back of their place card. It should be one that only they can answer for sure but that anyone could guess, such as how many countries they have slept in. 2. Pass the cards around the table, and everyone writes a guess on a napkin for each card. 3. The writers give the answers in turn. 4. Closest guess takes each point. Course: after the main course or with coffee. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 12 min. Props: the place cards, paper napkins and pens.
Rank the Courses, Match the Table 1. After the last savory dish, everyone secretly ranks every dish of the evening from first to last on a napkin. 2. The host tallies the table's overall order. 3. Each guest scores one point for every dish placed where the table placed it. 4. The guest closest to the table wins. The cook does not play. Course: dessert or coffee. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: paper napkins and pens.
Signature Down the Line 1. The first guest signs their name at the top of a long strip of paper. 2. The next guest copies that signature just below it, then folds the top one out of sight. 3. Each guest copies only the signature above, and folds. 4. Unfold the strip at the end and lay the first and last side by side. Course: between any two courses. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: a long strip of paper and a pen.
Ten-Second Napkin Sketch, Passed Down the Table 1. The host whispers one thing to the first guest, such as a wheelbarrow. 2. That guest has ten seconds to draw it on a napkin and show it to the next guest only. 3. Each guest draws what they think they saw, from memory, in ten seconds. 4. The last guest says what it is. Lay the napkins out in order. Course: between any two courses. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: paper napkins and a pen.
Three Courses for a Giant: Guess the Diner 1. Each guest draws a slip naming an unlikely diner, such as a giant, an astronaut or a toddler. 2. In three minutes, they write a three-course menu for that diner on a napkin, without naming who it is for. 3. Read the menus aloud in turn. 4. The table guesses each diner. A right guess scores for the guesser and for the menu writer. Course: between any two courses. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: paper napkins, pens and slips in a bowl.

Longer games for coffee 7

Black Magic at the Table: The Glass Code 1. The old Black Magic trick, with nobody leaving the room and the code moved to the laid table. The host and one guest agree it in secret beforehand: the right object is always the one the host points to straight after something made of glass. 2. The accomplice closes their eyes, and the table silently chooses an object on the table. 3. The host points to objects one by one, asking "Is it this?" The accomplice gets it right every time. 4. Guests who think they have worked out the code take a turn as the accomplice to prove it. Course: dessert or coffee. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: the things on the table.
Charades From the Chair, Hands Only 1. Split the table down the middle into two teams. 2. The actor stays seated and acts with hands and face only, above the table. Nothing on the table is used as a prop. 3. The actor's own side has one minute to guess. 4. Three rounds a side. A guest who stands up gives the point away. Course: dessert or coffee. Players: 6 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: word slips in a bowl and a watch.
Head of the Table Against the Foot: Five Questions Each 1. The two ends of the table are the teams. 2. Each end writes five questions about its own members that the other end could work out from tonight's talk. 3. The ends take turns asking. 4. A right answer scores for the end that answers it. A question nobody could have known scores for neither. Course: dessert or coffee. Players: 6 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: paper and pens.
One Sugar Cube Each Turn 1. Set one sugar cube on a saucer in the middle of the table. 2. Going around the table, each guest adds one cube to the same tower, using one hand. 3. A guest may take up to ten seconds, and the tower has to stand for a count of three after they let go. 4. The guest whose cube brings it down starts the next tower. The tallest tower of the night is the record to beat. Course: dessert or coffee. Players: 4 to 10. Time: 8 min. Props: a bowl of sugar cubes and a saucer.
Psychiatrist at the Table: Answer as Your Neighbor 1. The pattern game Psychiatrist, played without anyone leaving the table. One guest covers their ears while the table agrees on the pattern: everyone will answer every question as if they were the person on their right. 2. The guesser asks anyone at the table plain questions, such as "Where did you grow up?" 3. If an answer is wrong for the neighbor, that neighbor says "swap" and the two change places in the pattern. 4. The guesser wins by naming the pattern. Give a hint after five minutes. Course: dessert or coffee. Players: 6 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
Tell It Shorter 1. One guest tells a true story from their week in about a minute. 2. The guest on their left retells it in thirty seconds, the next in fifteen, and the next in five. 3. The first teller says what was lost and what survived. 4. Start a new story with the next guest. The table votes for the best five-second version. Course: dessert or coffee. Players: 5 to 12. Time: 12 min. Props: a watch.
Three Uses for the Odd Gadget 1. The host brings one puzzling kitchen or toolbox gadget to the table. 2. Three guests each explain what it is for. The host has told one of them the truth in a whisper, and the other two invent their answers. 3. The table may ask each of them one question. 4. Everyone votes. A bluffer scores for each vote they draw, and so does the truth teller. Course: dessert or coffee. Players: 6 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: two or three odd gadgets.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03 for one table of adults at a dinner party. Every game is played seated, in our own words, and each entry names the course it suits. No game involves a drink, a stake or a forfeit, and none asks a guest about money, age or anything private. Player ranges and times are our estimates. No history or official rule is stated, so nothing was checked against an outside source. Licence: own work