Hawaiian Themed Party Games for Adults, With 9 Games From Hawaii
Packing for the Luau Memory ChainThe first player says, I am going to the luau and I am bringing an apple pie. The next repeats it and adds something starting with B, and so on through the alphabet. A player who drops a link gives a clue to the next player instead of going out. Players: 4 to 15. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
Rhythm Sticks EchoKālaʻau, rhythm sticks, are one of the instruments of hula. Give everyone two wooden spoons or short dowels. A leader taps a four-beat pattern and the group echoes it. Add a beat each round. Anyone who loses the pattern rests one round and rejoins. Players: 4 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: two wooden spoons or dowels each.
Seashell Sand Scoop RelayEach team has a bucket of sand at one end and an empty cup at the other. Runners carry sand in a single seashell, one trip each, until the cup overflows. Spills stay where they fall. Players: 6 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: sand, large shells, cups and buckets.
Hawaiian Themed Party Games for Adults, With 9 Games From Hawaii: how it works
Most Hawaiian themed party games for adults come down to limbo and a plastic hoop, and limbo is not even Hawaiian. These 54 alcohol-free games add nine that are, from ʻulu maika lawn bowling to the board game kōnane, plus quizzes with checked answers. Press New games to deal three, or tap Traditional Hawaiian games, party versions first.
Plan the luau in three picks
Luau party games for adults work best as a run of three: one to mix the crowd, one on the lawn and one at the table after the food. Tap Quizzes, mixers and table games and press Lock on Lei Greeting Line, which sorts guests into four teams at the door. Then tap Backyard and beach games and press New games until one fits your yard. Print puts the locked list on paper.
What is Hawaiian here, and what is not
A luau is a Hawaiian feast, named after a dish of young taro leaves. Limbo comes from Trinidad and Tobago. Tiki style began in a Hollywood restaurant in 1933, so tiki party games for adults are mainland party games, and this list covers them. What is Hawaiian: ʻulu maika, a stone rolled between two stakes; kōnane, a jumping game on a full board; and Makahiki, a season of about four months when war and work stopped for sport.
Tips
For Hawaiian party games for seniors, tap Seated games for seniors: 30 games played from a chair, such as Rhythm Sticks Echo and Seated Hula Story Hands, which borrows from hula noho, the sitting form of hula.
Treat a flower lei as a gift. Offer it with a slight bow, let the guest take it, and use fabric garlands for any tossing game.
Skip made-up words and costume jokes. Hawaiian Words You Already Know teaches eleven real ones, from mahalo to akamai.
Questions and answers
Are these luau games alcohol-free?
Yes, all 54. A tiki theme often gets treated as a drinks party, but nothing here involves alcohol, betting or dares. In Juice Bar Blend-Off, teams mix a house punch from five juices, judges taste blind, and the winning recipe fills the punch bowl.
Which games work if it rains?
Indoors works for 37 of the 54. Everything under Quizzes, mixers and table games and Contests to make and judge runs in a living room, and so do limbo and Pineapple Ring Toss. The other 17 need grass, so lock one indoor spare.
What props do I need to buy?
Less than the party aisle suggests. One coconut covers Coconut Bowling and the Coconut Over-Under Relay, and one pineapple covers Pass the Pineapple and Pineapple Ring Toss. Tap No props for 11 games that need nothing at all.
Kōnane on a CheckerboardA Hawaiian strategy game once played with black lava and white coral. Fill every square in alternating colors. Black lifts one of its own pieces from the center or a corner, and white lifts a neighbor. After that every move is a straight jump over an enemy piece, never diagonal. Whoever cannot jump loses. Players: 2 per board. Time: 15 min. Props: a checkerboard, 32 dark buttons and 32 light ones.
Kūkini Sprint HeatsFoot racing, kūkini, was one of the sports of the Makahiki season, when work and war stopped for games. Run barefoot sprints across the lawn in heats of four, winners to a final. For a mixed crowd, make the final a heel-to-toe walking race so speed stops mattering. Players: 4 to 24. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
Makahiki Riddle RoundMakahiki contests were not all physical: riddles and proverbs were matched too. Each table writes three riddles about the sea, the sky or the food on the table, then trades with the next table. A sample: I wear a crown, I have a hundred eyes and I am sweet inside. A pineapple. Players: 6 to 40, by table. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
Noodle Spear TossIn ʻōʻō ihe, players threw spears into a banana stump. Party version: hang a plastic hoop from a branch and throw a foam pool noodle through it, javelin style, from ten paces. Three throws each, and step back a pace after every round. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 10 min. Props: a foam pool noodle, a plastic hoop and string.
Pala ʻIe Loop CatchPala ʻie was played with a braided coconut-leaf stick ending in a loop and a tapa ball on a string: swing the ball and catch it in the loop. Party version: a cup-and-ball toy, or a paper cup with a bead on a string. Most catches in one minute wins. Players: 2 to 10, in turns. Time: 8 min. Props: a cup-and-ball toy per pair.
Peʻepeʻe Akua at DuskPeʻepeʻe akua is the Hawaiian cousin of hide and seek. Play it as the light goes: the seeker counts to fifty at the food table, which is home base, and hiders try to get back and touch it unseen. Set the yard boundary before the first count. Players: 5 to 15. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
Pūhenehene Hidden PebblePūhenehene is a Hawaiian guessing game built on hiding a stone. Party version: one team sits in a row and passes a pebble behind their backs while the music plays. When it stops, the other team gets two guesses at who holds it. Swap sides each round and play to five. Players: 6 to 20, in two teams. Time: 12 min. Props: one smooth pebble and music.
Seated Hula Story HandsHula carries the words of a song in the hands, and one form, hula noho, is danced sitting down. Agree four motions together, such as ocean wave, swaying tree, rain and sun. A reader tells a short story and everyone signs each word as it comes. If a guest knows real hula, ask them to teach instead. Players: 4 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
ʻUlu Maika Lawn RollIn ʻulu maika, players roll a stone disc underhand, either between two sticks or for distance. Party version: push two stakes into the lawn a foot apart, step back 15 feet and roll a bocce ball through the gap. Five rolls each, then move the line back for a final. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: two stakes and a bocce ball or wooden disc.
Music and movement 8
Hum That Beach TuneOne player hums a well-known summer or beach song, no words allowed, and the first table to name it scores. The winner hums next. Agree a decade before you start if the ages in the room are far apart. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
Limbo, Bar Starts HighPass forward under the bar, bending backward. Touch the bar or put a hand on the ground and you are out, and the bar drops a notch each round. Tell the room the true story: limbo comes from Trinidad and Tobago, not Hawaii. Give anyone with a bad back the job of holding the bar. Players: 6 to 30. Time: 12 min. Props: a broomstick or bamboo pole and music.
Musical Beach TowelsMusical chairs on the grass: lay out one towel fewer than there are players. When the music stops, sit on a towel, one person per towel. Take a towel away each round. Towels cannot tip over, which makes this kinder than the chair version. Players: 6 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: beach towels and music.
Pass the PineappleHot potato with a whole pineapple, passed around the circle two-handed while the music plays. Whoever holds it when the music stops picks the next song and moves to a new seat. Nobody is out, so it suits a circle of chairs. Players: 6 to 25. Time: 8 min. Props: one pineapple and music.
Plastic Hoop Spin-OffEveryone starts a plastic hoop spinning at the waist on the first beat, and the last hoop still turning wins. Run a second round on one arm for guests who never got the knack, and a third while walking to a line and back. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: a plastic hoop each and music.
Rhythm Sticks EchoKālaʻau, rhythm sticks, are one of the instruments of hula. Give everyone two wooden spoons or short dowels. A leader taps a four-beat pattern and the group echoes it. Add a beat each round. Anyone who loses the pattern rests one round and rejoins. Players: 4 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: two wooden spoons or dowels each.
Seated Beach Ball RallyChairs in a circle, one beach ball, and nobody may leave their seat. Count the taps aloud and try to beat the room record before the ball touches the ground. Add a second ball once the count passes twenty. Players: 5 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: one or two beach balls.
Surf's Up Freeze DanceDance while the music plays. When it stops, drop into a surfing stance, knees bent and arms out, and hold it. The last one to freeze, or the first to wobble, becomes a judge for the next round. Players: 5 to 30. Time: 8 min. Props: a speaker and a beach playlist.
Backyard and beach games 12
Backyard Beachcomber HuntBefore guests arrive, hide 30 shells, toy fish and paper flowers around the yard, a few of them numbered. Teams get ten minutes and one bucket. Score one point an item and five for a numbered one, so the last find can still swing it. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 15 min. Props: 30 small items to hide and a bucket per team.
Beach Bag Dress-Up RelayAt the far end of the lawn sits a beach bag holding a sun hat, sunglasses, a towel and flip-flops. Run down, put everything on, run back, take it all off and hand it to the next player, who wears it down and packs the bag again. Players: 8 to 24. Time: 10 min. Props: a packed beach bag per team.
Beach Towel VolleyballPairs hold a towel by its corners and use it to launch and catch a beach ball over a rope. Two pairs a side. A ball that lands on your side is a point to the others. Play to seven, then rotate a waiting pair in. Players: 8 to 16. Time: 15 min. Props: four towels, a beach ball and a rope.
Coconut BowlingStand ten plastic bottles in a triangle, each weighted with a little sand, and bowl a whole coconut at them from 15 feet. A coconut is not round, so it wanders, and that is the game. Two rolls a frame, five frames, highest total wins. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: a coconut and ten plastic bottles.
Coconut Over-Under RelayTeams stand in single file. The coconut goes over the first head, between the next pair of knees, and so on down the line. The last player carries it to the front and starts again. The first team back in its starting order wins. Players: 10 to 30. Time: 8 min. Props: one coconut per team.
Flip-Flop FlingHang a flip-flop loosely off your toes and kick it toward a plastic hoop laid on the grass ten paces away. Closest sandal to the center wins the round. Keep everyone behind the kicking line, because a flip-flop rarely flies straight. Players: 3 to 15. Time: 8 min. Props: a plastic hoop and the sandals guests arrived in.
Garland Catch in PairsPartners face each other three steps apart. One tosses a fabric garland and the other catches it over an outstretched arm, then both step back. Drop one and you are out. Use fabric or paper garlands: a real flower lei is a gift, so it is handed over and never thrown. Players: 4 to 20, in pairs. Time: 8 min. Props: a fabric garland per pair.
Island Hop Bag TossLay out eight targets, from a plastic hoop down to a saucer, labeled for the eight main islands in order of size: Hawaiʻi, Maui, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Niʻihau, Kahoʻolawe. The biggest island scores one point and the smallest scores eight. Four bean bags a turn. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: eight targets of shrinking size and four bean bags.
Lava Field Towel CrossingThe islands were built by volcanoes, so the lawn is now lava. Each team of four gets three beach towels and has to cross 30 feet touching only towel. Pass the back towel forward and shuffle on. A foot on the grass sends the whole team back to the start. Players: 8 to 24. Time: 12 min. Props: three beach towels per team.
Noodle Canoe RaceOutrigger canoe paddling is the state team sport of Hawaii. Teams of four stand in line gripping two pool noodles at hip height, one on each side, as the hull. Race around a marker and back, paddling in time. A crew that lets go of its canoe starts the lap again. Players: 8 to 24. Time: 10 min. Props: two pool noodles per team and a marker.
Pineapple Ring TossStand a pineapple on a low table and toss rope rings or glow bracelets over its crown from six feet. Five rings a turn, one point for a ringer, and the first to five goes through to a final from nine feet. Slice the pineapple afterwards. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: a pineapple and five rope rings.
Seashell Sand Scoop RelayEach team has a bucket of sand at one end and an empty cup at the other. Runners carry sand in a single seashell, one trip each, until the cup overflows. Spills stay where they fall. Players: 6 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: sand, large shells, cups and buckets.
Quizzes, mixers and table games 17
Beach Bag Memory TrayUnpack 15 things from a beach bag onto a tray: sunscreen, a shell, goggles, a paperback, a sandal. Give the table one minute to look, cover the tray and have everyone list what they remember. For a second round, remove two items and ask what went. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: a tray, a towel and 15 beach items.
Beach Day CharadesTwo teams, one actor at a time, sixty seconds a turn, and every card is something you do at the beach: waxing a surfboard, paddling a canoe, shaking sand out of a shoe, putting sunscreen on someone who is squirming. No words and no pointing at props. Players: 6 to 20. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
Find Your IslandEvery guest draws a card naming one of the eight main islands and has to find the rest of their island without showing the card: they may only say its nickname, such as the Garden Isle for Kauaʻi. Print the key on the back of the host copy. Players: 16 to 64. Time: 8 min. Props: island cards prepared in advance.
Hawaiian Words You Already KnowA matching sheet of words English borrowed from Hawaiian. The key: aloha is hello, goodbye and love; mahalo, thank you; ʻohana, family; keiki, child; honu, green sea turtle; lānai, veranda; wiki, fast; ono, good to eat; akamai, clever; manō, shark; puka, hole. Tables swap sheets to mark. Players: any number, by table. Time: 10 min. Props: a printed sheet and a pen per table.
Island Category RoundDraw a letter, then give tables two minutes to write one answer for each of five categories: a fruit, a sea creature, something in a beach bag, an island anywhere in the world and a flower. An answer nobody else wrote scores two points. Players: 4 to 40, by table. Time: 10 min. Props: paper and a pen per table.
Island Nicknames Match-UpMatch eight islands to eight nicknames. The key: Hawaiʻi is the Big Island, Maui the Valley Isle, Oʻahu the Gathering Place, Kauaʻi the Garden Isle, Molokaʻi the Friendly Isle, Lānaʻi the Pineapple Isle, Niʻihau the Forbidden Isle and Kahoʻolawe the Target Isle. Bonus: which one has no residents? Kahoʻolawe. Players: any number, by table. Time: 8 min. Props: a printed sheet and a pen per table.
Lei Greeting LineHand each guest a lei at the door in one of four colors, which quietly sorts the party into teams for later. Show the custom while you do it: a lei is offered with a slight bow and held out for the guest to take, not dropped over their head. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 5 min. Props: a lei for every guest, in four colors.
Luau True or FalseHands up for true. True: the word lūʻau means young taro leaves. True: at a traditional feast everything was eaten by hand. False: limbo is a Hawaiian dance. False: tiki style began in Hawaii. It began in a Hollywood restaurant in 1933. Players: any number. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
Packing for the Luau Memory ChainThe first player says, I am going to the luau and I am bringing an apple pie. The next repeats it and adds something starting with B, and so on through the alphabet. A player who drops a link gives a clue to the next player instead of going out. Players: 4 to 15. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
State Fish Memory SpellHold up the name of the state fish, the reef triggerfish, for thirty seconds: humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa. Cover it, and everyone writes it from memory. It is built from repeats, humu twice and nuku twice, which is the trick to it. Most letters in the right order wins. Players: any number. Time: 5 min. Props: the name on a card, paper and pens.
State Symbols QuizTen questions on the state symbols of Hawaii. The key: the bird is the nēnē, a goose; the flower, a yellow hibiscus; the tree, the kukui; the gem, black coral; the dance, hula; the individual sport, surfing; the team sport, outrigger canoe paddling. Let tables write three more from the list. Players: any number, by table. Time: 12 min. Props: paper and a pen per table.
Thirteen-Letter Word RaceThe Hawaiian alphabet has 13 letters: a, e, i, o, u, h, k, l, m, n, p, w and the ʻokina. Tables get three minutes to list English words spelled with only those letters, such as pineapple, lemon and lake. Longest word breaks a tie. Players: any number, by table. Time: 6 min. Props: paper and a pen per table.
Tropical Fruit Blind TastingCube six fruits, such as pineapple, mango, papaya, guava, banana and coconut, and number the bowls. Blindfolded tasters take one cube from each bowl on a toothpick and name the fruit. Ask about allergies first. Whatever is left becomes the fruit salad. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 12 min. Props: six fruits, toothpicks and blindfolds.
Tropical Picture BingoPrint bingo cards with pictures or words from the party: pineapple, surfboard, sea turtle, ukulele, palm tree. A caller draws slips from a sun hat. Play a line first, then a full card, with a small prize for each. Players: 6 to 60. Time: 15 min. Props: printed cards, markers and call slips.
Two Truths and a Vacation LieEach guest tells three short travel stories: two that happened and one invented. The table votes on the lie before the teller owns up. The quiet, ordinary story is usually the false one, so tell guests to keep the lie dull. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
Ukulele True or FalseStand for true, stay seated for false. True: the ukulele grew from small guitars that immigrants from Madeira brought to Hawaii in 1879. True: the name roughly means jumping flea. False: it has six strings. It has four, usually tuned G, C, E, A. Players: any number. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
Would You Rather, Island EditionThe host reads a choice and everyone votes with a raised hand, then one person from each side says why. Start with: would you rather learn to surf or learn the ukulele, and would you rather live on the biggest island or the smallest. Players: 4 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
Contests to make and judge 8
Fruit Skewer Rainbow ContestEach guest gets one skewer and three minutes at the fruit platter to build the best-looking kebab. Judges score color order and height, then every entry is eaten by its maker. Swap skewers for paper straws when small children are at the table. Players: 4 to 25. Time: 8 min. Props: cut fruit and skewers.
Juice Bar Blend-OffTeams get the same five juices, sparkling water, ice and ten minutes to mix and name a house punch. Two judges taste blind from numbered cups and score flavor, color and name. The winning recipe fills the punch bowl for the rest of the party. Players: 6 to 24, in teams. Time: 15 min. Props: five juices, sparkling water, ice, jugs and cups.
Leaf and Flower Centerpiece ChallengeA traditional feast was laid on mats with large centerpieces of tī leaves. Give each table a bag of big leaves, flowers and fruit, and ten minutes to build its own. Guests vote with a shell placed beside their favorite, never their own table. Players: 8 to 48, by table. Time: 12 min. Props: leaves, flowers, fruit and one shell per guest.
Lei Making Table With AwardsSet out blunt needles, string, fresh or silk flowers and cut straws as spacers. Everyone strings a lei to wear home. Award the fullest, the neatest and the boldest colors. Afterwards hang fresh ones in a tree or bury them: by custom a lei goes back to the earth, never in the trash. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 20 min. Props: string, blunt needles, flowers and cut straws.
Loudest Aloha Shirt BallotSay on the invitation that shirts will be judged. On the night, every guest gets three slips for a secret ballot: loudest shirt, best vintage find and best matching pair. Count the votes during dessert and have the winners take a lap. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: ballot slips, pens and a sun hat to collect them.
Paper Hibiscus Speed FoldShow once how to fan-fold tissue paper, pinch the middle with a twist tie and fluff it into a flower. Yellow is a good choice: the state flower of Hawaii is a yellow hibiscus. Most finished flowers in five minutes wins, and every one goes on the tables. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 8 min. Props: tissue paper and twist ties.
Postcard From the PartyEveryone writes a three-line postcard home from an imaginary island vacation that went slightly wrong. Collect them in a sun hat and read them aloud without names. The room votes for the funniest, then guesses who wrote it. Players: 5 to 30. Time: 12 min. Props: blank postcards or index cards and pens.
Sandcastle in a TrayEach pair gets a roasting tray of damp sand, a cup, a spoon and ten minutes. Judges walk the tables and award the tallest tower, the best moat and the bravest design. It brings the beach to a party that is nowhere near one. Players: 4 to 24, in pairs. Time: 12 min. Props: trays of damp sand, cups and spoons.