From card games to graduate-themed trivia, check out these 20 graduation party games that are sure to elevate your celebration.
One of the best ways to amp up your graduation party is by incorporating some fun and engaging games. Not only are they perfect for breaking the ice if you have guests who don’t know each other, but they also encourage people to start chatting and mingling.
Plus, games are a great way to keep your guests entertained and interactive during the party. From table games to DIY activities, I’ve compiled 20 amazing graduation party games that will make your celebration super festive.
Graduation Party Games
1. Graduate This or That
“This or That” is a fun and interactive game that’s perfect for your graduation party. Here are two popular ways to play:
1. Based on the Graduate’s Preferences
Create a “This or That” game centered around the graduate’s preferences. Guests will guess which of the two options the graduate prefers by circling their choice on a card. For example, does the grad prefer coffee or tea? Guests will mark their guesses, and you can reveal the correct answers later.
2. General “This or That” for Guests
For a more interactive version, create a general list of “This or That” questions for all your guests to participate in. Have everyone line up in a single file, and when a question is asked, they move to the left if they prefer the first option or to the right if they prefer the second. For example:
- “Early bird or night owl?” Guests who prefer early bird go to the left, and those who prefer night owl go to the right.
- “Eating out or cooking at home?” Guests who love eating out move to the left, and those who prefer cooking at home move to the right.
2. Who Knows the Graduate the Best
Test your guests’ knowledge with a fun game of “Who Knows the Graduate the Best.” Prepare a list of questions and answers about yourself ahead of time. You can either type up the questions and hand them out to all of your guests or ask the questions out loud for a more interactive experience.
Come up with fun and personal questions about yourself, such as:
- Who is your favorite artist?
- What sport did you play in high school?
- What was the color of your first car?
3. Find the Guest Bingo
This game is perfect if you’re looking for a great icebreaker to get your guests mingling and talking with one another.
Create a bingo card filled with general clues or descriptions, such as “Has traveled to another country,” “Plays a musical instrument,” or “Has a pet fish.” Guests will walk around and ask each other if they fit any of the descriptions. When someone gets bingo (a full row, column, or diagonal), they win!
To keep the fun going, encourage everyone to continue playing even after someone wins.
4. What Am I
“What Am I” is another fantastic icebreaker game that will get everyone up, moving, and mingling with one another.
- Place a sticky note on the back of each participant with the name of a popular school-related word or item (e.g., book, pencil, cafeteria, etc.).
- To figure out who or what they are, participants must ask other players yes-or-no questions about their assigned word. For example, someone might ask, “Can you write with me?” or “Am I found in a classroom?”
- The game continues until everyone has successfully guessed what they are.
5. Karaoke
Karaoke is a classic crowd-pleasing party game that you can incorporate into your graduation party. To set up, all you need is a karaoke machine or a microphone and a TV to display the lyrics.
RELATED: 40 Graduation Party Ideas to Celebrate Your Big Day
6. Music
You can’t go wrong with good old-fashioned music to liven up your graduation party. Music is not only a great way to set the mood, but it’s also an activity in itself that gets people up, dancing, and singing along.
Create a party playlist filled with energetic party songs. Along with classic dance hits and crowd favorites to encourage guests to hit the dance floor.
RELATED: 53 Christian Graduation Songs to Inspire Your Celebration
7. Cup Head Challenge
The Cup Head Challenge is a hilarious and entertaining party game that will have everyone laughing. To play, give each participant a solo cup to balance on top of their head. The objective of the game is to knock your opponents’ cups off their heads while keeping your own cup securely balanced.
You can play in an open area, and the game can get more challenging as players try different strategies to protect their cups. To make it even more fun, consider adding time limits or creating teams for a competitive twist.
Once a player’s cup gets knocked off of their head, they’re out of the game. The last player remaining with a cup on their head wins!
8. Charades
Charades is a classic party game that works for any occasion. To play, divide your guests into two teams and have each team take turns acting out a word or phrase without speaking, while their teammates try to guess what it is. The actor can use gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to convey their clue, but no talking or sound effects are allowed!
You can create your own charades topics based on your party’s theme or graduation/school related phrases; or use a charades app or pre-made cards for ideas.
To make it even more competitive, set a timer for each turn and keep score to see which team comes out on top. The team that has the most correct answers wins.
9. Human Chain Hoop
The Human Chain Hoop game is a fun activity that encourages teamwork and will have everyone laughing. To play, grab a hula hoop and have players form a human chain by lining up side by side and holding hands.
The goal is to pass the hula hoop from the first person in the line to the last without breaking the chain. Each player must maneuver their body through the hula hoop while keeping their grip on the person’s hand next to them.
It’s a test of coordination, flexibility, and teamwork, making it a fantastic choice for your graduation party. If you want to increase the difficulty, you can time the group to see how fast they can complete the challenge or have multiple teams race against each other.
Party Games for Graduation Party
10. Guess the Grad’s Age
“Guess the Grad’s Age” is a fun and sentimental party game that lets guests take a trip down memory lane.
To play, create a slideshow or display a series of photos of the graduate at different stages of their life. Include pictures from milestones like being a newborn, toddler, elementary school, middle school, high school, college, etc.
The challenge for the guests is to guess how old the graduate was in each picture. You can provide paper and pens for everyone to jot down their guesses or simply have them shout out answers as you reveal each photo.
This game isn’t focused too much on competition, but rather a chill activity to involve all of your guests.
11. Musical Chairs
Musical chairs is another great graduation party game that’s incredibly timeless. To play, set up a circle of chairs with one fewer chair than the number of players. Play some upbeat music, and as the music plays, participants walk around the chairs.
When the music suddenly stops, everyone must quickly find a chair to sit on. The player left standing is eliminated, and one chair is removed before the next round begins. The game continues until there’s only one chair and two players left, with the final scramble determining the winner.
12. Head, Shoulders, Knees, Toes, and Cup
This fun twist on the classic children’s game “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”, is guaranteed to bring lots of laughs and energy to your party. To set it up, have players face each other in pairs, forming a long line. Place a solo cup on the floor between each pair.
The game leader calls out “head,” “shoulders,” “knees,” or “toes,” and players must quickly touch the part of their body that’s called out. The leader can mix up the pace, switching between commands to keep players on their toes.
At random intervals, the leader shouts “cup!” and players must race to grab the cup in front of them. The quickest player in each pair wins and moves on to the next round, while the other is eliminated. The game continues tournament-style until only two players remain for a final face-off.
13. Hot Potato
To play hot potato, have players form a circle and use a ball as the “hot potato.” Start playing music, and as the music plays, players pass the ball around the circle as quickly as possible. When the music stops, the player holding the ball is out. The game continues until only one player remains as the winner.
To add a challenging twist, use a smaller ball like a tennis ball, which makes it harder to catch and pass quickly.
Card Game Indoor Graduation Party Games
14. Uno
If you’re looking for great card games to play at your party, add Uno to the list. You can play with up to 10 players and it’s a classic game that’s perfect for adding some friendly competition.
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15. Dominos
Dominos is another great table game that’s perfect for your party and guaranteed to bring out some friendly competition among all the players.
16. Jenga
Whether you’re playing the traditional table-sized version or opting for the giant Jenga set, this game is sure to bring excitement and a bit of friendly competition to your celebration. All you need is a sturdy table or flat surface for players to stack the Jenga pieces on, and you’re good to go.
17. What Do You Meme
What Do You Meme is a hilarious pop culture card game where players compete to create the funniest meme. Based on the name, it’s all about responding to a prompt with a meme card from your hand that best matches the scenario.
The goal is to see who can come up with the funniest or most relatable meme card, making it a fun laugh-out-loud game for your graduation party.
18. Arts and Crafts
From setting up a flower bar to providing graduation-themed coloring pages, you can easily incorporate arts and crafts activities into your party. Coloring pages in particular are great if you’re expecting small children at the graduation party, as they help keep them entertained.
19. Connect Four
Similar to Jenga, Connect Four is an amazing table game that’s simple to set up and lots of fun for players of all ages. It comes in different sizes, making it perfect for both an indoor or outdoor graduation party.
You can stick with the regular-sized Connect Four for a classic experience or opt for the giant version to double the fun and excitement.
20. Cornhole
If you’re hosting a backyard graduation party, cornhole is a simple and fun outdoor party game that you can incorporate within your setup.
Plus, many cornhole sets come in a plain plywood color, giving you the opportunity to customize them. You can paint the boards to match your party’s theme or simply use your favorite colors.
RELATED: 37 Backyard Graduation Party Ideas for an Outdoor Celebration
