Let's be real for a second. We’ve all been there. You’re sitting in a Discord call or on a slightly lumpy couch, staring at each other, and someone asks the dreaded question: "So, what do you guys want to do?" Usually, the answer is a shrug. Or someone suggests a game that takes three hours to learn and half the group is already on their phones by the time you finish explaining the rules. It sucks. Finding a fun game to play with friends shouldn't feel like a chore or a project management task.
Most people just default to the same three things they've played since 2019. But the landscape of social gaming has changed a ton lately. Whether you’re looking for something digital that runs on a potato-quality laptop or a physical board game that won't end in a fistfight, there are better options than just "guessing."
The problem with "Party Games" that aren't actually fun
Most "party" games are exhausting. They rely on one person being the "funny one" or they force you to be creative when you’ve had a long day and just want to turn your brain off. Honestly, the best experiences come from games that create "emergent" moments—stuff the developers didn't necessarily script, but happened because your friend is surprisingly bad at lying or weirdly good at virtual golf.
Take Among Us. People burned out on it because it became a job. But if you look at something like Lethal Company, the fun isn't in winning. It's in watching your friend get snatched by a monster while they're mid-sentence. That's the secret sauce.
Why physics-based chaos always wins
Physics engines are the unsung heroes of social gaming. When things flop, fly, or break unexpectedly, people laugh. It's a universal constant.
- Gang Beasts: It’s old, yeah, but have you played it recently? The clunky controls are the point. You’re basically playing as drunk jellybeans trying to throw each other off a moving truck.
- Pico Park: This one is a friendship killer in the best way. It requires "cooperation," which usually translates to eight people screaming at one person who can't jump at the right time. It's cheap, runs on anything, and it's pure concentrated chaos.
Finding a fun game to play with friends who "don't play games"
This is the hardest demographic to please. You can't just throw someone into a first-person shooter if they don't know how to use a twin-stick controller. You need a "gateway drug."
Jackbox Games is the obvious answer, but specifically Quiplash 3 or Drawful. The barrier to entry is zero because everyone has a phone. But if you want to move past Jackbox, look at Codenames. It’s a board game that transitioned perfectly to the web. It’s about word association and realizing that you and your best friend actually don't think alike at all.
👉 See also: GTA Vice City Cheat Switch: How to Make the Definitive Edition Actually Fun
I remember playing Codenames with a group where the "clue giver" said "Apple: 2" and someone picked "Computer" and "Tree." The clue giver actually meant "Fruit" and "New York." We argued for twenty minutes. It was great. That's the kind of engagement you want.
The "Low Stakes" digital hangouts
Sometimes you don't want a "winner." You just want an excuse to talk while your hands do something. This is where "hobby games" come in.
Minecraft is the goat for this, obviously. But Valheim took that crown for a lot of people recently. There is something deeply satisfying about building a Viking longhouse together while talking about your day. It’s digital manual labor, but it’s relaxing.
If you're more into the "let's sit around a table" vibe but your friends live in different states, Tabletop Simulator is the move. It’s a bit janky to learn, but once you realize you can flip the table when you lose a game of Poker, the immersion is complete. You can find almost every board game ever made in the Steam Workshop.
What about the "Competitive" itch?
If your group is the type that needs a scoreboard, avoid the high-stress environments of League of Legends or Counter-Strike unless you all want to end the night angry.
Instead, try Rocket League. It’s cars playing soccer. It makes no sense, the skill ceiling is infinite, but even if you’re terrible, it’s hilarious. Or Fall Guys. It’s basically a game show where you’re a mascot. It’s competitive, but it’s hard to stay mad at a game that looks like a bowl of sprinkles.
✨ Don't miss: Gothic Romance Outfit Dress to Impress: Why Everyone is Obsessed With This Vibe Right Now
Board games that don't take five hours to set up
If you are meeting in person, skip the Monopoly. Seriously. Put it away. Monopoly was literally designed to be frustrating to show the evils of capitalism—it's not supposed to be a "fun game to play with friends" in the modern sense.
Instead, grab Exploding Kittens or Unstable Unicorns. They are fast, the art is weird, and the rules fit on a single sheet of paper.
If you want something with more meat on its bones, try Betrayal at House on the Hill. You all explore a haunted mansion together until—surprise!—one of you turns out to be a traitor. The game then changes completely based on which "haunt" you triggered. There are 50 different scenarios. It’s like being in a B-horror movie.
Hidden roles and social deduction
Games like The Resistance or Secret Hitler (if your group has that kind of humor) are incredible for large groups. They rely entirely on lying to your friends' faces.
"I'm telling you, I'm a Liberal. Why would I pass a Fascist policy?"
"Because you're the literal Hitler, Dave."
That's the peak of social interaction. It tests trust in a way that is totally safe because it's just a game, but it leaves you with stories you'll bring up at dinner months later.
🔗 Read more: The Problem With Roblox Bypassed Audios 2025: Why They Still Won't Go Away
The "Free to Play" barrier (or lack thereof)
Money is often the biggest hurdle. Not everyone wants to drop $60 on the latest Call of Duty.
- Gartic Phone: It’s basically "Telephone" but with drawings. It’s free, browser-based, and works on mobile. You draw something, the next person describes it, the next person draws that description. By the end, a drawing of "a cat eating pizza" somehow becomes "an astronaut fighting a god."
- GeoGuessr: The free version is limited now, but playing the "Streaks" mode where you try to guess what country you're in based on a random Google Street View image is weirdly addictive. It turns your group into amateur detectives looking at license plates and soil color.
Why "Rules" are usually the enemy of fun
The biggest mistake people make when trying to find a fun game to play with friends is picking something too complex. If you have to spend more than 10 minutes reading a manual, you’ve lost half the room.
The best games have a "one-sentence hook."
- "We have to defuse a bomb, but only one of us can see the manual." (Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes)
- "We are all octopuses pretending to be normal dads at a grocery store." (Octodad)
- "We have to move furniture out of a house without breaking it, but the physics are broken." (Moving Out)
Actionable steps to pick the right game tonight
Stop scrolling through the Steam store or the board game aisle aimlessly. Use this logic instead:
- Count the heads. If you have 3 people, don't play a game meant for 8. If you have 6, don't play a 4-player co-op game and leave two people out.
- Check the "Energy Level." Is it a "we want to scream" night or a "we want to chill with a beer" night? Pick physics/party games for the former, building/strategy for the latter.
- The 10-Minute Rule. If no one can explain the core loop in 10 minutes, put it back.
- Rotate the "Leader." Don't let the same person pick every time. Your "non-gamer" friend might find a weird indie gem you would have ignored.
The goal isn't to find the "best" game. There is no such thing. The goal is to find the thing that makes you forget you're looking at a screen or a piece of cardboard and makes you focus on the people you're with.
Go download Gartic Phone for free right now. It requires zero setup. Or go buy a deck of Uno cards and make up your own house rules. Just stop overthinking it. The fun usually happens in the gaps between the rules anyway.