Let’s be real. Your group chat is dying. It’s mostly just TikTok links nobody watches and "lol" reacts to memes from three days ago. We’ve all been there—sitting at the same bar, drinking the same overpriced lager, talking about the same work drama for the four-hundredth time. It’s boring. It’s repetitive. Honestly, it’s why people start ghosting their own friends. You need a jolt. You need something that actually forces you to interact instead of just existing in the same physical space.
That’s where challenges to do with your friends come in. And I’m not talking about those cringey, staged YouTube pranks from 2016. I’m talking about actual, semi-competitive, occasionally grueling, but always memorable experiences that remind you why you liked these people in the first place.
Sociologists call this "prosocial behavior" or "shared adversity." It’s the idea that when we struggle together—even if that struggle is just trying to cook a five-course meal in a tiny kitchen—we bond more deeply than we ever could over a standard dinner. Research from the University of Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology has shown that synchronized activities and shared goals release a cocktail of endorphins that literally "glue" a group together. If you want to keep your circle tight, you have to do more than just talk. You have to do.
The Psychological Hook of Shared Competition
Why do we crave this? Humans are wired for tribal success. Back in the day, that meant not getting eaten by a saber-toothed tiger. Today, it means seeing who can go the longest without checking their phone at dinner.
The best challenges to do with your friends aren't just about winning. They’re about the narrative you build. You won't remember the night you sat on the couch watching Netflix. You will remember the night you all tried the "One Chip Challenge" and ended up crying over a gallon of milk in the kitchen. It’s the friction that creates the memory.
The Low-Stakes Survival Challenge
Try a "Digital Detox Weekend." It sounds easy. It isn't. You pick a cabin, a campsite, or even just someone's house. Everyone hands over their phones at 6:00 PM on Friday. They go into a locked box.
The first four hours are awkward. People reach for their pockets constantly. They feel "phantom vibrations." But then, something weird happens. You actually start looking at each other. You notice the way your friend tells a story with their hands. You end up playing a board game for five hours. By Sunday, nobody actually wants their phone back. It’s a reset. It’s a way to prove you’re more interesting than an algorithm.
Fitness Challenges That Don't Feel Like Work
We’ve all seen the "30 Days of Burpees" things on Instagram. They’re fine, I guess. But they’re solitary. If you want to leverage challenges to do with your friends, you need to make it a collective effort.
The "Virtual Everest" is a personal favorite. You don't need to fly to Nepal. You just need a staircase or a local hill. Mount Everest is 29,029 feet. Your group has one month to collectively climb that elevation. You log your hikes, your stair-master sessions, even the three flights of stairs at the office.
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- Use an app like Strava or AllTrails to track vertical gain.
- Set a "punishment" for the person who contributes the least.
- The person who hits the most elevation gets a "summit dinner" paid for by the rest.
This works because it isn’t about being the fittest. It’s about the collective goal. You’re texting the group, "Just did 500 feet, we’re almost at Base Camp!" It turns a boring workout into a mission.
The 72-Hour "No Spend" Sprint
Money is a weird topic for friends. Some have it, some don't. This challenge levels the field. For three days, nobody spends a single cent on entertainment or food out. You have to find free events. You have to cook with whatever is in the back of your pantry. It forces creativity. You’ll find yourself at a weird community poetry slam or playing frisbee in a park you’ve lived next to for years but never entered.
Creative Friction and the "MasterChef" Effect
Food is the ultimate social lubricant, but "hosting" is often just one person working while everyone else drinks wine. Flip the script.
The "Mystery Basket" challenge is the gold standard for challenges to do with your friends. You pair up. One pair goes to the grocery store and buys five random, seemingly incompatible ingredients. Think: peanut butter, canned sardines, kale, marshmallows, and instant ramen.
The other pairs have 45 minutes to make a dish. It’s chaotic. It’s messy. You’ll probably burn something. But the sheer absurdity of trying to make sardine-marshmallow foam look appetizing is better than any movie you could go see.
"Shared creative tasks break down the 'social mask' we wear. When you're stressed about a sauce breaking, you're your truest self." — Dr. Elena Rossi, Behavioral Consultant.
The "Ugly PowerPoint" Night
This went viral for a reason. Everyone prepares a 5-minute presentation on a topic they are passionately, irrationally obsessed with. But it has to be niche.
- "Why Ratatouille is a Commentary on the French Labor Movement."
- "A Statistical Analysis of Which Friend Would Die First in a Horror Movie."
- "Ranking My Exes Based on Their Choice of Footwear."
It’s hilarious because it’s vulnerable. You’re showing your friends the weird corners of your brain. It’s a challenge of public speaking and humor, and the stakes are zero.
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Long-Form Challenges for the Dedicated
If you really want to test the limits, you look at things like the "24-Hour Movie Marathon" or the "City-Wide Scavenger Hunt." These require logistics. They require a "Commissioner"—someone who isn't playing but is managing the clues.
A scavenger hunt shouldn't just be "find a red car." It should be "get a video of a stranger teaching you a dance move" or "find the oldest gravestone in the local cemetery." It’s an adventure in your own backyard. It makes your city feel like a playground again.
The "Skill Swap" Month
This is the most productive version of challenges to do with your friends. Everyone has one skill. One person knows how to change oil. One knows how to knit. One speaks decent Spanish. Every Saturday for a month, you meet for two hours, and one person teaches the others.
The challenge? By the end of the month, everyone has to pass a "test" designed by the teacher. It’s an investment in each other. It says, "I value what you know, and I want to know it too."
Why Most Challenges Fail (and How to Fix It)
Most people start a challenge with a lot of hype and then it fizzles out by Tuesday. Why? Because there’s no accountability.
If you’re doing a "30-day No Sugar" challenge with friends, you need a shared spreadsheet. You need a "buy-in"—everyone puts $20 in a pot. If you break the rules, your money goes toward a trophy for the winner. It sounds petty, but that $20 is a powerful psychological motivator.
Also, don't make them too hard. If you’ve never run a mile, don't start a "Marathon in a Month" challenge. You’ll just end up hating your friends and your knees. Start small. The "Walk 10,000 Steps Together" challenge is a better entry point.
Dealing with the "Flaker"
Every group has one. The person who says "I'm in!" and then disappears. Don't let them kill the vibe. Design the challenge so it works whether there are three people or ten. Focus on the core group that actually shows up. Eventually, the flaker will see the photos and the inside jokes they missed out on, and they'll actually want to participate next time. FOMO is a tool. Use it.
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The Actionable Roadmap
If you’re ready to actually do this, don't just send a text saying "we should do a challenge." It’ll die in the chat.
Step 1: Pick the "Anchor." Decide on one specific Saturday or a specific week. Don't ask "when is everyone free?" Pick a date and tell people that's when it's happening.
Step 2: Define the "Win." Is there a prize? Is there a punishment? A simple "Loser buys the first round" is usually enough to keep people honest.
Step 3: Create the Hub. Whether it's a WhatsApp group specifically for the challenge or a shared Google Doc, you need a place to track progress. If it isn't tracked, it didn't happen.
Step 4: Execute and Document. Take photos. Record the failures. The best part of challenges to do with your friends isn't the finish line; it’s the "remember when" stories you get to tell for the next decade.
Stop being a passive consumer of your friendships. Life is short, and your friends are probably more bored than they let on. Pick a challenge, set the stakes, and actually do something that makes your heart rate go up a little.
Start by choosing one friend today and pitching the "Phone Stack" dinner. Next time you're out, everyone puts their phone in the middle of the table. The first person to touch their phone pays the entire bill. It’s simple, it’s high-stakes, and it will be the most focused conversation you’ve had in years.
Once you’ve mastered the small stuff, move on to the "Mystery Basket" or the "Virtual Everest." The goal isn't to become a professional athlete or a master chef. The goal is to make sure that five years from now, you aren't still talking about the same three stories from college. Build some new ones.