Buzz
Create memorable and playful moments with your friends by tackling these exciting challenges! If the usual party games have become a bit stale, it’s time to shake things up. Dive into some of the trending challenges popularized on social media, especially on YouTube and TikTok. From fun makeup challenges to fitness or food-related ones, this list has something for every group of friends.
Things to Keep in Mind
- Test your skills with the Makeup Challenge, where you and your friends apply makeup without peeking in the mirror.
- Try out classic challenges, like the Try Not to Laugh challenge, which has been a favorite on YouTube for years.
- If you're feeling hungry, go for a food challenge like the Oreo challenge or Guess the French Fries challenge.
- Out in public? See who can chat with a stranger the longest with the Talk to a Stranger challenge.
Steps to Follow
Blindfolded Drawing Game
Test your artistic abilities (or lack thereof) with a fun drawing game! Take turns wearing a blindfold, grab some paper and a pencil, and sketch different prompts such as 'a dog' or 'your favorite food.' Once everyone has taken a turn, compare the drawings and see who captured the prompt the best or created the most amusing result.
- Prepare a list of prompts before starting the challenge. You can even use a game like Pictionary for ideas if you need inspiration!
Makeup Challenge
Discover which of your friends is the makeup pro in this fun challenge! There are many ways to test your makeup skills. Try the No-Mirror Challenge, where everyone applies makeup without looking in a mirror. Or turn off the lights and do your makeup (or someone else's) in complete darkness.
- Another version is to set a 2-minute timer and see who can finish their makeup the fastest (and the best).
Guess The Song Game
Test your musical knowledge and memory with this fun challenge. Start by writing the first verse or lyrics of your favorite song on a piece of paper, and have each of your friends do the same. Then, place all the papers in a bowl or hat and mix them up. Go around the group, and have each person randomly draw a piece of paper. Try to guess the next lyrics, and the first person to guess correctly (and quickly) wins.
- If you draw your own lyrics, put it back in the bowl and pick a new one. The goal is to guess lyrics that you didn’t write!
Try Not to Laugh Challenge
See how long you can hold back laughter with this fun challenge. Prepare a list of funny videos, gather your friends, and watch them one by one. The rules are simple: whoever laughs first is out. The person who can stay serious the longest wins the challenge. This game is a favorite among YouTubers and, despite its name, is guaranteed to cause plenty of laughs.
- You can spice things up by using a point system: start with 5 points, and lose 1 point for each laugh.
- Alternatively, you could award points for each laugh, and the person with the fewest points at the end wins.
20 Questions Game
Test your friends' guessing skills with this classic game. One person thinks of a person, place, or thing—anything from their favorite food to a fictional character. The rest of the group asks up to 20 yes-or-no questions to figure it out. You can play together as a group or compete individually to see who guesses correctly first.
- Remember, you can’t reveal what you're thinking of until the group guesses correctly, or until 20 questions have been asked without a correct guess.
Guess the Oreo Flavor Challenge
Test your ability to identify various Oreo flavors in this fun challenge! With so many Oreo varieties available, it’s tough to keep track of which is which. The game is simple: buy as many different Oreo flavors as you can find, blindfold your friends, and see who can guess each flavor correctly. They might just leave with a new favorite Oreo!
- This challenge can also be adapted to other foods that come in a range of flavors, like Pringles, ice cream, or sodas.
Candy Pick-Up Challenge
See who can collect the most candies in this sweet challenge. Start by giving each player their own bowl, then scatter a variety of candies (such as M&Ms) across a table. The catch? Players can only use a straw to suck up and move the candies into their bowl. It’s trickier than it sounds!
- At the end of the game, the person with the most candies in their bowl wins.
Chubby Bunny Challenge
Test your ability to say words clearly while stuffing marshmallows in your mouth! The hilarious Chubby Bunny challenge is sure to leave everyone laughing, no matter who wins. To play, place marshmallows in your mouth one at a time, saying 'Chubby Bunny' each time you add a new one. The person who can fit the most marshmallows and still say 'Chubby Bunny' clearly wins the challenge.
Balloon In the Air Challenge
The challenge here is simple: keep a balloon in the air as long as possible. Blow up a balloon for each person and see who can keep theirs floating the longest. The twist? No hands allowed! You’ll need to use your knees, feet, or even blow air to keep it from falling.
- For an extra competitive edge, allow players to try sabotaging each other’s balloons—though this could risk losing track of their own!
Dress As Each Other Challenge
Put your knowledge of your friends' fashion tastes to the test in this fun challenge! Each person must dress in an outfit that best represents someone else in the group. The person being impersonated will then judge the outfits and determine which one captured their style the most. The person with the highest score wins!
- To make it even more fun, have everyone do an impression of the person they’re dressing as while wearing the outfit.
Talk to a Stranger Challenge
This challenge is perfect for a public adventure with friends. Split up, wander around, and initiate a conversation with a stranger. The challenge is to see who can keep their chat going the longest. It's a simple idea, but one that requires a bit of bravery to pull off.
Ice Bucket Challenge
Remember the infamous Ice Bucket Challenge? The basic idea is to pour a freezing cold bucket of water over yourself. To up the excitement, blindfold your friends and make it a game of Russian Roulette, where no one knows if they’ll be doused in cold water or showered with a bucket full of Lego pieces.
Whisper Challenge
Test how well you and your friends can read each others’ lips. Begin by giving the player a pair of headphones (the better the soundproofing, the more effective) and playing loud music for them. Then, have another player or teammate whisper a sentence to them. The player must then try to read their lips and repeat aloud what they think was said.
- To increase the difficulty, the opposing team can attempt to confuse the main player by whispering different words at the same time.
Blindfolded Eating Challenge
See if you can identify different types of food by taste alone. This challenge is straightforward: blindfold each participant and offer them a variety of foods. Then, take turns feeding them different items, such as chocolate or pickles, and have them guess what it is. The person who makes the most correct guesses wins the challenge!
- To raise the stakes, use foods that have a similar taste—like dates and prunes—to make it more difficult.
Texting Challenge
Surprise a friend by sending them an unexpected song lyric or movie quote in this challenge. First, each participant selects a song or a movie scene. Then, they text one lyric or line of dialogue to someone from their contacts list. If the recipient responds with confusion, send another line, and so on. The player who gets furthest through their song or scene wins the challenge.
Riff Off Challenge
This musical game gained popularity through the movie Pitch Perfect. The rules are simple: choose a music genre or category (such as 80’s glam rock or romantic ballads) and sing a song that fits the theme. The next player or team must continue by starting their song with a word from the previous team's song. If they can’t think of a song within a minute, the last players left singing are the winners.
- Other fun riff-off categories could include TV theme songs, famous duets, party rock anthems, and sad songs.
Guess the French Fries Challenge
This delicious guessing game also serves as the perfect appetizer. Buy french fries from five different restaurants and fast food joints. Remove the fries from their packaging and place them in separate bowls. Have each participant taste-test the fries and guess where each one came from. The person with the most correct guesses wins the challenge!
- For extra fun, vote on which fries are the tastiest—and the winner gets first pick of fries when the challenge ends.
Blow The Biggest Bubble Challenge
Revisit your childhood with this whimsical bubblegum challenge. The rules are simple: give each person a piece of bubblegum and see who can blow the biggest bubble before it bursts! Make sure to closely observe each player's bubble, as you’ll be judging by sight to determine the winner if the sizes are similar.
Impromptu Fashion Show
Take a peek into your friends’ wardrobes with a spontaneous fashion show. For this challenge, everyone must create an outfit using any clothing and accessories found in the host’s closet. Each participant will then strut down an imaginary runway, showcasing their new look and posing for pictures!
- To make the challenge even more interesting, have each player select their clothes while blindfolded.
Memory Game Challenge
This challenge is a fun way to test how sharp your memory is. To play, place a variety of objects on a table and let everyone take a good look at them for 10 seconds. Afterward, hide the items and have each player list the objects they saw. The player who remembers the most wins!
- If you’re not at home or don’t have enough items, you can also try memorizing a list of 10 to 20 things, names, or places that someone says aloud instead.
Truth or Dare Challenge
Get friends to spill secrets and take on dares in this timeless game. Truth or Dare is a classic party game for a reason! To play Truth or Dare, first decide who will go first. That person must pick either a “truth” or a “dare.” If they choose truth, ask them a question they must answer honestly. If they choose dare, challenge them to do something funny or daring. Continue around the group, giving everyone a turn.
- There’s no winner in Truth or Dare, but you could give points based on who answers the most “truth” questions or takes on the most dares.
Phone Challenge
You can incorporate this challenge into Truth or Dare or play it on its own. For the phone challenge, have each player swap smartphones with someone in the group. Then, each player must scroll through their friend's contact list. When you yell “Stop!”, each person must call the contact they land on—and feel free to act as goofy as they like when that contact answers.
- Make sure to set ground rules before starting (for example, no calling someone’s boss and getting them fired).
Greasy Bean Challenge
All you need for this silly challenge is butter, beans, and chopsticks. Start by soaking a small bean in melted butter until it’s completely coated. Place the greasy bean in one bowl, then set up another bowl nearby. Give each player a pair of chopsticks. The player who can pick up their greasy bean with the chopsticks and transfer it to the other bowl first wins the challenge.
- Although this challenge is for two people at a time, the rest of the group can cheer them on—or have a laugh if one of them gives up trying to move that slippery bean!
Chopped Cooking Challenge
Try this challenge if you're a fan of the Food Network show Chopped. Inspired by the show, this challenge involves giving your friends a few random ingredients and having them create a delicious dish with them. You (or a couple of others) can act as judges, tasting and scoring the final meals. Of course, the person who creates the tastiest dish wins the challenge.
Sack Running Challenge
Give yourself and your friends a fun workout with this classic endurance challenge. First, provide burlap sacks for everyone involved. Each person must pull their sack up to their waist, and then race each other by hopping to the finish line (since running is impossible inside a sack). The first one to cross the finish line wins the challenge.
Mannequin Challenge
Sitting perfectly still is harder than it sounds. The Mannequin challenge may seem simple, but it’s trickier than you think: have everyone sit, stand, or lie motionless, as though they’re a mannequin or statue. No one can move a muscle throughout the challenge—and the person who can remain absolutely still the longest wins.
- Be sure to have a judge to oversee the challenge; they can keep an eye out for any subtle movements.
Funny Photo Challenge
Find out how silly you're willing to appear on social media. It’s one thing to take a normal photo for social media, but how about one that’s intentionally goofy? In this challenge, take the silliest, most ridiculous photo you can muster, post it online, and encourage your friends to do the same.
- The photo that gets the most reactions wins! You decide what counts as a ‘reaction,’ depending on the platform you use.
- For instance, on Twitter, you might say that the player with the most likes wins the challenge.
100 Layers Challenge
This viral challenge is all about teamwork and can be tackled in many creative ways. The concept of the 100 Layers challenge is to apply 100 layers of something all at once. You can divide into smaller teams or take on the challenge as one large group to find and apply 100 layers of something—whether it’s nail polish, t-shirts, socks, or anything else.
- Get creative with it! As long as you can manage to apply 100 layers of your chosen object, it counts for the challenge.
Jump Rope Challenge
Test your fitness and jump rope abilities with this fun challenge. The setup for this one is simple: hand out jump ropes to the participants and get a timer ready. As soon as the timer starts, each player must begin jumping rope. The person who can jump the most without tripping or falling within the time limit wins.
- The time limit can be whatever you choose! Start small with 30 seconds or 1 minute, then up the challenge by extending the limit to 5 or 10 minutes in future rounds.
Escape Room Challenge
Design your very own escape room at home for this exciting challenge. Create an escape room by hiding clues throughout a room and placing the final key at the last clue's location, which unlocks a door (or any other lock you've designed). Teams of friends then compete to find the key and escape the room in the shortest amount of time!
- For example, you could design a scenario where your friends are trapped in an underground bunker, searching for clues that will lead them to the key to escape the bunker.
