I have been playing Ultimate Frisbee the past couple nights and I have loved it.

There was a time in my life where I played ultimate a couple times per week. It really is a perfect game. No special equipment necessary. Only a Frisbee that costs about $10 and a field of some sort. The game can expand to house up to 30 people but can also be fun with just a couple people. You can play catch or flies up as well. It is a game that can be enjoyed by every age and gender. What a great game. In this season of family reunions, get-togethers and as the new school year approaches, I am thinking of other fun games to play with a group. Get to know you games as well as fun games for big groups. Where can I find games like this?

Here is what I found:

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." - Plato

First of all I know a couple fun games that I have played in the past.

Order Up This is a great game to play with a group of people who don't know each other very well. Divide the group into smaller groups, can have as many as needed. Up to 15 people in each group. One person then will yell out different ways to organize the group, these can be randomly picked out of a jar or just made up on the spot. Examples: alphabetically (by first or last name, birth month, reverse alphabetically, by age, by birthday, by birth month, birth order in family, height, phone number, whatever you can come up with. The first group in order wins a point. Play as long as the group is still engaged or until a specified point amount is reached.

Boogety Boo I love this game, kids love it too. Everyone stands in a circle. Each person looks at the ground and everyone says out loud Boogety Boogety Boo. When Boo is said everyone in the circle looks at someone in the circle. If two people are looking at each other, they are out. The game goes until there is either one or two people left in the circle.

Dice also known as Farkle This is a game taught to me by my husband's Grandma and Aunt. It is great fun, all you need is 6 dice. Each turn you can roll as long as you have dice that score points, or quit when ever you want, but if you roll and have no "counters" you loose all your points.

How to count your points:

1=100
5 =50
3 of a kind is 100 x's the number on the dice
3 ones is 1000
a strait is worth 1500

Once one person reaches a specified ending value (we play to 5000) then every one has one more turn. Highest score wins.

Here are the instructions according to Wikipedia.


Figure Eight is a game played with a large jump rope. Two people turn the rope while all the others line up in two lines on the same side of the jump rope. One person from line one jumps in and over the rope once then runs out and around the turner to the other line. Then a person from line two does the same but ending up in line 1. If it is done right the path that the jumpers make while running and jumping forms a figure eight. The lines alternate one after another. If you miss your turn you are out.

What are some other games and game resources.

Here are some websites I found that had some good lists of games. These sites would be a good place to start when planning a big get together:

Great Group Games
Group Games
Ice Breaker Games
Wilderdom
Games Kids Play
Deep Fun

Conclusion:

The Ultimate game does not exist, each game has a different goal. Some are to learn new skills other to get to know others. There are tons of games to play with groups and now we have the resources to find new ones. I love to play games. Playing games is a great way to get to know people and yourself. Through playing games we can learn, sportsmanship, team work, strategy, risk, logic, and about how to be a good winner or looser. Games can test limits and enhance vision. In the words of Jackson Brown:

"In the game of life, even the fifty-yard-line seats don't interest me. I came to play."