Food, drinks, comfy seating, and a large-screen TV: Is that all you need for a memorable Football party? Maybe not. What you need is a way to keep everyone engaged even when commercials are on or you have guests who love the company but not the game. Plus, if you want to pregame it with a tailgate party beforehand, you need a way to turn your party from average to epic.

The solution is football party games (and fun prizes to go along with them). These are fun activities that can fit seamlessly into the pre-game, run alongside the commercials, take place during halftime, add to the post-game party fun, or in some cases, be played right along with the big game on the television screen. Here are a few creative and interactive football party games designed to engage anyone you might invite to your next gathering.

Hold a football party cook off.

Kill two birds with one delicious stone by having a football party cook off. The premise is simple: Everyone brings their favorite football party dish to share with the group and tastes some of every dish. Then, they vote for their favorite dishes, and the winner gets a cool prize (Think team jersey or other team symbol).

This particular game is a win-win: You don’t have to cook the whole spread, and your guests have fun eating and judging some very tasty dishes. You can even ask guests to bring their recipes to share with the group. Need some ideas for great food to prepare for your own part in the cook off? Consider tasty twists on classic football fare.

Play a friendly game of touch or flag football before the party begins.

You can always play a game of football toss if you don’t have outdoor space or you want to keep your football party fun tame. But, if you have room outside, and you want to tailgate it the right way, introduce a rousing game of flag or touch football.

This friendly competition can get spirits high for the big game on TV. If you are up for some intense competition, separate teams based on who they are rooting for (Just make sure everyone knows how to keep things friendly).

If you want your guests to have some active fun before (or after) the game, you can always host your football party at PINSTACK. Guests can choose from laser tag, bumper cars, bowling, rock climbing, and more to spice up the party and make the pre and post game celebrations truly memorable.

Hold a trivia contest before or after the football party.

Test your guests’ football fandom with a themed trivia game. They might claim to be a Cowboys’ fan, but can they name the player who made NFL history with a 99-yard touchdown? They might love the Longhorns, but do they know when the team colors were adopted? For that matter, can you?

The best thing about trivia at your football party is that you can tailor it to yours and your guests’ interests. For example, have a group of football novices? Keep the trivia simple with basic football questions. Have a group of die hard team fans? Go deep with a trivia game designed to test their knowledge of their favorite team.

You can even ask questions about NFL mascots, rules of the game, or famous historical plays. Just make sure your questions match the level of knowledge that most of your guests have (i.e. Don’t ask basic questions for long-term football fans, and don’t go too deep if most of your friends have never watched football before).

For added fun, split teams up creatively. For example, pit the genders against each other, pit couples against each other, or pair the football experienced with the football novices. Whoever answers the most questions gets a football-themed prize (Or maybe just the remote and the best seat in the house).

Set everyone up with football party bingo.

Bingo might make you think about afternoon activities at a retirement center. However, when you make it all about football, it becomes a great way to add a little competition to your football party. Simply print out bingo cards and fill in football-themed words and phrases. For example, get creative and use things like “cheerleader,” celebrity names, “face-painted fans,” and football jargon like “touchdown” and “blitz.”

If you want to make the commercials part of your game, think about doing a commercial bingo game as well at your next football party. Simply fill in your bingo cards with company names, or commercial themes for guests to look out for (i.e. Budweiser Clysdales). Whoever gets five in a row and shouts “Bingo!” gets to enjoy a football-themed prize.

Forbid the use of certain words during your football party.

Finally, you can make your football party challenging and fun by playing “Don’t Say It.” Choose one or two football-themed words (Like “football” or “quarterback”) that no one is allowed to say, either during the entire game or during parts of the game (such as the commercials or halftime). Place a football sticker on everyone’s chest. Whoever says the forbidden word must give their sticker to whoever points out their faux pas. Whoever has the most stickers at the end of the night wins a prize.

A football party can be a fun way to enjoy time with friends and family while watching your favorite team play. Making that party truly memorable, however, means introducing games as varied as touch football and Don’t Say It.

If you want to make your football party even more memorable, consider holding it at an event space like PINSTACK. Not only do you get access to a from-scratch menu, creative cocktails and craft beers, and a plethora of activities for everyone, but watching the game on great TVs in a room large enough to host a crowd will make your experience, and your football party games, even more enjoyable.

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