Been relaxing around the pool all day? Don’t fancy getting dressed up to go out? Here are some fun games to liven up an evening at the villa. (In fact, you could even play some of these on the go – how about in the queue to the Uffizi?)
How’s yours?
Select a player to be the questioner – he/she should leave the room or cover their ears. Meanwhile, the rest decide on something that they all possess, for example a car or a telephone number. The questioner returns but can only ask individuals the question “How’s yours?”. The other players must answer with a detail that doesn’t give a lot away (but also isn’t so vague that the game can’t progress). The questioner must overcome their growing frustration to work out what the ‘thing’ is. Once they guess correctly, a new questioner is nominated and the game continues.
When I went on my holiday…
In this well-known memory game players take it in turns to add an item to a list, but first they must recall all the previous items before adding another. For example, Player 1 starts with “When I went on my holiday I brought with me some flip flops”. Player 2 continues, saying, “When I went on my holiday I brought with me some flip flops and a game of Tetris.” Player 3 says, “When I went on my holidays I brought with me some flip flops, a game of Tetris and my sense of dignity!” And so on… If you make a mistake you’re out and the winner is the last one standing.
Fortunately unfortunately
This storytelling game is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Each player takes it in turns to add a sentence to the story, alternating with either fortunately or unfortunately to start the sentence. Here’s an example of how it might go.
Player 1 says, “Once upon a time there was a frog sitting peacefully on a water lily.” Player 2 counters, “Unfortunately his feet were stuck to the leaf and he couldn’t jump off.” Player 3 adds, “Fortunately a wave came along and the frog realised he was a rather talented surfer.” Player 4 says, “Unfortunately the leaf split in two and he discovered he wasn’t quite as good at water skiing…” And so on…
Wink murder
Choose an investigator from the group. Ask them to leave the room and nominate a murderer. Ask the investigator to return, all gather in a circle and the game can begin. The murderer must wink at people to signal their death. The person winked at must then die – relish your chance to show your acting skills. Now the investigator has three chances to guess the identity of the murderer.
