These New Year's Eve games will keep you and your loved ones entertained all the way to the stroke of midnight
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35 New Year’s Eve Games You’ll Want to Play Year-Round in 2025
Updated on Dec. 11, 2024
There are so many exciting ways to celebrate New Year’s. From jotting down your resolutions to hosting a party and indulging in mouthwatering eats, the options are endless. But there’s one must-do activity you simply can’t skip: playing New Year’s Eve games.
We’ve rounded up some of the best games to make your New Year’s celebration unforgettable. Whether you’re partying with family, friends, co-workers or acquaintances, these festive New Year’s Eve games are perfect for bringing people together. Not only will they add a ton of fun to your event, but they’ll also create lasting memories as you ring in 2025.
Take a look at our list, choose a few favorites and let the fun begin. With these games, your New Year’s celebration will keep the good times rolling all day—and well into the night.
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Name that tune from 2024
Best for: Pop-culture fans and music lovers
Make a playlist of the most popular songs from the past year. Hand out pens and paper. Play the first five to 10 seconds of each song, and ask players to write down the song title and/or artist. Remember to throw in a few seasonal classics, like “Auld Lang Syne.” The person with the most correct answers wins and gets to control the playlist for the next hour.
New Year’s Eve magic show
Best for: Future and current magicians
Keep young guests entertained by teaching them simple magic tricks and then allowing them to put on a magic show for the whole crowd. Don’t forget the magic word: abracadabra! You provide the basic magic kit, top hat and stage. They’ll provide the laughter and fun.
New Year’s Eve balloon charades
Best for: Large groups
Write 2024-themed words or phrases on strips of paper. These could be things like family milestones from the past year, New Year’s resolutions or people who made the news in the past year. Fold each strip, put it inside a New Year’s Eve balloon and blow it up. Divide guests into two teams, each with their own color of balloon. Players take turns popping the balloons and acting out the clues as their team members race to guess.
“Who made this resolution?” guessing game
Best for: People who know one another very well
How well do you know your friends and family? This guessing game will show you the truth! As guests arrive, give each one a slip of paper and have them write a resolution they’re making for the upcoming year—but keep it anonymous! Have them fold their paper once and drop it in a jar. Once everyone is there, read the resolutions out loud and have people guess who made each. Since resolutions are one of the top New Year’s traditions, you may get some good ideas for your own self-improvement.
New Year’s Eve family-photo bingo
Best for: Families with young children
Bingo of any variety is always a hit. Create your own bingo cards using a template with a five-by-five grid. Pull photos from the past year (check your Facebook or Instagram!) and put one in each square. Make sure each “card” has the photos in a different order. Flash a photo on your phone or cast it to a screen and have players mark it on their card with a small candy. Too much work? Try a free New Year’s Eve printable bingo card.
Break-the-ice New Year’s resolution matching game
Best for: People who don’t know one another well
New Year’s jokes aren’t the only way to break the ice at your party. This is one of the best New Year’s Eve games to get your guests talking and your New Year’s Eve party rocking. Print out these sets of cards—each set has a popular two-term resolution, with one word on each card. For instance, “lose” and “weight.” Tape one card to the back of each guest and then tell them to find their resolution match without reading the cards out loud. It’s even funnier if people match the wrong resolutions or make longer sets.
New Year’s Eve Scattergories
Best for: Adults and older kids who love word games
Wordsmiths will love this new take on the classic vocabulary game. How many words can you think of to match the New Year’s Eve prompts? Now, make sure they all start with the same letter! If you already own the Scattergories board game, write out cards with your own themed clues. Or use this free, printable game that comes with 10 categories and four rounds.
New Year’s Eve I Spy
Best for: Little ones
New Year’s Eve parties can be boring for young children, so bring along some fun New Year’s Eve games just for them. This cute New Year’s–themed printable board takes the I Spy game to the next level. Preschoolers will have fun looking for clues and counting. Children ages 5 to 12 might enjoy a more advanced picture riddles book.
New Year’s Eve “minute to win it” games
Best for: People with short attention spans
“Minute to win it” games challenge people to complete a silly physical task in under one minute. It’s an outdoor game that’s fast and fun, and the options are easily adaptable for a wide range of players. These game ideas use simple items you can find around your house.
“Would you rather … ?” game for New Year’s Eve
Best for: Families who like silly questions
Would you rather walk around the mall dressed up as Baby New Year or Old Father Time? This “Would you rather … ?” list asks silly questions based on New Year’s Eve celebrations. Simply print out the list or make it into cards and ask away. Throw in a few New Year’s quotes for inspiration too! They’re designed to get you talking, laughing and even debating together.
New Year’s Eve “guess the number” game
Best for: Analytical types
Fill an empty, clear Champagne bottle or glass with a number of small items. These could be large pieces of confetti, candies, small toys or any other New Year’s–themed item. Count them before filling the bottle. Place a sheet of paper in front of the jar and ask guests to guess how many items are in it. The one closest to the number gets a bottle of Champagne or sparkling cider to enjoy with their New Year’s pork and sauerkraut at the end of the night.
“Two New Year’s resolutions and a lie” game
Best for: People with good instincts
This New Year’s Eve game is played like “two truths and a lie,” except in this version, each guest’s three answers must be New Year’s resolutions—two they plan on keeping and one they don’t. Other guests then guess which resolution is the one each person has no intention of keeping.
New Year’s Eve candy dice game
Best for: People with a sweet tooth
Grab a pair of dice and print out a few copies of the New Year’s Eve dice game. Sit in a circle with a bowl of wrapped candies in the middle. Each player takes turns rolling the dice and then doing whatever the card specifies for the number they rolled. This version is particularly fun—not only do you get candy, but you also have to answer a New Year’s–themed question about yourself. It’s a great way to get everyone talking.
“Year in review” trivia game
Best for: Trivia nerds
This New Year’s Eve game incorporates current events and trivia to show who’s been paying the most attention over the past year. Trivia could cover family, community happenings or world news and events. You can write the trivia questions yourself or use one of the many “year in review” articles published each year in December. Read off the trivia question—maybe some based on popular New Year’s memes—and see who can get the correct answer the fastest.
New Year’s Eve balloon countdown game
Best for: Families with excited kiddos
Waiting all day until midnight can be tough for kids excited to ring in the New Year. Make the fun last with this balloon countdown. Decide how many hours you want to count down (say, 2 p.m. until midnight), and then write that number of fun New Year’s activities on strips of paper. It could be things like cutting out snowflakes, calling grandma and grandpa, singing a New Year’s song or doing a craft. Place each strip in a balloon, blow it up and use a marker to write the hour on the balloon. Hang them as a countdown banner and allow kids to pop the balloon at the appropriate time.
Yearly roundup questions game
Best for: People who prefer to sit and chat
What was the best song from the past year? What was your most embarrassing moment in the last 12 months? This New Year’s Eve game is a great way to get to know your loved ones better, share fun memories and pass the hours until midnight on New Year’s Eve. Print out this list of short questions, cut out each tile and place them in a bowl. Take turns drawing a tile and sharing answers. You can always throw them back into the bowl and go around again so people get more questions.
New Year’s kisses countdown game
Best for: People who want chocolate kisses only
It’s tradition to start the New Year with a New Year’s kiss. But not everyone wants to lock lips, and this game gets everyone in on the fun. Stage a mock countdown to the New Year by setting 10 seconds on a timer. Give everyone 10 Hershey’s kisses. Challenge them to see how many they can unwrap and eat before the countdown ends.
Glow-in-the-dark ring toss New Year’s Eve game
Best for: People of all ages
It’s close to the longest night of the year, so take advantage of the dark hours with this fun carnival game. Take some pointed New Year’s party hats or empty Champagne bottles and ring them with glow-in-the-dark paint. Create a starting line with tape, turn out all the lights and hand out glow-in-the-dark bracelets. Challenge guests to see how many rings of one color they can toss onto the hat or bottle.
New Year’s Eve Mad Libs game
Best for: Families with grade-school kids
Who doesn’t love a good round of silly storytelling à la Mad Libs? These Mad Libs sheets are custom-made for the perfect New Year’s Eve tale. Kids and adults can get as creative or funny as they like. Make sure to take a picture of the finished story to remember next year!
Ring in the New Year bell craft
Best for: Crafty types
Ringing in the New Year is tough if you don’t have anything to ring! Let your guests make their own custom bells to ring at midnight with this easy craft. All you need is some tin cans, yarn, jingle bells and a high tolerance for noise.
New Year’s Eve bunco bash
Best for: Folks who love dice games
Bunco is fast paced, easy to learn and great for large groups. It’s a favorite game to play year-round, but these custom scorecards, seating cards and tally sheets will bring that New Year’s Eve party vibe.
New Year’s Eve countdown activity bags
Best for: People hosting longer parties
It can feel like it takes forever to get to midnight on New Year’s Eve, especially if you start the party early. Help keep guests—especially younger ones—excited with countdown activity bags. Gather four to 10 paper bags and label each one with a different random time before midnight. Fill each bag with an object appropriate for your guests, like bubbles, small fidget toys, confetti poppers, slime ingredients, card games, a disposable camera, a movie ticket, a craft or a treat. Have a guest open each bag at the appointed time.
New Year’s ball drop game
Best for: Partygoers in a silly mood
Create your own New Year’s Eve ball by wrapping small gifts and treats in layer after layer of plastic wrap. Spread the gifts out through the different layers and keep winding until the entire roll is gone. Then have your guests sit in a circle and “drop” the ball in the middle. Guests take turns unwrapping it and get to keep whatever they manage to get out before their turn is up. There are several different popular ways to play the game, but the bigger the ball, the longer the fun lasts!
Snap a New Year’s Eve selfie
Best for: People who love making picture memories
What’s a New Year’s Eve party without some amazing photos to look back on? Encourage your guests to take lots of pictures by setting up a simple DIY photo booth with New Year’s props. They’ll have a blast posing, snapping and sharing their selfies.
New Year’s Eve disco balloon stomp game
Best for: Rowdy kids
This New Year’s game will have everyone laughing and burning off some pent-up energy! Blow up one New Year’s balloon for each player. Tie the balloon to their ankle with a loose ribbon. Turn on a fun song and tell everyone to try and stomp the others’ balloons. The last person with an unpopped balloon wins!
New Year’s Eve karaoke
Best for: Singers
Load up a playlist with all your favorite songs from the past year and throw in a few New Year’s Eve classics. Hand the microphone around while guests sing solo or in groups. Make sure to take videos to capture the fun memories.
Disco ball piñata New Year’s Eve game
Best for: Families with school-aged kids
Make your own ball to drop at midnight. Craft a disco ball piñata and fill it with New Year’s–themed treats and toys. Close to midnight, “drop” the ball low enough that the kids can reach it. Blindfold children one at a time, give them a bat or broomstick and let them take turns whacking the ball until it breaks.
New Year’s Eve resolutions telephone game
Best for: People of all ages and stages
Put a New Year’s Eve party spin on the classic game of telephone. Have guests sit in a circle. Ask one to think of a resolution they are planning to make and then whisper it into the ear of the person to their left. That person has to whisper it to the next, and so on until the resolution reaches the last person. That person then announces the resolution—or whatever strange thing they ended up hearing!
New Year’s Eve indoor snowball fight
Best for: Kids of all ages
There’s no need to have the kids play outdoors if the weather is frigid. Purchase a box of fluffy and safe “snowballs” and host a snowball fight indoors. Even the adults can join in on the fun!
New Year’s Eve name game
Best for: Adults and teenagers
Start by sitting in a circle. Have the first player say the full name of a famous actor or singer. Then the next player has to name a celebrity whose first name starts with the first letter of the previous figure’s last name. This New Year’s Eve game can be tricky. Make it even harder by only saying the names of famous people in New Year’s films and songs.
New Year’s “heads up”
Best for: Tweens, teens and adults
Heads Up is a popular word-guessing game you can DIY for the holidays. Write New Year’s–themed words and phrases on index cards. Think “midnight kiss,” “ball drop” and “resolutions.” The player who’s guessing will hold the cards up to their forehead, and the other players will help them guess what’s written on each one. Just as in the actual game, they can flip the cards up to pass and flip them down if guessed correctly.
New Year’s taboo-words game
Best for: People of all ages
Once all your guests arrive, tell them a list of words that are off limits for the night. Choose two or three common words, like “yes” or “no,” and refrain everyone from saying words or phrases that even contain the words, such as “snow” or “nowhere.” Keep tabs on who slips up the most, and think of a prize for the winner who made the fewest mistakes.
Funny New Year’s stories
Best for: Everyone who loves to laugh
Gather kids and adults to share hilarious New Year’s stories—real or imagined. It’s a suitable New Year’s Eve game for laughter enthusiasts of all ages. Let the funniest story win!
New Year’s “friendly feud”
Best for: Game show fanatics
Grab this virtual game, form teams and engage in a 12-round competition with New Year’s–themed questions. Get ready for excitement reminiscent of the popular TV show Family Feud.
New Year’s emoji guessing game
Best for: Social media and texting gurus
Have fun with the kids as you guess phrases using the emoji clues provided in this New Year’s take on the classic Pictionary game. You may be convinced you know what the emojis mean, but this New Year’s Eve game is harder than you think.
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