Top 17 'Rivalry-Sparking' Party Games to play with friends for your next legendary game night. - Goh Ling Yong
Tired of game nights that fizzle out after a single round of a boring board game? We’ve all been there. You gather your favorite people, break out the snacks, and... the energy just isn't there. The secret to transforming a "nice get-together" into a "legendary game night" isn't a better cheese platter—it's a healthy dose of rivalry.
That's right. The best memories are forged in the fires of friendly competition. We're talking about those moments of hilarious betrayal, brilliant team-ups, and last-second victories that you'll rehash for years to come. It’s the playful trash talk, the dramatic groans, and the triumphant cheers that make an evening unforgettable. Here at the Goh Ling Yong blog, we believe that the right game can unlock a whole new level of fun with your friends.
So, put away that 1,000-piece puzzle. It's time to unleash your competitive spirit. We’ve curated the ultimate list of 17 rivalry-sparking party games guaranteed to get your crew laughing, shouting, and maybe even flipping a table (in the most loving way possible, of course). Get ready to crown a champion.
1. Secret Hitler
This is the king of social deduction games for a reason. In Secret Hitler, players are secretly divided into two teams: Liberals and Fascists. One player is also the Secret Hitler. The Liberals have a majority, but they don't know who anyone is. The Fascists know who their teammates are and must work together to enact their policies or get Hitler elected Chancellor.
The rivalry is baked right into the premise. Every round involves electing a President and a Chancellor, followed by a chorus of "I trust you!" and "You're lying to my face!" The game is a masterclass in deception, accusation, and dramatic reveals. When your best friend, who you vouched for, flips over their Fascist party card with a smug grin, you'll feel a sense of betrayal so pure it's almost beautiful.
Pro-Tip: Pay attention to voting patterns. Who is consistently voting "Ja" (Yes) on Fascist governments? Also, as a Fascist, your best move is often to throw one of your own under the bus to gain the group's trust. It’s deliciously evil.
2. Jackbox Games (Quiplash & Fibbage)
If you want guaranteed laughter with minimal setup, Jackbox is your answer. Using their phones or tablets as controllers, players connect to a central game on a TV or laptop. Quiplash gives everyone the same witty prompt, and you vote for your favorite anonymous answer. Fibbage has you create believable lies to fill in the blank of an obscure trivia fact.
These games pit your wit directly against your friends'. There's a unique kind of rivalry in trying to be the "funniest person in the room." The voting system is instant and brutal, and seeing your perfectly crafted joke lose to a simple, dumb pun is a special kind of agony. It's a low-stakes, high-reward battle for comedic supremacy.
Pro-Tip: In Quiplash, know your audience. An inside joke can be a guaranteed winner with your specific group. In Fibbage, the key is to make your lie sound plausible. Avoid being too ridiculous; you want to blend in with the actual truth.
3. Codenames
Don't let the simple grid of words fool you; Codenames is a high-pressure game of wits. Two teams, each with a "Spymaster," try to identify their team's secret agents from a grid of 25 words. The Spymaster gives a one-word clue and a number, hoping their team can deduce the correct words on the board.
The tension in this game is palpable. As a Spymaster, you're trying to link completely unrelated words like "Unicorn," "Doctor," and "Hollywood" with a single clue. When your team completely misunderstands your "brilliant" clue and picks the other team's word—or worse, the assassin word that ends the game instantly—the groans are deafening. It’s a fantastic team-vs-team challenge.
Example: Your words are 'Penguin,' 'Ice,' and 'Antarctica.' A great clue would be "Cold: 3." A risky, but potentially genius, clue could be "Flightless: 3" if you know your team will also link that to the cold climate.
4. Overcooked! (Video Game)
This one requires a console, but it’s the ultimate test of teamwork and communication. In Overcooked!, 2-4 players work together in a chaotic kitchen to chop, cook, and serve dishes under a tight time limit. The kitchens themselves are a hazard, with shifting counters, moving platforms, and even earthquakes.
While it's a cooperative game, the intense pressure creates a unique "co-opetition." You’ll be screaming at each other, but for the good of the team! "WHERE ARE THE ONIONS?!", "I NEED A CLEAN PLATE!", and "STOP SETTING THE KITCHEN ON FIRE!" are common refrains. The rivalry is against the clock and the game itself, but you'll definitely blame each other for every failed order.
Pro-Tip: Designate roles before each level starts. Have one person dedicated to chopping, one to cooking, and one to plating and washing dishes. Clear communication is the only way to survive.
5. Monikers (or Fishbowl)
Often described as a mix of Taboo, Charades, and Password, Monikers is played over three rounds with the same set of cards (names of people, places, things). In Round 1, you can say anything to get your team to guess the name. In Round 2, you can only use one word. In Round 3, you can only act it out.
The rivalry is all about speed and shared knowledge. The game gets progressively more hilarious and frantic as the clues become more limited. By Round 3, you're desperately trying to act out "Julius Caesar" based on an inside joke established in Round 1, while the other team is howling with laughter at your failure. It’s a race against the clock that rewards cleverness and a strong team mind-meld.
Pro-Tip: In Round 1, try to create memorable "hooks" or stories for each card. This will make it much easier to reference with a single word or gesture in the later rounds.
6. The Chameleon
Looking for a quick, snappy social deduction game? The Chameleon is your answer. Everyone is dealt a card that shows the secret word on a topic grid... except for the Chameleon, whose card is blank. Players then take turns saying one word related to the secret word. The goal is to blend in if you're the Chameleon and to identify the imposter if you're not.
The paranoia is immediate. If the secret word is "Pizza," someone might say "Cheese." The Chameleon has to quickly come up with a related word, like "Round," based on the other clues. If your clue is too vague, you'll be accused. If you're the Chameleon and you confidently say "Pineapple," you might just start a civil war right there at the table.
Pro-Tip: As the Chameleon, your first clue is the hardest. A good strategy is to give a word that is generally related to the overall topic card (e.g., if the topic is "Food," say something generic like "Delicious").
7. Wavelength
This is a game of mind-reading that creates fantastic team highs and lows. Two teams compete to guess where a target is on a spectrum hidden behind a screen. The clue-giver (the "Psychic") gets to see the target, then provides a clue that falls somewhere on a binary scale, like "Hot vs. Cold" or "Good Movie vs. Bad Movie."
The magic happens in the team discussion. The Psychic has to sit in silence while their team debates their clue. "He said 'Pizza Rolls,' so for 'Fancy Food vs. Casual Food,' that's gotta be ALL the way on the casual side, right?" When the team is perfectly in sync, it's a glorious moment. When they are completely off, the groans from the Psychic are priceless.
Example: The spectrum is "Useless Invention" to "Useful Invention." Your target is about 75% toward "Useful." A good clue might be "A Slap Chop." It's kind of useful, but not a world-changer.
8. Mario Kart / Super Smash Bros.
The classic friendship-testers. These video games have been the source of competitive shouting matches for decades. Mario Kart’s infamous "Blue Shell" item, which targets the player in first place, is a perfect mechanism for creating rivalries. Nothing feels worse than being hit by one right before the finish line.
Super Smash Bros. is a frantic fighting game that pits iconic characters against each other. It’s a game of pure skill, but also pure chaos. Ganging up on the best player, stealing a last-second kill, or taunting after a victory are all time-honored traditions that will have your friends vowing revenge in the next round.
Pro-Tip: In Mario Kart, don't be afraid to hold onto powerful items like the Star or Bullet Bill until the final lap for a dramatic comeback. In Smash, learn one character really well, including their recovery moves to get back on the stage.
9. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
This is a co-op game that feels intensely competitive due to the pressure. One player wears a headset (in VR) or looks at the screen (on a PC/console) and sees a bomb covered in complex modules. The other players have the bomb defusal manual but can't see the bomb. They must communicate clearly and quickly to defuse it before time runs out.
The rivalry comes from the frantic, often hilarious, miscommunication. "What do you mean 'the button with the weird symbol'? THEY ALL HAVE WEIRD SYMBOLS!" The Defuser and the Experts have to find a way to work together under extreme pressure. Successfully defusing a bomb with one second left is one of the most satisfying team victories you can experience.
Pro-Tip: Establish a communication protocol. Have the Defuser describe one module at a time, and have the Experts find the corresponding page in the manual before moving on. Don't try to solve everything at once.
10. Spoons
An absolute classic that requires only a deck of cards and some spoons (one fewer than the number of players). This fast-paced card game is about collecting four of a kind. Once a player does, they sneakily grab a spoon from the middle of the table. As soon as one spoon is taken, it's a mad dash for everyone else to grab one.
This game is pure, unadulterated chaos. The rivalry is physical. The moment of silent tension when one person has grabbed a spoon and is waiting for others to notice is electric. This is followed by a frantic scramble that often results in shared spoons and minor hand injuries. It's a guaranteed way to inject high energy into any party.
Pro-Tip: Master the art of the sneaky spoon grab. Instead of lunging for it, try to casually slide it off the table while maintaining eye contact with someone else.
11. Cards Against Humanity / What Do You Meme?
These games are the titans of adult party games for a reason. In CAH, one player reads a black card with a fill-in-the-blank statement, and everyone else anonymously submits a white card with a phrase to complete it. In What Do You Meme?, you're captioning a popular meme photo. The "Card Czar" for the round picks the funniest combination.
The rivalry is all about appealing to the judge's sense of humor. You're not just trying to be funny; you're trying to be their kind of funny. This leads to endless debates about why one card was funnier than another. It's a fantastic way to learn about your friends' deepest, darkest, and most hilarious sensibilities.
Disclaimer: These games are definitely not for everyone! Know your audience and make sure everyone is comfortable with potentially offensive or adult humor before you break these out.
12. Pictionary
Time to put those art skills (or lack thereof) to the test. Pictionary pits teams against each other in a race to guess what their designated "artist" is drawing. The pressure of the timer and the often-terrible drawings create a perfect storm of hilarity and frustration.
There's nothing more infuriating than when your drawing of a "sailboat" is being met with guesses of "a shark fin," "a broken triangle," or "a weird hat." The rivalry is between the teams, but also between the artist and their own teammates who just can't see their vision. As I once learned from a particularly heated game night with Goh Ling Yong himself, a bad drawing can lead to some very funny team arguments.
Pro-Tip: Don't try to draw a masterpiece. Use simple shapes and symbols. You can also use arrows to show motion or plus/minus signs to add or remove concepts. Speed is more important than beauty.
13. Heads Up!
The app-based version of the classic "Who Am I?" game, popularized by Ellen DeGeneres. One person holds a phone to their forehead, screen facing out. A word or name appears, and their teammates have to give them clues to guess what it is before the timer runs out.
This is a fast, loud, and energetic game. The rivalry is a straight-up race against the clock. Teams will be shouting, gesturing wildly, and trying to get through as many cards as possible in their 60-second round. The competitive fire is stoked when one team beats the other's score by a single point.
Pro-Tip: Before giving clues, quickly establish if you're allowed to use "sounds like" or rhyming clues. For acting categories, go big! Don't be afraid to get up and move around.
14. Two Rooms and a Boom
This is social deduction for a large crowd. Players are split into two teams (Red and Blue) and separated into two different rooms. The Red Team has the Bomber, and the Blue Team has the President. After a few timed rounds of swapping players between rooms, if the Bomber is in the same room as the President at the end of the game, the Red Team wins.
The game is pure, organized chaos. It's all about information gathering, loud negotiations, and trying to figure out who you can trust. The rivalry is fierce as you try to ensure your key players are safe while trying to deduce the location of the other team's VIPs. It’s perfect for breaking the ice and getting a big group energized.
Pro-Tip: If you're a regular player, don't be afraid to lie about your role to gather information. If you're the President or Bomber, trust only your most loyal teammates and try to stay under the radar.
15. Telestrations
This is the "telephone game" but with drawing, and it's less about direct rivalry and more about celebrating hilarious failure. Each person gets a sketchbook, writes a secret word, and passes it. The next person has to draw that word. They pass again, and the next person has to guess what the drawing is. This continues until your book gets back to you.
The "rivalry" is a lighthearted one against comprehension itself. The big reveal at the end, where you see how "House Cat" morphed into "King of the Jungle" and then into "Hairy Lion-O from Thundercats," is where the magic lies. You'll be crying with laughter at the absurd misinterpretations. It's a perfect low-stress game to play between more intense ones.
Pro-Tip: Embrace your terrible drawing skills. The worse the drawings, the funnier the outcome. Don't spend too much time on details.
16. Beer Pong (or Non-Alcoholic Alternatives)
A staple of parties for a reason. Two teams stand at opposite ends of a table and take turns trying to throw a ping pong ball into the other team's cups. If a ball lands in a cup, the other team has to drink its contents and remove it from the table. The first team to eliminate all of the opponent's cups wins.
This is a game of skill, luck, and relentless psychological warfare. The trash talk, the distraction techniques, and the clutch shots are what make it a legendary rivalry-sparker. The stakes feel incredibly high, especially when it comes down to the last cup.
Pro-Tip: For a non-alcoholic version that's just as fun, fill the cups with water and have a separate "penalty" drink (like a weird soda flavor or pickle juice) for the losing team. Focus on the competition, not just the consumption.
17. Mafia / Werewolf
The original, no-equipment-needed social deduction game. A small, informed minority (the Mafia or Werewolves) tries to eliminate the uninformed majority (the Villagers). The game is run by a Narrator and alternates between a "Night" phase, where the villains secretly eliminate a player, and a "Day" phase, where all the living players debate and vote to execute someone they suspect.
This is the ultimate game of argument and persuasion. You have to defend yourself against baseless accusations while trying to piece together who the real villains are. When you successfully lead the charge to eliminate a werewolf, it's a huge victory. When you accidentally lead the town to execute your most trusted villager ally, the guilt (and the other team's glee) is immense.
Pro-Tip: As a Villager, speak up! Share your suspicions and why you have them. Silence is often interpreted as guilt. As a Werewolf, have your alibis and accusations ready. The best defense is a good offense.
A legendary game night is about more than just playing games; it's about creating stories. It's about the time you pulled off a one-in-a-million shot in Beer Pong, the moment you realized your best friend was Secret Hitler all along, or the drawing so bad in Telestrations it became an instant inside joke. These games are just the tools. The real magic comes from the energy, the laughter, and yes, the rivalry you share with your friends.
So for your next get-together, pick a few from this list, clear the coffee table, and prepare for a night of epic fun.
What are your go-to rivalry-sparking party games? Did we miss any of your favorites? Drop a comment below and let's build the ultimate game night arsenal together!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
Stay updated with the latest posts and insights by following on your favorite platform!