40th Birthday Party Games: Fun Ideas For A Big Celebration

A 40th is the birthday where half the room has a babysitter on the clock and the other half hasn't been out in a month. The games need to start early, work in a big group, and not feel like a children's party.

Ideas below, split by where you're holding it.

Nostalgia games, which always land hardest

• Hitster - hear a track, guess the year, build your timeline. For a room that grew up on Britpop and early 2000s radio it's the ideal party game, and the arguments about what year a song came out are the best bit.
• Guess the year from the photo - school pictures, first cars, old haircuts.
• The number one on the day they were born, and on every birthday ending in zero since.
• A 'what happened in that year' round, using the year they were born.
• Name That Tune limited to the decade they turned eighteen.

Games for a big room

• A pub quiz with four rounds, teams of six, and a proper trophy.
• Mr and Mrs, or the friends version: how well does everyone know the birthday person?
• Heads up in teams, played from a phone on the big screen.
• A photo scavenger hunt round the venue with a printed list.
• Play Your Cards Right on a flip chart, which costs nothing and always works.

At home, smaller group

• Articulate, Herd Mentality or Codenames in teams.
• A blind tasting: beers, gins or supermarket crisps.
• The 1% Club-style questions read out from the sofa.
• A memory round: guests write one story about the birthday person and everyone guesses who wrote it.

Making them actually happen

• Start the first game within the first hour, before anyone settles into a corner.
• Appoint a host who isn't the birthday person.
• Teams of six or less, so nobody hides.
• Prizes should be silly and cheap. A trophy from a pound shop beats a bottle of fizz.
• Two games across the night is plenty at a 40th.

Shop 40th birthday cards

How to write it so it lands

• Run a game before the food, not after. People are sharper and still standing up.
• Ask the birthday person for their one absolute no before you plan anything.
• Put someone in charge of music between games. Silence is what ends a party.

Where to shop next

• New Year's Eve games for adults
• Dinner party games: keeping the table entertained
• Eurovision party ideas
• How to run a pub quiz at home
• Classy hen party games
• Dinner party games for adults
• New Year's Eve games for all ages
• Hen party games at home
• Best word board games
• After-dinner board games for adults
• Decade quizzes, era by era
• Board games hub
• Free feel good tools
• Shop all cards
• Birthday cards for kids
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are good 40th birthday party games?

Nostalgia and music games land best - Hitster, guess the year from the photo, a pub quiz with a music round, and Mr and Mrs about the birthday person.

What games work for a big 40th in a hired venue?

Anything in teams: a four-round quiz, Heads Up on a big screen, a photo scavenger hunt, or Play Your Cards Right on a flip chart.

How many games should a 40th birthday party have?

Two, spaced out. One early to break the ice, one after food. More than that and people feel organised rather than out.

What's a good game for a mixed crowd of friends and family?

A music timeline game like Hitster. Nobody needs specialist knowledge, every generation recognises something, and it plays in teams as easily as solo.

Do you sell board games?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints, pin badges and party bits in the UK, so the games here are simply what we'd recommend to a friend. Some links go to other shops and may earn us a small commission, at no extra cost to you.