Milestone Birthday Party Games: 18th To 80th, Sorted By Age

Milestone birthdays share three games that never fail: a quiz about the birthday person, trivia from the year they were born, and a wall of baby photos. Everything else changes with the age.

Here's what to run at each milestone, and how to build the three big formats without spending anything.

The three games that work at every milestone

• How well do you know the birthday girl or boy - twenty questions, they answer first in private, guests write their guesses. Mix easy (first pet) with sharp (worst job they ever had).
• Decade trivia - the number one single, the price of a pint, the Prime Minister, the top film, and what was on telly on Christmas Day the year they were born.
• Guess the baby photo - for a milestone, use photos of the birthday person at every decade instead of guests. Number them, guests write the age.

18th and 21st

• Never have I ever with fingers - keeps it moving and keeps it legal.
• Beer pong with soft drinks in half the cups so nobody has to declare anything.
• Photo scavenger hunt - a list of twenty shots to get during the night, judged at the end.
• Most likely to, with the whole year group. Brutal and very funny.
• A playlist round: thirty seconds of each song, teams name the artist.

30th and 40th

• Then and now - baby photo beside a photo from last year, guests guess the year of each.
• Guess the price in the year they were born - a house, a pint, a loaf, a first car.
• Mr and Mrs style Q&A with their partner or oldest friend.
• The advice bowl - every guest writes one piece of advice for the next decade, read out badly.
• Team quiz on the 90s or 00s, depending on which decade ruined them.

50th, 60th and beyond

• A this-is-your-life round - short anonymous stories from guests, everyone guesses the author.
• Decade music bingo - grid of song titles from their teens, cross off as they play.
• Old adverts quiz - slogans from the 70s and 80s that the room can still recite.
• Name that year - photos of news events, guests place them on a timeline.
• For a 70th, 80th or 90th, keep games seated and short: a read-aloud quiz, a memory round and a raffle beats anything that needs standing up.

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How to write it so it lands

• Do the quiz answers a week early - doing it on the day never happens.
• Print the photo round big. Phone screens kill it.
• Give one person the job of MC and a copy of the answers.

Where to shop next

• Birthdays hub
• Adult birthday party games
• Teen and tween birthday party games
• Toddler party games (2-4s)
• Games for a party with 4-6 guests
• Games for a small house or flat
• Games for a hall or garden hire
• No prep, no equipment party games
• Games for a party where parents stay
• Games for a birthday meal at a table
• Kids' party games by age
• Charades word lists
• Board games hub
• Birthday party ideas
• Free feel good tools
• Shop birthday cards
• Birthday badges & party pins
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Party bag ideas for adults
• How much helium do you need for balloons?
• 60th birthday jokes and one-liners
• 60th birthday poems and verses
• 65th birthday sayings and quotes
• 70th birthday jokes, poems and verses
• 75th birthday sayings and verses
• 80th birthday jokes, quotes and verses
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a 'how well do you know the birthday girl' quiz?

Ask the birthday person twenty questions a week before and record the answers. Mix five easy, ten personal and five surprising. On the night, read them out, guests write answers, and the birthday person reveals each one - that reveal is the actual entertainment.

What are good games for a 60th or 70th birthday party?

Seated games with short rounds: a quiz about the birthday person, decade trivia from their teens, music bingo and a memory round where guests share one story. Avoid anything that needs teams to move around a room.

How many games should a milestone party have?

Three. One while people are arriving and drinking, one after food, one near the end with a prize. Any more and you're running an event instead of throwing a party.

What's a good prize for a milestone birthday game?

Something themed to the age - a bag of sweets from their childhood, a bottle of the year they were born if the budget stretches, or a joke trophy that gets passed back at the next big birthday.

Do you sell party games or party supplies?

We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK - the games here are simply what we'd suggest to a friend, and they need little or nothing to run. The cards on this page are ours.