Teen And Tween Birthday Party Games: 18 That Won't Get An Eye Roll

Tweens and teens will play games - they just won't play games that look like they were planned by an adult. The trick is competitive, fast, and slightly embarrassing for everyone equally.

Split by age, because an 11 year old and a 16 year old are not the same party.

Tweens (11-13)

• Just Dance or a dance-off with a phone judging on volume of cheering.
• Minute to win it challenges - stack the biscuits on your forehead, move an M&M with a straw, cup stacking against a timer.
• Wink murder - still undefeated, still free.
• Human bingo - find someone who has a dog, has broken a bone, hates coriander.
• Chubby bunny with marshmallows, supervised and with a bin nearby.
• Sardines - hide and seek in reverse, brilliant in a house with stairs.

Teens (14-16)

• Heads Up on a phone, held on the forehead, teams shouting clues.
• Escape room in a box or a printed puzzle hunt around the house.
• Kahoot quiz built about the birthday person, played on everyone's phones.
• Photo scavenger hunt with a time limit and a group chat to post in.
• Would you rather with increasingly stupid options - works while they eat.
• Werewolf or Mafia - dark, argumentative and they'll play it for two hours.

Sleepover games

• Truth or dare with a pre-agreed 'nothing outside, nothing on camera' rule.
• Torch hide and seek once the lights are off.
• Blind makeup or face paint challenge, judged and photographed.
• Movie quote quiz from whatever they've all watched.
• The whisper game around a circle - still funny at fifteen.
• A midnight snack challenge: make something from three random ingredients.

Shop birthday cards

How to write it so it lands

• Prizes still work at sixteen. Make them silly and hand them out publicly.
• Keep phones in the game rather than banning them - Kahoot and Heads Up win the room.
• Agree a finish time with parents in writing on the invite.

Where to shop next

• Birthdays hub
• Adult birthday party games
• Milestone 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?
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

Do teenagers actually want party games?

Yes, if they're competitive or funny and nobody calls them 'party games'. Phone-based games like Kahoot and Heads Up, Werewolf, and minute-to-win-it challenges all get played. Anything involving a circle of chairs does not.

What games work for a tween birthday party at home?

Minute to win it challenges, sardines, wink murder, a dance-off and human bingo. They need almost nothing and they fill two hours between food and cake.

How do you run games without hovering over them?

Set the game up, explain it in thirty seconds, then leave the room. Give one confident teenager the job of running it and a prize to hand out - they'll take it seriously.

What games work for a mixed group who don't all know each other?

Team games, not individual ones. Human bingo, a scavenger hunt in pairs and Kahoot teams mix the group faster than any icebreaker.

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.