Advertisement

25 Fun and Creative Graduation Party Games You’ll Definitely Want to Play


"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

You just spent four years of your life sitting through lectures, attending pep rallies, and having late-night study sessions so you can snag your hard-earned diploma, so it's only right you celebrate the occasion in a big way. Before you and your BFFs go your separate ways and head to college, gather up the squad for a super fun graduation party to kiss your days as a high school student goodbye. This celebration will definitely be one for the books since it may be one of the last times you'll hang before starting the next chapter of your lives.

Along with the perfect playlist, you've got to pick up your favorite food and drinks, and of course, provide the entertainment. An easy and fun way to get the crowd going is with graduation party games, which will make one of your final bonding sessions so much more memorable. If you're not sure what you should play, here's a list of graduation party games that are sure to kick the festivities up a notch — and maybe even get you in your feels about all the memories you’ve made in the process. 🎓🥲

1. Taboo

Materials: Taboo Board Game

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D4NJSBW?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Taboo Board Game</p><p>$16.99</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Shop Now

Taboo Board Game

$16.99

amazon.com

This is a graduation party must-have. The objective of the game is to get your teammates to guess the word on the card you've drawn. In order to help them, you'll describe the word without using any of the forbidden words on your cards. But, you'll have to be quick because each turn is timed.

2. Don't Drop The Tassel

Materials: straws, tassels

This game is a graduation-related relay race. You and your friends will separate into equal teams and line up in a straight line. The first player will then hold a straw with their mouth, placing the tassel onto their straw. The objective is to get the tassel onto the straw of the next person in line without using your hands. The first team that gets the tassel onto the straw of the last person wins. See the full directions here.

3. Guess Who?

Materials: name tags

Here's one game that will last all night. In order to play, place the names of all your guests onto name tags. As they arrive, place the name tag of a person that is not them on their back. They then have the whole night to figure out what person they've been assigned by only asking "yes" or "no" questions to others. The players can't look at their name tags, nor can they ask another player if the person they've been assigned is them. No peeking!

4. Superlatives

Materials: photos of your friends, a bulletin board, Post-it notes, markers

You already know this is a Seventeen fave (seriously — check out your fave celebs playing this game on our YouTube channel). If you're trying to turn your party into a comedy night, this is the perfect game. You'll need to blow up photos of all your friends, and then post them to a bulletin board or directly onto the wall. As the night goes on, people can take turns attaching Post-its with the superlative they'd give each person to that person's photo. At the end of the night, read all the superlatives aloud. Encourage your friends to get really creative!

5. Key to Success

Materials: aluminum pie pans, whipped cream or shaving cream, keys, buckets

If you're willing to get messy, then this is your game. To play this game, you'll need to place a key in each pan and then fill all your aluminum pans up with whipped cream or shaving foam. Before you actually start playing, you'll need teams with an equal amount of players. Each player on each team will then take their turn finding the key in each pan until every member of the team has gone. The first team to finish wins.

6. What Do You Meme?

Materials: What Do You Meme? Game

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09R6FF1LY?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>What Do You Meme? Bigger Better Edition</p><p>$29.99</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Shop Now

What Do You Meme? Bigger Better Edition

$29.99

amazon.com

If you're ready to flex your social media meme skills, then this is for you. This game can either be played in teams, or everyone can compete for themselves. The objective, simply, is to create a funny meme. Every team or player will be dealt caption cards. Every round a meme with no caption is displayed and each player has to assign one of the caption cards to the meme. A rotating judge will determine which caption is the funniest. The person or team with the most successful captions wins!

7. Pass the Orange

Materials: oranges

You'll all have a field day with this one. The game is pretty self-explanatory. The objective is to pass the orange, but it's not as easy as it sounds. To play, you'll need teams with an equal set of players. Each team will then try to get the orange from the first person in line to the last by passing the orange from neck to neck only using your chins and necks. No hands allowed.

8. Rememory Game

Materials: Rememory Game

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NEV41I4?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Rememory – Writing Prompt Game</p><p>$23.95</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Shop Now

Rememory – Writing Prompt Game

$23.95

amazon.com

This game is the one that will get you in your feels or have you on the floor laughing — but no matter what, playing will require you to take a trip down memory lane. In order to play, you will draw three cards from different decks that correspond to a person (you can customize the game so that people are assigned the guests in the room), a time frame, and a loose prompt. The person who drew the cards then has to talk about their memory to the whole group. It's a great way to look back on the last four years, and your childhood.

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NEV41I4?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Rememory </p><p>$23.95</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Shop Now

Rememory

$23.95

amazon.com

9. Who in the Room?

Materials: Who in the Room? Game

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0778WX5JW?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Who in The Room? Party Game</p><p>$17.00</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Shop Now

Who in The Room? Party Game

$17.00

amazon.com

This game makes you feel like you're choosing high school superlatives all over again. To play, you'll get a deck of cards that have questions like, "Who in the room would survive the least amount of time on a desert island?" Everyone's then allowed a moment to think. When the moment's over, everyone must reveal their vote by all pointing at the people they've voted for at the same time. Get ready to laugh.

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0778WX5JW?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Who in The Room? </p><p>$17.00</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Shop Now

Who in The Room?

$17.00

amazon.com

10. Graduation Cap TicTacToe

Materials: duct tape, 10 graduation caps in 2 different colors, optional fabric

In order to play this game, you'll create a TicTacToe grid on the floor or on a piece of fabric on the floor. You'll then need to divide your party into two equal teams. Each team will be assigned a graduation cap color. The objective of the game is to connect three graduation caps on the grid, but each player has to get the cap onto the grid by tossing it into the desired spot. No walking over and placing it there. The first team to connect three caps wins.

11. Cap and Gown

Materials: black plastic tablecloths, baseball caps, tape

For this game, you'll need to tape a circle into the ground. About 10 feet away from the circle, you'll then tape a straight line. You can play in teams, but everyone will need to be paired up. To start the game, one player must be wrapped in a black tablecloth with tape, so it stays on. This player must then go stand in the circle. The other player then stands behind the line and tries to throw a baseball cap onto the head of the person in the circle. The person in the circle can move anywhere inside the circle, but cannot use their hands. If their gown falls off, they must go back to the other players to get it properly fitted again before they can go back to their circle. The first team to get all their "caps and gowns" on wins.

12. Dip-low-ma

Materials: balloons, music

To play this game, you'll need to flex your dancing skills. Before starting, blow up some balloons with as much air as you can. This game can be played in pairs of two, but everyone can play at the same time. The goal is to be able to keep your balloon from popping the longest, but while dancing. Each pair has to turn their backs to each other and place the balloon between them. Then, they must slowly head to the dance floor without popping or dropping the balloon. The team that lasts the longest without doing either wins.

13. Guess the Teacher

Materials: a large piece of paper and a marker

This game is pretty simple, but it'll have you rolling. In this game, each player gets a turn to sketch a quick picture of one of your teachers. The others in the room must then guess who it is. If you run out of teachers, you can start drawing each other.

14. Charades

Materials: yourselves

This classic makes a perfect graduation party game. It involves trying to get your teammates to guess names or phrases without saying a single word. You can customize the game so that the names you're acting out are people in the party, or teachers, or you can keep it basic and go for lots of pop culture references.

15. Steal the Grad Cap

Materials: graduation cap, enough space to play

You probably know the game "steal the bacon" — this just puts a graduation twist on it. Divide your guests into two equal teams, assigning every person on each team a number. So, you'll have two 1's, two 2's, two 3's etc. All players must stand behind a line on opposite sides of the field you're playing on. Place the grad cap in the middle. Once you call out a number, the two players with that assigned number must then run to the center to try and retrieve the cap to take it back to their team. If they grab the cap, the person who didn't can tag them to steal it. The team that retrieves the cap the most times wins.

16. The Dictionary Game

Materials: a dictionary, pieces of paper, pens

Find out if you were really paying attention in English class with this game. To play, each person will take a turn choosing a word from the dictionary. It should be something unusual, so that people have a hard time guessing the definition. Once the word is chosen, every other player will write what they think the definition is on a piece of paper. The person who picked out the word will write the real definition. Mix the pieces of paper up and read all the definitions aloud. Each guest will vote on what they think the real definition is. Whoever gets it right, gets a point. If no one guesses correct, the person who picked it out gets a point. The person with the most points wins.

17. The Game of Things

Materials: pieces of paper, pens

This is a group game everyone can play at the same time. In each round, one person will have the chance to make up a phrase like, "things you shouldn't do in class." Everyone else will then write something that would go in that category on a piece of paper. The person who made up the category will then read all the responses out loud. Each player will then have a chance to choose one of these replies and match it to the person they think wrote it. If they guess correctly, they gain a point and the person they matched the answer to is out of the game. Play until there's only one person left.

18. Heads Up!

Materials: Heads Up! Party Game

<p><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=74968X1596630&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapps.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fheads-up%2Fid623592465&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.seventeen.com%2Flife%2Fschool%2Fa27788423%2Fgraduation-party-games%2F" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Heads Up!</p><p>$1.99</p><p>apps.apple.com</p>

This game gets really competitive, so get ready to shout in frustration. All you need is the app and two sets of equal teams. Each player on each team will have a chance to try to guess a phrase that only their team can see. The phrase will appear on the phone screen, while the player holds the phone on their forehead. The game works in timed sessions. The team that guesses the most phrases correctly wins.

19. Graduation Jenga

Materials: Jenga

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ABA0ZOA?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Jenga Classic Game</p><p>$11.99</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Shop Now

Jenga Classic Game

$11.99

amazon.com

You've probably played tradition Jenga before, but here are some options to give it a twist. To play this game, each player must take a turn taking out a piece of the wooden tower without causing it to crash down. The player who causes it to crash clearly loses. To make the game more interesting and maybe tear/laugh-inducing, you can write the name of a party guest on a piece. If a person draws the piece, they must then talk about a memory they have with that person. Another way to play this game is that you can write truth or dares on the pieces. The person that draws the piece then has to accept the challenge written.

20. We're Not Really Strangers

Materials: We're Not Really Strangers Card Game

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092GM9NWH?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Card Game</p><p>$14.49</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Shop Now

Card Game

$14.49

amazon.com

Even if you're playing with your besties who you think you know everything about, this question card game is sure to reveal some new tidbits of information. We're Not Really Strangers is described as a "purpose-driven card game," and its cards are separated into three levels: Level 1 - Perception (first impression questions), Level 2 - Connection (50 rarely asked questions, can stir emotions), and Level 3 - Reflection (self-explanatory, reflect on the questions and answers just asked and received). The game is best played with a smaller group, typically about 2-6 people, where one person pulls a card and everyone in the group answers one by one. Or one person replies, then after, they pull a new card and ask a new question to the next person.

This game can be pretty emotional and the questions get deep, so you might want to save this for after most of your guests go home and just you and your friends remain. There's even a friendship edition that can be perfect for your group.

21. Chat Pack

Materials: Chat Pack Card Game

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F4CKNFQ?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Chat Pack</p><p>$15.99</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Shop Now

Chat Pack

$15.99

amazon.com

Now, this is a card game that any family member or friend, of any age, can join. The pack contains 156 cards, which means the game can likely last for however long you desire. Each card contains a question that is meant to be a conversation starter — inquiries include, "If you could have any object or place in the world completely to yourself for one day, what would you choose?" and "Thinking back to all the great TV series finales that you have seen over the years, which show do you believe had the best final episode?" This game can be a great way to reconnect with family you might not see as often as you'd like, or learn something new about your besties. There are different variations of the game too, such as "Chat Pack: Celebrate the Family" and "Chat Pack: Stories."

22. The Whisper Challenge

Materials: Noise-canceling headphones

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085296FLT?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Beats Studio3 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones</p><p>$199.99</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Ready to LOL? Whether you play in teams or go the two-player route, this game will do just that. To start, pick a player who will wear noise-canceling headphones and listen to their fave songs at full volume. While they jam out, another player will whisper a series of phrases or words that they'll have to guess by lip-reading. Then, switch spots and guess a separate set of words. Whoever guesses the most wins!

23. Grad Libs

Materials: Mad Libs, graduation edition

<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0843113499?tag=syn-yahoo-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10065.a.27788423%5Bsrc%7Cyahoo-us" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Shop Now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Shop Now</a></p><p>Graduation Mad Libs: World's Greatest Word Game</p><p>$4.99</p><p>amazon.com</p>

Shop Now

Graduation Mad Libs: World's Greatest Word Game

$4.99

amazon.com

Mad Libs may be a major throwback, but the fun of the classic game is seriously timeless. It's best played in pairs — as one person holds the book with the story prompts, ask another person for nouns, verbs, or adjectives to fill in the blanks. Once everything is filled, read the story out loud and get ready to giggle at the silly word choices that will make no sense half of the time.

24. Jeopardy!

Materials: Jeopardy! slideshow template

Swap your grad cap for a thinking cap and put your trivia skills to the test. The best part about downloading a slideshow template is that it's totally customizable. You can include topics about anything you want, from calc equations to your favorite celebrity couples.

25. Song Association

Materials: A TV or computer with access to YouTube

This super fun song game gained popularity thanks to Elle, and over the years, we've watched some of our favorite celebrities put their musical knowledge to the test. Players will have 10 seconds to sing a song associated with random words, and whoever gets the most songs wins. Follow along with Elle's star-studded guests on their YouTube channel.

You Might Also Like