Getting to know you

Feeling a little under the weather this morning as it was our friend Mitch’s birthday party last night. Even though the weather was abysmal, with torrential rain the entire time, the Aussies will let nothing stand in the way of a good barbie. There was an eclectic mix of people there half of whom we hadn’t met before and so it was really good to chat to them.

Before long, either because of the grog or because it was a party (who knows?), we were playing party games. Carro our Swedish housemate was playing games mistress and had some games that no-one had played and they were brilliant to get us all mixing. So just in case you want some games for your travels we’d recommend these.

The first game involved everyone being split in two groups and three rounds with one box of words and famous names on pieces of paper. For the first round each member of each team had thirty seconds to describe as many words as possible to their team, without using the word itself. Words could be exchanged if they were too hard or taking too long for the team to guess. Both teams play at the same time and the round continues, cycling through team members until there are no words left in the box. The second round was the same rules and the same words except the words had to be acted out. The third round was even harder. The idea was that we should be familiar with the contents of the box having seen all the paper over the previous rounds. Therefore this time the person leading each team had to go through their thirty seconds saying only one word to describe what was on the paper for the team to guess.

The second game was even more fun; this time we were split into four teams with roughly five people in each one. Each group played separately and started out with two team members in the middle of everyone else. They then pulled a piece of paper, with two body parts written on it (e.g. bum to elbow), out of a container. The aim of the game was to touch those body parts with the paper held between. When the pair in the centre ran out of body parts or couldn’t reach they could tag in another member of their team to add to the chaos. The game continues until one of the pieces of paper is dropped due to an impossible move or mistake. The winning team is the one that manages to hold the most pieces of paper.

The party as a result was great fun although we did end up going back to the old favourites like ring of fire by the end. Always the sign of a good night.

Rex’s Rules of the Road

• Party games are a great way to get to know new people. Ring of Fire is always a classic.