Coming up with St. Patrick’s Day party games for adults is a bit of a challenge, especially if you’re trying to keep those games family-friendly. It seems like most games are either for kids or for people who have no intention of remembering the evening the next morning! There has to be a middle ground, right? Fun games for adults that don’t require you to collect everyone’s keys when they arrive or make you forget your name by the end of the night, yet also don’t feel like “leftovers” from your child’s St. Patrick’s Day party games! Check out a few ideas we came up with!
St. Patrick’s Day Party Games for Adults
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Irish “Heads Up.”
You know that “Heads Up” game where you put the name of a person or object on your forehead and then ask yes/no questions to guess who you are? Well, just tailor it to an Irish theme. Before your party, makeup index cards with the names of famous Irish people. When each guest arrives, tape their card to their back. Since this game lasts the whole party, taping it to their forehead just seems, I don’t know, mean? Of course, if you want to give really them the incentive to win, you could do that! I’d go batty if I had something taped to my face, though! Make it more exciting by giving the “winners” access to a super secret “treasure,” as the dessert table, where these super yummy St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes await!
Tossing Taters
Supplies Needed:
- 4 Potatoes
- Two hula hoops
How to Play:
Think horseshoes, except with potatoes, so obviously a bit messier. Divide into teams of two and give each team two potatoes. You might want to mark them with a little food dye, so you know which tots belong to which team. The goal is simple: get the tater into the hoop from a distance of about 10 feet away. The team who gets to X amount of points first wins. As the potatoes get squishier, this gets harder! When you’re done, compost the potatoes or leave them out in the woods for the animals. I’m not big on wasting food, so this is a great game to play with those potatoes that are getting ready to go bad. You know, before they start to emit that awful odor. Have you ever smelled rotten potatoes? If you have, you never forget! So make sure to clean them all up!
Related: St. Patrick’s Day Decoration Ideas
Quoits
If you don’t want to waste the potatoes or risk the foul odor of forgotten spuds, why not go with a traditional Irish game of quoits? Did you know that there are Quoits leagues and what not, with really serious rules? For the sake of your party, though, you only need some rubber or rope ring and a spike to toss them around. Again, think horse shoes, but different. This site is full of great info if you want to know all the official rules. When I played something similar at a family reunion, we pretty much made up our rules. Well, until people who knew how to play came along and ruined it with their point systems! Bah! No one did well after that! I was winning with my rules!
Related: DIY St. Patrick’s Day Irish Bunting Banner!
Skittles, Skattles, Devil Among Tailors
No, I’m not slacking and tossing a bunch of St. Patrick’s Day party games for adults into one heading. I’m also not talking about candy! Those are all variations of a very popular traditional game involving a ball on a chain and a bunch of pins. The Skittles game has crazy-complicated rules, but you can break it down to its simplest form for your party. Here’s an example of a mini version, but you can improvise and make a larger version (or just buy a set, if you want!).
Irish Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are a staple of parties for all ages for a reason: they’re easy to pull off, customizable based on age and just plain fun. This is one of my favorite St. Patrick’s Day party games for adults because you can tailor it to your guests, your town and even the amount of time you have. For example, if you are planning a weekend get-together or an all-day event (or you live right in town), you could turn your whole town into the hunting ground. Scope it out beforehand and give your guests a list of local Irish landmarks or establishments. Tell them to collect a business card from each place, snap a photo with their phones, etc.
For smaller or shorter parties, just hide items around your yard and send your guests on a quest. It’s even better if you can get your neighbors in on the fun!
St. Patrick’s Day Jeopardy
This one requires a bit of research and planning in advance, but if your friends are huge Jeopardy fans, just make up your Irish version. Create categories like History, Literature, Music, Pop Culture, Catch Phrases, etc., all with an Irish theme.
Irish Jig Contest
Materials needed:
- Irish music
- Green construction paper
- Scissors
- Markers
Instructions:
You don’t have to know how to do the Irish Jig to do this. In fact, it’s, even more, fun if your guests are clueless as to how to do the dance! To play the game, cut out enough shamrock shapes, so each of your guests has one. Write numbers on the back of each shamrock before handing them out. With everyone on the dance floor, start playing the music. Everyone starts dancing to the music and keeps on dancing until they get too tired to continue dancing. The last person out on the dance floor is the winner. By the end of the round, everyone will work up an appetite! This is a great way to lead into dinner! Try our Zucchini Bake for a great Irish meal!
These are just a few fun St. Patrick’s Day party games for adults to keep your bash entertaining! The goal here is to give you fun alternatives to the typical drinking games.
These do sound like fun adult games that will keep all laughing and entertained. I think I like the potato throw the best!
There are some fun suggestions here. I think the jeopardy is my fave!
I have not heard of these, but they all sound fun! I love St. Patrick’s Day :)
These are great game ideas. I have a few Hula Hoops i can use. I will have to try these with my Sister.
These are very exciting and fun games. I want to try Irish Scavenger Hunt and Tossing Taters. Thanks for sharing!
Ooh! These sound like fun! I married into an Irish family, and we celebrate every year. I’ll have to add these games into the mix this year!
Potato horseshoe sounds like a lot of fun! I know my family would really enjoy it.
These are some new ones too me, how fun! We never know how to celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day.
These are all great party game ideas. I don’t normally do anything on St. Patrick’s Day.
These sound like great party games for adults. I think the Irish Jig contest would be especially funny after everyone has gotten a few drinks in them.