When I first moved from New York to Los Angeles, my biggest worry was the toll it would take on my social life. âBut I have become accustomed to drinking constantly, often until 3AM on a Tuesday, eating french fries, then walking home and sleeping away the shame. How will I survive?!â I wondered. Bars in LA stay open âtil 1 at the latest, and I donât know if youâve heard, but people drive a lot in LA. And according to the powerful Itâs Important That You Stay Alive and Also Not Kill Other People lobby, drunk driving is not something you should be doing. So I was concerned. About that, and my ability to get a sunburn from little more than a 75 watt light bulb. But mostly it was the social life. In New York, everything is built around drinking. You could be planning your grandmotherâs 95th birthday party, and chances are when making the arrangements someone would suggest…âI donât know, should we just have it in a bar?â LA is not the same. Getting drinks is an option, not a default setting. So what did I do to fill the new Jack Daniels-sized hole in my life? Easy. I started having game nights.
Game nights are like hanging out at bar with your friends, except cheaper and more fun. You can still talk, laugh, and party it up, but when your buddy launches into a monologue about the trouble heâs having with his girlfriend that everyone agrees he shouldâve broken up with two years ago, instead of listening, you can say âSo, whoâs up for some Pictionary?!â Heâll probably keep talking, but at least heâll be drawing a picture of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while itâs happening. And itâs a great way to meet new people. You invite your friends, tell them to bring someone else, and pretty soon you have five or six new pals, something thatâs pretty hard to accomplish in most cities. I can honestly say Iâve made more friends at game nights than anywhere else in LA, and that includes a âFree Money for Palsâ campaign I tried at the local Farmerâs Market all last summer. But a good game night isnât as easy as tossing out Chutes and Ladders and calling up a few buds. Planning them is an art.
Hereâs what you need:
1) Single People
There are breast men, leg men, and butt men. I, however, am a Catchphrase man. A girl who can effortlessly get a crowd to guess the phrase âYou Had Me at Hello,â then deftly pass the beeping disc to her opponent before the timer goes off, well Iâll take her over Jessica Alba anyday. Mostly because I donât totally know who Jessica Alba is, but I feel like if I admit my real heart throb is Joan Rivers, people will get creeped out and stop reading. But seriously, game nights are the new singles nights. âCan I buy you a drink?â has been replaced by âCan I buy a house on Park Place?â Playing a few board games letâs you gauge a personâs sense of humor, intelligence, camaraderie, and if youâre playing Cranium, ability to mold Playdough into a park bench. Also, giving things a flirty little subtext makes any game more fun. Except Twister. That can lead to boners. And one ingredient a successful game night does not need is unexpected boners. Believe me.
2) Snacks
For some reason itâs impossible to play a game without Peanut M&Mâs nearby. Also, did you know that if you win, the calories donât count? Itâs true. Ask any doctor.
3) Games that Involve Yelling
Game nights are often timid at first. âOh me, I donât really want to win, it doesnât matter. Letâs just have fun. Tee hee.â But throw out some raucous games like Pit or Charades and pretty soon even the sweetest little dove will be ripping someoneâs face off. And thatâs the point, right? Faces being ripping off? (What?! Youâve never played Pit?! How are you still living?)
4) Booze
Come on, weâre not nuns.
5) No Apples to Apples
Fuck Apples to Apples. Itâs the worst game ever. It should change its name to Arbitrary Guesses Based on Uninteresting Suggestions, because thatâs what it is. Also, I donât particularly endorse Trivial Pursuit for game nights. It takes a long time, and can embarrass people who feel like they donât know obvious facts and information. And by people, I mean me. I fully encourage Trivial Pursuit nights, but think they should be their own animal.
6) Someone Whoâs Insane About the Rules
Hereâs the thing, deep down people are lying, cheating monsters. Not devious, they wouldnât look at your poker hand while youâre in the bathroom, but if they can subconsciously give themselves a little advantage by turning over a card slowly, or passing on a hard clue one too many times, they will, because it makes life easier. Which is why you need a hawk at your game nights to make sure no one screws around. You donât want that person to be you, because holy cow is that person unlikable, but still, you need âem around to keep order. And they supply the nice little touch of insanity that makes a night exciting.
7) Anomia
What? Youâve never played Anomia either?! Seriously, how are you living?