What to do with friends at home: ideas for every kind of friend

The best things to do with friends at home give each person a little of what they came for. Some friends come over to talk, some to play, some to make something and some just to be in a room with people they like. You do not need a perfect plan. A mix works better, along with a rough idea of who wants what.

An example: on a rainy Saturday, Cosima invited three friends over with no plan at all. Kofi came to talk and had a story going before his coat was off. Bram arrived with a board game whose rulebook was as thick as a magazine. Joss walked straight into the kitchen and asked what they could cook. Cosima herself mostly wanted everyone on the sofa under blankets. By nine the game was half played, the dumplings were lopsided and Kofi had told his story three times. Everyone agreed it was the best night they had had in months.

What your friends come over for

On a night in, many friends lean toward one of four things.

• Talk. Stories, opinions, catching up, and the long conversation that starts after midnight.
• Play. Games, contests, puzzles and anything with a winner.
• Make. Cooking, crafts, fixing or building, with something to show at the end.
• Company. Being together with very little effort: a film, a sofa, the sound of friends nearby.

Think about which of the four each friend would pick. If most of the group picks the same one, plan around it. If the group is split, put two or three kinds into one evening, the way Cosima's night ended up with a game, a kitchen and a sofa all at once.

Ideas for friends who come over to talk

• Cook something simple and eat it slowly at the table, with phones in another room.
• Play a question game where everyone draws a card and answers honestly.
• Hold a round of best and worst moments of the year over dessert.
• Each bring a photo from ten years ago and tell the story behind it.
• Run a debate night on silly topics, such as whether cereal counts as soup.
• Build a group playlist where everyone adds three songs and explains one of them.
• Plan an imaginary trip together, with a budget, a map and plenty of arguing.

Games to play at a friend's house

• A board game night with one new game and one old favorite.
• A card tournament with a small, silly trophy.
• Charades or a drawing game, where nerve counts for more than talent.
• A jigsaw race between two teams on two tables.
• A home quiz where each friend writes one round.
• A round of hot seat questions, where one friend sits in the middle and answers everyone for three minutes.
• A party video game that anyone can learn in a minute.
• A murder mystery evening with costumes pulled from your own wardrobes.
• Sardines in the dark, if the flat is big enough and the neighbors are patient.

Talking games

These games use only your voices, so nothing goes on the table. They work on the sofa after dinner or on the walk home.

• Fortunately, unfortunately. One friend starts a story with a lucky turn, like "Fortunately, the train came early." The next adds an unlucky one, "Unfortunately, it went the wrong way," and the story goes round until someone can't keep it going. About 10 minutes.
• Word chain. Someone says a word, and the next person says the first word it brings to mind, as fast as they can. Anyone who pauses for more than three seconds or repeats a word is out. About 5 minutes a round.
• Alphabet story. The group tells one story together, a sentence each, and every sentence has to start with the next letter of the alphabet. Get stuck on Q or X and the next person takes over. About 10 minutes to reach Z.
• Contact. One player thinks of a word and says only its first letter. The others give each other clues to words with that letter, and if two of them shout the same word before the thinker guesses it, the thinker gives away the next letter. About 15 minutes a word.

More games with nothing to carry, for two people or a group, are in games with no equipment.

Game night ideas for adults

A game night goes better when someone gives the evening a shape ahead of time. These ideas do that without much planning.

• Bring your own game. Each guest brings one game they love and gets five minutes to teach it. The group votes, and you play the top two.
• A night of team play. Choose games where the whole table plays against the board instead of each other. They suit a group with one friend who hates to lose.
• The hat game. Everyone writes ten names on slips of paper. Two teams guess them in three rounds: first by describing, then by acting, then with one word only. By the last round, a single word can make the whole table laugh.
• A hidden-role game. With eight or more people, try a game where a few players secretly work against the rest. Everyone talks at once, and soon nobody trusts anybody.
• Games from other places. Each friend brings a game from a country they've lived in or visited, like backgammon, mancala or a card game their grandmother taught them.
• The games you grew up with. Dig the old boxes out of your parents' closets and see if the rules still hold up.
• A year-long league. Keep a running score across every game night of the year, in one notebook that stays at the host's place.

Four to six players is the easiest size for many board games. Put out snacks that won't leave greasy fingers on the cards, and start with a short game while the late guests arrive.

Things to make together in the house

• Make dumplings, tacos or pizza from scratch, with each friend in charge of one part.
• Bake a cake and decorate it badly on purpose.
• Draw each other in ten minutes, then hang the portraits for a gallery opening.
• Repot every plant in the flat and swap cuttings.
• Start a group mural on a long roll of paper and add to it at every visit.
• Fix something together, like a wobbly table or a bike with a flat tire.
• Shoot a short film on your phones, with the plot chosen by pulling words from a hat.
• Swap clothes and restyle each other's outfits.

Low-key things to do with a friend at home

• Watch a film series from the start, one film per visit.
• Read in the same room, each with your own book and a shared pot of tea.
• Have a face mask night with the music turned low.
• Work through a puzzle book together, one page each.
• Take turns showing each other the best videos you saw that week.
• Sit by an open window or on the balcony and watch the street go by.
• Nap on opposite ends of the sofa after a big lunch, which counts as a plan.

When the two of you want to go out instead, friend date ideas has plans for a day away from the sofa.

Things to do with friends when you're bored

No shopping, no plan and five minutes to get going:

• Rearrange the furniture in one room.
• Hold a lip-sync battle.
• Teach each other one small skill, like a card trick, a dance step or a phrase in another language.
• Write a group story one sentence at a time, passing the page around the table.
• Cook with whatever is left in the cupboard and give the dish a grand name.
• Look up each other's hometowns on a map and plan the day you would show each other around.

When you're bored on your own, things to do when you're bored sorts ideas by the kind of bored you feel.

How to plan a night in for a whole group

1. Ask what people feel like. One short message the day before saves a lot of guessing.
2. Mix two kinds. A game, then a long talk. Cooking, then a film.
3. Give everyone a job. Friends who come to make things will happily chop onions. Friends who come to talk will happily keep the table going.
4. Leave a quiet corner. Someone will need a break from the noise, and a chair in the kitchen is enough.
5. Let a good conversation win. If the talk is flowing, the board game can wait for next time.
6. End while it is still fun. A night that finishes before people get tired is the one they want to repeat.

Groups have their own habits and roles, which is why one evening clicks and another drags. Friend group dynamics explains where those come from. And when the same friends plan days away together, traveling with friends covers what changes on the road. For a night planned just for the women in the group, in or out, try these girls' night ideas.

Why each friend wants a different night

Personality type explains a lot of it. Here are six of the 16 types:

• Harmonizer: the natural host. Good food, soft light and everyone comfortable is their idea of a perfect evening.
• Mentor: the late night talker. They want the conversation to go deep, and they make the room feel as if something important is happening.
• Commander: the competitor. Give them a game with a winner and they come alive, though they may take it more seriously than anyone else at the table.
• Strategist: the small group thinker. A strategy game or one long talk with two people suits them better than a crowded room.
• Counselor: the one on one friend. They notice who has gone quiet and end up having the best talk of the night in the kitchen.
• Craftsman: the maker. They would rather cook, build or fix something than sit and chat.

When friends want different kinds of nights, nobody in the group is the boring one. Each person simply recharges in their own way. If you share a home with a partner too, the couple version of this list is fun things to do as a couple.

See what kind of night suits you and a friend

Cosima's night worked because everyone found their corner. Your relationship type with a friend shows which corners the two of you share. Start with the free friendship compatibility test, where you pick the statement that sounds more like you, out of two each time. The result names your type right away and shows your four base traits, including how outgoing or reserved you are, which says a lot about how big you like your nights in. You can see it without an account. To invite a friend, make a free account and share the invite from your result page. As soon as your friend has finished too, both of you see your relationship type: what flows between you without effort, and where your wishes drift apart. Then plan the next Saturday together.

Questions people ask

What can I do with my friends at home?

Cook a meal together, play a board game or a quiz, make something like pizza or a short film, or have a quiet film night. If your friends like different things, mix two kinds of activity in one evening.

What do you do at a friend's house?

Talk, play games, cook, watch a film or try something new together, like a card trick lesson or a drawing contest. A short message beforehand helps you plan.

What to do when bored with friends at home?

Rearrange a room, hold a lip-sync battle, write a group story one sentence at a time or cook with whatever is left in the cupboard.

What can adults do with friends at home?

Host a dinner where everyone cooks one part, run a quiz night, start a film series, try a murder mystery game or simply talk over a long meal.

How do you plan a night in when friends want different things?

Mix two activities, give everyone a job, leave a quiet corner and let the conversation win if it is going well.

Written by Virko Kask, founder of Typeza
Written with the help of AI tools.