An Introvert's Guide To Hosting Your First Game Night

If you’re an introvert like me and are on the fence about hosting your first game night or get-together then this is for you. I’m sharing all the details of how I decided who to invite, what to play and even how I had crazy nerves leading up to that night.

Once I decided that hosting really is possible for an introvert I set to work planning my first game night. Here’s what I did to make it go smoothly and have a lot of fun while doing it.

Who To Invite

This was a biggie for me because I didn’t want to invite a ton of people but I also wanted to have enough people to have fun, given I’m used to just playing bingo app free on my phone. Yes, game night can be fun with one other person but let’s face it, most games are best with at least 3 people.

As I made my list of who to invite I thought about ladies that I loved talking to and hanging out with, those who I wanted to hang out with but knew that time/schedule was tight, and even those who I didn’t know very well but wanted to get to know better.

When all was said and done I ended up with 8 names on my list, which I thought was a great number. It was inevitable that not everyone would be able to come which would still leave a good number of ladies to join the fun.

Just For You:

Who do you love talking to or hanging out with? Are there ladies in your circle of friends who you’d like to spend more time with but it’s hard to get your schedules together? Who are you drawn to that you’d like to get to know better?

The ladies that just came to mind as your read those questions are the ones that need to be on your guest list!

Where To Have It

Naturally I wanted to host my first game night at my house but my son is generally in bed by 8 p.m. The wall that his bed sits on is fairly close to the dining area where we would be playing games so the thought of him trying to go to sleep with us laughing and carrying on was a bit concerning.

I toyed around with the idea of asking my sister to host at her house but came to the conclusion that that plan would not work out well for the longterm. (After all, this was my first game night and I was planning on hosting them about once a month.)

After consulting my sister who has hosted at her house with little ones, she reassured me that Dalton would be fine. And I’m here to tell you that he was. Even with our laughing and carrying on he didn’t have any problem going to sleep!

Just For You:

Maybe hosting at your house isn’t an option for you. Do you have a friend that’s on your guest list who would love to host? Or perhaps your friends could take turns hosting each month. (You can be the organizer/facilitator as long as they open up their house.) Could you meet at a coffee shop and play cards? Does your HOA have a space you could use?

Giving up on your dream of hosting a game night is not an option so you may need to get creative and think outside of the box.

What To Serve

Since I’d already figured what about hosting makes me nervous I knew that cooking for everyone was out of the question. So I decided that I would ask each lady to bring a finger food or beverage. Of course, I also had a finger food to offer my guests but knowing everyone else was bringing something eased the tension for me.

Just For You:

You may be the polar opposite of me and love cooking for everyone. If that’s you by all means cook a beautiful meal to serve to your guests.

If cooking for a crowd isn’t your thing have guests bring something, order take-out or a pizza, serve dessert and coffee/tea, go out to dinner then come back to your house for games.

Set yourself up for success by figuring out what stresses you out before the night arrives.

What Games To Play

Oh my, there are a ton of fun games to play, but here are a few favorites! Not sure how a game is played, click the picture to learn more

2-4 Player Games

4+ Player Games

The Week Before

In the week leading up to my first game night the nerves showed up and there were a few times when I questioned what I had done inviting these ladies into my house.

Would they come?

Would they have fun?

Would they like each other? (Most of them were only friends with me and didn’t know each other.)

Will conversation be awkward?

What will they think of my house?

These were just a few of the questions swirling around in my brain. I may be an introvert but I’m also a planner and like to know how things are going to flow beforehand. Not knowing the answers to these questions made me quite nervous.

But as the nerves came I reminded myself that this game night was all the Lord’s idea and He was going to work it out perfectly…and He did.

As my friends showed up and the night began all the pieces fell into place. There may have been a few hiccups along the way (like Trent taking all of the ice on his excursion with Dalton…or a few moments of awkward silence) but all that matters is that we had a blast playing games, visiting and laughing with each other and eating yummy finger-foods. It was the first of many nights like this!

Just For You:

Friend, just like they did for me, the nerves will come. When they do know that you’re not alone, that it’s okay to be nervous and remind yourself that you’ve done the right thing in hosting your first game night.

There may be a few hiccups that occur through the evening but you’re going to get through them. Your guests are going to have a great time and will be thankful that you opened up your home to them. And most importantly you’ll be so proud of yourself for diving out of your comfort zone.

Trust me, if I can do this you can too. I’m cheering you!

I’ve given you all of my tips and tricks and there shouldn’t be anything holding you back from hosting your first game night! I’m excited to hear how yours goes!

L I N K S O F T H E D A Y