Small flat and rainy-day plan

For: 4 to 10 people in one room
Length: About 75 minutes
Games: 6

A party in a small flat needs games that happen on a table or in a circle of chairs, that do not send anyone running into the furniture, and that the neighbours downstairs will not hear. The same list rescues a birthday when the rain has cancelled the park. Everything here uses things from the kitchen and a few sheets of paper.

The running order

Time	Game	Notes for the host
0 to 15 min	Raja Mantri Chor Sipahi	At the dining table.
15 to 25 min	Straw and Rajma	Two or three at a time.
25 to 35 min	Cup Pyramid	Head to head on the table, with a stopwatch.
35 to 45 min	Biscuit on the Forehead	Everyone at once, seated on the sofa.
45 to 60 min	Cut the Flour Cake	On a tray. Have the towel ready.
60 to 75 min	Wink Detective	With eight or more; with fewer, play Don't Say It.

Timings are a guide. Stop any game while people still want more, and drop one if you are running late.

What to get ready

Chits and a pen
Straws, rajma, plates and bowls
Twenty paper cups
Round biscuits
Flour, a bowl, a tray, a blunt knife, a wrapped toffee
A timer on a phone

Small-space rules

Clear one table and one patch of floor before guests come; put breakables in another room.
Sit-down games only, with one stand-up stretch in the middle.
Messy games on a tray or over a spread newspaper.
Mind the hour. Quiet games after nine at night; your neighbours will thank you.
Fewer people, more turns. With six guests everyone plays every round, so shorter games feel right.

More games that need only paper and a pen are on our neighbour site Board Games: dots and boxes, battleships and five in a row.

The games in this plan

On the day

Keep the party timer and the scoreboard open on your phone, and prepare chits with the chit maker. First time as host? Read how to host party games. See all party plans.