A bachelorette party runs on momentum, and games are how you keep it. The ones below need almost nothing — a phone, a pen, a deck of cards — because the bride does not want to watch you set up a craft table. Sorted by where you are and how far the night has gone, from the first awkward hour to the point where somebody suggests karaoke.
Hen party games, bachelorette party games, hen do games — same night, different word depending on which side of the Atlantic you are on. The games are identical.
Bachelorette Party Games to Start the Night
Nobody knows everybody. These fix that in ten minutes without anyone having to stand up and introduce themselves.
- How well do you know the bride? Ten questions written in advance — her first job, her worst ex, the song she will not admit she loves. Everyone writes answers, the bride marks them. Lowest score buys the first round.
- Two truths and a lie, wedding edition. Three stories about how you know the bride, one invented. It gets the whole group talking about her, which is the point.
- Bridal bingo. Cards filled with things that will definitely happen tonight: someone cries, the bride says "I can't believe you did this", a stranger asks if she is getting married.
- Who said it. Read out a quote from either the bride or the groom. Guess who. Collect these from the couple weeks ahead and do not tell them why.
- Drink if. "Drink if you've known the bride more than ten years." "Drink if you've been in a group chat about tonight." Twenty of these and everyone knows everyone.
Mr and Mrs: the Game Every Hen Party Has
The one game that appears at every hen do, and it works because the groom does the hard part.
Send the groom a list of questions a week ahead and film him answering. At the party, ask the bride the same questions. Every time her answer does not match his, she drinks. Every time it does, everyone else does.
Questions that always land: Who said I love you first? What was her first impression of you? Who is the better driver? What is the one thing she owns that you would throw away? Who is more likely to cry at the wedding? What is her most annoying habit? Where was your first kiss? Who apologizes first after an argument?
Ten is plenty. Twenty and it stops being funny.
Bachelorette Party Games for the House
The at-home half of the day, where the real games happen before anybody leaves.
- Prosecco pong. Beer pong with plastic flutes. Exactly as messy as it sounds and worth it.
- Ring on a string. Everyone holds a loop of string with a ring on it, one person in the middle guesses who has it. Cheap, old, still good.
- Pin the kiss on the groom. Blown-up photo of the groom, paper lips, blindfold. Ridiculous and unbeatable.
- Toilet paper wedding dress. Teams of three, one roll each, ten minutes. The bride judges. Photograph everything.
- The advice cards. Every guest writes one piece of marriage advice, serious or otherwise. Read them out blind and guess who wrote each.
- Guess the dress. Everyone draws the wedding dress they think she chose. The bride reveals a photo. Nobody is ever close.
Bachelorette Scavenger Hunt Ideas
The one that gets you talking to strangers, which is either the best or worst part depending on the group.
Set the list before the first drink and demand photo proof. Good items: get a stranger to teach you a dance move · find someone with the same name as the groom · borrow a hat from someone outside the group · get a bartender to invent a drink named after the bride · find someone celebrating something else tonight · collect a phone number the bride does not want.
Score it out of ten, agree a forfeit for last place, and set a hard deadline or it runs all night.
Games for the Bar
Small, loud, and playable standing up with a drink in your hand.
- The nail polish forfeit. Lose a round, wear the color the group picks. Nobody picks a sensible one.
- Never have I ever, bride edition. Aimed entirely at her. Our never have I ever generator has hundreds if you run dry.
- Truth or dare. Keep the dares survivable — our truth or dare generator has a clean mode and a spicier one.
- Most likely to. Point at whoever fits. Half the fun is the arguing afterwards.
- Karaoke roulette. Draw a name and a song. No refusing, no swapping.
Bachelorette Party Games That Are Not Rude
Not every hen party wants the spicy version. These work with the bride's mother in the room and are still genuinely funny.
- The love story quiz. How they met, first date, first holiday. Warm rather than filthy.
- Bridal bingo — as above, keep the squares clean.
- Charades, wedding films only. Four Weddings, My Best Friend's Wedding, Bridesmaids, Mamma Mia.
- The memory jar. Everyone writes a favorite memory of the bride. Read them out. Someone will cry and it will be the person you least expect.
- Would you rather, wedding edition. Rain on the day or a lost ring? Our would you rather generator covers the rest of the night.
How to Actually Run the Games
The organizing, in four lines, because this is where hen parties go wrong.
Pick four games, not twelve. Momentum beats variety every time. Write everything down before the day — nobody wants to watch you scroll a phone looking for questions. Ten to fifteen minutes each, and stop while people still want more. Give one person the job of starting them. Games do not start themselves, and the bride should not have to run her own party.
