Friendsgiving Games for Adults: Icebreakers to Pie Contestsvvvvvvv

The best Friendsgiving I ever hosted had a half-raw turkey and three pans of stuffing. Nobody cared, because we played games until 1 a.m.

Good food gets people in the door. But Friendsgiving games for adults are what turn a potluck into a night your friends talk about until next November. The right game gets the coworker, the new boyfriend, and your college roommate laughing together within 20 minutes.

This list is for anyone hosting friends this fall, from six people in a tiny apartment to a packed house. You’ll get 30 easy ideas, from icebreakers for the arrival hour to table games and team challenges, plus tips for timing games between courses.

1. Find the Guest Friendsgiving Ice Breaker Hunt

This is my go-to for the first 20 minutes, when half the room doesn’t know the other half. Guests hunt for people who match each line on a list, which means they have to actually talk to each other.

Hand everyone a sheet and a pen at the door. They find a guest who fits each line and get that person’s signature. Each guest can only sign once.

Find a guest who:

Has never cooked a turkey
Brought a store-bought dish (no judgment)
Has run a Turkey Trot
Prefers canned cranberry sauce
Has a pet with a human name
Has a weird family Thanksgiving tradition
Traveled more than 2 hours to be here

The first person with a full sheet wins a small prize, like a fancy candle. You’ll hear “wait, you too?” all over the room. That’s when you know it’s working.

2. Two Truths and a Thanksgiving Lie Game

This classic gets a holiday twist. Every statement has to be about a Thanksgiving memory, which means you hear some wild family stories.

Each guest shares three Thanksgiving facts about themselves. Two are true, and one is made up. Everyone votes on the lie with a show of hands.

Example round:

“I set a dish towel on fire while making gravy.”
“My family eats lasagna instead of turkey.”
“I’ve watched the parade in person in New York.”

Guests who fool most of the room score a point. Give everyone a minute to think before they share, since coming up with a good lie on the spot is harder than it sounds. My friend Priya’s family really does eat lasagna every year, and nobody believed her. She won that round by a mile.

3. Thanksgiving Ice Breakers for Adults Question Jar

A question jar takes the pressure off small talk. Guests pull a question and answer it, so nobody has to come up with a conversation starter on their own.

Write 30 questions on folded slips of paper and drop them in a mason jar. Pass it around during appetizers, or set it on the coffee table for people to grab.

Questions to put in the jar:

What’s the most “your family” thing about Thanksgiving?
What’s your worst holiday travel story?
If you were a side dish, which one would you be?
What dish do you secretly hate?
What was the best thing that happened to you this year?
What tradition would you start if you could?

The side dish question always gets the best answers. My friend Jamal said he’s gravy, “because I make everything better.” Nobody could argue.

4. Guess Who Brought the Dish Game

Everyone brings a dish, but nobody knows who made what. Guests guess the cook behind every dish on the table.

Ask guests to drop their dish in the kitchen quietly when they arrive. Give each dish a number on a little card. Hand out ballots, and let everyone write down who they think made each one.

How to play:

Guests taste everything at dinner
They write a name next to each dish number
Reveal the cooks before dessert
One point for every right guess

It’s fun watching people try to match the fancy dish to the friend who “doesn’t cook.” That store-bought pie never fools anyone, though. Last year, my roommate brought a homemade lemon tart, and every single person guessed it came from a bakery. She took that as the biggest compliment of her life.

5. Thankful Name Tag Mingle Game

Name tags feel a little corny, until you add a twist. Each tag shows a name and one weird thing that person is thankful for.

Set out name tags and Sharpies by the door. Each guest writes their name and something oddly specific they’re grateful for.

Thankful tag examples:

“Thankful for the snooze button”
“Thankful for heated car seats”
“Thankful for my dog’s bad breath” (sure)
“Thankful for leftover pie for breakfast”
“Thankful for noise-canceling headphones”

The tags give everyone an easy way to start a conversation. “Wait, why are you thankful for parking tickets?” At dinner, vote on the funniest tag, and give that person the first slice of pie. My friend wrote “thankful for my landlord finally fixing the heat,” and she won by a landslide.

6. Potluck Superlatives Awards Vote Game

Turn your potluck into an awards show. Guests vote on fun categories, and the winners get a prize.

Print ballots with funny award categories. Guests vote during dinner, and you announce the winners before dessert.

Award categories:

Best Dish Overall
Most Likely to Be Store-Bought (but they’ll deny it)
Best Plating
Most Creative
Spiciest
The Dish Everyone Went Back For

Grab a few plastic trophies from the dollar store, or print fun certificates. The “Most Likely to Be Store-Bought” award gets the biggest laughs. My friend won it three years in a row and finally admitted his famous mac and cheese came from Costco. We gave him a lifetime achievement award.

7. Friendsgiving Would You Rather Icebreaker

Would You Rather is easy, needs no supplies, and works for any size group. These questions are all about Friendsgiving.

Read a question out loud. Guests move to one side of the room or the other, or just raise their hands.

Questions to try:

Would you rather host every Friendsgiving or never host again?
Would you rather eat only the sides or only the turkey?
Would you rather wash all the dishes or do all the grocery shopping?
Would you rather have Friendsgiving at a cabin or on a rooftop?
Would you rather give a toast or sing karaoke?
Would you rather go back for seconds of dessert or seconds of dinner?

Ask a few people on each side to explain their pick. The “host every year” question always starts a debate, mostly among the people who’ve done it.

8. This or That Majority Match Game

Guests pick between two options, and the goal is to match the majority. It’s fast and simple, and you learn a lot about your friends.

Give each guest two cards, one orange and one brown. Read a “this or that” choice, and everyone holds up a card at the same time.

This or that choices:

Pumpkin pie or pecan pie
Stuffing or mashed potatoes
The parade or the dog show
A nap or the football game
A leftover sandwich or a reheated plate
Black Friday shopping or sleeping in

Anyone who picks the same side as the majority gets a point. People start trying to guess what everyone else will pick, instead of what they actually like. It gets sneaky. My friend picked pecan pie every round, even though she was always outvoted. Respect.

9. Hot Seat Friend Facts Guessing Game

The host reads a fun fact, and everyone guesses which guest it belongs to. Then that person takes the hot seat.

A week before the party, text each guest and ask for one surprising fact about themselves. Keep them secret until the game.

Fact examples:

“I once met a famous chef at a gas station.”
“I can recite the alphabet backward.”
“I was on a game show as a kid.”
“I’ve never eaten a whole slice of pumpkin pie.”

Read each fact out loud. Guests guess who it belongs to. Once the person is revealed, they take the hot seat and answer three quick questions from the group. It’s a great way for new friends to get to know each other, and old friends always learn something new.

10. Thanksgiving Trivia Team Quiz Game

Split into teams and test your Thanksgiving knowledge. These questions are tricky enough to stump most people.

Teams huddle up and write their answers on paper. Play 3 rounds of 5 questions, with the host reading each answer at the end.

Questions to try:

Which president made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863? (Abraham Lincoln.)
What magazine editor spent years pushing for the holiday? (Sarah Josepha Hale.)
What’s a baby turkey called? (A poult.)
What’s a male turkey called? (A tom.)
Which state raises the most turkeys? (Minnesota.)

Give the winning team a prize, like first pick of the leftovers. The Sarah Josepha Hale question stumps almost everyone. She also wrote “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” which makes for a great bonus point.

11. Thanksgiving Image Quiz Head to Head Game

Two guests face off to name zoomed-in photos of Thanksgiving food. The first one to shout the right answer wins the round.

Make a slideshow in Google Slides with super close-up photos of Thanksgiving dishes. Show them on your TV, one at a time.

Close-ups to use:

The skin on top of the gravy
The crust of a pie
The ridges on canned cranberry sauce
A marshmallow on sweet potatoes
Stuffing up close
The top of a green bean casserole

Run it as a bracket. Winners move on to the next round until there’s one champion. The cranberry sauce ridges are a dead giveaway, but the gravy skin stumps everyone. It’s loud, fast, and great for the hour after dinner, when people need something to wake them up.

12. Guess the Feast Price Game

How much did all this food cost? Guests guess the price of items from your actual grocery receipt.

Keep your receipt from the Friendsgiving shopping trip. Pick 5 items, and set them out on the table.

Items to guess:

The turkey
A can of pumpkin
A pound of butter
A bag of dinner rolls
A tub of whipped topping

Guests write their guesses on paper. The closest guess without going over wins each round. Prices change a lot from year to year, so it’s a fun way to see who actually does the grocery shopping. My friend guessed $3 for the turkey. She’s never shopping for Friendsgiving again.

13. Thanksgiving Menu Matching Game

Every family has a dish that has to be on the table. This game matches your friends to their family’s must-have dish.

Before the party, text each guest and ask: “What dish had to be on your family’s Thanksgiving table?” Make a list of all the dishes, and mix them up.

Dish examples you might get:

Green Jell-O salad
Tamales
Oyster stuffing
Sweet potato pie
Pierogi
Collard greens
Lumpia

Guests match each dish to the friend they think it belongs to. Then each person shares the story behind their dish. It’s sweet, and it’s a great way to learn about everyone’s family. My friend’s family has served tamales every Thanksgiving for 40 years, and now she brings them to our Friendsgiving too.

14. Forbidden Word Game: Friendsgiving Edition

One player describes a word while their team guesses. But some words are off-limits, which makes it a lot harder.

Make cards with a Friendsgiving word at the top and 3 forbidden words below it. Split into two teams. Each team gets 60 seconds per turn.

Sample cards:

Potluck (can’t say: dish, bring, share)
Leftovers (can’t say: containers, tomorrow, fridge)
Food coma (can’t say: sleep, full, eat)
Casserole (can’t say: dish, oven, cheese)
Gravy (can’t say: brown, sauce, turkey)

If someone says a forbidden word, the other team gets the point. The “gravy” card is harder than you’d think, since you can’t say brown, sauce, or turkey. People end up saying things like “the liquid you pour on everything,” which honestly works.

15. Category Letter Word Race Game

Pick a letter and race to fill in a list of categories. Answers that nobody else wrote are worth the most.

Give each guest a sheet with 6 categories. Use a random letter generator on your phone to pick a letter. Everyone gets 2 minutes to write one answer for each category.

Categories for Friendsgiving:

A side dish
Something in the fridge
A reason to be late
A fall smell
A TV show to binge
Something you’d bring to a potluck

Read your answers out loud. If nobody else wrote the same thing, you get a point. “A reason to be late” always gets the best answers. My friend wrote “my cat sat on my keys,” and we gave him a bonus point for creativity.

16. List Shout-Out Category Game

Teams take turns naming things in a category. The first team that gets stuck or repeats an answer loses the round.

Split into two teams. Grab an empty gravy boat to pass back and forth. Whoever’s holding it has to name something before passing it to the other team.

Categories to try:

Types of pie
Thanksgiving movies
Things you can stuff
Words that rhyme with “pie”
Kinds of casseroles
Things in Grandma’s purse

If someone stalls for 5 seconds, the other team wins the round. The “things you can stuff” category gets weird fast. Someone always says “a teddy bear,” and then it’s all downhill from there. Play best of 5 rounds.

17. Friend Group Survey Showdown

This survey is all about your friend group. Guests answer questions ahead of time, and the answers become the game.

A week before the party, send a quick Google Form to all your guests. Ask questions about your friend group. Write the top 5 answers for each question on a poster board, and cover each one with a sticky note.

Survey questions:

Name something the host always says
Name the best place our group has eaten
Name something someone always forgets to bring
Name a song our group always sings

Split into two teams. Teams take turns guessing the top answers. Peel off the sticky notes as they’re guessed. The most popular answers are worth the most points. It’s like a game show made just for your crew.

18. Thanksgiving Charades Acting Game

Charades always works at a party. These prompts are made for a Friendsgiving crowd. Want more? Grab the full word sets in our Thanksgiving charades post.

Write prompts on slips of paper, and drop them in a bowl. Split into two teams. Each player gets 60 seconds to act out a prompt without talking.

Friendsgiving prompts:

Carrying a hot dish on the subway
A lost ride-share driver
A smoke detector beeping for a new battery
Squeezing 10 chairs around a small table
The host panicking
Opening a stubborn jar
Parallel parking near the party
Carrying 3 pies at once

“Carrying 3 pies at once” is my favorite to watch. People balance invisible pies on their arms and their head. It gets the whole room laughing.

19. Drawing Guess Team Game

One player draws, and their team guesses. No letters or numbers allowed. Want more prompts? Check out our full Thanksgiving Pictionary post.

Set up an easel pad or a whiteboard. Split into two teams. Each artist gets 60 seconds to get their team to guess the prompt.

Friendsgiving prompts to draw:

A line of slow cookers on the counter
Fitting leftovers in the fridge like a puzzle
A wine stain on the carpet
A tiny turkey
A pie on the subway
A dog wearing a pilgrim hat
An empty pie dish
A group photo

The fridge puzzle is a fun one, since everyone’s done it. Artists draw a crammed fridge with containers stacked everywhere. Some of the drawings are so bad they’re good. Save them, and hang the best ones on the fridge.

20. Thanksgiving Emoji Puzzle Round

Emoji puzzles are a great quiet game for the table. Guests decode pictures into phrases. Want more? Check out our full Thanksgiving emoji Pictionary post.

Make a sheet of puzzles, and hand one out to each guest with a pen.

Friendsgiving puzzles:

[hot pepper] [beans] = Chili
[shopping cart] [running person] = Last-minute grocery run
[sleeping face] [football] = Napping through the game
[phone] [map] [car] = Lost on the way
[door] [pie] = Pie delivery

Give everyone 5 minutes. The first person to solve them all wins. Hand these out while you’re getting dinner ready, so guests have something to do. You can swap the bracketed words for real emojis when you print the sheet.

21. Friendsgiving Bingo Printable Game

Every square on the card is something that might happen at your Friendsgiving. Guests mark them off as the night goes on.

Make bingo cards with 25 squares in Canva. Fill each square with a Friendsgiving moment. Mix them up, so every card is different.

Squares to include:

Someone arrives late
A dish needs to be reheated
Someone brings wine
Someone mentions family drama
The oven timer beeps
Someone takes a photo of their food
A toast
Someone asks for the Wi-Fi password
The dog begs at the table

Use candy corn as markers. First to get 5 in a row yells “Gobble!” and wins a prize. It keeps everyone paying attention all night long.

22. Gratitude Dice Compliment Game

Roll a die, and give a compliment to the person on your left. The number tells you what kind of compliment.

What each number means:

1: something they cooked
2: a memory with them
3: a skill they have
4: their style
5: something they taught you
6: why you’re glad they came

Go around the table until everyone’s had a turn. It’s sweet without being cheesy, and everyone leaves feeling good. It works great between dinner and dessert. My friend rolled a 4 and told me I have “great fall sweater energy.” I’m putting that on my resume.

23. Candy Pick Gratitude Question Game

Guests pick candy from a bowl. Each color comes with a question, and they answer before they eat it.

Fill a bowl with M&M’s or Skittles. Each guest grabs 3 pieces without looking. Then they answer the question for each color.

Color questions:

Red: your favorite memory from this year
Orange: something tiny you’re grateful for
Yellow: someone who helped you this year
Green: a goal for next year
Blue: a place you’re grateful for
Brown: your favorite Friendsgiving moment ever

It’s easy and sweet, and everyone gets candy. Print the color key on a small card next to the bowl. Some answers get pretty deep, which is a nice surprise in the middle of a silly night.

24. Turkey Talk Gobble Circle Game

Hold the turkey, and talk for 30 seconds without saying “um” or “like.” If you slip, the group gobbles at you.

Sit in a circle and grab a stuffed turkey. Draw a topic card, and start talking. Everyone else listens for slips.

Topics to try:

Defend canned cranberry sauce
Explain why stuffing is better than dressing
Explain how to carve a turkey
Pitch a new holiday
Describe your perfect pie

Every time someone says “um” or “like,” the group gobbles. Three gobbles, and you’re out. The last person standing wins. It’s way harder than it sounds, and the gobbling is hilarious. My friend got gobbled out in 4 seconds, and he’s still mad about it.

25. Get a Turkey Dice Rolling Game

Roll a die to draw a turkey, one part at a time. The first person to finish their turkey wins.

Give each guest a paper plate and a marker. Everyone rolls one die on their turn.

What each number means:

6: the body (you need this first)
5: the head
4: the beak and wattle
3: a leg (you need 2)
2: a feather (you need 4)
1: an eye (you need 2)

You can’t draw the other parts until you roll a 6 for the body. That’s where it gets frustrating, and funny. The first person to finish yells “Gobble!” It’s fast and easy, and it works for any group size. The turkeys all look a little weird, which makes them great for the fridge.

26. Cork Boat Blowing Race Table Game

Turn wine corks into tiny boats, and race them across a tray of water. It’s silly, and it’s way more competitive than it should be.

Save wine corks for a few weeks before the party. Stick a toothpick in each cork, and add a small paper sail with each guest’s name.

How to race:

Fill a long baking dish or a cheap rain gutter with water
Two racers go at a time
Blow on your sail through a straw
First boat to the other end wins

A plastic rain gutter costs about $10 at Home Depot and makes a great racetrack. Run it as a bracket, and give the champ a prize. Put a towel down first, because water goes everywhere.

27. Football Flick Bucket Scoring Game

Fold a paper football, and flick it into cups at the end of the table. It’s the perfect halftime game.

Fold a piece of paper into a small triangle football. Set out 3 cups at the end of the table: a big bowl, a medium cup, and a small cup.

How to score:

Big bowl: 1 point
Medium cup: 3 points
Small cup: 5 points
Field goal bonus: 3 points (flick it through a friend’s fingers held up like goalposts)

Each player gets 5 flicks. Highest score wins. It’s a great one to play during the football game, when everyone’s on the couch anyway. My friend sank 3 in the small cup in a row and has been unbearable ever since.

28. Favorite Things Gift Swap Game

Everyone brings a wrapped gift, and the swapping gets a little sneaky. It’s a fun way to end the night.

Ask each guest to bring one wrapped item they love that costs $15 or less. Pile the gifts on a table. Then players roll a die on their turn.

Dice rules:

1 or 2: pick a gift from the pile
3 or 4: steal a gift from someone
5 or 6: swap gifts with anyone

Play until the pile is empty, then do one final round. Gift ideas: a favorite hot sauce, a candle, a spice blend, a dish towel, fancy chocolate. Last year, the hot sauce got stolen 6 times. Everyone wanted it, and the person who ended up with it was the one who brought it.

29. Team Building Pie Decorating Challenge

Split into teams, and decorate a pie. The winning team gets bragging rights and the first slice.

Buy plain store-bought pies, like pumpkin or apple. Set out a decorating station.

Decorating supplies:

Whipped cream
Sprinkles
Candy corn
Pretzels
Chocolate chips
Crushed cookies
Pie crust cutouts in leaf shapes

Give each team of 3 about 15 minutes. Pick a fun theme, like “our friend group as a pie.” Guests vote on the winner. It’s one of my favorite Friendsgiving games for adults, since everyone gets to eat the results. Our winning pie last year had a turkey made of pretzels. It looked terrible, and it tasted amazing.

30. Team Building Mystery Ingredient Dish Round

It’s a cooking show at your house. Teams get a basket of leftovers and one weird ingredient, and they have to make something.

Split into teams of 3. Give each team a basket with leftovers and one mystery ingredient.

Mystery ingredients:

Candy corn
Pickles
Cranberry sauce
Potato chips
Marshmallows

Teams get 20 minutes to make a snack plate or a dessert. Judges taste each dish and score it on taste, creativity, and looks. Keep it no-cook if you can, since a crowded kitchen with knives and a hot stove is a bad combo. Our winning team made a “pie parfait” with leftover pie, whipped cream, and crushed potato chips. Somehow, it worked.

How to Pick Ice Breakers for a Friendsgiving

Not every icebreaker works for every group. Think about who’s coming.

Pick by group:

Lots of strangers: Find the Guest Hunt (#1) or Thankful Name Tags (#5)
Small group: Question Jar (#3) or Hot Seat Friend Facts (#9)
Big crowd: Potluck Superlatives (#6) or Friendsgiving Bingo (#21)

Tips for picking icebreakers:

Start with something low-pressure
Skip anything too personal or embarrassing
Keep the rules simple
Have a no-supply option ready

Most Friendsgivings happen the weekend before Thanksgiving. This year, that’s Saturday, November 21. Send invites about two weeks ahead.

Tips for Running Games Between Courses

Timing is everything. Here’s how to fit games around the food.

Arrival hour: Play mingling games, like the Find the Guest Hunt or the Question Jar.
At the table: Play easy games, like Candy Pick Gratitude or the Dice Compliment Game.
Between dinner and dessert: Play quick games, like Guess the Feast Price.
After pie: Play active games, like charades or the Cork Boat Race.

More tips:

Keep each game to 10 to 15 minutes
Pick one person to run the games
Use a timer
Don’t interrupt people while they’re eating
Keep supplies in one basket

My tip: Pick 4 or 5 Friendsgiving games for adults, and save the rest for next year. Too many games makes the night feel like a schedule.

FAQs

What are the best Friendsgiving ice breakers?

The Find the Guest Hunt, the Question Jar, and Thankful Name Tags are great for getting people talking. They work well for groups with lots of new faces, and they don’t need much setup.

What Thanksgiving ice breakers for adults work for new guests?

Try the Find the Guest Hunt or the Thankful Name Tag game. Both give guests an easy reason to start a conversation. The Hot Seat Friend Facts game helps new friends learn fun things about each other.

Which Thanksgiving icebreaker games need no supplies?

Would You Rather, Two Truths and a Thanksgiving Lie, and the Turkey Talk Gobble Circle need almost nothing. All you need is a list of questions or topics. A stuffed turkey for Turkey Talk is fun, but not required.

What Thanksgiving team building games work at a potluck?

The Pie Decorating Challenge and the Mystery Ingredient Dish Round are great team builders. Trivia and the Survey Showdown work well too. Split guests into mixed teams so new friends get to know each other.

Can these games be played without alcohol?

Yes! Every game on this list works without drinks. Set out sparkling cider, hot apple cider, or a fun mocktail. The games are all about laughing with your friends.

Conclusion

These Friendsgiving games for adults give you easy options for the arrival hour, the dinner table, and the long stretch after pie. Some take two minutes to set up, and others are worth planning a week ahead.

Pick a few that fit your friend group, and you’ll have a Friendsgiving everyone talks about for months. I’m already saving wine corks for this year’s boat race.