A New Twist on Game Night

This week, put away those store-bought games and create your own! Making your own family trivia game is fast, easy, and fun.

All you really need are some slips of paper and some writing utensils. Fold the papers in half, then pass out a handful to each person in your family and have them write a question about themselves on the outside of each one. Write the questions in third person, i.e. “What is Jen’s favorite condiment?” The questions can be totally random, but you can also create categories a la Jeopardy! and have each person submit a question for each category. Try things like “favorite colors” or “funny things this person has done” or “pet peeves.” You can even assign point values based on how difficult the person thinks their question is, or keep it simple and make each question worth one point.

Write the answer to each question on the inside of the folded paper (“Sir Kensington’s Chipotle Mayo!”), then collect them all.

Now you have to decide what your system of play is – will you break into teams and swap questions? Will you go head-to-head in true Jeopardy! fashion and “buzz in” so only one person can earn the point(s) associated with each question? Or will you play quiz style, and have everyone write their response to each question, then see who gets the most correct answers? There’s no wrong choice here, and you might even make up your own rules that are different from any of the above options.

Congratulations – you’re ready to play! The only question left is what the winner earns when the game is over. The prize can be whatever you’d like, just be prepared to see your family members reveal their competitive sides if it’s something everyone really wants.

Whatever format you choose, you can re-play whenever you like, using new questions or even new categories of questions (music trivia, family history, movie facts, the possibilities are endless!). But start here, and enjoy a family game night full of learning about each other, laughing together, and a little bit of friendly (well, hopefully friendly) competition.

We’d love to hear who triumphed in your game of family trivia! Share your photos and stories with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.