How to Host a Game Night

Summary

The video offers practical advice on making friends as adults, especially for those who have recently moved or are looking to build relationships in a new city. The speaker shares her experience as an 'Urban Nomad' and how game nights were the most effective way to bond with new people across different cultures. She outlines a step-by-step guide for hosting a successful game night, emphasizing setting a goal, planning the event, choosing appropriate games, preparing guests, providing food and drinks, and managing timing to ensure a fun and engaging experience.

Takeaways

• 🏡 The speaker and her husband became 'Urban Nomads', moving to a new city every two months for two years.
• 🌐 They traveled to various cities globally, including Buenos Aires, Shanghai, New York, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon.
• 🤝 They found it challenging to make friends quickly in each new city, as traditional social activities like drinks and dinners were less effective.
• 🎲 The most successful method for making friends was hosting game nights, which provided a fun and engaging environment for bonding.
• 🎯 Before planning a game night, it's important to set a clear goal, such as having fun, getting out of comfort zones, deepening existing friendships, or creating new ones.
• 🏠 Consider the size of your space and the number of players a game can accommodate when planning the event.
• 📝 Preparing guests by informing them about the type of games and the level of comfort expected can help set the right expectations.
• 🍕 'Drinkies and Munchies' are essential for a fun gaming experience, and it's important to communicate what food and drinks will be available.
• ⏰ Clearly communicate the start time and schedule for the game night to avoid awkward interruptions during gameplay.
• 🔥 Starting with a small group of four to six people is recommended for an intimate and effective game night.
• 💬 The game of conversation is also highlighted as a valuable tool for bonding, with the speaker offering a book titled 'Captivate' for further guidance.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is about making friends as adults, particularly in new cities, and the focus is on organizing game nights as an effective way to build relationships.

Why did the speaker and her husband decide to become 'Urban Nomads'?

The speaker and her husband decided to become 'Urban Nomads' to sell all their belongings and travel, staying in a new city every two months for two years, allowing them to see the world.

What were the challenges the speaker faced when trying to make friends in new cities?

The speaker found it challenging to bond with people quickly in new cities as traditional methods like drinks and dinners were harder than expected to organize and execute.

Why did game nights prove to be an effective method for making friends according to the speaker?

Game nights were effective because games provide a cross-cultural, global way to bond through laughter and fun, which helped the speaker and her husband make friends all over the world.

What is the first step the speaker suggests when planning a game night?

The first step is to define the goal of the game night, which could be to have fun, get people out of their comfort zones, know people better, or learn something new.

How does the number of people影响 the choice of games for a game night?

The number of people that can comfortably fit in your space and the number of players a game can accommodate are crucial in choosing the right game for your game night.

What is the significance of prepping people before a game night as suggested by the speaker?

Prepping people is significant because it sets expectations for the type of game night it will be, allowing guests to decide if they are comfortable with the planned activities and avoid awkwardness.

Why are 'drinkies and Munch Munchies' important for a game night?

'Drinkies and Munch Munchies' are important because they facilitate a fun and easy gaming experience by preventing discomfort from hunger, which can detract from the enjoyment of the games.

What advice does the speaker give regarding the timing of a game night?

The speaker advises to be specific about the timing, informing guests of when to arrive for drinks and food and when the games will start to avoid interruptions mid-game.

What is the speaker's recommendation for the size of the group for a successful game night?

The speaker recommends starting small, with a group of three to six people, as it's easier to manage and allows for better bonding and getting to know each other.

How does the speaker suggest enhancing conversation during a game night?

The speaker suggests playing conversation games and referring to her book 'Captivate' for ideas on how to have engaging and amazing conversations.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Urban Nomad Adventures and Making Friends

The speaker shares their experience of being 'Urban Nomads' with their husband, selling their belongings and moving to a new city every two months for two years. They traveled to various cities globally, including Buenos Aires, Shanghai, New York, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon. The challenge they faced was making new friends quickly in each city. They initially thought drinks and dinners would help, but found that game nights with laughter and fun were the most effective way to bond across cultures. They carried favorite games with them and invited acquaintances, colleagues, and friends of friends to game nights, which became the best method for making friends. The speaker suggests that game nights can be a great way to create friendships, regardless of whether one is new to a city or has been there for years.

Keywords

💡Urban Nomads

Urban Nomads refers to the lifestyle the speaker and their spouse adopted, where they moved from city to city every two months. They sold all their belongings and relied on friends to vote on their next destination. This lifestyle is a central concept in the video as it emphasizes the challenge of making new friends in new environments.

💡Game Nights

Game Nights are the primary method the speaker used to bond with new people. They found that hosting game nights was the best way to form connections quickly in different cities. The concept of game nights plays a key role in the video as a solution for fostering friendships, especially for newcomers.

💡Cross-cultural Bonding

Cross-cultural Bonding refers to the idea that games, laughter, and fun serve as universal ways to build relationships regardless of location. In the video, the speaker highlights how game nights worked globally, from Buenos Aires to Shanghai, showing that human connection transcends cultural boundaries through shared experiences.

💡Comfort Zones

Comfort Zones are the psychological spaces where individuals feel safe and secure. The speaker addresses how certain games can push people out of their comfort zones, which can either strengthen bonds or make individuals uncomfortable. The video emphasizes the importance of preparing guests for this possibility.

💡Social Goals

Social Goals refer to the different objectives that can shape a game night. According to the video, hosts should determine whether their goal is to have fun, help people get out of their comfort zones, or foster deeper connections. These goals affect the choice of games and the guest list.

💡Game Plan

A Game Plan is essential for a successful game night, according to the speaker. It involves determining the number of people who can fit in the space, the ideal size for the games being played, and what games align with the host's social goals. Planning is critical to avoid awkward or chaotic situations.

💡Drinkies and Munchies

Drinkies and Munchies are casual terms for drinks and snacks that help facilitate a fun and relaxed atmosphere during game nights. The speaker emphasizes that having good food and drinks is crucial for keeping people comfortable and engaged. This aspect of game night preparation ties into creating an enjoyable and seamless experience.

💡Timing

Timing refers to the structure of the event, including when guests should arrive and when games will start. The video stresses the importance of clearly communicating this to avoid people arriving in the middle of a game, which can create awkward moments and disrupt the flow of the night.

💡Game Selection

Game Selection is a key factor in ensuring the success of a game night. The speaker advises choosing games that match the event's social goals and the preferences of the group. Whether the objective is to foster laughter, create bonds, or push people out of their comfort zones, game selection plays a pivotal role.

💡Sparkling Conversation

Sparkling Conversation is described as the 'best game' that people can play, referring to the power of meaningful dialogue in building connections. The speaker suggests that games can act as conversation starters, and encourages readers to check out a book with ideas for engaging conversation games.

Highlights

The couple decided to become Urban Nomads, selling their belongings and moving to a new city every two months for two years.

They traveled to cities like Buenos Aires, Shanghai, New York, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon.

They found it challenging to make friends quickly in each new city.

Having drinks and dinners didn't work as well as they thought for bonding with new people.

Game nights with laughter and fun were discovered as a universal way to bond across cultures.

They carried favorite games with them, despite limited space, to facilitate friendships.

Inviting acquaintances and colleagues to game nights helped them make friends worldwide.

The goal of game night can vary, such as laughter, comfort zone expansion, bonding, or learning.

The number of guests should be considered based on the available space and game requirements.

Choosing the right game is crucial and should align with the night's goal.

Prepping guests by informing them about the game's nature helps set expectations.

Providing food and drinks is essential for a fun and easy gaming experience.

Communicating the exact timing for the game night prevents awkwardness during play.

Starting with a small group of four to six people is recommended for an intimate and effective game night.

The game of conversation can also be a powerful tool for bonding, as mentioned in the book 'Captivate'.

Transcripts

hello hello today we're going to answer

a really common reader question how do I

make friends as adults or I just move

somewhere new how do I build

relationships so my husband and I for

about two years decided to be Urban

Nomads where we sold all of our stuff

and we asked our friends to vote on

where we should move around the world

and for 2 years we stayed in a new city

every two months this was amazing it was

a great way to see the world we went

everywhere from buenos Iris to Shanghai

to New York to San Francisco to Portland

Oregon which we where is where we ended

up what was crazy about this time period

though was that we had to make new

friends very very quickly every new city

we went to we had to immediately try to

bond we thought that drinks would work

but it actually was much harder than we

thought to bom with people we thought

dinners would work but those were really

hard to book we learned the best way to

make friends was to actually have game

nights games laughing fun seemed to be a

crosscultural global way to bond so what

we did is we brought a couple of our

favorite games with us as we traveled

around the world and we didn't have much

space but it was worth it and every time

we set up a new city we would meet

friends of friends of friends workers

and colleagues that we barely knew and

said hey we're going to have a game

night do you want to come we found this

was the best way to make friends now we

have friends all over the world so I

thought I would share a little video on

how you can create and throw your own

amazing game night whether you've been

in a city for many years or you're new

this is the way you want to do it first

what's the goal so this seems kind of

crazy to think of a goal for game night

but there's actually a couple different

things you can think of first is it to

laugh just have as much fun as possible

second is it to get people out of their

comfort zones so is it to get people to

know people you already know better or

is it to get to know people to bond to

create new friendships lastly is it to

learn something new those are not only

very different kinds of people you would

invite those are also different kinds of

games that you would play second thing

you should do is come up with a game

plan for your game night how many people

can comfortably fit in your space you do

not want to invite more than that

because there's nothing worse than

trying to play a game when there's not

enough chairs how many people can play

the game you want to play how many

players does it call for what kind of

group do you want to

have and lastly what is your game choice

and this is the third step so this is a

big one and I'm a huge fan of different

kinds of games so we have a whole list

of Science of people if you want to go

you can go to science of

people.com boardgame to check out all of

my real favorite games to pick a game

that is perfect for your goal the fourth

one is to prep people so this sounds

kind of funny but if you're going to try

to get people out of their comfort zone

you should warn them there's nothing

worse than showing up to a game night

where you barely know anyone and having

an extremely personal or inappropriate

game that everyone wants to play so if

you want to get people out of their

comfort zone tell them send an email or

an invite that says hey I really want to

have a game night it's going to be uh

pretty crazy and we're going to get you

out of your comfort zone with a really

fun and inappropri game that way for

people who are a little bit that's not

their thing maybe they're too

introverted or maybe that's they they're

not comfortable with everyone in the

group they can nicely say hey sorry I'm

busy that night and you give them an

easy out the fifth thing to do is what I

call drinkies and Munch Munchies so

drinkies and Munchies are very important

to facilitate fun and easy gaming and

the reason for this is because it's

really awful to eat to play games when

you're hungry one of the most horrible

human experiences so make sure sure that

if you're serving food you let people

know what you're serving and what they

should bring lastly timing so you want

to tell people exactly what time to get

there because a game night unlike a big

holiday party is not a random cocktail

party so you want to make sure that you

tell people drinks and food at 600 and

we're sitting down to play games at 6:30

otherwise you have people trickling in

mid game it becomes really awkward those

are my easiest six tips for doing a game

night and I highly highly recommend

starting out small so maybe just three

four six people four to six people games

the easiest and you will get to know

people better than you ever have

before of course the best game you can

play with people is the game of

conversation if you want to know how to

have sparkling dazzling amazing

conversations and either even play some

good conversation games check out my

book Captivate I have all kinds of ideas

for you on how to bond with people