How Many Games Should You Plan for a Bachelorette Party?
There's a version of every maid of honour who arrives with nine printed games in a folder, colour-coded. By the end of the weekend, they've played two. The other seven go home in the folder.
That's completely normal. Those seven were planned for hours the group ended up spending at dinner, on the dance floor or asleep on the couch.
The right number depends on how long the party is and how much is already planned. Here's the quick answer, then how to adjust it for your group.
The quick answer
These are starting points. The next section covers what should move the number up or down.
What changes the number
Plan fewer if:
You've booked a big activity, like a cooking class or a boat. That's the entertainment for that block.
The group already knows each other well. Old friends fill time with stories.
Dinner is long and the venue is loud. Nobody will hear the clues.
Plan more if:
Half the group has never met. Games give strangers something to do together before they have anything to talk about.
You're staying somewhere with lots of unstructured time, like a rental with a pool.
The weather could turn. A spare game is your rain plan.
The biggest factor is simple: how many empty hours do you actually need to fill?
Dinner only: one game
Dinner is the activity. The game is there for the gap between ordering and food arriving, which at a busy restaurant can feel like a week.
Dirty Minds works well here. It needs one person reading and nothing on the table but drinks. Every clue sounds rude and every answer is innocent, so the laughs come quickly and the waiter only hears the innocent half.
If the group all knows each other well, Most Likely To is a good alternative. Read a prompt, everyone points.
A night at home: two games
A night in has a natural shape: people arrive, then everyone settles. Plan one game for each.
Anything But, for arrivals. Each prompt starts a picture and rules out the obvious way to finish it. Everyone draws on their own sheet, so people can join as they walk in.
Dirty Minds, once everyone's on the couch. Low energy, big laughs, no getting up.
Two is enough. After that, the group will usually be happy talking, and you can let them.
An evening at the rental, then out: two or three
This is the classic bachelorette night: drinks at the rental, dinner, then somewhere with music. Each part has its own lull.
Arrivals: Anything But
Pre-dinner drinks: Dirty Minds
The night out: the Photo Scavenger Hunt, played in teams between venues
If dinner runs long, drop the middle game. The scavenger hunt is the one worth keeping, because it travels with you.
A full weekend away: three or four, play what fits
A weekend has more empty hours than you'd guess: staggered arrivals on Friday, a long Saturday afternoon, the slow Sunday morning. Pack three or four games and expect to play two or three.
On top of the three games above, add one for the end of the weekend:
MASH for the quiet Sunday table. A sheet and a pen each, no explaining needed.
Most Likely To for the last dinner, once the group has two days of material to vote on.
For a slot-by-slot plan, see Bachelorette Weekend Games: What to Play and When.
How to tell you've planned too many
You've planned too many if any of these happen:
You're checking the time to fit the next game in.
You stop a good conversation to start a round.
The group groans, politely, when the folder comes out.
The fix is easy. Put the folder away. A game that doesn't get played costs you nothing, and the group having fun without it is the whole point.
The opposite problem is harder to fix on the day: a 4pm lull with nothing to reach for. That's why packing one spare is worth it.
Bundle or single games?
Match the purchase to your answer above.
One game: buy the single game. A bundle would just add to the folder.
Two games: two singles, or the bundle if you might go out later.
Three or more: the Bachelorette Game Bundle. It includes Anything But, Dirty Minds and the Photo Scavenger Hunt, and costs less than buying the three separately.
The short version
One game for a dinner. Two for a night in. Two or three for an evening that ends somewhere loud. Three or four for a weekend, and play only what fits.
Print them before you leave, keep them in your bag, and bring one out only when the room goes quiet.
