14 Brilliant BBQ Party Games Ideas for Adults

Summertime’s upon us, and you know what that means…

It’s BBQ season!

Indeed, half of Britons say they’ve improved their grilling skills since the start of the pandemic.

Not only that, but 1 in 4 also boast that their barbecue skills are better than ever before.

That’s good news for your hungry guests.

But how do you plan to keep them entertained?

A pile of delicious food’s a must at every backyard BBQ, but you can’t overlook the other aspects of hosting a party too.

When the weather’s nice, having some fun outdoor BBQ games for adults up your sleeve is sure to come in handy.

Many barbecue games are designed for kids, but today we’ll take a look at the best BBQ party games ideas for adults.

Whether you want to get physical or sit around and chat over a cold one, these BBQ games are sure to fit the bill.

Read on to discover the best games for your barbecue party.

Interested in BBQ party games? You might also like these…

Active Games for a Barbecue Party

Get your party started with some fun outdoor activities for the adults. Here are some terrific BBQ games that everyone is certain to enjoy.

1. Classic Barbecue Games

We’ll start our list with some tried-and-true favourites, such as:

Cornhole toss
Horseshoes
Capture the flag
Tug of war
Croquet
Badminton
Kan Jam
Ladder golf
Ring toss
Frisbee
Beer pong
Charades
Bocce ball
Limbo
Water balloon fight
Potato sack race
Three-legged race

You may have played these games a hundred times before and you’ll probably play them at a hundred times more.

Why? Because classics never die!

You can easily order the items you’ll need for these games online, or find them at your local party store.

However, if you’re hoping to introduce some unique BBQ party games ideas for adults, then consider any of the following options…

2. Homemade Obstacle Course

If you’re lucky enough to have a large yard or open field near your home, why not build your own obstacle course?

It’s not as difficult as you might think!

You can probably use items you have lying around the house or pick up some materials from a nearby store.

Depending on the space you have to work with, your obstacle course might include:

A pattern of cones to weave through
A hanging hula hoop to jump through
A high jump or long jump (with something soft to land on)
A balance beam or balance ball
Strength-based obstacles like a chin-up bar or weight toss
Teamwork exercises like a three-legged race or human wheelbarrow
A water element such as a kiddie pool or sprinklers

To get inspired, try watching some popular obstacle course shows.

Of course, make sure your course is challenging but not dangerous! After all, nothing spoils a barbecue faster than a trip to the emergency room!

3. Giant BBQ Games

Did you know there’s a giant version of all your favourite games?

Spend a few minutes browsing online and you’ll find:

Giant checkers
Giant chess
Giant Yahtzee
Giant Jenga
Giant Bowling
Giant Yard Pong
Connect Four Yard Game
Tic Tac Toe Yard Game

Any of these giant games are sure to be a hit – if only for their novelty value!

4. Fifteen Passes

If you’ve got a ball and plenty of space to play, this is one of the easiest physical BBQ party games you can play.

Divide everyone into two teams and spread out across the yard.

Teams must then pass the ball to other team members without dropping it or having the other team “steal” it.

The first team to reach 15 passes with no drops, disruptions, or interference wins!

5. Scots & English

Part race, part tag, and part scavenger hunt, it doesn’t get much better than a competitive game of Scots & English.

You’ll need a large designated space to play — ideally a field free from any major obstacles.

At each end, you’ll make a “prison” from a football goal or another marked area.

You’ll also need a dozen balls or other small items that will be your “treasure” for the game.

Place six pieces of treasure evenly spaced out along the end line for each time.

Now divide into two teams of at least six players each.

Each team has one half of the field as their own and attacks toward their opponents’ end line.

When the game begins, players can cross the centre line into their opponents’ territory.

The goal is to try to capture a piece of treasure to bring back to their own team’s treasure haul without getting tagged.

If a player gets tagged, they become a prisoner.

Prisoners get escorted to “prison” by their captor and must go without a fight.

Any player who reaches the opposite end line without getting tagged can either take one piece of treasure for their own team or release an incarcerated teammate.

They’re considered invincible until they’re returned to their own team with either the treasure or their freed teammate.

Continue playing until one team has amassed all the treasure on their side!

Conversational BBQ Games for Adults

After all that physical activity (and a mountain of delicious barbecue), you’ll probably be ready to sit and relax. Kick up your feet and keep the fun going with one of these slower-paced barbecue party games.

6. Who Am I?

Similar to 20 Questions, this game involves a series of “yes” or “no” answers.

To play, all you’ll need is a pen and some Post-It notes.

Write down the name of a famous celebrity or political figure or, for a different spin, choose a well-known character from fiction.

Place the Post-It note on someone’s forehead, ensuring they don’t see what’s written on it.

Then the person can ask up to 20 questions (receiving only “yes” or “no” answers) to try to figure out who they are.

You can play this game with one person at a time, or you can put notes on everyone’s heads for a faster-paced (and often funnier) version of the game.

7. Make Me Laugh

Does everyone in your group have a great sense of humour?

They’ll love this simple but hilarious game.

Divide into two teams.

For each round, you’ll choose one team member to maintain a “straight face.”

Meanwhile, the other team does everything in their power to get that person to laugh.

They could do charades, tell jokes, make faces, or anything else to elicit a laugh.

If the person laughs (or even cracks a grin), the other team wins.

If they manage to maintain their composure, it’s a win for the home team.

Outdoor BBQ games for adults don’t get much simpler or more fun than Name That Tune.

8. Name That Tune

There are a few different ways you can play this classic game.

If one of your guests is a musician, you can ask them to start to play a song of their choice.

Alternatively, you could ask everyone to write down the names of popular songs and give the “requests” to the musician.

This game works just fine with modern technology too.

Simply fire up a playlist or open Spotify and connect the music to some speakers.

The first person to correctly guess the song wins!

Top Tip:

This game’s most enjoyable when you choose popular songs that everyone’s familiar with.

9. The Song Game

Keeping the musical theme going for the moment, this is another popular game for music lovers.

Start by choosing a word or a phrase. Everyone then has to come up with song titles or names of bands that contain that word or phrase.

For example, if the word is “heaven,” players could name Stairway to Heaven, Locked Out of Heaven, or Heaven Is a Place on Earth.

If the word is “boys,” players might come up with Beastie Boys, Beach Boys, or Boyz II Men.

If you can’t think of one when it’s your turn, you’re out.

The last person still naming names is the winner!

10. Celebrity Lineup

Sit in a circle and nominate one player to start with the name of a famous person.

The person to their left must think of a celebrity with a first name that begins with the first letter of that person’s surname.

For example, Elton John — Justin Bieber — Benedict Cumberbatch — Cameron Diaz — etc.

To make the game more challenging, you could narrow the focus to singers, movie stars, historical figures, or fictional characters.

Anyone who fails to come up with a name forfeits the round.

Drinking Games for a BBQ

Is it time to pop open a cold one and watch the sun go down? Enjoy your libation and share a few laughs with these awesome drinking games for a barbecue.

11. I’m Going to the Bar(becue)

This memory game might be easy to play at first, but it gets harder as the list gets longer (and the drinks get stronger).

One player begins with the phrase, “I’m going to the barbecue and I’m going to drink…”

Then they name a particular beer, wine, or cocktail (i.e., a margarita).

The next player must repeat the phrase and add their own beverage to the list (i.e., a margarita and a Guinness).

Each player follows suit, always repeating what earlier people said and always adding their own drink to the list.

Soon you’ll have a list that might include a dozen or more random drinks, depending on how good everyone’s memory is.

Whoever messes up first by forgetting a drink (or listing the drinks in the wrong order) has to do a shot.

12. Back to Back

Have two of your guests stand back to back, drinks in hand.

Everyone else gets to ask them a “Who’s most likely” question, such as:

Who’s most likely to get a speeding ticket?
Whos most likely to go skinny dipping?
Who’s most likely to forget to text back?

If only one of them drinks, you can move to the next question.

If neither of them drinks, they both have to take a sip.

If both of them drink, their turn is over and it’s time for the next back to back pairing.

13. Fuzzy Duck

This drinking game sounds easy but it can be surprisingly challenging.

Have everyone sit in a circle.

One person begins by saying the phrase “fuzzy duck” to the person on their right.

They repeat the phrase to the person on their right and so on until someone chooses to say, “Does he?”

When this happens, the game continues in the opposite direction (right to left) with everyone now saying “ducky fuzz.”

When someone chooses to say “Does he?” again, the direction reverses again and the phrase goes back to “fuzzy duck.”

Anytime someone says the wrong line, they have to take a sip of their drink.

It will happen more often (and be a lot funnier) than you think!

14. Concoctions

This is the perfect drinking game to round out your barbecue (and get rid of some leftovers).

Get some dice and gather around the kitchen table or wherever the food is spread out.

Take turns rolling the dice.

Whatever number it lands on, your friends will have to make a one-bite “concoction” with that many ingredients for you to eat.

For example, if you roll a four, they might put a piece of meat on a tortilla chip and top it with an M&M and a dash of hot sauce.

Will you eat it?

If you do, they have to take a drink.

If you refuse, you’ll be the one drinking.

BBQ Party Games Ideas for Adults

Sunny weather and a grill piled high with food shouldn’t be the only items on your BBQ wishlist.

You’ll also want to have some fun activities planned for children and adults alike!

Save this list of BBQ party games ideas for adults and refer back to it and you’re planning the event.

Then you can choose some active games, drinking games, conversational games, or a little bit of everything.

Looking for more tips and ideas on similar outdoorsy topics?

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