Fun activities for a lake house weekend with thirty 30-somethings?
July 20, 2017 12:57 PM Subscribe
Hosting a group of thirty adult friends from all over the country - many of whom have never met each other before - at a three day lake house weekend. What are some fun things people can do at the house that will be fun and forge new friendships w/o feeling weird and forced?
There will be BBQs, beer, boardgames, movies, and if the water isn't frigid by October - the chance to swim or kayak around. But we will only have 2 kayaks and 30 people coming so we'd like to have a host of other options...
We'd like to make this a special weekend for those flying out - but also not breathe down anyone's necks - so they can come and go as they please if they want to explore the area. However we would like to have a few special activities planned in advance. There won't be kids present, so kids-oriented party activities (pinatas, water-guns) probably won't fly.
Good examples of what I'm looking for = singing/playing instruments around a campfire w/ smores, or setting up a wine-tasting challenge of some sort. A friend has offered to lead a sunrise meditation on the dock. (OMG WE ARE SUCH INSUFFERABLE HIPSTERS someone should come to the lakehouse and murder us all) ...Okay actually a murder mystery of some sort might also be good...
Thoughts?
There will be BBQs, beer, boardgames, movies, and if the water isn't frigid by October - the chance to swim or kayak around. But we will only have 2 kayaks and 30 people coming so we'd like to have a host of other options...
We'd like to make this a special weekend for those flying out - but also not breathe down anyone's necks - so they can come and go as they please if they want to explore the area. However we would like to have a few special activities planned in advance. There won't be kids present, so kids-oriented party activities (pinatas, water-guns) probably won't fly.
Good examples of what I'm looking for = singing/playing instruments around a campfire w/ smores, or setting up a wine-tasting challenge of some sort. A friend has offered to lead a sunrise meditation on the dock. (OMG WE ARE SUCH INSUFFERABLE HIPSTERS someone should come to the lakehouse and murder us all) ...Okay actually a murder mystery of some sort might also be good...
Thoughts?
Best answer: outdoor games: bags, horseshoes, volleyball
posted by cosmicbandito at 1:09 PM on July 20, 2017
posted by cosmicbandito at 1:09 PM on July 20, 2017
Best answer: Buy a bunch of cheapo floaty inner tubes. People will float around, bump into each other, race. It's fun
posted by kerf at 1:18 PM on July 20, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by kerf at 1:18 PM on July 20, 2017 [7 favorites]
Easy outdoor games: bocce ball, ladder golf game("hillbilly golf")
These are nice because they give people a little something to do but are slow moving and relaxed enough that they have time to chat in a low pressure situation.
posted by SLC Mom at 1:26 PM on July 20, 2017
These are nice because they give people a little something to do but are slow moving and relaxed enough that they have time to chat in a low pressure situation.
posted by SLC Mom at 1:26 PM on July 20, 2017
I did a lake house weekend with 15 30-somethings (plus 4 kids and 4 dogs) about a decade ago. We got a big, sprawling old house on a lake here in Minnesota.
The most fun thing we did BY FAR was play hide-and-seek on the first night. I think it was the kids' idea, but we all got into it. No lights, the person who was "it" could only use a lighter to find their way around. The house was kind of creepy and old and since it was the first night, none of us knew it that well yet. We scared ourselves silly but yeah, it was a ton of fun.
posted by Elly Vortex at 1:27 PM on July 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
The most fun thing we did BY FAR was play hide-and-seek on the first night. I think it was the kids' idea, but we all got into it. No lights, the person who was "it" could only use a lighter to find their way around. The house was kind of creepy and old and since it was the first night, none of us knew it that well yet. We scared ourselves silly but yeah, it was a ton of fun.
posted by Elly Vortex at 1:27 PM on July 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
This sounds like the perfect situation for some Cards Against Humanity, assuming the group isn't of the easily-offended type.
posted by cgg at 1:45 PM on July 20, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by cgg at 1:45 PM on July 20, 2017 [5 favorites]
I bought a cheap set of outdoor inflatable bowling pins and ball from Target for a kids backyard party a couple weeks ago. As it turned out, the kids liked the slip-n-slide better, and the adults present started bowling. It was a lot of fun!
posted by Everydayville at 1:46 PM on July 20, 2017
posted by Everydayville at 1:46 PM on July 20, 2017
Best answer: Ooh, Sardines would be even better than Hide and Seek -- it has the bonding time of being squeezed in a pantry with three other people.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:10 PM on July 20, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:10 PM on July 20, 2017 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Things that were especially fun from previous lake house adventures:
Telestrations: This game is great, but is ideal between 7 and 10 players. It's like telephone + pictionary. It has a bunch of dry-erase notepads and a box of words on cards. You write down your secret word from the card on page 1, then draw a picture of that word on page 2. Then you pass the books one space to the right. In the book you just received, look at page 2 and write down your guess as to what the secret word is on page 3. Then pass the books again. Repeat until you have your own book back, and then everyone shows the group the journey your word/pictures took. It's pretty much always a great time.
If you're looking for a drinking game, folks tend to love Stump. The rules linked go into an excess of detail, but in essence: You'll need a stump, a nail for each player, and a hammer. When it's your turn, you take the hammer, toss it in the air such that it turns 360 degrees, catch it, then immediately try to hit one of the other player's nails (no hesitating, no cocking the hammer back, the goal is one smooth motion). If you fail--you drop the hammer, you miss the nail--drink. If you hit an opponents nail such that it actually goes in a some, they drink. If you produce sparks, everyone drinks. If you bend the nail, that player can straighten it out before their next turn. If your nail is fully embedded in the stump, you're out. Last nail standing is the winner.
We rented a pontoon boat from a nearby marina. Split enough ways this is not very expensive and it's lots of fun--people can swim, or hang out on the boat, and it gives you a change of scenery if everyone is starting to crowd in on each other.
I'm not much of one for weed, but one time someone brought a box of edibles for everyone and the people who enjoy weed had a good time with that.
Your description looks like you've got a good idea of how this should work too, with a mix of just chill-out time and some activities. 30 people is a lot of people though, so make sure people won't be offended if not everyone wants to get up before sunrise to meditate or whatever. It looks like that's going to be a great time!
posted by JDHarper at 2:25 PM on July 20, 2017 [3 favorites]
Telestrations: This game is great, but is ideal between 7 and 10 players. It's like telephone + pictionary. It has a bunch of dry-erase notepads and a box of words on cards. You write down your secret word from the card on page 1, then draw a picture of that word on page 2. Then you pass the books one space to the right. In the book you just received, look at page 2 and write down your guess as to what the secret word is on page 3. Then pass the books again. Repeat until you have your own book back, and then everyone shows the group the journey your word/pictures took. It's pretty much always a great time.
If you're looking for a drinking game, folks tend to love Stump. The rules linked go into an excess of detail, but in essence: You'll need a stump, a nail for each player, and a hammer. When it's your turn, you take the hammer, toss it in the air such that it turns 360 degrees, catch it, then immediately try to hit one of the other player's nails (no hesitating, no cocking the hammer back, the goal is one smooth motion). If you fail--you drop the hammer, you miss the nail--drink. If you hit an opponents nail such that it actually goes in a some, they drink. If you produce sparks, everyone drinks. If you bend the nail, that player can straighten it out before their next turn. If your nail is fully embedded in the stump, you're out. Last nail standing is the winner.
We rented a pontoon boat from a nearby marina. Split enough ways this is not very expensive and it's lots of fun--people can swim, or hang out on the boat, and it gives you a change of scenery if everyone is starting to crowd in on each other.
I'm not much of one for weed, but one time someone brought a box of edibles for everyone and the people who enjoy weed had a good time with that.
Your description looks like you've got a good idea of how this should work too, with a mix of just chill-out time and some activities. 30 people is a lot of people though, so make sure people won't be offended if not everyone wants to get up before sunrise to meditate or whatever. It looks like that's going to be a great time!
posted by JDHarper at 2:25 PM on July 20, 2017 [3 favorites]
I know someone who went to a bachelor party where everyone got 10 poker chips when they arrived. Via various card- and other-kinds-of games, you could win or lose chips, and whoever had the most chips at the end of the weekend got their portion of the weekend cost covered, plus a hundred bucks.
This fostered a very enthusiastic (but friendly) competitive spirit throughout the weekend and people came up with crazy ways to win more chips--it was a bachelor party so I think they did dumb stuff like "I'll bet you a chip I can chug this can of beer faster than you" but really you could do anything: "I bet I can kayak to the other side of the lake before you", "I challenge you to a pie-eating contest", etc. You could lower the stakes by just having whoever wants to join purchase a set of chips for $5, and then whoever wins gets the pool, which might hedge against anyone becoming jerky about it or taking it too seriously.
(P.S. This sounds like an amazing time in general and now I am wondering how I can set up a weekend like this for my crew!!)
posted by lovableiago at 2:27 PM on July 20, 2017 [8 favorites]
This fostered a very enthusiastic (but friendly) competitive spirit throughout the weekend and people came up with crazy ways to win more chips--it was a bachelor party so I think they did dumb stuff like "I'll bet you a chip I can chug this can of beer faster than you" but really you could do anything: "I bet I can kayak to the other side of the lake before you", "I challenge you to a pie-eating contest", etc. You could lower the stakes by just having whoever wants to join purchase a set of chips for $5, and then whoever wins gets the pool, which might hedge against anyone becoming jerky about it or taking it too seriously.
(P.S. This sounds like an amazing time in general and now I am wondering how I can set up a weekend like this for my crew!!)
posted by lovableiago at 2:27 PM on July 20, 2017 [8 favorites]
A great game for a big crowd is this style of charades I learned (we called it Kenyan charades because my friend learned it in Kenya; not sure if this is how everyone plays in Kenya or just the person she learned from).
Each person writes down a list of five items--book, movie, or TV show is a limitation that I think keeps things moving. They don't show anyone. Then you divide into teams, probably 7 or 8 people each. In each round, one person is pulled off their team to be the cluemaster; all teams play each round.
Each team gets a room or a space far from the others so they can't hear or see much. The cluemaster sits in a central place (say, each team is in a bedroom and the cluemaster is in the hall. Each team sends a person to the cluemaster and all at once, they see the first clue (and only the first one). Then they run back and try to get their teams to guess the clue.
When someone guesses it, that team sends their next person out to get the next clue. So after the first round, everyone is getting their clues at a different rate. Whatever team gets all five clues first wins the round. We usually play 10 rounds or so.
It's great because you're really playing with your smaller team, but there's competition (a lot of in between time is spent in the hallway comparing how you got someone to say "Necronomicon" in five seconds) to feel like the whole group is in the same activity.
I am also a HUGE fan of murder mystery kits, and they definitely make ones for groups that large.
A planned hike is always a good way for a bunch of people to do a thing together that lets them break into smaller groups and have smaller conversations.
posted by gideonfrog at 2:53 PM on July 20, 2017
Each person writes down a list of five items--book, movie, or TV show is a limitation that I think keeps things moving. They don't show anyone. Then you divide into teams, probably 7 or 8 people each. In each round, one person is pulled off their team to be the cluemaster; all teams play each round.
Each team gets a room or a space far from the others so they can't hear or see much. The cluemaster sits in a central place (say, each team is in a bedroom and the cluemaster is in the hall. Each team sends a person to the cluemaster and all at once, they see the first clue (and only the first one). Then they run back and try to get their teams to guess the clue.
When someone guesses it, that team sends their next person out to get the next clue. So after the first round, everyone is getting their clues at a different rate. Whatever team gets all five clues first wins the round. We usually play 10 rounds or so.
It's great because you're really playing with your smaller team, but there's competition (a lot of in between time is spent in the hallway comparing how you got someone to say "Necronomicon" in five seconds) to feel like the whole group is in the same activity.
I am also a HUGE fan of murder mystery kits, and they definitely make ones for groups that large.
A planned hike is always a good way for a bunch of people to do a thing together that lets them break into smaller groups and have smaller conversations.
posted by gideonfrog at 2:53 PM on July 20, 2017
Do not underestimate the fun of doing traditional kids games with grownups. Three-legged races and egg carry relays and such are all pretty entertaining, even with adults, especially when those adults have been socially lubricated.
In the vein of the poker chip idea, you can also give people a token that they have to keep on / near their person for the course of the weekend, with the person who keeps their original one the longest and the person who collects the most from other people getting small prizes. They have to be stolen without the person noticing, so something like a clothespin works well -- can be stolen, but might be noticeable when it is.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:29 PM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
In the vein of the poker chip idea, you can also give people a token that they have to keep on / near their person for the course of the weekend, with the person who keeps their original one the longest and the person who collects the most from other people getting small prizes. They have to be stolen without the person noticing, so something like a clothespin works well -- can be stolen, but might be noticeable when it is.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:29 PM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Cornhole / washers / horseshoes
Poker can be fun, especially when drinking is involved.
Beer pong, if your friend group is into it.
If the lakehouse is remote enough to not bother any neighbors, bring some glow sticks and techno music and have a rave. Especially fun if it's warm enough to go in the water.
Mafia, and variants thereof, can be great fun with the right crowd.
And of course, sittin' around a fire smoking fat, stinky cigars can be a real treat.
posted by slagheap at 6:11 PM on July 20, 2017
Poker can be fun, especially when drinking is involved.
Beer pong, if your friend group is into it.
If the lakehouse is remote enough to not bother any neighbors, bring some glow sticks and techno music and have a rave. Especially fun if it's warm enough to go in the water.
Mafia, and variants thereof, can be great fun with the right crowd.
And of course, sittin' around a fire smoking fat, stinky cigars can be a real treat.
posted by slagheap at 6:11 PM on July 20, 2017
Yoga, talent show, Nintendo. Designate cooking teams to work together.
posted by ramenopres at 9:22 PM on July 20, 2017
posted by ramenopres at 9:22 PM on July 20, 2017
Best answer: Friends had "collective story writing" going over a lake weekend. Each person wrote just a few sentences and had access to only a few previous passages. A dramatic reading of the final had us in tears! Extra points for this activity because it's fun for introverts.
posted by Kalatraz at 11:01 PM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Kalatraz at 11:01 PM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Settlers of Catan! It can get long and messy and argumentative, and it's a fixture at my weekends away with friends. Charades is also a lot of fun.
posted by Ziggy500 at 1:45 AM on July 21, 2017
posted by Ziggy500 at 1:45 AM on July 21, 2017
Old-fashioned board games like Game of Life and Monopoly can be a lot of fun and lead to lots of natural conversations.
posted by daybeforetheday at 2:05 AM on July 21, 2017
posted by daybeforetheday at 2:05 AM on July 21, 2017
We typically do a combination of Telestrations, the Werewolf game (great with a group who buy into lying to one another), Anomia, ladder ball, bocce, and take floatables onto the lake. Also - campfires, songs, and fireworks.
The big thing I think that also works for groups of this size is a couple of people taking a meal and making it - ranging from hot dogs and hamburgers to three course meals, depending on the skills/desires of each chef. This way each person really only misses an hour or two of fun each and meals are the upside of the weekend.
posted by notorious medium at 5:50 AM on July 21, 2017
The big thing I think that also works for groups of this size is a couple of people taking a meal and making it - ranging from hot dogs and hamburgers to three course meals, depending on the skills/desires of each chef. This way each person really only misses an hour or two of fun each and meals are the upside of the weekend.
posted by notorious medium at 5:50 AM on July 21, 2017
Best answer: You need a Kubb set (you can buy them or, if you're handy, build one)!. Kubb's a lawn game that plays from 2-12 people, and people can drop in or out as they see fit. The real benefit to Kubb, IMHO, is that you play one-handed--perfect for holding a beer.
Celebrity is also fabulous for groups of people and rainy evenings.
posted by AmandaA at 6:50 AM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Celebrity is also fabulous for groups of people and rainy evenings.
posted by AmandaA at 6:50 AM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Google "minute to win it" games. My favorite is the drunken waiter game - split into teams, each person has to spin 10-15 times around to get mildly dizzy, grab a tray with cups filled with water and run 20 feet to dump their water into a bucket then race back to their team for the next person to grab a tray of water filled cups. Whoever ends up with the bucket with the most amount of water wins.
posted by IndigoOnTheGo at 7:05 AM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by IndigoOnTheGo at 7:05 AM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sounds like a fun weekend. We did something similar to this for our wedding. In addition to the advice above, a big hut tub was very popular. We had a lot of different beer around, being beer snobs, so side-to-side tastings of, say, half a dozen IPAs happened on an ad hoc basis. Bocce ball is a good time, and more generally, just having a lot of board and yard games available will allow people to pick them up as they please.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:05 AM on July 21, 2017
posted by craven_morhead at 8:05 AM on July 21, 2017
Big jigsaw puzzle
Baseball mitts and balls
Piñata
Maybe wear nametags for the first day or so
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:07 PM on July 21, 2017
Baseball mitts and balls
Piñata
Maybe wear nametags for the first day or so
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:07 PM on July 21, 2017
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It's hippy-dippie but if you are into it, bring a couple copies of Rise Up Singing. Great for groups.
Geocaching scavenger hunt?
posted by pazazygeek at 1:05 PM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]