Hosting a Fun Gaming Night: 7 Steps to a Party Everyone Will Love

Do you or your child want to have an awesome gaming night with your friends or family? Gaming nights are good ways to bond and have a great time. It’s also a great way to enjoy the night if you’re going solo. Take a look at these tips to have a night everyone will like.

Step 1. Plan the Date and Time

When will you have the gaming night? Because of work and school, many people choose Friday nights or Saturday nights. If you have a break coming up, you may have more available times. Contact your friends and talk to your family about any times that may work for them. Try to schedule the gaming night about two weeks in advance so you can have time to plan and collect RSVPs. You will also want to decide on a time. If it’s an all-nighter, then you’ll just have to decide what time to start. If it’s not an all-nighter, then you have to find a time to start and end.

Once you’ve officially scheduled a day and time, you can continue planning the rest out.

Step 2. Choose Which Games to Play

Depending on who is coming to your party, that may affect what you will play. For example, you don’t want to play some video games if anyone coming is under the allowed age to play.

Besides that, you and your friends can decide on which games to bring. Your friends can bring games that they think everyone would like, and you can also get your games together.

Keep in mind that you need to know which consoles you’ll be playing on. You’ll have to get the consoles together and set them up before playing. For any portable consoles, such as PSPs and DSs, make sure they are charged. If your friends have a console that you don’t have, then they can bring it if you want them to. Since it is hard to remember to change the console and try something new, you should ask about a console change after a while. That will add more variety to your gaming night.

What if I don’t have enough controllers? Assuming you have at least two (if not, you should buy another; it could get boring if everyone shares one controller), there are two ways to handle this. The first would be that your friends can bring some (make sure to specify, if necessary, whether the controllers need to be wireless or not). The second would be to take turns. You’d need to have rules for taking turns, such as switching after a fair amount of time, or switching after the end of a level, a gameover, or the end of a round.

Step 3. Snacks and Drinks

A great way to stay up and to have more fun is to incorporate snacks and drinks into your gaming night.

Try to stay away from super sugary drinks and foods. A little sugar is fine, but too much results in drowsiness and energy crashes. Instead, eat carbs and protein throughout the night, and drink plenty of water. Try to keep it simple. Chips are great, and fruits and raw veggies are even better. Have something that everyone can eat, regardless of alergies, so that no one will feel left out.

Have a corner table in the room that has the drinks and food. If anything is messy, try to restrict it to that area.

Step 4. Set Up the Room

You want a good environment for you and your friends. Here are some great ideas to the gaming room comfortable for everyone:

Plan out the Furniture

If you are doing it in your room, then you would probably sit on your bed (it may make you sleepy, so be careful). Think about everyone else, though. Everyone needs a place to sit. Have gamer chairs, bean bags, and regular chairs so that there are some options. If it’s an all-nighter, then allow your friends to bring pillows, blankets, and/or sleeping bags. Make sure there is enough floor space for everyone in case they all want to sit on the floor.

If your gaming night is not in your room, almost everything above still applies, but you’ll have a couch. Make sure that several people can sit on the couch. If not everyone can fit, bring the beanbags and gamer chairs into the room. If the chairs are higher up, keep them out of the way of the TV.

Have the Right Lighting

A room with too much light isn’t great for gamers, while an ultra dark room isn’t great for visibility and interactions, either. Find the right lighting that is comfortable and won’t result in accidents. If you are hosting the gaming night in your bedroom or a small room, have one small lamp on or slightly dimmed. Keep snacks and drinks around that lamp.

Have a Nearby Bathroom

This may affect where you and your friends will game. Pick a room close to a bathroom so everyone knows where to go, and so they won’t disturb anyone by going across the house. If your bedroom is right next to a bathroom, then it may be a great option. Make sure your bathroom is clean before your friends come over.

Step 5. Have Good Habits

Chugging soda, gorging on chips, and staring at a screen all night are not healthy habits. You’ll want to be responsible as the host, so here are a few ways to establish some good habits.

Get Sleep the Night Before

You need as much sleep as possible the night before, or the day of. Try not to get too excited about the day ahead, but focus on sleeping and regenerating.

Take Breaks Every One or Two Hours

Every one or two hours, you and your friends should take a 5-10 minute break. This allows everyone to rest their eyes, relax their fingers, and go to the bathroom. You may want to move around and take a walk around the block. Take this time to talk with friends and calm down a little before continuing playing. If anyone falls asleep, that’s okay. Try to be respectful, but you can still play with your other friends.

Step 6. Mix it Up a Little

Have some board games and covnersation topics ready for when everyone needs a little break. If you and your friends are starting to get a little bored, then knowing what to do will help you mix it up a little. Maybe you’ll play some music at a moderate, but not loud, volume. Have some card games and board games in case anyone is interested, and try to keep them short. Here are a few games that are great to have:

• Phase 10
• Uno
• Monopoly Deal (a card game that is much faster than Monopoly)

Keep in mind that a gaming night is about having fun with friends and interacting with them. It doesn’t mean focusing 100% on the video games to where you start to alienate everyone.

Step 7. Have Fun and Stay Safe

This is very important. You must ask permission from your parents before hosting a gaming night. Trying to be deceitful isn’t healthy. You could lose your priveleges and trust, and you’d feel nervous the whole time.

Of course, you also want to stay safe. By following rules that your parents set into place, you and your friends will be able to stay safe and have fun without getting in trouble. I hope you have a great gaming night!

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Sources:

https://www.wikihow.com/Have-Fun-at-a-Gaming-Night

https://www.wikihow.com/Have-a-Video-Game-Party

https://www.wikihow.com/Pull-an-All-Nighter-With-a-Friend