How to Throw a 50 State Party: Games, Puzzles, and Activities

I know some people enjoy parties where you stand around and chat, but that's not my thing. I like parties with options to play games, solve puzzles, do crafts, sit down for a meal, or anything else that isn't just standing and chatting. To each their own, of course, but for my 50 State Party, I wanted to provide lots of options. 

This is part two of three series about hosting a 50 State Park. The first post is about the invitation, guest book, and decorations. Today's is about games and activities. The third post, which will be live on Monday, is all about the food. Affiliate links below. 

How to Throw a 50 State Party

Games:

There are a ton of great board games and card games themed around the 50 States. I did an entire blog post about the outstanding Across America Fluxx; it's a must-have for a 50 State Party. Other great options include: The 50 States Game; Trekking the National Parks; Ticket to Ride; The Oregon Trail Card Game; US bingo; and my homemade states and capitals matching game.

I received a copy of The 50 States Game directly from the manufacturer for this party. This link goes to their website, where you can see all the other fantastic games they make. I totally have my eye on The World Game! 

The 50 States Game is based on the states and their capitals, locations, flags, nicknames, postal codes, and more. No matter how much you know about the US, you'll know more about the states after a single round of this game. And, it's easily adapted if the players have different knowledge levels. It was a hit with our guests! 

We also played a version of 20 Questions. To play, one person pulls a flash card from a pile and shows everyone except the guesser. The guesser can ask up to 20 yes/no questions to correctly guess the mystery state. You can narrow down geographically (Does the state touch an ocean? Is the state west of the Mississippi? Does the state border Canada?) or you can focus on history (Was the state one of the original 13 colonies? Did the state secede during the Civil War?). You can ask about names (Is the state in the first half of the alphabet? Does its capital city have more than one word?) or culture (Does the state have a professional football team? Is the state home to a famous parade?) You can ask about weather (Is this state famous for its rainfall?) or geography (Does this state have a National Park?) or anything else (Jonna asked if the state she was trying to guess was one the deRosiers had trouble entering. LOL, yes!) 

Another popular activity at our 50 State Party was this puzzle. It's from PuzzleYOU, which makes very high-quality personalized puzzles at a reasonable price. I used the same design as the t-shirts we wore on our first day at our 50th state. 

There was always at least one person, and often more, sitting at the puzzle table. I thought it would be a relatively easy design since so much of the puzzle is words, but nope! I accidentally made a REALLY tough puzzle. The only easy parts are the pencil, and the blue US TOUR, and the dates. 

A handful of guests chose to do a Sticker By Number. The book is full of beautiful designs inspired by the United States. You choose a design, then use the included stickers to fill it in. It's a lot of fun!

I totally didn't expect gifts, but several of our friends brought us something. Totally unnecessary, but greatly appreciated! Trevor's friend gave him this awesome Mission Accomplished t-shirt. 

On Monday, I'll tell you all about the food I served at the party.