Your friends are over. Dinner is finished, but there's still wine to be drunk and fun to be had. There's a lull in conversation, and your guests look to you, their gracious host, to suggest an activity. It's time for a parlor game.

This is a genre of games that can be played indoors — in a parlor, for instance. They can also be played in a sitting room, den, living room, lounge, or drawing room … or for that matter, at the kitchen table, on a porch, by the fire, at the beach, in a cabin, under a gazebo, or pretty much anywhere there’s space to gather.

“Parlor” comes from the French word parler (to speak), describing a room used for conversation.

Parlor games are designed to be played as part of a social gathering, and don't require much in the way of equipment (maybe pens and paper or a deck of cards). They're not too complicated, and their entertainment value relies mostly on friendly competition to see who can be the quickest, cleverest, funniest, and most imaginative.

Here you will find a collection of parlor games that are particularly entertaining. While it's always nice to win bragging rights, the primary purpose of these games is to entertain and socialize. In that spirit, feel free to modify and expand these games with house rules. Approach them with good-spirited rivalry, not cutthroat competition.