The Ultimate Guide to Having Fun with Friends

According to a recent study, those who eschew social contact are more likely to get sick than those with a vibrant social life.

While the result of this study has been met with some disdain from the medical community (after all, correlation does not imply causation), there is undoubtedly some anecdotal truth to the matter.

Regardless of what clinical studies might infer, most people are aware that a tight social group can lead to increased happiness and a more positive outlook on life.

But, while this sounds great in theory, the question often arises, what exactly should you do when all together?

Although the answer is usually to head out to the pub and has a skinful, there is more to life than casual drinking and talking about recent sports results!

This article will teach you the ins and outs of having fun with friends so you can all relax, enjoy yourselves, and forget about life’s usual trials and tribulations.

Take Part In A Casino Night

When most folks what the words “casino” or “gambling,” they immediately think of the negative aspects of the game. However, while the industry certainly has its corset to bear (what industry doesn’t?), casino games can actually involve a great deal of skill. In most cases, you will pit your wits against one another, trying to outsmart and beat your opponent in order to win the jackpot.

The best part is that there is a myriad of options to choose from, ranging from individual slots, as proposed by Lucky Creek Casino (who offer numerous different flavors of slot games), to the usual table games like Blackjack. Nevertheless, the game that tends to attract most casual players, particularly when playing with friends, is the old classic, poker. Most players opt for Texas Hold’em, but in reality, it is up to you which style you prefer to play, and as long as everyone is on board, the actual game you play doesn’t really matter.

Nonetheless, it’s advisable to set up a few ground rules before you begin to avoid putting friendships at risk and creating what can be considered the antithesis of a good time: arguing with each other.

Have A Movie Night With Snacks And Popcorn (And Maybe A Few Cocktails!)

Not all activities need to be entirely active; sometimes, passive activities can also be enjoyable. Perhaps the most passive activity of all is simply irving your mates over, cracking open Netflix, and selecting a movie you all agree with or a TV show you are prepared to binge on for the next several hours!

To make the activity even more interesting, you can include the usual plethora of snacks and some booze to make it even more fun. If you want to make it a little more active, you can turn it into movie bingo. What’s that, you ask? Well, you select a movie or show that you are all somewhat au fait with, line up a selection of shots, and down them whenever something humorous occurs.

For example, you might select Cast Away and take a drink every time Tom Hanks’ character starts speaking with Wilson! Just be careful because this game can get pretty drunk pretty fast, depending on the movie and what you’re drinking to!

Host A Games Evening

You can be forgiven for believing this is the same as the first section in the post, but it’s different in the sense that there is no gambling involved (or at least using real money). Instead, you go down the good old-fashioned route of investing friends over for a board or card game of your choice. If you’ve never participated in a communal board game night outside of your immediate family, you’re in for a treat. While the aforementioned family Monopoly games are a recipe for disaster and, more likely than not, end up in a ruckus that results in someone being removed from the will, games among friends tend to be more cordial and without the inevitable loss of inheritance!

When it comes to the games themselves, you literally have hundreds of choices and can choose from the less intense, like chess or Scrabble, to the more involved, like Monopoly, or even the firm favorite of Risk. If you have many friends, you could always arrange it into a round-robin event that concludes with a winner…it all depends on how serious you want the activity to be.

Head Outside Into The Great Outdoors And Discover Nature Together

Hiking is not an activity considered by most urban social circles, which tend to substitute it for more urbane activities like going out for a meal. However, it can be perhaps the most invigorating activity to undertake and one which will bring you all closer together.

Not only will it take you out of your comfort zones and into something different and wonderful, but it can help to elicit a different kind of conversation that is impossible to produce in conventional social settings.

Take A Road Trip To Another State

There is something about a road trip taken with great companions that screams freedom. While most posts on this subject will discuss the merits of a specific type of car you should take, it’s all mostly nonsense.

The car you can use is whatever car you have, and it’s the activity and company that make a trip what it is. Moreover, you can choose if you go for a day, or a few days, tis’ up to you, your friends and each other’s schedules.

Host A Cookout

If you are really struggling to find things to do with your companions, you can always fall back on the tired and true cookout. It involves minimal planning outside of where and when, and pretty much everyone enjoys eating and drinking with others. When planning, you should inform everyone of the details and try to roughly coordinate regarding who will cook what so you don’t all end up bringing a brisket!

Having fun with your friends might sound easy, but unless you want to participate in the same old activities you have always done, you need to think outside the box.