· 2 min read
The best word game for game night when nobody wants to learn rules
Fill-in-the-blank stories are a no-setup party game for any group size. How to play them at game night, at parties and on road trips, plus ways to make them even funnier.
Some games need a rulebook, a table and an hour of setup. Fill-in-the-blank stories need one phone and about ten seconds of explaining: "I'll ask you for words. Don't ask why." If you've ever played Mad Libs, you already know the rules. That's what makes them such a good pick for game night, parties and long car rides.
How to play with a group
- Pick a story. Short ones (under 10 blanks) keep the energy up.
- Go around the group. Each person answers the next blank, like "a type of vegetable" or "a verb ending in -ing".
- Nobody sees the story until the end.
- Read it out loud, ideally in a dramatic voice.
On Fun Libs, party mode does the passing around for you: add everyone's names, choose how many words each player fills in per turn, and the app tells you whose turn it is. At the end, each player's words are highlighted in their own color, so everyone knows who said "moist".
Why it works at parties
- Any group size. Two people or twelve.
- No skill gap. A seven-year-old and their grandmother are equally good at it.
- Short rounds. A story takes two or three minutes, so people can drop in and out.
- Everyone gets a laugh. The funniest word usually comes from the quietest person.
Ways to make it funnier
- Answer fast. The first word that comes to mind is almost always funnier than a carefully chosen one.
- Pick themed stories. Spooky stories for Halloween, holiday stories for December, romance stories for a wedding party.
- Use people's names. When a story asks for a name, use someone in the room.
- Write your own. Write a story about your friend group, a running joke or the person whose birthday it is, and publish it so everyone can play it on their own phone afterwards.
On the road
Fill-in-the-blank stories are a great car game because only one person needs to see the screen. The passenger reads out the prompts, everyone shouts answers, and the driver gets to hear the result.
On the way to Grandpa's submarine, we stopped for nine spicy socks and sang until the car started wobbling.
Ready? Pick a story and start playing. It's free, and it works in the browser. For more grown-up ideas, see our guide to Mad Libs for adults.
Mad Libs is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC. Fun Libs is an independent game and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mad Libs or Penguin Random House.