Bridal Shower Games: 15 Easy Ideas Everyone Can Play

The best bridal shower games share three traits. Everyone can join, from the bride's college roommate to her grandmother. Nobody gets put on the spot in a way they'll cringe about later. And each one is over before people start checking their phones.

That's the filter for every game below. Each has the basics: how to play, what you need, how long it takes, and one tip from actually running it. Pick three or four, not fifteen. There's a section at the end on how many to plan and what order to run them in.

The games

1. The newlywed game (how well does the bride know the groom?)

This is the one guests remember. The groom answers questions about himself ahead of time, then the bride tries to guess his answers live in front of everyone. "What's his dream vacation?" "What would he order at a diner at 2 a.m.?" Guests love it when she's confidently wrong.

There are two easy ways to get the groom's answers. You can record a short video of him answering each question, then pause after each one so the bride can guess before you play his answer. Or you can use the Couples Quizzes quiz maker: the groom fills in a quiz about himself before the shower, and the bride answers it live on a phone or TV while the room watches. The site scores it for you, so nobody has to keep a tally.

For questions, pull 15 to 20 from this list of newlywed game questions, which also covers how to play and score.

• What you need: the groom's answers recorded or in a quiz, a screen everyone can see.
• Time: 15 to 20 minutes.
• Tip: Save it for late in the shower. It's the strongest closer you have.

2. The shoe game

The bride and groom (or the bride and her maid of honor, if the groom isn't there) sit back to back. Each holds one of their own shoes and one of the other person's. The host reads questions like "Who's the better cook?" or "Who's more likely to get lost?" and both raise the shoe of the person they think it is. The room reacts when the shoes don't match.

• What you need: two chairs, two pairs of shoes, a list of 15 to 20 questions.
• Time: 10 minutes.
• Tip: If the groom isn't coming, have him join by video for the last 15 minutes and play it then.

3. Bridal bingo

Guests get blank bingo cards and fill in the squares with gifts they think the bride will open: towels, a stand mixer, a wine opener. As she opens presents, guests mark off what they hear. First full row wins.

• What you need: printed blank bingo cards, pens.
• Time: runs during gift opening.
• Tip: This is the fix for long gift openings. It gives the room a reason to pay attention.

4. He said, she said

Before the shower, collect 15 or so quotes from both the bride and groom on the same prompts: "The first thing I noticed about them," "Our worst fight was about," "My most annoying habit is." Read each one aloud and guests guess who said it.

• What you need: the quotes, an answer sheet for each guest.
• Time: 10 to 15 minutes.
• Tip: Need prompts for the groom? Borrow a few from these questions to ask your boyfriend.

5. Toilet paper wedding dress

Split guests into teams of three or four. Each team gets a few rolls of toilet paper and some tape, and has 10 minutes to dress one teammate as a bride. Each model walks a quick runway, and the bride picks the winner.

• What you need: about four rolls of toilet paper per team, tape, a timer.
• Time: 15 minutes including the runway.
• Tip: Have someone take photos of every model. These are the pictures people will actually share.

6. What's in your purse?

The host reads a list of items with point values: a hair tie is 5 points, a receipt from this week is 10, a photo of the bride is 25. Guests dig through their bags and add up their points. Highest total wins.

• What you need: a list of 15 to 20 items with points, pens.
• Time: 10 minutes.
• Tip: Add a few silly items, like "something you've been meaning to return for months." They get the biggest laughs.

7. Guess the dress

Guests sketch what they think the bride's wedding dress looks like on a simple figure outline: neckline, sleeves, length, silhouette. The bride (or the maid of honor, who has seen it) picks the closest one.

• What you need: printed figure outlines, pens or colored pencils.
• Time: 10 minutes.
• Tip: Have the bride describe a few details out loud rather than show a photo. That keeps the dress a secret from anyone who might show the groom.

8. Advice cards

Hand out cards with a prompt, like "Best marriage advice I've gotten" or "Never go to bed without." Guests fill them in during the party, and the bride reads a handful aloud, or keeps them to read later.

• What you need: printed cards, pens, a box or basket.
• Time: 5 minutes, spread across the shower.
• Tip: Put the cards and pens at the entrance so guests fill them in as they arrive.

9. Don't say "wedding"

Every guest gets a clothespin or a plastic ring when they arrive. If you catch someone saying the word "wedding," you take their pin. Whoever has the most at the end wins.

• What you need: a bag of clothespins or plastic rings.
• Time: runs all shower.
• Tip: Announce it the moment people walk in. It works as an icebreaker because guests start talking to catch each other out.

10. Love story fill-in-the-blank

Write a short version of how the couple met, with key words left blank: a place, an adjective, a food, a celebrity. Guests call out words without hearing the story, then the host reads it back with their answers filled in.

• What you need: the story written out, a pen.
• Time: 5 to 10 minutes.
• Tip: Keep it to one paragraph. The laugh is in the read-back, and a long story drags.

11. Bride trivia

A written quiz about the bride: her first job, her go-to coffee order, the city she'd move to tomorrow. Guests answer on paper and the bride reads the correct answers.

• What you need: 15 printed questions, pens, an answer key.
• Time: 10 minutes.
• Tip: Mix easy questions with a few only her oldest friends would know, so new friends can still score. These couples quiz questions are a good source if you get stuck.

12. Guess the love song

Play the first 10 seconds of 10 to 15 love songs, and guests write down the title and artist. One point for each.

• What you need: a playlist, a speaker, answer sheets.
• Time: 10 minutes.
• Tip: Cover several decades, so every age group has songs they recognize.

13. Registry price is right

Pick six to eight items from the couple's registry. Show a picture of each, and guests write down what they think it costs. Closest without going over wins each round.

• What you need: photos of the items, answer sheets, the real prices.
• Time: 10 minutes.
• Tip: Include one wildly expensive item. Nobody guesses high enough.

14. Two truths and a lie, bride edition

The bride shares three stories about her relationship, one of them made up: "He proposed twice," "Our first date was at a bowling alley," "We met because of a wrong number." Guests vote on the lie.

• What you need: the bride's three stories, prepped in advance.
• Time: 5 to 10 minutes.
• Tip: Have her do three or four rounds. It's quick, and guests learn things they actually want to hear.

15. Date-night jar

Each guest writes a date idea on a popsicle stick or card and drops it in a jar. The couple takes it home and pulls one out when they can't decide what to do.

• What you need: a mason jar, popsicle sticks or cards, markers.
• Time: 5 minutes, done as guests arrive.
• Tip: Use three colors for budget: free, cheap, and splurge. It makes the jar much more useful later.

Running the games

A few things that make the difference between games that work and games people sit through.

How many to plan. For a two to three hour shower, plan three or four main games plus one or two that run in the background, like don't say "wedding" or bridal bingo during gifts. Most games take 10 to 15 minutes. More than that and the shower turns into a game show.

What order to run them in. Go from easy to loud:

1. Arrival: quiet games guests can do alone or in pairs, like advice cards, the date-night jar and don't say "wedding."
2. After food: sit-down paper games like bride trivia, guess the love song or registry price is right.
3. Gifts: bridal bingo.
4. Late: the loud, group games, like the toilet paper dress or what's in your purse.
5. Finale: the newlywed game or the shoe game, especially if the groom arrives at the end.

Who runs them. Pick a host who isn't the bride. She should get to play, not manage answer sheets. Have pens, printouts and answer keys ready in one folder before guests arrive.

Prizes. Small and genuinely nice beats themed and forgettable. Good options:

• A candle or hand cream
• A mini bottle of prosecco
• A small plant
• Lottery scratch-offs
• A $10 coffee gift card

Buy one more prize than you have games, for ties. Or set up a prize table and let winners pick, which is more fun than handing out a bag.

Virtual shower

A video call shower works best kept to about 60 to 75 minutes with two or three games. The ones that translate well:

• Bride trivia or he said, she said, with answers in a shared form or the chat.
• Guess the love song, with the host sharing screen audio.
• What's in your purse, which works even better at home. Swap it for "what's in your junk drawer."
• The newlywed game, with the groom on camera or a quiz he filled in beforehand.

Skip anything that needs props in every household, like the toilet paper dress, unless you mail kits ahead. Send prizes as e-gift cards so winners get them the same day. For a quick warm-up while people join, read a few would you rather questions for couples and have everyone vote in the chat.

Set up the newlywed game before the big day

Most of these games take five minutes of prep. The newlywed game takes a little more, because you need the groom's answers ahead of time. The easiest way is to build a quiz for the groom a week or two before the shower, send him the link, and keep the bride's half for the party. All you have to do on the day is put it on a screen.