With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, you’re probably wondering what kind of shenanigans you, your friends, and your family could get up to this year. Besides wearing copious amounts of green, what are some other ways to celebrate this Saint Patrick’s Day? Well, what about playing some games that are super on theme? Here are 30 St. Patrick’s Day games and activities you’ve got to play, divided into classic games, funny games, and, of course, even some drinking games.
CLASSIC SAINT PATRICK’S DAY GAMES AND ACTIVITIES
Starting off with some classic games that both kids and adults would absolutely adore playing this St. Patrick’s Day. Here are 10 games you simply can’t go wrong with.
1. GOLD COIN TOSS
Set up a pot on one end of a designated playing field and a line a few feet away from it. Players must toss gold chocolate coins into the pot. The player who manages to toss the most gold coins into the pot wins the game, as well as the chocolate coins inside of the pot!
2. LEPRECHAUN SAYS
You’re likely familiar with the super famous and popular back-to-school game and indoor kids game of Simon Says. But did you know you can play this with a St. Paddy’s Day theme by swapping out the word “Simon” for “leprechaun”? Just like standard Simon Says, one player acts as the leader and must yell out instructions for everyone to follow. The twist? Players must only follow instructions when preceded with “Leprechaun says”. This game can get super confusing really fast!
3. SHAMROCK SCAVENGER HUNT
What’s a party without a scavenger hunt of some sort? Before the party, hide some shamrocks around a designated playing area. Then, let everyone loose and have them look for the shamrocks! The player who finds the most shamrocks by the end of a specific timeframe wins the game.
4. FIND THE POT OF GOLD
Before the St. Patrick’s Day party, fill a small cauldron with chocolate coins. Then, hide this pot of gold somewhere in the designated playing area. Try to make the hiding spot as difficult as possible. During the party, the player to find this pot of gold wins the contents inside!
5. RAINBOW RING TOSS
A very simple outdoor game that everyone will enjoy playing this St. Patrick’s Day is rainbow ring toss. Play this like your standard ring toss game, where players toss rings onto an object. However, to make this game Saint Patrick’s Day-themed, toss the rings onto leprechaun hats or gold pots!
6. LUCKY BALLOON POP
Feeling lucky? Before the party, blow up some balloons – some with prizes inside. Then, when you’re ready to start the game, have everyone pop all the balloons as fast as they can. Players win whatever prizes they find inside when popping the balloons!
7. POT OF GOLD TUG OF WAR
If you want to put your strength to the test, you’ve got to play a classic game of tug of war, which is one of the best games to play if you’ve got a large group to entertain. But to make this game more fitting for Saint Patrick’s Day, have the teams compete for “gold” prizes, such as chocolate coins.
8. LEPRECHAUN CHARADES
If you’ll be spending St. Paddy’s Day indoors, one of our favorite games to play is charades. But in keeping with the theme, players must act out St. Patrick’s Day-related phrases, such as:
- Catching a leprechaun
- Chasing a rainbow
- Hiding a pot of gold
- Making a wish on a four-leaf clover
You can either play this as a team game or an individual game.
9. GOLD COIN DIG
Hide some gold coins in a large bin filled with sand, rice, flour, or another material of your choice. Then, have the players dig to find as many coins as possible! This is one of the best St. Patrick’s Day games if you’ve got a few kids to entertain.
10. SHAMROCK COOKIE DECORATING
Bake some plain sugar cookies before the party. Or, if you’re not much of a baker, buy some from your local supermarket. Then, prepare some icing of various shades of green. Let all of your party guests decorate their own sugar cookies with green icing!
HILARIOUS SAINT PATRICK’S DAY GAMES
Ready for a laugh this St. Patrick’s Day? So are we! These are the best Saint Patrick’s Day to play if you want to be rolling around in laughter by the end of the night.
11. GREEN FOOD CHALLENGE
Grab a blindfold and some green foods, and have players blind taste test various green foods. The player who guesses the most foods correctly wins. Examples of green foods you could use include:
- Kiwi
- Cucumber
- Spinach
- Avocado
- Broccoli
- Celery
- Pistachio
- Pickles
- Wasabi
12. LUCKY LEPRECHAUN OBSTACLE COURSE
If you want to have a bit more of an active day, perfect for a day spent outdoors, you’ve got to organize some sort of obstacle course. Prepare a fun course filled with hopping, crawling, and balancing. The player who manages to complete the obstacle course in record time wins a prize.
13. SHAMROCK PICTIONARY
Another classic game that you can play with a twist is Pictionary. But, of course, to stay with the theme, you’ve got to have players draw St. Patrick’s Day-related words that everyone else must try to guess. The first player to guess correctly is the next drawer.
Not sure what to draw? Here are some examples:
- Shamrock
- Leprechaun
- Pot of gold
- Gold coin
- Irish flag
14. POT OF GOLD BALANCING ACT
Have all players balance a small pot of gold on their heads as they race from one end of a designated playing area to the other. This is a lot more difficult than it looks!
15. LUCKY CHARMS CHOPSTICK CHALLENGE
This game makes for a super fun minute to win it challenge, if that’s the type of game you’re looking to play with your friends and family this Saint Patrick’s Day! Give players two bowls, one empty and the other filled with lucky charms. When the timer starts, players must pick up marshmallows with a pair of chopsticks and move them to the empty bowl. The player who manages to move the most marshmallows to the other bowl wins the game!
16. GREEN FASHION SHOW
What about a fun fashion show to get the party started? Have everybody come to the party with random green outfits and props to dress their model as a team. Once all the models are dressed head to toe in green, have them walk down the catwalk and vote for the best one.
17. RAINBOW LIMBO
Play a game or two of limbo, the classic outdoor game in which players must pass underneath a bar that goes lower or lower after every round. But to keep with the St. Paddy’s Day theme, decorate the bar in rainbow colors.
18. POTATO ROLL RACE
In this game, players push a potato across the floor from one end of the designated playing area to the other. But the twist? Players can only push their potato with their noses! The first player to have their potato cross the finish line wins.
19. LEPRECHAUN WIG RELAY
To play leprechaun wig relay, divide the players into teams of at least 5-7 players each. Players must pass a silly green wig down the line from the first player to the last without using their hands. If the wig drops to the floor at any point, it must go back to the first player! The team to complete this challenge the fastest wins.
20. SPEAK IN AN IRISH ACCENT CHALLENGE
Throughout the Saint Patrick’s Day party, challenge all players to speak in an Irish accent all night. If you break character, you’re out! The last player to remain standing wins a prize.
SAINT PATRICK’S DAY PARTY DRINKING GAMES
If you’re hosting a St. Patrick’s Day party for adults, no St. Paddy’s Day party is complete without some super fun and hilarious drinking games. Here are the best Saint Patrick’s Day party drinking games you’ve got to play.
21. LEPRECHAUN ROULETTE
If you want to test fate a little bit, play a game of leprechaun roulette. In this game, players take turns spinning a bottle, laying on its side in the middle of the circle of players. Whoever the bottle lands on must drink! This is a super fun and easy way to get the party started.
22. RAINBOW RACE
This St. Patrick’s Day drinking game involves creating shots in all 7 colors of the rainbow. Set up these shots in order of color for each player. Then, when the game begins, all players must take the shots one by one. The first to finish wins! Alternatively, you can turn this into a relay race by having teams of 7 drink one drink each.
23. DANCE AND DRINK
Throughout the party, set up a rule that anytime Irish music plays, you must either dance or drink! This is a fun way to get the party started on St. Paddy’s Day.
24. LEPRECHAUN CHASE
This is a super fun drinking game to play on the side as you are playing other drinking games at the party. Before the party, set a small toy leprechaun somewhere at the party. Whoever finds it shouts, “Leprechaun!” and gives out a shot. Then, that player may secretly hide the Leprechaun again to continue this side game.
25. GREEN POTATO
For this St. Patrick’s Day drinking game, you’ll need a potato. Choose one player to be in charge of the music. This player must close their eyes and start the music as everybody passes the potato. The person in charge of the music can turn off the music at any point. Whoever is holding the potato when the music turns off must take a shot of something green! The player who lost and took the shot is now in charge of the music.
26. SHAMROCK TRIVIA
How well do you know Saint Patrick’s Day and Ireland? Prepare some Irish-themed trivia questions. Players must take a drink anytime they answer wrong, so the more difficult, the better.
27. LEPRECHAUN’S LUCK
This is a super simple drinking game that’s very easy to play. Players simply take turns rolling a die. If they roll an even number, they must drink. And if they roll an odd number, they give out a drink.
To make the game a bit more exciting, you can assign rules to various numbers of a six-sided die, such as:
- 1 – Give out a drink
- 2 – You drink
- 3 – Girls drink
- 4 – Boys drink
- 5 – Answer a truth
- 6 – Do a dare
28. ST. PADDY’S DAY NEVER HAVE I EVER
Get to know all of your friends at the party with a few rounds of the classic college party game of Never Have I Ever. Players take turns saying something they’ve never done. But others must reveal if they have by taking a drink and putting a finger down. Some Never Have I Ever questions include:
- Never have I ever hooked up with someone in this room.
- Never have I ever celebrated St. Patrick’s Day before.
- Never have I ever owned green clothing.
- Never have I ever had a one night stand.
29. GREEN BEER PONG
There’s nothing wrong with playing some traditional cup drinking games at a St. Paddy’s Day party, such as beer pong. But, of course, if you want to keep with the theme of the night, add some food coloring to the beer to turn it green, or make it a point to use green plastic cups.
In beer pong, two teams of two play against each other, trying to sink each other’s cups. Any time a team’s cup is sunk, that team must remove their cup and drink the beer. The first team to sink all 10 of the other team’s cups wins.
30. IRISH POKER
Why not play a bit of poker for St. Patrick’s Day? There are many types of poker out there, but the most popular by far are Texas Hold’Em and Five Card Draw. In both, the goal is to make the best poker hand of five (or bluff your way through the game). Poker is one of the best card games to play while drinking.
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