PULTEVENT
Friendsgiving games: 7 ideas for a potluck crowd and one TV
A fourth-floor walk-up in Chicago, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Three separate mac and cheeses on the counter, because nobody checked the sign-up sheet. Folding chairs borrowed from the neighbor across the hall, a turkey that took an hour longer than the internet promised, and a TV sitting on a milk crate because the stand is holding the pies. Eleven people, of whom maybe six know each other well.
★ Free for the first 3 days, no card required
That last number is the interesting one. Friendsgiving pulls together roommates, coworkers, a new boyfriend, somebody's friend from grad school who couldn't fly home. The food takes care of the first hour. After the plates are cleared, a group like that either splits into small circles or finds something to do together.
PULTEVENT gives you the something. A laptop runs the show and the TV shows it. Everyone scans a QR code and plays on their own phone, no downloads, no accounts. Phones need internet, which in an apartment means sharing the Wi-Fi password early. Guest screens follow each phone's language, handy if half the table grew up somewhere else.
7 Friendsgiving games for after the plates are cleared
1 The potluck ballot
Every dish gets a number on the screen and guests vote from their phones in a few categories: best side, best dessert, most daring, the one you'd bring back next year. Bars grow on the TV as the votes come in.
How to run it. Put dish names on the screen, not cooks' names. People vote more honestly when the stuffing isn't obviously Jake's.
It's the first game everybody already has an opinion about, and it thanks every cook in one go.
2 Whose story is it
Before the party, collect one odd fact from each guest: worked on a fishing boat, met a famous chef in an elevator, has never seen snow. On the night, Guess the Guest shows the fact and phones vote for who it belongs to.
How to run it. Ask for facts privately by text. Tell people the stranger the better and that nobody will be embarrassed.
It's the fastest way I know to turn a table of half-strangers into a group that talks to each other.
3 The friend group quiz
A quiz from phones about your shared history: the year of the famous road trip, the name of the bar you all used to meet at, who cried at the karaoke place in 2021. Four options each.
How to run it. Mix easy and hard. Newcomers should get at least a few right, or they'll check out.
The regulars get to relive old stories, and the new people get the backstory without sitting through it.
4 Charades on screen
The charades section runs the round on screen: one person acts, the rest guess. Use your own word list: Thanksgiving foods, movies, things your friends always say.
How to run it. Clear the coffee table first. Somebody always tries to act out a turkey being carved.
It gets people off the couch after a heavy meal, which the couch appreciates.
5 Karaoke battle
Two singers or two small teams, one song each, and the room votes for the winner from their phones. Lyrics on the TV, music through whatever speaker you have.
How to run it. Warn the downstairs neighbors, or better, invite them. Stop by ten if the walls are thin.
It's the moment Friendsgiving turns from a dinner into a party.
6 The gratitude round
Live voting with gentle categories: who did the most for the group this year, who drove everyone to the airport, who always brings extra chairs. The answers go on the screen as a quiet thank-you.
How to run it. Keep it short and kind. Three questions is enough; this is not a roast.
Friendsgiving is about the people you chose. This gives them a small moment of credit in public.
7 The leftovers raffle
Every phone that joined the evening gets a raffle ticket. At the end you draw winners for the leftovers: first pick of the pie, the rest of the stuffing, the clean casserole dish somebody forgot to take home.
How to run it. Have containers ready. A raffle with no takeout boxes turns into an argument over foil.
It ends the night with a cheer and solves the leftover problem at the same time.
A ballot for the potluck
Everyone rates the dishes from their phone. The best mac and cheese finally gets settled.
Questions about the group
Trivia written about your friends, so the new boyfriend learns everything in twenty minutes.
Fits a small apartment
A TV, a laptop and an HDMI cable. No room for a projector needed.
Leftovers by lottery
Every phone gets a raffle ticket. The winner takes home the last of the pie.
Where the games fit in the evening
Dinner first, always. Nobody plays anything while the gravy is still warm. The window opens after the plates are stacked in the sink and before the pie comes out, when people are full and a little sleepy. Start with the potluck ballot because everyone has just eaten, then the guest round and the quiz, and save charades and karaoke for after dessert.
If people arrived at six and dinner ran late, drop two rounds. A Friendsgiving that ends on a high at eleven beats one that trails on to one in the morning.
A group that doesn't all know each other
This is the thing I'd plan for most. The regulars have years of in-jokes, and the new people can only watch. Games built on the group's history shut newcomers out unless you design around them. Put at least one fact from every guest into Whose story is it, and split the teams so each has old friends and new ones.
"Wait, you worked on a fishing boat?"
"Two summers. Alaska. I don't talk about the smell."
That exchange is worth more than the whole quiz.
Friends from other countries
Friendsgiving often includes people for whom the holiday is new: colleagues who moved here for work, grad students, a partner from abroad. The guest screens show in each phone's own language unless you switch that off, so a friend whose phone is set to Spanish or Korean sees the game interface in that language. The questions themselves appear as you wrote them.
Explain the holiday for thirty seconds before the quiz. It helps more than you'd think.
The friends who flew home
Half the old crew is at their parents' place this week. They can still play for an hour. Open a video call on the laptop, share the stage window, and they see the TV screen from their childhood bedrooms. They join by scanning the same QR code from their own phones.
Setting it up in a small space
An apartment is actually ideal. The TV is close to everyone, sound carries, and there's no stage to worry about. Plug the laptop in over HDMI, sit on the arm of the couch with it, and keep the QR code on screen for latecomers.
Try it on a weeknight in the free 3-day demo, no card required. Load the guest facts, write the quiz and click through once. If it works for your group, buy the one-time license, no subscription. Pricing lives on pultevent.ru/en.
About the author
PULTEVENT was built by Ruslan Barashkin, who has hosted weddings, birthdays and office parties since 2014: over 500 events, best host of Moscow 2024 and of Saint Petersburg 2023 at the TOP 100 Awards. He made it for his own nights first. The rest is at pultevent.ru/en.
How to host Friendsgiving games on the TV
- 1
A week out, text every guest privately for one surprising fact about themselves.
- 2
Write the friend group quiz and a charades word list in the console.
- 3
On the day, list the potluck dishes as voting options once you know who's bringing what.
- 4
Connect the laptop to the TV and share the Wi-Fi password as people arrive.
- 5
After dinner, run the ballot, the guest round and the quiz, then charades and karaoke after pie.
- 6
Close with the leftovers raffle and hand out the takeout containers.
FAQ
Do guests need to install anything?
We're only eight people. Is that enough?
Can I use it for regular Thanksgiving too?
Are there ready-made questions?
How long do the games take?
What happens after the free demo?
See also
Run brighter events — with PULTEVENT
All audience interactions, a second screen and timing in one app. Guests join by QR — internet is needed for you and for them.
Start free