It's game time, bitches! And I'm talking the real games – the kind that can unite a group of drunken ruffians, stop wars, and maybe even create some new ones.
That's right: video games.
Now, we've all played one of these immersive beauties – anyone who says they haven't is a lying, dirty shell of a human being – and few of us have even thrown a shindig or two to celebrate the launch of a new fighter, or curled up with a favorite piece of electronic entertainment on a sleepy Sunday morning. And that's a wonderful thing.
We think that qualifies us to give you some advice on how to put together a Big Game night of your own – one that doesn't require you to watch men in tights run around a field chasing a pigskin.
Watering hole
The best option here is to make your gaming escapade a BYOB event. Have friends bring in whatever alcoholic beverage they fancy, and maybe buy a 24-pack yourself, just in case you have cheap friends. (If you do keep stingy company, maybe take a little time later to reconsider the kind of people you invite into your life.) Make sure everybody has enough dream-juice to last the evening. The same rule can be applied to munchies – also mission-critical.
The room is wide
As much fun as it could be practically fusing skin with the person next to you, cramped spaces don't make for productive gaming adventures. If you want to do this right, make sure your living room is wide enough to support something like an Xbox Kinect for that one weird friend who likes to flail like an idiot while playing the dancing games. We all have one. Choosing the right people for a gaming night is critical to its success, which brings me to my next point.
The right people
Gamers know gamers. We aren't necessarily a rare breed anymore, so if you've made a habit out of investing in every new major title that hits shelves, there's a good chance a lot of your friends are the exact same way. But on an evening as sacred as video-game night, there will always be a few casuals that slip through the cracks. The ones who sit on your couch and make fun of people who are "too good" at a certain game or enrage everybody around them by driving backwards in Mario Kart screaming, "OMG WHERE DO I EVEN GO?!" Have them stay at home. This is the night of champions, and should be treated as such.
Right game, right night
There's nothing worse than going to a dork party where the host only has a series of bullshit one-player games. ("Yeah Steve, we're projectile shitting with glee to watch you play Final Fantasy all night.")Why would they invite you over anyway? So invest in some games just made for multiple players. Lucky for you, we have a handy-dandy list of our top party games and their respective systems. If you (or your host) has any one of these, you've secured the potential for a good night:
Rock Band 4 (Xbox One, PS4)
Super Smash Bros. (Wii-U)
You Don't Know Jack (most consoles)
Mario Party 10 (Wii-U)
Halo 4 (Xbox One)
Mario Kart 8 (Wii-U)
Street Fighter IV (most consoles)
Just Dance 2016 (most consoles)
At the end of the day, gaming parties are going to exist whether this list helped you or not. It's an evening of awesome deeply rooted in our culture, a rite of passage. And with the rise of virtual reality right around the corner, the gaming party is sure to evolve once again for a new generation of young badasses. Wave your geek flag high and celebrate an incredible time to be alive!
