Weekends are the prime time to get away from the stress of school, be it at a party or just hanging out in your dorm room with friends. Whatever the occasion, keeping yourself entertained should never be a problem with the right game to play. These games bring out the some of the best social interactions one can have with others, so grab a few friends and have a game night with some of these multiplayer-focused games.  

10: Heads Up

“Heads Up” offers a charade experience that’s easy for anyone to pick up and play. Given small context clues written on the main player’s head, players must work together quickly to help the person with the clue figure it out. “Heads Up” is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play store for $0.99, with in app purchases for extra category packs, but a physical board game version exists if you’d rather put on a headband instead of holding your phone against your forehead.

9: Spaceteam
“Spaceteam” is the ultimate “space crisis simulator.” The game throws you and your friends into a spaceship as it avoids asteroids, black holes and the gravitational pull of the sun. You’re given a control board and instructions for another player to ensure the ship stays operational. This is not always easy, however, as the control panels will break as time goes on or even become symbols from an alien language. What starts as a functional team becomes a yelling match to ensure the survival of all. The game is a blast, and one of the more intense experiences I’ve had with friends. “Spaceteam” is free on iOS and Android.

8: Risk
If you’ve got hours to kill, look no further than the world-conquering game of “Risk.” It’s a game where alliances are formed or broken on a moment’s notice, war is waged, or a tense simulation of a Cold War scenario is played out. In one play session, a friend of mine controlled a majority of the zones and played the defensive, requiring myself and the other players to form an alliance to weaken his hold on the Eastern zones. This type of scenario is what makes “Risk” such a compelling board game to bring out to play with friends. Just make sure you have the time to wage a fictional war.

7: The Jackbox Party Pack
“The Jackbox Party Pack” gives players five games to choose from, all with their own comedic spin on quiz shows or other existing games. In “You Don’t Know Jack,” players must answer questions that are set up more like riddles than the standard quiz show fare. Players must figure out what the question is really asking and choose the correct answer to win big, while using power ups known as “Screws” to force another player to answer a question within a much stricter time limit. Other games like “Fibbage” let players lie to one another via fill-in-the-blank trivia questions in hopes of fooling others into picking their answer. Though “The Jackbox Party Pack” requires a TV to display the game, the game is played without the use of controllers, instead opting for a smartphone, tablet or PC to type in or select your answers.

6: Mafia
This game goes under many names, be it Werewolf or others, but the rules stay the same throughout: Find the bad guy before they eliminate the innocents. Finding the hidden murderer leads to some tense decision making and it sets the stage for you and your friends to play a role and hide your true intentions. The game has a ton of variations, be it online or physical, and some video games have even adapted this playstyle into the games themselves.

5: Mario Kart 8
For years, “Mario Kart” has been a staple game whenever visiting family or friends, often resulting in said relationship being ruined when you speed past them right before the finish line. “Mario Kart” as a series is an excellent kart-racer and an overall fun experience, but “Mario Kart 8” seems to have perfected the formula. With an eye-popping visual design, some great new tracks and even some high-definition remastered tracks (Nintendo 64 Rainbow Road, for example), “Mario Kart 8” demands your attention at every turn. “Mario Kart 8” is available for the Wii U, but the series itself exists on multiple other platforms.

4: Rocket League
If you’d prefer your cars to be playing sports instead of racing, look no further. “Rocket League” has the same concepts of a FIFA soccer game, but all the players are now remote-controlled cars equipped with rocket boost. Because of this change, “Rocket League” feels like a constant battle as you zip around the stadium doing flips and riding up walls to score the perfect shot. Each goal a player scores is accompanied by airhorns and an explosion to let you rub that goal in your friends faces. “Rocket League” is available on PC, Xbox One and PS4.

3: Cards Against Humanity
“Cards Against Humanity” is similar in structure to its less crude counterpart, Apples To Apples. The judge draws a category card, known as the “black card” which sets the stage for the other players to lay down their best answer to make the funniest combination. These absurd combinations can get explicit and just plain weird in a matter of seconds, with combinations like “Next time on Dr. Phil: How to talk to your child about (blank)” and “The mere concept of Applebee’s.” Due to a creative commons license, the game is available for download for free from the company’s website, allowing players to make their own card combinations as well as play with the pre-set cards.

2: Dungeons and Dragons
“Dungeons and Dragons” may be one of the more in-depth choices on this list, it offers a nearly endless amount of fun and choice. Instead of just watching “Lord of the Rings” again, why not play the part of the adventurer and feel immersed in the journey? Cast spells to take down a cyclops, find treasure chests in a bat-filled cavern, or just talk your way out of conflict altogether. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and of course, the luck of your dice roll. There are plenty of online resources to help get you started, with scenarios to try out drafted by other players and the base ruleset being offered for free on the official “Dungeons and Dragons” website.

1: Rock Band
When it comes to party games, nothing comes quite as close as “Rock Band.” Donning a microphone, a drum kit, a bass guitar and an electric guitar, you and your friends can take the virtual stage and be superstars. The sheer variety in the soundtrack that goes even further once you add in downloadable tracks makes the game accessible to anyone, regardless of their music taste.