Ice Breakers

Every successful host knows that a good party provides much more than shelter and sustenance for the gathered revelers. The hors d'oeuvres and canapés, to be sure, must delight both eye and palate, the drinks should be concocted with skill and imagination, but once spirits are buoyed by these stimulants, the time arrives for games.

The right games will do more than entertain your guests. They will be the catalytic agent that turns a quiet soireé into a Bacchanale.

Your rhetorical question, "Would you like to play some games?" will undoubtedly be greeted by wry comments from guests who have, in the past, been bored by Charades or Twenty Questions. Reassure them early that these pale pastimes will not be foisted upon them.

"Games are for kids," a plastered pretty may pout, and your rejoinder can be that shopworn but serviceable sally, "Not the way we play 'em!"

A good starter for any party is a game called "Kiss and Tell." This is best played on the assumption that your male guests have a date whom they know more than casually. (Since this condition will certainly exist before the night is over, you may as well proceed on this basis.)

"Kiss and Tell" might be preceded by a general discussion among the men as to whether or not a kiss is individually distinctive. Some will claim that no two girls kiss alike. Others will argue strongly against this hypothesis.

At this point you're ready to introduce the game. One man is selected at random, blindfolded and seated in the center of the room. He then is told that he will be kissed by three different girls in succession. The girls will not speak but will be identified by a number announced by the host.

One of the three girls is his date. The gentleman, after being kissed by each in turn, must say which one. "Kiss and Tell" offers an imaginative host the opportunity to introduce refreshing variations as the evening grows merrier.

Since this first game was what recreation directors term a "quiet game," you're now ready for "active group participation." "Mix 'n' Match" is a good one for getting the guests up and circulating around.

It begins with all the girls retiring to another room and each depositing a single article of clothing in a basket. Each girl must deposit the same article. Early in the party, it can be as innocuous as a shoe.

The basket and girls then return to the room where the men are waiting. At a signal, the males rush forward to the basket, take out a shoe at random, and then go from girl to girl in an attempt to find its owner and put the shoe back where it belongs.

This results in not a little amount of ankle-massaging and also permits male guests to meet, informally, women other than their dates. Although the rewards of this game are purely personal, a prize can be given for the first as well as the last man to find the correct foot. When the game goes into its second inning, the article of clothing might logically progress to a stocking -- with even more rewarding results.

"Adam and Eve" is a game that puts a premium on agility and fast foot-work. All guests, with the exception of one couple, form a circle, joining hands. The remaining man is blindfolded and placed in the center of the ring with a girl. The fellow then calls, "Eve," and the girl answers, "Here I am, Adam." As soon as he hears the mating call, the man tries to grab the girl who, in turn, tries to dodge him. Every time Adam calls for Eve, she must answer. The by-play continues against a one-minute time limit.

If the guy is successful in catching the girl, he receives a kiss and is permitted to leave the center of the circle, selecting a new man to replace him. The girl must then put on the blindfold and attempt to catch the new man in the ring by calling, "Adam" -- he answering, "Here I am, Eve."

However, if the original Adam is not successful in catching his Eve in the time allotted, he gets no kiss and must remain in the circle to be chased by a new female selected by Eve.

The blindfold automatically changes from boy to girl at the end of the first round and back again at the end of the next, but it is the winner of each round who is permitted to leave the ring -- the chaser if he (or she) successfully (concluded on page 52) Ice Breakers (continued from page 49) catches the quarry, the chased if he (or she) is successful in escaping.

As your guests' inhibitions become unglued, you can introduce the game called "Detective." There is no time limit here -- in fact the longer the game lasts the more interesting it may become. The girls retire to a separate room and each hides on her person some small, obscure object not in keeping with her costume. It might, for example, be a theatre ticket stub tucked under her belt, or an old Dewey button pinned to her garter. The host should have a variety of such objects on hand.

When the whatnots have been carefully hidden in interesting places, the girls return. The party is then considerably enlivened by the thorough search the men commence to conduct. A girl may help with "Hot" or "Cold" to indicate how near or far the gentleman is from the hidden object or to give some idea of her own emotional state at the moment. Grand prize goes to the fellow collecting the greatest number of whatnots from the greatest number of girls.

"Dead-pan" is less noisy and requires far less energy. Guests are seated on the floor in couples, alternatingly male-female, close together in a circle. The host starts the game by tweaking the nose of the girl on his left. She, in turn, repeats the action to the man on her left and so on around the circle.

When the circle has been completed, the host begins a new action. He may whisper something to his partner, lightly bite her lip, nuzzle her ear, or any other little action that comes to mind. Variations are, of course, welcome.

Everyone must receive and pass on the particular action completely deadpan -- no giggling -- no talking -- no reaction of any kind. If any person in the circle lets out so much as a snicker, he and his partner must drop out and the circle closes. A new action is then introduced by the person to the left of the couple that has been eliminated and the fun continues until only one straight-faced twosome remains.

To play "Honeymoon" you'll need, as props, a small suitcase, a nightgown, a pair of pajamas, and a bed. At a signal from the host, a couple picks up the suitcase and rushes to the bedroom (with the rest of the guests right behind them to make certain they play the game strictly according to the rules) The couple must unpack the suitcase, pull on the nightgown and PJs over their outer clothing, hop into bed for one minute, then jump out, peel off the night clothes, re-pack them, and return to the living room. The fastest "Honey moon" couple cops the prize -- a double shot of something-or-other or whatever else you may feel is suitable.

No matter what you play, however, a really good host never loses sight of one fact: each game is designed to please and entertain the guests. Don't worry about time limits, prizes or rules if you see that the guests are introducing variations on their own which are making it more fun for them. Your role is to create the atmosphere in which they may enjoy themselves to the fullest. You're not an umpire: you're Master of the Revels.

It's wise, though, to end a game when you see that it has reached its high point. Declare a winner and let all retire to the bar for refills. If you see a game isn't going over for some reason, don't try to force it on. End it quickly and move to something else.

By introducing such stimulating games as these, you automatically enhance your reputation as host a thousandfold. Other hosts, more lavish but less imaginative, will fade into obscurity. And available young lovelies will remember you, with a sigh, as the fellow who knows all those wonderful party games.