Games From Around the World
The same joy, different names. Grouped by where each game is a household favourite. 36 free games, no sign-up.
Musical chairs is "Reise nach Jerusalem" in Germany and "Trip to Jerusalem" in the Philippines. The categories game is "Stadt, Land, Fluss", "Petit Bac", "Nomi, Cose, Città", "Adedonha" or "Basta!" depending on where you grew up. Red Light, Green Light is "Un, deux, trois, soleil" in France and "Daruma-san ga koronda" in Japan. This page groups our games by the countries where they are everyday favourites, using the local names where we are confident of them.
We only claim a connection we have checked. Where a country's best-known party game is not built yet (Mexico's Lotería, for instance), we say so rather than dressing up a generic game as something it is not.
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🇮🇳India
Antakshari, Tambola (Housie), Dumb Charades and quiz nights — the staples of Indian family functions and college fests.
🇯🇵Japan
Shiritori (しりとり) is the word-chain game; "Daruma-san ga koronda" is the Japanese Red Light, Green Light; Fukuwarai, the New Year face-placing game, is a cousin of Pin the Tail.
🇫🇷France
Petit Bac (Baccalauréat), "Jacques a dit" (Simon Says), "Un, deux, trois, soleil" (Red Light, Green Light), "chaises musicales" and Les Loups-garous — Werewolf is a French favourite.
🇬🇧United Kingdom
Pass the Parcel and Musical Statues are British birthday institutions; the Telephone game is known as Chinese Whispers; and the pub quiz is a national sport.
🇺🇸United States
Playground and sleepover classics: Duck Duck Goose, Simon Says, Red Light Green Light, Hot Potato, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Truth or Dare and Never Have I Ever.
🇰🇷Korea
"Mugunghwa kkoci pieot seumnida" is Korea's Red Light, Green Light; kkeunmal-itgi (끝말잇기) is the last-letter word chain; and kai-bai-bo (Rock Paper Scissors) settles everything.
🇲🇽Mexico
"Basta!" is the Mexican categories game and "teléfono descompuesto" the whispering game. Lotería, Mexico's picture bingo, is not built yet — our number caller is the closest for now.
🇧🇷Brazil
Adedonha (also "Stop!") is Brazil's categories game; "batata quente" is Hot Potato, "dança das cadeiras" Musical Chairs, "estátua" Freeze Dance and "telefone sem fio" Telephone.
🇩🇪Germany
"Stadt, Land, Fluss" is the categories game every German child knows; "Stille Post" is Telephone and "Reise nach Jerusalem" is Musical Chairs.
🇮🇹Italy
"Nomi, Cose, Città" is the Italian categories game, "Un, due, tre, stella!" is Red Light, Green Light and "telefono senza fili" is Telephone.
🇵🇭Philippines
"Trip to Jerusalem" is Musical Chairs, "Bring Me" is the party scavenger race, Jack-en-Poy is Rock Paper Scissors, and Pinoy Henyo is the beloved forehead guessing game — Who Am I and 20 Questions are its closest cousins here.
🌍Global favourites
Played almost everywhere under a hundred local names.
❓Games From Around the World — FAQ
Are these games authentic to each country?
Each note names games that are well known in that country under a local name we have checked. Where we have not built a country's signature game — Mexico's Lotería, for example — we say so instead of substituting a look-alike.
Can I play in another language?
Antakshari supports ten Indian languages, Petit Bac shows French or English labels, and the word games accept any Latin-alphabet word. Full interface translations are not available yet.
Will more countries be added?
Yes — the world hub grows as games are researched and built. Suggestions are welcome via the contact page.