If you wish to play a game that could have hilarious and embarrassing results, there is nothing like the “Honey, I love You” game to get the party going.
Introducing the Honey, I Love You game
Honey I love you can be an excellent choice for birthday parties and indoor game nights. The game itself has gained plenty of variations across different age groups. Some call it “Honey, do you love me?”, “Honey, if you love me”, or its full name, “Honey, I love you, but I just can’t smile”.
What makes this game perfect is that it requires no additional items or setup. Just a place for everyone to sit together and to have an open mouth discussion. The aim of this game isn’t to catch any balls or solve any mysteries with puzzle pieces. It all has to do with making sure you don’t end up laughing, and simply speak the words “I love you” to your closest friends without doing so.
What is Honey I love you?
The aim of Honey I love you is that it’s all about trying to keep a straight face while saying the most embarrassing thing you can say to your friends and family. And then respond with an even funnier line without breaking into a single smile. It takes calmness, patience, and even nerves of steel.
Number of players: Minimum of two players.
Ages: Suitable for all ages and groups.
Difficulty: Easy, depending on acting abilities.
Main objective: To say the words “honey, I love you”, and for the respondent to say “I know, but I can’t smile” without either one breaking into laughter.
Why we love it: The game is a perfect example of how hard it is to not laugh around your friends. Especially when it involves saying silly things to each other. Some can view it as a true test of friendship. To be able to act naturally with one another. But even if you end up laughing, it still becomes a joyful and funny scenario that brings people together.
A Brief History of Honey I love you
The game itself comes from improv studies on drama and acting. It is recommended as a perfect game to play for drama kids who want to learn more about acting and improv. The main purpose behind Honey I love you, is designed to be a focusing exercise to build up the resistance that actors may have to giggle out loud during a scene. This is especially useful for those that are practising rehearsals and must take scenes seriously.
However, for the purpose of this game at a party, it can be a great way to try and make each other laugh regardless of whether you’re aiming to win or not. We all love laughing with our friends, so making it into a challenge can be very engaging.
Honey I Love You Game Setup
When playing the game with two people, the participants should stand opposite of one another. At the very least they must be able to look at each other directly in the eye without any distractions or odd angles.
If the game is played with a large number of people, participants should be spaced together so they can still all face each other and to be able to face other people as well in case partners change. This can be accomplished by placing everyone in a circle, where people can see everyone’s faces clearly for the game to work.
Honey I love you Game Rules and Gameplay
Here is a step by step rundown on how to play the game and how to win. This will be a guide on the group version of the game rather than the simple version between two people:
- Players must face each other (sitting down or standing up) and look at each other directly in the eye.
- When the game is played in a huge group, then one person will be chosen as the main player. They will then stand in the middle while the other players will be standing in a circle.
- The main player will then look directly at a random respondent in the circle and say the words, “Honey I love you”.
- The one who has had this said to, must now respond with the words “I do, but I just can’t smile”.
- If the respondent laughs or cracks a smile before, after or during their response, they will lose this round and will be deemed the main player.
- They will then swap with the previous player and take their place in the middle to repeat the same task.
- The one who is now “it” will now be allowed to do other stuff to increase the challenge. They can now make funny faces or touch the player in some way to try and make them laugh while they say the response.
- The “it” player will win the game if they can make it through all of the players one by one without laughing themselves.
Game Scoring/ How to Keep Score in Honey I love You Game
The way to keep track of scoring will be from making sure who is “it” and the timer for how long they are going to go for without laughing.
The player must win by making it through every other respondent without laughing themselves. For an added challenge, a timer can be used to see how long they must make it through everyone before the timer runs out. Sometimes if they are in a rush, it can be even harder to not crack a smile.
Other Versions of the Honey I Love You Game
While the game itself remains the same, sometimes players can use other variations of the phrases. Some versions involve saying “Honey, do you love me?” with the response being “I do, but I just can’t smile”. Other times it can be said as “Honey if you love me, will you please smile for me?” while the respondent just has to not laugh or smile at all, without saying anything.
Honey, I Love You Game Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Honey I love you game be played by anyone?
The game can be enjoyed by both kids and adults. Drama lessons and acting exercises such as this are suitable for all ages.
Are there any tips to help you not smile?
Players can think of their own unique ways to help them not smile. You can imagine something serious to avoid the hilarity of the situation or imagine something else while the “it” player looks at you.
Can this help improve a child’s characteristics?
The main purpose of this exercise is to help build concentration and restraint. It can also develop emotional maturity, having better control of your outward emotions.
Alternatives Games to Honey I love you
If you wish to inspire your kids further into the world of acting and comedy, you can check out these other recommendations:
- Tongue Twisters is a great way to improve your kids’ speech while also helping them say things without laughing. Phrases like red lorry, yellow lorry or She sells seashells on the seashore.
- One Word story is another great improv game that makes kids laugh. A player will start with a word, and the next player must continue that phrase with another word. Players will keep going until they form a funny story with a bunch of random words.
- Breaking Out is a game that involves more body movement. A player will start with a gesture, and then the next player will proceed to exaggerate that gesture more dramatically. A great way to bring your kids out of their shells and make friends.
If you’re looking to play something entirely different with the younger ones then why not give the Water Balloon Toss game a go, or Fricket (an outdoor frisbee throwing game).
