Timeline – 2 games for a wedding, an anniversary or a hen party

Have you heard of Timeline? The aim of this game is to check the players’ historical knowledge. In my version of this game for a wedding, an anniversary or a hen party, you will check the knowledge of the most important events in the life of the newlyweds.

Game preparations

Print or develop photos illustrating important events. They may relate to the first dates and the engagement period in the case of the newlyweds or the time from the wedding to the anniversary in the case of a couple celebrating 10 years together. If it is to be played at a hen party, the photos may be taken during the entire life of the bride or relate only to her relationship with the groom.

Option 1 – simpler game mode

This game mode is easier to explain, yet less exciting to play and watch by other guests.

Form two teams. At the wedding or anniversary, this could be the team of the maid of honour and the team of the best man. Give each team an identical set of 7-8 pictures. The task of each team is to put them in the correct order. The first team to do it wins.

Option 2 – timeline

This game mode is much more exciting to play and lets the onlookers help teams. It also provides more opportunity to reward and penalize participants.

Prepare 15 different photos. Form two or three teams. The teams take turns to draw pictures (hidden in envelopes) until all are distributed. Put the last picture or a picture drawn from one of the teams in the middle of the floor. Each team looks at their pictures, tries to guess what important events they illustrate and when these events happened. Then, each team in turn places one of its photos at the timeline, i.e. to the right or left of the picture or pictures that are already there. The newlyweds say if the order is correct. If it is, you may award a symbolic prize, and if it’s not – a  penalty (e.g. penalty lap around the timeline to the “Benny Hill” theme).

Example events for a wedding game

• The newlyweds meet in …
• The bride graduates from high school and enters college
• The newlyweds go on a trip abroad together
• The groom earns an academic title
• The newlyweds engage
• The bride gets her first job

Example events for an anniversary game

(apart from the ones above, which can also be used)

• The (not so) newlyweds get married
• The (not so) newlyweds adopt a pet
• The groom becomes a godfather
• The (not so) newlyweds buy a car
• The (not so) newlyweds travel to …
• The (not so) newlyweds have their first child
• The (not so) newlyweds buy a flat
• The groom changes his job / gets promoted
• The bride celebrates a round anniversary
• The (not so) newlyweds have their second child
• The (not so) newlyweds move to …

I and my husband knew each other before getting married long enough to be able to play such a game at our wedding. Back then it didn’t cross my mind, but I can’t wait till we try it out at our 10th anniversary. The only challenge will involve limiting the important events to a decent number so that the game won’t take ages. What would you add to my list?

My advice:

– Think of as many events as possible. Most probably you will not be able to illustrate all of them with pictures. Naturally, you could use pieces of paper with texts on them, but pictures are more colourful, easier to see from a distance and will add another challenge: guessing what they represent.

– The photos don’t have to be taken on the precise day they are supposed to represent. While you will probably have pictures from the days your children are born, few people take pictures on their first day of work. In such a case, a picture from the first company event will suffice. It will be up to the team that draws it to guess what important event it represents.

– Photos for a hen party or for the first game mode can be of a standard size. Yet if you want to play timeline at a wedding or anniversary, print bigger pictures, so that they are more visible for all participants as well as onlookers. When the game is over, you may hang your timeline in a prominent spot in the ballroom.