Best Party Games With Dedicated Servers for Game Night

The best party games with dedicated servers are Garry's Mod (for Trouble in Terrorist Town and Prop Hunt), Midnight Ghost Hunt, SCP: Secret Laboratory, Tower Unite, Clone Hero, Puck, Wreckfest, SuperTuxKart and Teeworlds. They all play in short rounds, handle a group of 8 to 30 that drops in and out, and are fun even for people who are bad at them. A game night server for any of them needs only 1 to 4 GB of RAM.

The party games most people think of first, like Jackbox, run on the publisher's servers and give you no control. The games below are the ones where your own server matters: the lobby is up before anyone arrives, the rules and maps are set, and nobody's home connection decides whether the night works.

Party games for a server

1. Garry's Mod (TTT and Prop Hunt)

Trouble in Terrorist Town is the original social deduction shooter: a few traitors, a crowd of innocents and a detective, with every round ending in an argument. Prop Hunt, Murder, Deathrun and Hide and Seek keep the night varied. Paste a Workshop collection ID in the panel and every player gets the same maps and addons.

• RAM: 4 GB for TTT or Sandbox with a few addons.
• Read next: how to add Workshop addons to a Garry's Mod server.

2. Midnight Ghost Hunt

Ghosts possess props around a haunted building, Hunters sweep rooms, and at midnight the ghosts get strong and hunt back. Dead Hunters return as ghosts, so rounds flip at the last minute. Steam and Epic players can play together once they link accounts.

• RAM: 4 GB for 4v4, 6 GB for 6v6 Hunt.

3. SCP: Secret Laboratory

Free, chaotic and built on proximity voice chat. Every round splits players into sides that lie, bargain and betray. It is best with 15 or more, which makes it a great pick for a big Discord.

• RAM: 4 GB for vanilla around 20 players.

4. Tower Unite

A social hangout game from the makers of GMod Tower. The Plaza has activities, and minigames like Ball Race and Minigolf give a group something to do between chats. A dedicated condo stays open as your group's own hangout, decorated and saved.

• RAM: 4 GB for a small condo, 8 GB for 32 guests in a decorated condo.

5. Clone Hero

Free, fan made guitar game with a giant library of community charts. Up to four people share a session, each on their own lane, on guitar, bass, drums or keys. A server keeps the lobby stable for weekly song nights instead of depending on one friend's connection. Songs live on each player's PC, so share a setlist folder first.

• RAM: 1 GB.

6. Puck

Physics based hockey where every stick movement is simulated on the server. Pickup games with friends are chaos, and 6v6 with goalies fits on the smallest plan. The server runs at 200 Hz by default for responsive physics.

• RAM: 1 GB for up to 12 players, 2 GB for 20.
• Read next: how to host a Puck server.

7. Wreckfest

Demolition derby as a party game. Lawnmowers, sofas on wheels and figure 8 tracks turn a lobby into a crash compilation. Bots fill the grid to 24 when the group is small.

• RAM: 2 GB for a small lobby with bots, 4 GB for a full grid.

8. SuperTuxKart

Free kart racing with battles, soccer and capture the flag. It runs on almost anything, so even the friend on an old laptop can join.

• RAM: 1 GB.

9. Teeworlds

A free 2D shooter with grappling hooks and rounds measured in minutes. Instant to learn, which matters at a party.

• RAM: 1 GB for 16 players.

Running a good game night

1. Set up before people arrive. Map, mode, password and rules ready. Nothing kills a game night like twenty minutes of setup.
2. Use a password. Post it in the Discord event, not in public.
3. Rotate games. Three or four rounds of TTT, then Midnight Ghost Hunt, then Clone Hero while people get snacks.
4. Pick free games for big groups. SCP: Secret Laboratory, Clone Hero, SuperTuxKart and Teeworlds cost nothing, so nobody is left out.

For community events beyond game night, how to run a game server for a Discord server covers roles, announcements and bots.

Host your game night

A GamezServers server is live in about a minute and can switch game or server type from the panel, so the same server can be your TTT server this week and a Midnight Ghost Hunt server the next. Everyone can chip in: up to 10 friends each pay their share. Start with Garry's Mod or Midnight Ghost Hunt.

FAQ

What party games can I host on my own server?

Garry's Mod (TTT and Prop Hunt), Midnight Ghost Hunt, SCP: Secret Laboratory, Tower Unite, Clone Hero, Puck, Wreckfest, SuperTuxKart and Teeworlds.

Can you host a Jackbox server?

No. Jackbox games connect through the publisher's own servers, so there is nothing for you to host.

What is the best free party game with a server?

SCP: Secret Laboratory for big groups, Clone Hero for music nights and SuperTuxKart for racing.

How much RAM does a game night server need?

1 to 4 GB. Garry's Mod TTT runs on 4 GB, Clone Hero, Puck and SuperTuxKart on 1 GB.