An easy way to get people playing games is to set them some kind of challenge and ask them to write their answers onto on a piece of paper.

Competitions are fun and tend to get people moving around a room and talking to each other. This is marvelous if your guests have never met before.

As each new game progresses people will lose their shyness and conversation will become easier.

Make sure all your guests join in and then everyone will have a happy time.

An evening with Kate

A gentle competition that requires a little preparation before your guests arrive

Each guest is provided with paper and pencil. The paper should be lined and each line numbered from 1 to 25.

Before the game starts a number of cards should be prepared, each with a number of questions – the answer to each question is a word ending with the sylable cate'.

These cards should be spread around the room so people can find them easily.

Here are some examples:

To wipe out – erradicate
To chew – masticate
To waste time – procrastinate
To grease – Lubricate

For more words simply look in any dictionary.

The winner is the person with the most correct answers in a given period of time. A small prize could be awarded for effort.