An old concept that has recently had a major revival is the Try Not to Laugh challenge. Of course, the idea of trying not to laugh is that, despite your best efforts, the harder you try, the more likely you are to laugh, making this a fantastic activity for family dinners! A try-not-to-laugh challenge is a quick and simple technique to relieve tension on nights that are particularly busy or stressful.
There are a few different ways you could play:
Classic Try Not to Laugh
This variation of the game pits two players against one another. As the “jester,” one of them must make goofy looks, noises, and gestures in an effort to get the other to laugh. No matter what the “jester” says or does, the “straight man” needs to attempt not to smile or chuckle.
Group Variation
You may play the traditional game while letting everyone try to make one person laugh.
Jokes Only Version
In the “jokes only” variation, members of the family take turns reading jokes from a joke book or making jokes, and either one person or the entire family has to resist grinning or laughing.
Tech at the Table Version
If you feel up to it, you might let people use their gadgets to display amusing videos and memes as part of your challenge. Even “Try Not to Laugh” compilations may be found online; if you’re worried about the material, just look for “clean” or “kid-friendly” compilations and preview them first.
We advise giving your challenges a time limit. The challenge is done and it’s time for someone else to try if you can’t make someone else laugh in 1-2 minutes.
