Bday 23

To keep this article concise, I’ll focus on what improved compared to the previous Bday.

A new year, a new challenge! My goal was clear: this birthday had to be even better than last year. I started with the improvement suggestions from last time’s feedback. For instance, I changed the term "Class Battle" to "Team Battle" to avoid misunderstandings with politically savvy guests. The website got a fresh look while retaining its proven functionality. But of course, that wasn’t all:

Speed-Friending

One common piece of feedback was that guests should mingle even more. To address this, I introduced the concept of "Speed-Friending." It worked similarly to Speed-Dating: guests were divided into groups of three and had five minutes to get to know each other before rotating—five rounds in total. This allowed many people to connect who otherwise might not have interacted.

Cocktails

This time, I wanted to invest a bit more in the budget and decided to offer free cocktails. I was especially proud of the non-alcoholic cocktails, which I gave names inspired by myself. Here are a few examples:

• Elias Overload (lime juice, cane sugar, spicy ginger, Z-limo, cola)
• Ipanias (passion fruit, lime juice, orange juice, ginger ale)
• Lilalias (lime juice, grenadine, blue curaçao, blackcurrant juice, tonic, lemon soda)
• Long Elias (cherry juice, banana juice)

The cocktail bar was a huge success and added a touch of exclusivity to the celebration.

Chess

Believe it or not, chess truly elevated the party! I set up a dedicated chess table where enthusiasts and beginners could come together. Things got particularly exciting when groups of spectators gathered to watch and engage in enthusiastic backseat coaching. I’ll definitely keep this idea for future events.

Team Battle: Pool Tournament

Inspired by the pool tournaments in the K2 Bar, I organized an official competition. Four teams competed in a structured format, with tokens at stake in each round. The grand finale was a real highlight and became one of the most exciting parts of the evening for many attendees.

Watch Out, Imposter!

As a fun twist, I hid eight small "Among Us" figures around the birthday venue. Finding them was a task in the Kahoot quiz held later. The funniest part? Some of the figures are still hidden in the K2 Bar, providing surprise moments when people discover them unexpectedly.

New Metagame

Another highlight was the new metagame. Since detailing it here would go beyond the scope of this article, I’ll cover it in a separate piece.

Feedback

The feedback was incredibly helpful for making future celebrations even better. Here are a few key points:

• For Speed-Friending, providing 2–3 icebreaker questions could make it even more effective.
• For major events, tokens should be awarded rather than wagered to stimulate "token inflation."
• For guests traveling long distances: Collect their hometowns in the RSVP form and organize carpools in advance via WhatsApp groups.

All in all, the birthday was a huge success, and I’m already looking forward to the next challenge: Bday24!