Peeping through the eye-holes of my mask, I spotted a group off in a side room playing Lips at a party this past Halloween night. No, that's not some drunken-teen kissing game (I don't think so anyways) -- these partiers were belching out tunes for the Xbox 360 karaoke game.

A bit later, someone asked the host if he had DJ Hero in the house. It got me thinking about how different the party-game scene is nowadays with the influx of more casual gamers.

Both of the aforementioned titles are great for social get-togethers. Karaoke's timeless and spinning the plastic turntable is a lot more fun than you'd think (despite what Bitmob staffer Aaron Thomas will try to tell you). But if I were throwing a bash and breaking out something multiplayer, I'd be lining up Tetris Attack, Soulcalibur 4, or even splitscreen Halo 3.

Given that most people in the world are not as nerdy as I am, however, if I had a more mainstream crowd partying it up in my crib, with their clean shaven-ness, non-hardcore attention spans, and possibly booze factoring in, these are the games I'd have them play....

The Typing of the Dead (Dreamcast)

Odd choice? Sure -- but everyone knows how to type. And I'm positive 99% of my non-gaming friends have never fathomed a game concept like this, so it'd be worth it alone just to see their reactions to such a bizarre title. I'd bet they'd get into it, too.

I wonder if Sega's working on a The Texting of the Dead for today's audiences....

Burnout Revenge (multi)

Burnout Paradise lost Crash Mode, so it won't get the nod here, but Revenge would be a great pass-the-controller-around game for people who like watching car wrecks. And human nature dictates we all love watching car wrecks.

Boom Blox: Bash Party (Wii)

Either Boom Blox is guaranteed to surprise everyone who's never seen the games before -- they're deceptively fun. I'd have everyone double-bag and double-strap their Wiimotes, though. Booze, full-force arm swinging, and my 56" HDTV screen do not play well together.

ChuChu Rocket (Dreamcast)

I actually get mad at my hardcore friends when they don't want to play ChuChu Rocket with me, so I might try pushing this on my casual buds instead. It's frantic, it's easy to play, and you can really screw other players in horrible ways by sending cats in to eat all their mice at the perfect/worst times.

If I'm going to introduce video games to new people, I might as well bring out the worst in them.

Point Blank series (PlayStation)

The best light-gun shooters ever. Ever. No arguing, no debate...I said ever.

Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is too chaotic. Mario Party has the momentum-killing rules that everyone has to study before each match. Mario Kart fits perfectly in between for some wildly chaotic, yet still accessible fun. And out of all the Nintendo party games, this franchise seems to be the most familiar to my non-hardcore friends.

The Beatles: Rock Band/Guitar Hero 5/DJ Hero (multi)

Yes, this is a bit of a cop-out considering the introduction to my story, but how can I not recommend them? Any of the Rock Bands or Guitar Heroes are no-brainers for any drunken crowd, but DJ Hero might just surprise people. It has a steeper learning curve, but everyone I've shown it to so far (except Aaron) has enjoyed it in brief spurts. Plus, the music is perfect for parties.

You Don't Know Jack/Buzz/Scene It? Series (multi)

Another cop-out selection but these games are made for group participation -- everyone can gang up on and beat the crap out of the guy in the back who doesn't have a controller yet keeps on shouting out all the answers to prove how smart he is.

Can someone get on bringing back You Don't Know Jack already?

Bomberman series (multi)

Another no-brainer. If I had a choice, I'd boot up Bomberman Generations (GameCube) or Bomberman Online (Dreamcast) for some specific versus modes within them (they have the best in the series). Of course, Saturn Bomberman would be the ultimate choice with its 10-player support, but I don't like my friends enough to break out all that dusty old gear just for one night.

Pac-Man: Championship Edition (Xbox 360)

Sometimes, you have to ease your "outside" friends into gaming via something they can understand -- and everyone understands Pac-Man. Cranked up on speed, Championship Edition is sure to elicit adrenaline and laughs from my non-gaming buddies. It's just my responsibility to make sure no one walks away thinking they should buy an Xbox 360...Arcade unit, that is.

OK, it's now your turn to tell me how wrong I am or what other games you'd recommend!