Top 4 Best Friend Group Activities in Johannesburg & Cape Town

Whether you’re planning a birthday, team building event, bachelor(ette) party, or just trying to herd your friends into doing something memorable, Cape Town has no shortage of group activities. The problem? Most lists recycle the same tired ideas. So if you are looking for Things To Do With Your Friends In Johannesburg or Cape Town, below are four genuinely fun, social, and slightly offbeat group activities that work for friends, colleagues, and mixed crowds — without defaulting to paintball or generic obstacle courses.

1️⃣ FactRot Nights – Pop Culture Quiz Nights (Available in Cape Town Only)

For competitive friend groups who live for movies, memes & mayhem.

If your group argues about movie trivia like it’s life or death, FactRot Nights is your playground. This isn’t a dusty pub quiz. It’s a high energy, pop culture-first experience built around films, series, music, anime, and internet lore....with visual rounds, interactive challenges, and a crowd that actually gets it. One or two of the rounds are based on Shorts published on FactRot's YouTube channel, making it the only quiz in the world that you can actually study for!

Why it works for groups:

• Teams compete together (so no one is left awkwardly spectating)

• Perfect for mixed age and mixed interest groups

• Competitive, but social enough to keep the drinks flowing

Best for: birthdays, friend groups, nerdy teams, Valentine’s events, and recurring monthly hangouts.

📍 Tiki Tomb, Cape Town🎟 Tickets can be purchased on Quicket. It is also very important to note that their trivia nights ALWAYS sell out so you might want to grab tickets for you and your mates as soon as you are done reading this sentence! Follow their WhatsApp channel for updates.

2️⃣ 2handsy – Hand Casting Experiences (Available in Joburg & Cape Town)

For meaningful, surprisingly fun groups...at first glance, hand casting sounds sentimental. In practice? It’s one of the most unexpectedly fun group activities in both Johannesburg & Cape Town.

2handsy lets couples, friends, families, or teams create detailed plaster casts of their hands — frozen mid-laugh, mid-chaos, or mid-inside-joke.

It’s tactile, creative, and gives everyone something physical to take home — which already puts it ahead of most activities.

Why it works for groups:

• Everyone participates at the same time

• It sparks conversation naturally

• You leave with a permanent keepsake (and a story)

Best for: friend groups, anniversaries, team bonding, creative teams, and small corporate groups.

📍Venue in Cape Town: Montebello Design Centre, Newlands, Cape Town. Available in Johannesburg only for large group bookings, 15 or more people. 🔗 www.2handsyexperience.com

3️⃣ Weapons On Wheels – Mobile Axe Throwing

For groups that want controlled chaos...few things bond people faster than throwing sharp objects at targets — safely. Weapons On Wheels brings a fully mobile axe throwing setup to your venue, event, or private function. With trained instructors and structured rounds, it’s competitive, cathartic, and weirdly addictive. You don’t need strength. You don’t need experience. You just need a willingness to miss the target once or twice and then absolutely nail it. Oh and lest we forget...they also offer additional add ons (should you decide to do so) from knife to shuriken throwing, there's no shortage of sharp weapons to toss!

Why it works for groups:

• Easy to learn, hard to master

• Naturally competitive

• Great spectator value (people love watching near-misses)

Best for: team building, bachelor parties, year-end functions, and large mixed groups.

📍 We come to you — anywhere in Cape Town, Joburg or Pretoria🔗 Since you're already on our website why not check out what we have to offer!

4️⃣ Murder Mystery Nights – Themed Interactive Whodunnits (Available in JHB, CPT & DBN)

For groups who love story, roleplay & belly laughs...if your crew enjoys a good story, a bit of theatre, and a playful challenge, Murder Mystery Nights is a fantastic way to spend an evening. Quiz Nights SA hosts epic Murder Mystery events around various venues around Johannesburg and Cape Town where guests are assigned characters, clues are revealed, and everyone works together (or against each other) to solve the “crime.” Costumes are optional but make sure you walk in with that Sherlock Holmes energy. The games are highly addictive, interactive and social — and it’s perfect for larger friend groups who want something different from drinks and dancing.

Consistent venues/events include:

📍 Available in venue across Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban (watch social pages for listings)🔗 Quiz Nights SA.

Why it works for groups:

• Builds teamwork and conversation

• A shared narrative to unravel

• Costumes and character play make it memorable

Best for: birthdays, big friend groups, creative date nights, and mixed interests.

Final Word

Johannesburg and Cape Town’s creative scenes aren’t just about good food and groove — they are about shared experiences that turn into genuine memories. Whether you’re shouting answers at FactRot Nights, sculpting laughter with 2handsy, throwing axes with Weapons On Wheels, or sleuthing out a killer at a murder mystery dinner, these are the group ideas that don’t feel like filler. Pick one, round up your crew, and make it an event worth remembering.