Be first to struggle into a frozen tee in the Frozen T-Shirt Competition Carmen Valino/TLP

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It all started with a game of dancing ­Chinese whispers in a Bristol nightclub when, fed up with the wallflower ­moping of her student pals, Josie ­Curran decided to get everyone on their feet in a spontaneous display of organised fun.

Her rep as a games mistress was properly sealed a few years later after a New Year’s Eve bash. Tasked with engineering jolly japes for more than 60 people, she caused a sensation with oddities like human musical chairs.

Then, inspired by the buzz she got from creating such daftness, Curran started collecting games in earnest. Two years ago, the 32-year-old quit her marketing job and moved from her Stoke Newington flat to a houseboat in Hampton Court, with the dream of pitching her games know-how as a book.

“It was last October, the recession was in full swing and the emphasis was on being thrifty and making your own fun,” she says. “I pitched the idea and the publishers loved it. Everything just happened at once!”

This summer she’s been taking her most popular larks on tour – getting punters to join in mass games of Human Fruit Machine at the Field Day Festival and she plans to hit Bestival.

She might sound like a PE-phobic party pooper’s worst nightmare, but actually, ­Curran’s bubbly enthusiasm is properly ­infectious. Plus, if you don’t want to play, “I won’t force you!” she laughs. With two more “organised fun” books out in November (for kids and grown-ups), ideas for game-themed club nights and plots to stage flash mobs, fun has become ­Curran’s full-time occupation.

“Playing games is a great way to bond. They don’t cost a penny and you can drink while doing them. My only advice would be avoid playing Egyptian Mummies with your ­boyfriend’s elderly relatives. They don’t take kindly to being wrapped in loo roll...”

Organised Fun: A Treasure Trove of Games and Tomfoolery, £16.99, Boxtree

// What to play //

Frozen T-Shirt Competition

What: Be first to struggle into a frozen tee.

Props: A T-shirt per person and a freezer.

Players: As many as you like.

How: Soak T-shirts the day before, tie into a ball and freeze. Players line up with the frozen tees. On the signal, race to be the first to put your T-shirt on.

Cracker Whacker

What: Kooky Victorian parlour game.

Props: Six crackers, thick ribbon, one rolled-up newspaper per player.

Players: A many as you like

How: Tie six cream crackers to your head with a ribbon and bash each other with the newspapers. The last person with a decent cracker tied to their head wins.

Human Buckaroo

What: Real life remake of Hasbro classic.

Props: Empty plastic cups and a snoozing guest/victim.

Players: Min 2, plus the snoozer.

How: Wait for a member of your party to nod off. Balance plastic cups on them. Whoever puts their cup when the snoozer awakes is the loser.

Human Fruit Machine

What: Novel version of pub classic.

Props: Three bags with different fruits, rattle, table, three chairs, three cardboard boxes.

Players: 4+

How: Set table and chairs in a row. Place boxes on table to create shields between players. Line up three people behind boxes and a bag of fruit in front of them. Punters give money, someone shakes rattle and the players hold up a fruit. If three fruits match, punter wins.

Race on your face

What: Perfect dinner party game.

Props: Small, flat, edible items – Jaffa Cakes are ideal.

Players: A dinner table’s worth.

How: Lean back and place the item in the centre of your forehead. Players race to get the item into their mouth by wrinkling and moving their face. If it falls off, you have to start again. First one to get the item in their mouth wins.