When I was in college, broke with nothing to do in my somewhat-lame town of West Lafayette, Ind., I'd call all my friends, invite them to bring a side dish and have a good old potluck dinner at my house or apartment.
It had great benefits. You didn't have to cook a whole meal AND you got to see your friends in a setting where you didn't have to yell "What? I can't hear you!"
We usually had a "bring your own meat" mandate, since that was the most expensive part, but that's not a necessity to make this work.
After dining on our friends' culinary creations, which admittedly were sometimes terrible or completely lame, (like the time our guy friends brought McDonald's Chicken McNuggets) we'd bust open several six-packs, turn on the music and begin the entertainment of the evening.
Sometimes we'd play card games like poker, blackjack or baccarat (learn how to play at any of our sites) and sometimes we'd watch movies. Sometimes we'd get really geeky and play backgammon or chess, or another board game all together. Any thing we did, though, was a good time.
The best part was that we usually spent under $10 for a whole night of fun -- and that's including gas to and from.
