You can use anything in place of the plate. The plate is just to catch any spilled water. The simplest way is to dip your finger into a small cup of water. Then move your finger over to the penny to place the drop on it, and count each drop. This is a game where kids have a real advantage.
Small fingers hold smaller drops hence it takes more drops to fill the penny.
Have everyone write four things about themselves on a card. No names, or male or female. All of the cards are collected and mixed. Everyone picks a card at random from the pile. The people then mingle and talk about what was written on the cards until you find the person for your card.