What it is: A name-the-song-title trivia game where knowing song lyrics is key

Best for: Anyone in any group size! Or at least anyone old enough to identify songs based on their lyrics. Since my three-year-old can do this with Disney songs, I’d say the age range is pretty inclusive. It’s also an especially great game for music lovers.

What you need: Bits of song lyrics. I provide a huge list (free!). You can also think of your own.

How to play: Basically, one person reads a line or two from a song and everyone else tries to guess the name of the song. There are three ways you can play.

Version one: Free-for-all

Before you play, if you’re using my printable song lyrics, there is a particular way you can prepare them to make playing much easier. Just watch this video:

Now that your slips of paper are prepped, let’s play!

To play competitively, have everyone sit in a circle. Take turns drawing a song lyric from the cup. The person who draws the song lyric can peek at the answer, then reads (NOT sings) the lyric of the song.

As soon as the reader starts reading, everyone else is able to start guessing the name of the song. But once someone shouts a title out loud, they are not allowed to guess again that round. So, for example, say Elijah starts reading, “Tranquil as a forest but on fire within.” Then Juan might shout, “Be a man!” Elijah knows, however, that this is not the correct name of the song because he’s looked at the answer (it’s actually “Make a Man Out of You” from the Disney movie Mulan). So Elijah would tell Juan no and either continue reading or, if he’s read the whole line, wait for other people to guess. Juan is not allowed to guess again, even if he remembers the right name of the song.

If the reader wants, they can wait to look at the title of the song until after they’ve read the lyric out loud, if they want to give themselves a chance to guess (to themself).

Whoever guesses the actual song title (the one written on the paper) first gets to keep the paper slip. If there is a tie, see who can name the artist first. Then the next person in the circle draws a paper and reads it aloud. Whoever has the most paper slips at the end of the game wins! 

If no one can name the song, Elijah can sing the lyric or recite more of it, if he knows the song. He could also, if he wants, provide hints on the artist (like, “It was sung by Donny Osmond”) or song (like, “It’s from Mulan“). If there’s still no one who can name the song, no one gets the paper and play passes to the next player.

If you want to play not-as-competitively, let the reader sing the song lyrics if they wish. It’s easier to guess, but some people might enjoy getting to sing a little Also, when you’re playing not-so-competitively, the best part is when a song lyric is read, no one can remember the title, and everyone bursts into song as they try to remember what it’s called. You might not be able to stop your players from doing this!

Version two: One at a time

Another way you can play is have one person guess at a time. So, for example, if it were Juan’s turn, someone else (like Elijah) would read him the song lyric. Juan on his own would get a chance to name the title of the song. You could even give him a certain time limit like 10 seconds. If Juan can’t name the song in time, play can open up to other players. The first to name the song title (or, if there are ties, the song title and the artist) gets the slip of paper.

Version three: Single player

If you are on your own, you can still play this game! Just prepare the printable slips of paper as shown above (and REALLY make sure you don’t peek as you do). Then draw yourself a paper one at a time and try to guess the song! Unfold the paper to see if you’re right. It’s actually a pretty fun trivia game on your own. This would work great as a two-player game, too.

In my printable, there are four categories of songs: Disney songs, 80s songs, songs released before the 80s, and songs released after the 80s up to the present decade (which right now includes the 2010s). I tried to stick with top 40s or well-known songs so, if you are at least a little familiar with a certain era of music, hopefully you have a good chance. There are a few tricky ones thrown in there, though!

We played this at our last family reunion and it was a lot of fun. I printed off papers from each of the four categories and put them in separate cups. We did one round of each. Again, my favorite part was when everyone would burst into song (and possibly dance), as shown at the end of the video below:

Have fun playing (and singing!)

Free printable: Song lyrics and titles

Variations: Some similar games are Name that tune or Sing a song

What it is: A simple two-player math game to review “greater than/less than” number sentences (Does anyone else’s child have to stop every single time they draw a greater than/less than sign so they can turn it into an alligator?)

Best for: A young child learning math and an older sibling or parent

What you need: A printable number chart and a crayon or maker

How to play: Start with a number chart on the table in front of both players. (The printable charts I included have four versions that go up to 100, 120, 150, and 200.) Player 1 (who can be named Mom) silently chooses a number on the chart and says, “Guess my number.” Player 2 (whose name can be Ben) then guesses any number, saying, “Is it 25?” Say Mom’s number is 56. She would say, “It is greater than 25.” Ben would then be able to use his crayon or marker and cross off any number on the number chart he knows the answer isn’t (so 25 and everything less than 25). Ben then gets another guess. If he says, “Is it 73?” Mom says, “It is less than 73.” Then Ben gets to cross out all numbers 73 and higher. Play continues like this, with Ben guessing and getting closer and closer until he finally guesses Mom’s number. Then Ben gets a turn to think of a number and Mom gets a turn to guess.

If you’re playing competitively, you can say that the person who had the most un-crossed-out numbers when they finally guess the right number wins. You could also keep track of guesses and say the winner is the one who gets the answer in the least number of guesses.

It’s a simple game, but it can be a good way to work in number practice and reasoning, too. Make sure to give your child a turn both guessing and thinking of a number.

If you want to use the printable number chart again and again, laminate it and use a dry erase marker. Happy playing!

(For you older people playing, my husband informed me of a strategy called binary search that greatly increases your odds of winning when it’s your turn to guess. Basically, if you’re playing up to 100, you guess 50 first. If you’e told the number is less than 50, guess 25. If you’re told the number is more than 25, guess 37. Basically keep cutting the un-eliminated numbers in half and you’ll get it faster. Just be careful not to crush the confidence of the younger players you’re playing with.) 

What it is: Another simple card game involving numbers; a great way to teach math and have fun while homeschooling

Best for: Young children learning to add or compare the values of two- or three-digit numbers

What you need: A deck of cards with the face cards removed (or we’ve been playing with Rook cards with everything over 9 removed)

How to play: This game is a variation of War, the classic two-player card game where you divide the deck of cards evenly and players each turn over a card at the same time. The player with the higher cards wins both cards, and the person who wins all the cards first wins.

In this game, you have to do some math first. There are two main variations.

Addition

If you want to teach addition, have each player turn over two cards at once. Each player adds their two cards together, and the player with the higher sum wins all the cards. You could also add three cards together.

Place value

If you want to focus on place value, each player turns over two or three cards at once. Players can choose how to order their cards to create the largest number they can. The player with the largest number wins all the cards.

Other variations

You could combine the variations and have players create more than one two- or three-digit numbers and also add them together. If you do this, you might need more than one deck of cards because you’ll go through them more quickly.

If your child is more advanced, you could even play with multiplication. That might be a great way to teach that in multiplication, it doesn’t matter which order the numbers go in.

Winning

Oh, first, on the rare chance two players flip over the exact same cards, a war happens, which, in this game, simply involves players flipping over another two or three cards (however you’re playing), and the winner of that round gets all the cards from both rounds.

During play, have players put the cards they win in a separate stack off to the side.

If you want a shorter game, play only until players’ main stacks are gone. Then count up how many cards each player has in their stack of won cards, and the person who’s won the most wins.

If you want a longer game, after players’ main stacks are gone, they shuffle and reuse the cards they’ve already won, repeating each time they use up all the cards in the stacks in their hands. (However, I’ve found that, even though it’s disguised as a game, my kids are smart and realize it’s still math, and they’re usually not up for a long game.)

If you want to encourage even more math, have the child write down each math addition sentence or greater than/less than fact on paper.

Can you come up with any other variations? Are there any other games you’ve created using math? Please share!

What it is: A simple and educational math game

Best for: Young kids who can (or are learning to) add single-digit numbers, two to five players. It’s a great game for addition practice!

What you need: A deck of face cards (or we’ve been playing with Rook cards)

How to play: First, shuffle the cards and deal six cards to each player. Place the remaining cards in a stack face-down in the middle of the table.

In “Addition Go Fish,” players collect cards and try to form sets. In regular Go Fish, sets are formed by finding cards that are the same, but in this game, sets are formed by gathering cards that add up to a certain number. For example, we’ve been playing with Rook cards and searching for sets that add up to 15 (because the cards are values 1 to 14).

Players get sets by asking another player for a specific card. So, for example, say it’s Carson’s turn. One of his cards is a 9, so he knows if he gets a 6 he can add it to the 9 and get 15. He might say, “Annelise, do you have a 6?” If she does, she gives it to him, and Carson lays down his 6 and his 9 (now a set) in front of him. If Annelise doesn’t have a 6, she says, “Go fish,” and Carson draws a card from the deck in the middle of the table. Then it’s the next player’s turn. Players take turns until the deck is gone and no one can make any more sets. The player with the most sets wins.

Some rules and points:

• A set can consist of any number of cards. (For example, a 9 and a 6 could form a set. So could an 11 and a 4; a 7 and two 4s; or a 2, 4, 3, and 6.)
• Any time a player asks someone for a card and gets the card they asked for, the player gets to go again; they get another turn. This can happen more than once per turn; it happens as often as a player gets a card they asked for.
• Say Carson had a 9 and asked Annelise for a 6, she didn’t have one, she said “Go fish,” Carson drew a card, and he just happened to draw a 6. He can still lay down the 6 with his other card for a set, but he doesn’t get to go again.
• If for some reason a player asks someone else for a card and gets it but doesn’t yet form a set, the player still gets to go again. For example, say I have a 4 and I’m looking to make 15. I know I need an 11. But I’ve asked everyone for an 11 and I know no one’s got one. However, I have a high suspicion Carson has a 9 (because he’s been asking for a 6). I can ask Carson for his 9; then I’ll get a card and, even though I don’t yet have a set, I’ll get to go again, and now I can start asking for a 2 (because 9 plus 4 equals 13, and I would need 2 more to make 15). (Though the children playing this game most likely won’t be using that level of strategy, and maybe you won’t either, if you’re playing with kids like mine whose feelings get hurt if they lose by too much.)
• If a player has a set in their hand, they lay it down immediately; this can happen when they first get dealt cards, if someone gives them a card, or if they happen to draw a card that makes a set.
• If a player runs out of cards, they draw two from the deck and keep playing.
• Unlike regular Go Fish, if Carson asks for a 6 and Annelise has two of them, she only has to give Carson one.

If you want to play with regular cards, take out all of the Kings, Queens, and Jacks and only play with the cards with number values (1 to 9; Aces can be 1s). Play for sets that add to 10. You can add to sets of any number you choose. You could play with Uno cards. You could even incorporate subtraction, or create two-digit numbers and add or subtract those. What variations can you come up with?

What it is: A simple and kind of silly talking game

Best for: A small group, and kids older than about 5

What you need: Just your brains!

How to play: 

Leg of spider,
Tail of rat,
Turn your dog
Into a hat!

In this game, players take turns making up silly spells. The spells follow this format:

[Ingredient 1],
[Ingredient 2],
Turn your _____
Into [something silly that rhymes with ingredient 2]

The ingredients often, but not always, take the form:

[Body part] of [animal or plant]

So, some examples of spells…

Thorn of rose,
Foot of frog,
Turn your grandmother
Into a dog!

Tail of unicorn,
Eye of newt,
Turn your homework
Into a boot.

Grease of bacon,
Horn of goat,
Turn your bed
Into a boat!

There are two ways you can take turns. One player can make up a whole spell and then play passes to the next player. Or, what I personally think is more fun, four players make up a spell together. Player 1 says the first line, player 2 says the second line, and so on. Player 4 should be someone old enough to rhyme.

It can be a great game for kids to teach rhyming skills and encourage creativity.

So how about it? What spells can you guys come up with? Post in a comment below!

Disclaimer if magic runs in your family: The Game Gal is not responsible for any friends, family members, and/or pets being turned into items including but not limited to monsters, animals, and/or household objects.

What it is: A way to play pictionary that works best with specific categories, like idioms or, in this post, movie titles. It’s not as competitive as regular pictionary and takes a lot more creativity!

Best for: Older players (teens or above) because of the difficulty involved

What you need: 

• A wipe-off board and dry erase marker, a chalkboard and chalk, or a paper pad and marker; basically a surface to draw on that all players can see

How to play: Just like in regular pictionary, players take turns drawing silently, trying to get other players to guess a word or phrase.

In what I’ve dubbed “mixtionary,” it works better if players come up with their own ideas of what to draw and if you don’t have a timer. You might not even want to keep score. It’s just a fun way to see who can creatively get others to guess a word or phrase in a challenging way, because instead of drawing any picture, your challenge is to illustrate the individual sounds of the phrase, mixing pictures to put together the entire phrase.

So in this post, I’ll use movie titles as an example. (Also, mostly family/PG movie titles.) Can you guess this one?

If you need a hint, cows say MOO, and the picture of the lawn mower is pointing to the LAWN…

Mulan!

See how the pictures make up the whole phrase? Here’s another one:

In this example, you can see how letters can come into play. Considering how difficult this game can be, I recommend allowing letters (instead of in regular pictionary where letters are usually against the rules).

In this game, use a bubble letter, like the first E, to indicate that the letter should be pronounced individually, like “eee.” Use normal letters, like the “er,” to indicate that the letters should be read instead of pronounced individually, like the end of the word, oh, “Potter,” for instance.

Want another? (Excuse my sloppy drawing by the way; this is my go-time pictionary drawing style. No time for fancy pictures!)

I’m not going to give away that one… How about some more?

In this last example, notice how you can use more complex equations to dissect sounds. So you’ve got your first picture, then a little equation, a picture of the EARTH minus the H sound (leaving you with “urt”). Plus the last picture… Can you guess the movie title?

This one’s a little tricker. Remember, a bubble letter means you pronounce the letter, like “ess.” A regular letter means you read the sound the letter makes. Another point is that if there’s a plus sign or a minus sign, it indicates that those two sounds are part of the same word. But if there’s no plus or minus sign between pictures, that indicates a word break. So in the above example, since there’s no plus sign after the T, the first and second lines are separate words.

How about one more?

See how the game works? You can play with movie titles, book titles, maybe even idioms. Since you won’t be able to illustrate all movie titles this way, it’s best to let players think of their own, or if you have a big list (like my word generator provides) allow skipping until players find one they feel like they can illustrate.

OK, finally, to end, here’s one last hard one that, I admit, is a big stretch and maybe nigh unto impossible, because it’s kind of an obscure movie to begin with. Guess it correctly in the comments, or guess all of the previous pictures, and I’ll give you a free escape room kit from my site!

(Here’s your one clue. See how there’s no plus or minus signs? That means it’s three separate words.)

Variations: For more variations on the classic game of pictionary, try musical pictionary or pictionades. If you’re looking for lists of movies or other pictionary words, check out my printables page or the word generator.

Good luck, and happy playing!

What it is: A small-group (even two-player) playground game my son and I invented at the park the other day. (Since my son invented the game, I let my five-year-old daughter contribute to this post by drawing the post artwork. So the cat doesn’t have anything to do with the game, but it’s cute, right?)

Best for: A grown-up and some kids at a playground

What you need:

• A camera or smartphone

How to play: The other day at the park, the weather was nice and all I wanted was to take some cute pictures of my kids. My one-year-old, I could understand how it would be difficult. It’s hard to get her to sit still. I didn’t have much luck. My five-year-old, she obliged me a little bit. But my seven-year-old, he’s old enough to know to sit still, right? Old enough to cooperate and let his mom get a good picture of him? Nope, not at all. I couldn’t get a single good shot of his face.

But, on the plus side, it led to us creating a new form of tag that my son loved and was a lot of fun.

We call it photo tag!

It’s kind of like hide-and-seek, and it’s best played somewhere players can hide, like on a playground. One person (the grown-up with the camera) is It. We’ll call her Mom. All the players run and scatter throughout the playing area while Mom counts to ten, then opens her eyes and, armed with her finger poised over the camera button, starts searching for the players.

Mom’s goal is simple: capture a photo of a player that clearly shows the player’s whole face. The players are allowed to run, hide, and evade Mom, but are not allowed to cover their faces with their hands.

At the end of your playing time, Mom can show all the players the pictures she took. The player with the least photos of their face wins. Or, Mom can show players pictures as she takes them.

This probably isn’t a game where you’ll want to take turns being It. Better just let Mom handle the camera, unless you’re playing with teens or above.

Variations: If you are playing with teens or above, let everyone hold a phone/camera, and everyone can be It at the same time. Then at the end of an allotted time, everyone shows any picture they got of someone else’s whole face. The player with no photos or the least photos of his or her face wins! For more creative versions of tag, try banana tag or freeze tag with all your limbs bent or straight.

Samples: Interestingly enough, this game actually led to some of the cutest pictures of the day, candid ones I shot as my son was trying to evade me. Since he was having so much fun, his smiles are genuine. Mom wins!

What it is: A mash-up movie guessing game that takes some creativity

Best for: Teens to adults

What you need: 

• You might find the IMDb or a list of movie titles helpful

How to play: Can you name this movie?

A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl’s innocent pet cocker spaniel and make her presentable in high society before a streetwise downtown mutt falls in love with her first.

Sound a little wacky? Well, it’s not a real movie. It’s a mash-up! A made-up summary of a combination of two movie titles that share a word…

My Fair Lady and the Tramp!

The summary combines parts of the movie My Fair Lady (1964), a movie about a phonetics professor passing off a flower girl in high society, with Lady and the Tramp (1955), a movie about an innocent pet cocker spaniel falling in love with a streetwise downtown mutt.

That’s the game! Take turns with your friends coming up with summaries of mashed-up movies and see if you can guess. See how wacky they get. Do you want some more examples?

A high school student time travels to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, where rebels are battling against a mean bully and his fleet of star ships, so they must stop the Empire from preventing his parents from meeting and falling in love.

A father and daughter attempt to defend their flock of orphaned Canada Geese from idiotic burglars during the holidays.

The Soviet Union’s best submarine captain in their newest sub violates orders and heads for the U.S., while a coal miner’s son with an interest in rocketry attempts to track down the sub and find out if the captain is trying to defect or start a war.

And then, finally, one from my brother-in-law that’s a bit of a stretch and might be a little tricky…

“Crouch, I say, crouch! Now you—hide!”

Guess all four movie titles in this post and I’ll give you a free escape room kit from my site!

Or do you have a movie title or summary to share? Post it in the comments! Maybe you can come up with a summary for one of these wacky combinations:

• The Corpse Bride of Frankenstein
• Black Beauty and the Beast
• October Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
• The Great Escape to Witch Mountain
• A Little Princess Bride
• We’re Back to the Future
• It’s a Wonderful Life is Beautiful
• Treasure Planet of the Apes
• Star Wars of the Worlds
• Shark Tale of Two Cities
• Finding Neverland Before Time
• She’s the Man for All Seasons
• The Swan Princess Bride
• Forever Young Frankenstein
• Mighty Joe Young Indiana Jones
• Jungle 2 Jungle Book
• Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey to the Center of the Earth

One last bonus, here’s a printable list of more mashed-up movie summaries with answers. You can give the list to a group and see who can get the most right. It would be a great movie night activity!

What it is: A much more strategic version of tic-tac-toe I learned from Math with Bad Drawings (he’s got a great explanation of the game, too)

Best for: Two players

What you need:

• Paper
• Something to write with

How to play: OK, so we’re all familiar with tic-tac-toe, right? The normal 9-square grid?

Well, in ultimate tic-tac-toe, you’ve got a smaller grid within each of those 9 squares:

To win the game, you have to win three of the larger squares in a row, and to win a large square, you have to win three in a row in the smaller grid inside it.

Here’s how it works. Say X goes first:

Now, just like in normal tic-tac-toe, O gets to go. But O can’t just go anywhere. The smaller grid O must play in is determined by X’s move. So since X went in the bottom right corner within his small grid, O must go in the bottom right corner of the large grid:

So O goes, anywhere in this small grid he wants to:

Now you know where X has to go, right?

A few moves down, the game might look like this:

See what just happened in the far right middle square? X got three in a row! That means X wins that small grid, thus claiming that square in the large grid:

Then it’s O’s turn again (O is still sent to the small grid determined by X’s last move). Eventually someone will claim three small grids in a row, thus winning the whole game:

Nice job, X!

As you can imagine, there’s a lot of strategy involved. You’ve got to keep in mind where you’re sending your opponent, thinking several moves ahead.

One rule: If the player before you sends you to a grid that’s already been won, you get to go wherever you want. (So try not to send your opponent to an already-won grid!)

Another rule you’ll need to decide on your own will be what to do with smaller grids that result in a tie. You could either count them for 1) neither X nor O or 2) both X and O. Try both ways and let me know which one you like more!

Many thanks to Math with Bad Drawings for this fun and quite strategic game!

Printables: Here’s a free Ultimate Tic-tac-toe board you can use. Just download and print.

Variations: Aside from the normal tic-tac-toe, there’s also 3D triple-decker tic-tac-toe, and, my personal favorite, human tic-tac-toe. Who knew there were so many variations on tic-tac-toe out there?

Oh! Wait! I almost forgot! Many thanks also to my husband’s synesthesia, which helped me decide what colors to color the X and the O in the post artwork

Best for: Two people or a small group, probably ages 8 and up

What you need: Nothing but your brains!

How to play: The basic gameplay is simple: one player thinks of an object and the other players try to guess what it is. For this game, it’s best if there’s a pre-determined category, like food, people, animals, etc. The category that has worked the best for us is people.

But let’s play with food and say Julie thinks of banana bread.

She’s playing with Laura, who, unlike in twenty questions, makes guesses by naming a specific food. For example:

Laura: Is it an orange?

To give Laura a clue, Julie gives a statement starting “No, because…” Like this:

Julie: No, because it doesn’t grow on trees.

Laura guesses another specific food, and then another.

Laura: Is it lemonade?

Julie: No, because you don’t drink it.

Laura: Is it pizza?

Julie: No, because it’s sweeter.

Laura: Is it a strawberry?

Julie: No, because it’s manmade.

Laura: Is it a cookie?

At this point, when Laura’s guess is pretty close to Julie’s item, Laura can give a clue in the form of “No, but…”

Julie: No, but it is a baked good.

Laura keeps guessing until she gets it.

Laura: Is it…oh, I don’t know, banana bread?

Julie: Yes! Wow, good guess!

It can actually be a challenging game. It can be hard to come up with specific guesses when you know so little about the object in question. It can also be difficult to come up with clues that aren’t too easy and aren’t too hard. And it actually hasn’t worked too well with my young children. Carson, my six year old, often looses interest in guessing because it’s too hard or, when it’s his turn to give the clues, gives ones like these:

Me: Is it an eraser?

Carson: No, because it doesn’t erase things.

Me: Is it a stapler?

Carson: No, because it doesn’t staple things.

See my problem? So I would say this game is better suited for older children to adults who want a more challenging version of twenty questions with more thought involved.

Variations: This game, in addition to being like twenty questions, is also pretty similar to the game breakfast combo. (It actually started out as me trying to come up with a version of breakfast combo that my young children could play, because my husband and I play it together but it’s too difficult for them.) If you want another twenty questions variation that’s great for young kids, try poodle, which just might also get you laughing!

What it is: An easy, fast game that everyone probably already knows. But I like to be comprehensive, so here we go with some rock-paper-scissors instructions. Rock-paper-scissors is a quick win-loose game that is often used to determine who will go first or who will win some other small privilege.

Best for: Two players. But you could have a giant rock-paper-scissors tournament with tons of people!

What you need: Nothing! Well, technically speaking, each player needs to use their two hands.

How to play: In rock-paper-scissors, two players will each randomly choose one of three hand signs: rock (made by making a fist), paper (made by laying your hand flat), or scissors (made by holding out two fingers to look like scissors). Both players show their signs at the same time to see who will win. Here are the rules that determine which sign beats another:

• Rock wins over scissors (because rock smashes scissors)
• Scissors wins over paper (because scissors cut paper)
• Paper wins over rock (because paper covers rock)

(If that last one doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to you…you’re not alone.)

If both players show the same sign, it’s a tie. And that’s basically the whole game! It’s often played in a best-two-out-of-three format as a quick contest to decide who gets to go first or something like that.

To make sure things are clear, here’s a short video on the game:

It’s essentially just a game of chance. But if you’re young, rock-paper-scissors is a legitimately exciting game that can provide hours of fun…or, if not hours, at least minutes.

I did find this video that gives some interesting insight and tips at winning rock-paper-scissors. Who knew there could be that much strategy involved in a game of chance?

Variations: I’ve never played it, but there’s a variation invented by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla that includes five options instead of three: Rock-Paper-Scissors-Spock-Lizard. And I guess you could include the rock-scissors-dynamite variation.

What it is: A people-watching game. If you’re thinking from the title that it’s a mean game, don’t worry. It’s not supposed to be at all.

Best for: One, two, or three people.

What you need:

• A place to people-watch. So a mall or airport or a big event like a sports game where there are lots of people to observe.

How to play: When you’re somewhere crowded where you want to pass the time, people watching is a great activity. It can be fun with friends, too. In this game, you look at the clothes other people are wearing and ask yourself, “Would I wear that?”

The goal isn’t to be mean or to judge others. It’s to think about yourself and what styles you like to wear, what you’d be willing to try, what you could or couldn’t pull off, what you think looks good on you and what doesn’t. So I guess it’s not so much of a people-watching game as an…outfit-watching game.

It might be informative, too. Maybe you might get some ideas about clothes you’ve always liked but haven’t ever tried. Maybe you just realize things about your taste that you’ve never noticed before. (For example, I realized that the harder it is to identify a color, the more I like it. Bright, obvious, bold royal blue – ew. But a shirt that’s kind of grayish-purpleish-brownish or maybe orangeish-pinkish-tanish? Love it.)

Variations: There are lots of variations to people-watching – basically sitting somewhere and watching strangers walk past. You could try to guess where they’re from or where they’re going (perfect for in an airport). You could try to invent a crazy exciting backstory for them. You could make it more of a scavenger hunt with a list of things to find. I’ve made some printables for a people-watching scavenger hunt you could play in an airport and one you could play on a date night.

What it is: A cooperative talking game where players try to say the same word at the same time.

Best for: Two players. I’ve seen it done with three, which is more difficult but could be doable.

What you need: You don’t need anything to play, other than your brains.

How to play: This is a simple game that can provide hours of fun. It’s kind of addicting, almost, once you get started.

After I learned the game, I found out it’s from the band OK Go (you know, the ones with all the awesome music videos?). (This one isn’t really official, but I think it’s my favorite…except a lot of them are kind of my favorite.) OK Go actually has a video that explains the game really well, as well as an app that lets you play even when you’re not with friends. Go check them out! So though I know this post won’t be as entertaining as OK Go’s video, I’ll go ahead and explain how to play here, too.

You start by having two people each say a word at the same time. Any word. It will be a random pair, and that’s okay.

Let’s say Adam and Liz are playing. These are the two words they say:

• Adam: See saw
• Liz: Trip

To make sure they say their words at the same, one or both of them can snap their fingers three times. After the third snap, or on an optional fourth snap, they each say their word.

After that first round, Adam and Liz go again. But this time they’re going to try to say the same word. They do this by trying to find a word that connects the first two words, or something they have in common. You could also think of it as finding the intersection between the two words. So the second round might look like this, with the players’ thought process included:

• Adam: Playground (because this is where you’d trip over a see saw)
• Liz: Fall (because if you tripped over a see saw, you would fall)

Everyone thinks a little bit differently, so it might take a while for Adam and Elizabeth to finally say the right word.

• Adam: Push (because if you fall at a playground, someone might have pushed you)
• Liz: Merry-go-round (the most likely place to fall at a playground)

It’s good for them to take time between rounds to think and come up with the right word. Otherwise, if it’s just about speed, it could get difficult.

• Adam: Exercise (because pushing a merry-go-round is essentially exercise)
• Liz: Spin (because when you push a merry-go-round, it spins)

But it can be a little bit about speed. They don’t want to sit around waiting forever.

• Adam: Treadmill (a form of exercising that involves spinning equipment)
• Liz: Dancing (because this is a way you can spin and exercise at the same time)

Finally, though, they’ll end up on the same word.

• Adam: OK Go! (because they have the best treadmill dance music video of all time)
• Liz: OK Go! (because they have the best treadmill dance music video of all time)

It’s a very rewarding feeling.

This game could be over quickly, in three or even two rounds. Or it could drag on for a while. It’s fun to see the way someone else thinks, and to laugh (or get frustrated) when you think an opposite way. It can also lead to some funny moments, too. Once my husband and I were playing and, I can’t remember what the preceding pair was, but we said Luke Skywalker and Mark Hamill at the same time. (We weren’t sure if that should count as a win.) Another time my sister and I had the words love and brown to work with, and we both came up with chocolate.

I like this game because it’s cooperative instead of competitive. It’s a great time-killer and fun to play. So thank you, OK Go!

speed!

There is a commercial game called Bananagrams that’s essentially the same thing. I learned this game as Speed Scrabble first, and I’ve also heard it called Take Two.

Best for: A small group of people, maybe 4 to 6 players.

What you need:

• Letter tiles from a Scrabble game (but you won’t need the game board)

How to play: To set up your game, have everyone sit around a table or in a circle on the floor. Turn all of your Scrabble tiles face-down in the center of the circle and mix them all up. Then have each player pull out two tiles, keeping them face-down.

Someone starts the game by saying “go.” Then everyone turns over his or her pieces.

Each player will be building their own mini Scrabble grid in front of them. So when you turn over your pieces, start spelling with them as fast as you can. Once someone successfully uses all their tiles (and for this first round, that’s just two tiles), they shout “go.” Then everyone reaches forward and grabs another tile from the pile. Now you have three tiles, and you use all of them to build another Scrabble grid. Then, just like in the last round, whoever uses all three pieces together in one unbroken grid first calls “go,” and everyone takes another tile.

Each round you’ll get one more piece, making the grid larger and more complex. You can add the tiles you draw onto your existing grid, or, at any time, you can rearrange the whole thing. To call “go” you just need to use all of your tiles, and they all need to be connected in one unbroken grid.

This short video demonstrates part of a game and should make it a little clearer:

The goal is to use all your pieces, not leaving any out. The person who completes their whole Scrabble grid first when no more pieces are left wins. So it doesn’t matter if you’re ahead or behind for most of the game – all you need to do is be the first to finish and you win.

As for rules, blank tiles are wilds; you can use them for any letter. But it has to be the same letter for the whole Scrabble board, just like in real Scrabble. (But if you do decide to start over and change everything, you can switch the letter the wild stands for.) Players can challenge others’ words if they don’t think they’re real, and at the end the winner has to go through each of their words, proving that they didn’t cheat. It’s also often fun for everyone to say all their words out loud at the end, too.

Variations: Although I haven’t played with most of them, the Wikipedia page on Scrabble variants lists some other variations of Speed Scrabble that sound like they could be fun.

By the way, this post contains affiliate links. Thanks so much for your support!

What it is: A version of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game – you’re basically trying to find links between actors via the movies they star in.

Best for: A small group, maybe up to six players. Two players work fine, too. You could even play by yourself.

What you need: Just your brains! If you want/need to cheat, IMDb would be a good resource.

How to play: My siblings and I would play this game on car trips or to kill time. We would start with someone naming an actor or actress. For example, Kate might name Anne Hathaway.

The next player, Michelle, would name another actor that Anne Hathaway appeared in a movie with. For example, Anne Hathaway appeared in Ella Enchanted with Cary Elwes. The next player might say that Cary Elwes appeared in The Princess Bride with Billy Crystal. It can be entertaining to simply name actors and movies and come up with a big long chain. This is also how you could play competitively. If someone on their turn can’t think of an actor and/or movie that hasn’t already been said, they’re eliminated from the game. The last player left wins.

In our version of the game, though, we played cooperatively. Our goal as a group was to get back to where we started (so in this game, Anne Hathaway). The whole loop might look like this:

• Anne Hathaway appeared in Ella Enchanted with Cary Elwes.
• Cary Elwes appeared in The Princess Bride with Billy Crystal.
• Billy Crystal was in in Monsters, Inc. with John Goodman.
• John Goodman appeared in The Borrowers with…with that boy who helped the Borrowers…what was his name? [Quick IMDB check] Bradley Pierce.
• Bradley Pierce appeared in Jumangi with Robin Williams.
• Robin Williams appeared in Night at the Museum with Dick Van Dyke.
• Dick Van Dyke appeared in Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews.
• Julie Andrews appeared in The Princess Diaries with…Anne Hathaway!

It can take a while, but that’s all part of the fun. We really didn’t play that seriously. Half the time we didn’t even know the actors’ names: it was “that guy from ___, the villain, you know?” And our loops probably could have been done more efficiently, but we didn’t care if it took a while. (Also, side note, it can take a while/be harder if you’re keeping your blog family-friendly by trying to name only PG or G movies.)

There are some rules you might want to consider. Can you mention a movie or actor if they’ve been said before? (We said no.) Does voice talent in animated movies count? (We said yes.) Does it count if you don’t know the name of the actor? (We said yes, because we weren’t huge movie buffs.) Do multiple movies in a series (for example, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) count as the same movie? Do cameos count? Do TV shows count? If so, do guest stars count? Things like that.

Hope it can be an entertaining game for your and your family or friends!

What it is: A variation of twenty questions. It’s a little more complicated than twenty questions and involves more thought for both the guesser and the one answering the questions. So if you like twenty questions but it’s getting a little old, this’ll probably be the perfect game for you to try.

Best for: Two players.

What you need: Nothing! Those games are the best.

How to play: Just like twenty questions, this game starts with one player (we’ll call him Josh) thinking of an item to guess. Unlike twenty questions, it’s best if this item is pretty specific. So some good examples might be things like this:

• Your iPhone
• A garbage sack
• The shirt I’m wearing
• A Garmin GPS

Some not-so-good examples:

• Clouds
• Rocks
• A house

Does that make sense?

So, let’s say Josh is playing and he’s thinking of an item, and he comes up with his iPhone. Then the person he’s playing with, Paige, gets to start guessing, with the goal, of course, of guessing that the item is Josh’s iPhone.

In twenty questions, Paige would ask yes or no questions and try to deduce what the item would be from the provided clues. In breakfast combo, Paige just goes ahead and starts guessing things. They can start out random. It’s also good if these guesses are more specific rather than broad. So…

Paige: Is it a fireplace?

Because this is the first guess, this is what Josh says:

Josh: It’s more like a fireplace than anything you’ve guessed so far.

Then Paige gets to guess something else.

Paige: Is it a turtle?

Now Josh needs to decide if the item, his iPhone, is more similar to a turtle or a fireplace. Say he decides it’s more like a fireplace.

Josh: It’s more like a fireplace than a turtle, but, like a turtle…

And then Josh would fill in a clue, something that his iPhone and a turtle have in common. It could be anything he comes up with, like:

Josh: It’s more like a fireplace than a turtle, but, like a turtle, I’ve seen it.

So then Paige gets to guess something else.

Paige: Is it a campfire?

Josh answers the same way he did before.

Josh: It’s more like a fireplace than a campfire, but, like a campfire, it needs to be started.

Paige guesses again:

Paige: Is it a Sega Genesis game system?

In this case, Josh would probably decide that his iPhone is more like a Sega Genesis than anything else that Paige has guessed. So he says:

Josh: It’s more like a Sega Genesis than anything you’ve guessed so far.

(Here you can add a slight variation. Josh can either say the above sentence and leave it at that, or he could provide a reason, e.g., “It’s more like a Sega Genesis than anything you’ve guessed so far because it’s manmade.” The second option makes it easier for the guesser.)

Play goes on like that, with Paige guessing specific objects and Josh responding. If the item Paige just guessed is closest to the item Josh has in mind, Josh says, “It’s more like [current guess] than anything you’ve said so far.” If the item Paige just guessed isn’t as close to the item as something else she’s previously said, Josh says, “It’s more like [previous guess] than [current guess], but, like [current guess], [something current guess and item have in common].

As you might guess, it’s often just as challenging for Josh to come up with answers as it is for Paige to guess. It’s fun because it does provide some new variety to the classic game of twenty questions. It’s a great game to play in the car (which is where Paige and Josh play it most).

Variations: As stated, breakfast combo is a variation of twenty questions. It’s also very similar to no, because. For another, more creative/silly variation of 20 questions, try poodle!

What it is: A game, or really more of an activity, to play around the house. It’s ideal for one to two players, really entertaining for little children, a new favorite of my four-year-old, and the reason my handheld mirror is broken.

Best for: One, two, or three children in a house

What you need:

• A handheld mirror, not huge, but big enough to see your whole face in. If you have more than one person, you can have more than one mirror (more fun). Or you can take turns (less fun).

How to play: This is a simple one. You take a handheld mirror and use it to pretend to walk on the ceiling. To do this, just hold the mirror parallel to the floor, pressed against your face right underneath your nose. Then look down into the mirror, which will be displaying a reflection of the ceiling.

If you walk around and use your suspension of disbelief, it kind of feels like you’re actually walking on the ceiling, especially if the mirror is large enough to cover up the view of your feet and the ground beneath you.

So then the fun part comes in the novelty of walking on the ceiling. There are light fixtures to avoid, door frames to step over, and sometimes giant pits (aka, vaulted ceilings) that you could fall into. The ceiling is a dangerous place. It can be fun to play with two people, so you can plan and explore together. You can definitely add more imaginative play too, like a mission to complete or ceiling goblins chasing after you or the spacetime continuum to restore to balance. Something like that.

Just be sure that when you’re playing you’re not totally unaware of the ground you’re actually walking on. Me and my sisters loved to play this when we were little, and I remember getting banged shins from coffee tables in the process. Make sure the rooms are tidy, without too many toys or objects to trip over or step on. (Like Legos. Legos are the worst.)

It’s funny, I recently taught my son Carson to play this. He loved it from the get-go. And asks to play every time I’m doing my hair and makeup and he sees my little mirror. Did I mention he broke one already? Now I know why my mom was always reluctant to let us play when I was a kid. She was worried not only about the safety of her mirrors, but us, too.

I never got it before. I couldn’t understand why she wanted to take away all our fun like that.

I understand now, Mom. I understand.

What it is: This or that is a simple talking game where players choose which of two items they prefer.

Best for: A small group, maybe even two players only.

What you need: You don’t need anything! You can use a pre-made list of items, like the one I provide below, but it’s not necessary.

How to play: Basically players take turns asking and answering questions in the form of “this or that?” Examples:

• Mountains or beach?
• Sandals or tennis shoes?
• Cats or dogs?
• Digital watch or analog?

Players ask these short questions, and then indicate their preference. It’s easy, simple, and a great way for players to get to know each other. It’s fun to compare likes and dislikes, too. “What?? Cats? Ew! I’m totally a dog person.”

Variations: This game is kind of similar to would you rather, but instead of choosing between two usually undesirable things, this game is more about choosing between two good things.

Printables: And here’s the free printable! It’s a list of “this or that” scenarios to get you started. You don’t need a list like this to play, though; half the fun is players thinking up their own questions.

This or That

Fun fact: Way back when my husband and I were freshmen in college, we played an extensive round of this game on our second date. What a great way for us to get to know each other! So not only am I promising you a great game here with This or That, I’m promising you relationship success, as well!*

*Kidding. Please don’t hate me if this game hasn’t led you to marriage or a significant other.

Best for: Any number of players. It’s a great two-player game.

What you need: Nothing! Aren’t those games the best? It can be nice if you have a pre-made list of “would you rather” scenarios. Guess what? I made one! You can download it for free below.

How to play: Basically players take turns asking each other questions starting with “Would you rather…” and ending with two different scenarios. Like, “Would you rather have to wear ski goggles for the rest of your life…

…or have to wear a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle mask?”

(p.s. is Donatello your favorite?)

As demonstrated, the questions are usually a little wacky/silly/absurd. (In some variations, they’re also gross/weird, but I don’t like those questions as much.)

Some other examples of would you rather questions:

• Would you rather live to be 90 with great health or live an extra ten years past 90 with not-so-great health?
• Would you rather live off of bread only or live off of anything but carbs?
• Would you rather be respected but feared or laughed at and loved?

The questions can be thoughtful, silly, or completely hypothetical. It’s fun for players to think up their own questions, too.

Once someone asks a question, everyone else must answer the question. Then another player gets to ask a question.

Another variation for a large group is to have one player draw a question (like from the list I made below) and answer it alone. Then another player draws another question and answers it for themselves, and so on. This could work well if you have so many people, it’s hard to have everyone answer each question.

Printables: Here’s the list of Would you rather questions I came up with. It’s two pages long, so not a ton, but definitely enough to get you started or get you thinking of ideas. Once you get playing with a good group, the ideas usually start coming to players. It’s a fun talking game to play.

Would you rather

What it is: A very flexible game with lots of adaptations.

Best for: A group of about 4 to 10.

What you need: You’ll need a list of categories (I’ve provided one below) and possibly a timer and pens and paper.

How to play: Basically the challenge is to try and think of as many items in a category as you can. An example category would be fast food.

And items in the category? Chicken nuggets, tacos, hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, McDonald’s apple pies, chicken sandwiches, and on and on. How many things can you think of?

Variations: There are many different ways you could set up your game. Here’s a few to get you started.

Like the game Scattergories (commission link), you can name as many items in a category that start with the same letter. Choose a letter from the alphabet, draw a category, set a timer, and go! For example, if the category were male names and the letter were C, you could write any of these:

• Carson
• Caleb
• Cole
• Christian
• Connor
• Carter
• Cameron

You can play on teams, individually, or as a whole group. At the end of the game, everyone takes turns reading all their answers aloud, where questionable answers can be submitted to the group to see if they’ll be allowed or not. (For example: “Camille? That’s a girl’s name!” “But I totally knew a guy named Camille once!” “OK, fine, we’ll allow it.”) If you’re playing against each other, the person who writes down the most names wins. (One variation is to have everyone cross off any name that someone else wrote down, too. That way the person with the most unique answers wins.)

You could also play the above version, but without the restriction of a letter of the alphabet. Any boy name, for example, would work for the above example. Then follow the same rules for the rest of the game.

Another variation which works really well for car rides or killing time can be played one word at a time. In this variation, you pick a category and then take turns saying something from that category, one player at a time. The first person who can’t think of a word that hasn’t already been said is out of the game, and you start a new round with a new category. (The game first letter, last letter is an even more challenging variation of this.)

You could of course use your list of categories to play the pool game categories or a similar game.

What other rules or variations can you come up with?

Printables: Here’s the list of categories! It’s a few pages long, so hopefully it gives you lots of categories to choose from for all of your game-playing needs.

Categories

What it is: A fun date activity that involves speed, shopping, and designing your dream home.

Best for: A married couple on a date.

What you need: A home improvement store, like Home Depot or Lowe’s. IKEA or a furniture store would also work great.

What to do: Print out the below printable, or just grab some paper and a pen. Then drive to the home improvement or furniture store of your choice. Now…drumroll please… CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve just won a build-your-own-dream-home sweepstakes (hypothetically speaking, that is)! Woo hoo! Happy music! Anything in the store you both see, want, agree on, and write down will be installed in your future dream home (hypothetically speaking, that is). The catch is, you only have 30 minutes (or however much time you want to give yourselves, more or less would be fine). Just set your timer and GO!

Alternately, if you don’t want a time limit at all, don’t feel like you have to have one. It’s just a fun chance to talk together as a couple about the types of furniture and fixtures you’d want if you were rich and famous and could afford whatever you wanted.

Printables: Here’s the printable that comes with the activity. If you print it at actual size (which I recommend), it’s a little smaller than an 8.5 x by 11 page, so you can trim it down. Hope you enjoy!

Be sure and check out the other date night activities in this series!

What it is: A creative date night activity involving reminiscing about favorite convenience store treats from your childhood.

Best for: A couple on a date.

What you need: A convenience store or gas station and a little money to spend.

What to do: Head to the convenience store on your date. Your task as a couple is to each pick out a favorite road trip or convenience store treat from you childhood. It’s best if it’s one you haven’t had in a while. It could be Big Chew bubble gum, or those Mrs. Baird’s apple pies, or Sour Patch Kids – whatever you got and loved as a special treat at the convenience store.

After you purchase your snacks, sit down to eat them and fill out the forms below. Mostly it’s just fun to reminisce about your childhoods together – and share some tasty treats.

Printables: Here’s the form to print out and use! You can combine this activity with the other activities in the date night series for a longer scavenger hunt type date. Hope you have fun!

Remember, be sure and check out the other date night activities in this series!

What it is: A creative date night activity involving shopping for cheap at a bookstore (like Barnes & Noble) with a good bargain section.

Best for: A couple on a date

What you need: A bookstore with a good bargain section, $5, and the printable included below.

What to do: Head to the bookstore on your date. Your assignment as a couple is to go to the bargain section and buy a gift for someone of your choice. It could be a family member, a friend, whoever’s babysitting your kids…you  just have to agree on one person other than yourselves to buy a gift for. The only other rule is the gift has to be less than $5.

So start shopping! After you make your selection and purchase your gift, fill out the printable below and see how many points you earned.

Variations: You could do this at another type of store, too. You don’t even have to limit yourself to the bargain section. I just thought the challenge of trying to buy a gift for someone when you have limited money to spend could be kind of fun.

Printables: Here’s the form to print out and use! You can combine this activity with the other activities in the date night series for a longer scavenger hunt type date. Happy shopping!

Remember, be sure and check out the other date night activities in this series!

What it is: A version of a scavenger hunt where you take pictures of things (and often yourself doing fun things).

Best for: A small to large group, maybe 4 to 10 people.

What you need: A camera and a list of things to take pictures of! (see bottom of the post for my free printable list).

How to play: Just like other scavenger hunts, the goal is to go down the list and cross off as many items as you can. Other than that basic rule, the game is super easy to customize however you’d like. Let me show you an example.

This is a scavenger hunt list I made for the mall. I might use it for a birthday party for a group of 13-year-old girls. If the group is smaller (say 5 girls), I’d give them all one list and set them loose in the mall to take their photos, telling them to meet back at the foot court in two hours or something like that. If the group were bigger (say 10 girls), I’d make two smaller groups of 5 and give each team a copy of the list. Then I’d make a contest out of it. The team who crosses off the most items in the allotted time period wins (with quality of the photos taken into consideration).

A great way to end a photo scavenger hunt is a photo slideshow at home. With technology today, it can be relatively easy to show pictures on an iPad or a laptop or even a TV, and then everyone can watch all the pictures and laugh and comment.

So basically, you need a list of things to take pictures off. Slightly embarrassing photo setups are always fun (like take a picture of your group dancing in the middle of the food court). Use my printables below or get creative and make your own! Then you set your ground rules, including things like:

• Duration of the game
• Boundaries
• Teams
• Whether you’re going for quality or quantity

Then play and have a blast! I think photo scavenger hunts work great for date nights or youth activities. Ha, actually, one of my and my husband’s first dates was a photo scavenger hunt that was such a phenomenal success, we realized how much we liked each other and ended up where we are now.

Happy photographing!

Printables: The photo scavenger hunts I’ve included are for different settings: at the mall (designed for teens or older), at the park (designed for kids or older), at home (designed for younger children), and an alphabet hunt (suitable for anyone). If you have a requests for another list, leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do!

Oh, P.S., for the alphabet scavenger hunt, what I was thinking is you take pictures of objects that happen to look like letters of the alphabet, either objects that you set up or that you just find (like two sticks crossed to make an X, or a door handle that looks like an S).

A little bit ago I created a date night scavenger hunt kit for a fundraiser. Even though they’re not exactly games, I thought I’d post some of the activities here. They all come with printables. You can do all the activities in one night and make a scavenger hunt of it, or each could even be its own date.

What it is: A fun date night activity for two; something that makes a trip to a mall or other public place more exciting.

Oh, wait. Also. The kangaroo really doesn’t have much to do with people watching, I admit. But isn’t he cute? Just think of him in a zoo, watching people himself. See, it totally ties in.

Best for: A couple on a date…or really any small group of people, maybe 4 max. It could even be done solo.

What you need: A public place where you’ll be able to see lots of people, preferably going and coming so you get a good variety. Shopping malls are ideal. Large stores in general could work, or even just walking down streets downtown. You’ll also need a list of things to find (like my printable included below). Optional: a quarter.

How to play: Go with your significant other to the aforementioned public place, have a seat or stroll around, and people watch! It’s fun to do this as a kind of scavenger hunt, like the printable. Just look for each item on the list, check off the ones you find, and play until you’ve either found them all or run out of time. The printable includes an extra bonus activity to do with a quarter; just follow the instructions.

This can be a fun activity because you get to talk, but it’s not necessarily competitive. Just be sure to be polite about those people you’re spotting and try not to stare, point, or let them see you talking about them in secretive whispers.

Printables: Here’s the printable that goes with the activity. If you print it at actual size (which I recommend), it’s a little smaller than an 8.5 x by 11 page, so you can trim it down.

Remember to check out the other date night activities in this series!

A little bit ago I designed a date night scavenger hunt kit for a fundraising activity my church did. I heard the couple who ended up with the kit had a lot of fun, and so I thought I’d post pieces of it here for the next little bit. They all come with printables, and you can do all the activities in one night and make a scavenger hunt-type thing of it, or each could probably even be its own date.

So first off, the ice cream/frozen yogurt swap!

What it is: A fun date night activity for two; a way to make a normal out-to-get-ice-cream date a little more exciting.

Best for: A couple (either married or courting) on a date.

What you need: A frozen yogurt place (those kinds where you build your own bowl with the soft-serve yogurt and all the toppings and weigh it at the end) or an ice cream place, and an appetite for dessert. Optional: my printable included below.

How to play: It’s pretty straightforward. First, you can print the printable. Then go out for frozen yogurt, but the catch is you have to build each other’s yogurt bowl – and no input allowed! Build your spouse the dessert you think they would build for themselves if they could; you should aim to please.

After you’ve created your ice cream bowls and paid, swap them and enjoy! And rate each other by filling out the printable form. You can even tally up points and declare a winner, then think of a prize the winner gets that night (to choose what you do next, dinner at their favorite place next time, etc.)

Printables: Here’s the printable that goes with the activity. If you print it at actual size (which I recommend), it’s a little smaller than an 8.5 x by 11 page, so you can trim it down.

Remember, be sure and check out the other date night activities in this series!

What it is: A good way to pass the time when you’re flying somewhere. Look for items on a list and cross them off when you see them.

Best for: One to 5 players.

What you need: A list of things to find in an airport! You could make your own, or I have some free printable ones below. Also a pen.

How to play: It’s easy! When you’re sitting in an airport waiting for your plane, or waiting in an extra long security line, or stuck somewhere with a longer-than-expected layover, pass the time by doing a little scavenger hunting. Make or obtain a list of common things you might see in an airport (the items could be as easy as an airplane or a person with a hat, for younger players; or much harder, like the Southwest Shamu plane). When you’re in the airport, keep your list and a pen handy and cross things off as you see them. First player to cross off all the items (or the player to cross off the most) wins!

Rules and Variations: This is a very adaptable game. It’s a great one-player or two-player game, and you can play competitively or cooperatively. You could even stretch out one game over a whole trip or multiple trips. If you want to play competitively, you probably want to set up some specific rules (when to start looking, when to stop looking, whether photographs of things count, etc.).

Printables: We’re flying this Thanksgiving for my sister’s wedding. (Incidentally, the airplane illustration above is in her wedding colors – I guess I have her color scheme on my brain after some fun clothes shopping for me, my husband, and our two kids.) In preparation, I made these scavenger hunts and I want to share them with you! Feel free to download and use. There are two lists: the first one is pretty easy, and the second one is harder. Just print, cut, and use whichever fits your needs! If you do use them, I’d love to hear any feedback on how they work. Happy flying!

Airport Scavenger Hunt

What it is: I Spy Bingo is a version of classic bingo. In classic bingo, everyone has a 5 x 5 grid of randomly placed numbers. Someone reads off a number at random, and players look for the number on their playing card and mark it off if they find it. Players try to get 5 marked-off squares in a row. First person to get 5 in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) shouts out “Bingo!” and wins. In I Spy Bingo, instead of listening for numbers called out loud, you’re watching for things you might see in real life.

Best for: 1 to 6 players.

What you need: Everyone will need a game card. You can make your own or use my free printable ones! (see end of post). Everyone will also need a pen or something else to use to mark off squares (like candy, especially M&Ms, which are our favorites). You also need somewhere specific to play: in this case, a Halloween costume party, or the day at school when everyone comes dressed up, or trick-or-treating night…basically anywhere you can see lots of people in Halloween costumes.

How to play: Halloween costume I Spy Bingo is pretty simple. Everyone gets a 5 x 5 grid of squares. In each square, write a costume you think you might see someone wearing this Halloween. (My free printable cards already have costumes written out.) Once you’re at your party or school day or wherever you’re going to play, just keep a lookout at all of the cool Halloween costumes going by and cross off any costume you see on your card. First player to get 5 in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) shouts “BOO!” (instead of “bingo”) and wins!

You can also play the blackout version – where you have to cross off all your squares, not just 5 in a row, to win. Other than that, you can set up your own rules however you’d like! Here are some suggestions.

On the printable cards I made below, some of the costumes might overlap (e.g., fairy and Disney character; if you saw someone dressed as Tinkerbell, that could count for both). But I say you can only use each individual costume to cross off one square on your card. However, it’s up to you if you want to use Tinkerbell to cross off fairy or Disney character, bringing in a slight element of strategy. But if you do see two or more Tinkerbells walking around on Halloween night (from what I can gather, it’s a pretty popular costume), you can cross off both. You might have to settle some disputes as you play (like whether Princess Leia counts as a Disney princess), but that’s all part of the fun.

You can set a time limit, or just make the game last the duration of the party. You can play at a costume party, at school, or Halloween night (especially if you’re the one stuck at home alone handing out the candy. Why not call up another friend at home and have them play, too? Text each other pictures of your finished card when you win). Play by yourself or with a small group; it’s a very adaptable game. You can even have prizes for the winner(s), like pre-purchased candy bars, or some sweet deal like winner gets all the Snickers bars of the Halloween candy haul. Make it fit your group and make it fun!

Variations: There are lots of variations to I Spy Bingo. In addition to holidays or holiday parties, you can play on a road trip, in the airport, at the mall while people watching… I have some other ideas I’m working on that I’m excited to post, so stay tuned!

Printables: To make your Halloween Bingo easy, here’s some free printables! The first one comes with 6 unique cards already filled out. (But even if you want to play with more than 6 people, it would probably work just fine as long as there’s enough variation in the costumes you all see). The second one is blank so you can fill in your own costumes. This would be a great way to play and encourage creativity. Just come up with some basic rules, especially if you’re playing with a lot of people, and let the fun begin!

Halloween Costume Bingo

Halloween Costume Bingo: blank cards

Happy Halloween! I hope you all enjoy!

What it is: A really easy, adaptable game for all sorts of circumstances. Mostly it’s fun to ask get to know you questions (especially quirky or unusual ones) to family and friends.

Best for: 6 to 9 players.

What you need: Mostly just questions to ask! I’ve provided a free printable list of some below. You could also think of your own. Or I know there’s many commercial sets of conversation-starter type questions you can buy. Optional: Paper and pens.

How to play: The ways to play with get-to-know-you questions are endless. The easiest way is to just take turns asking questions to each other and answering them. You can all sit in a circle and take turns picking a question, reading it aloud, and then each giving an answer in turn. You could also take turns asking specific questions to specific people only. I’ve even used questions like this as journal-writing prompts for myself when I didn’t know what else to write about. If you have a creative set of questions, the good uses for them go on and on.

One of the favorite ways I like to play this game with my friends and family is to answer questions and then guess who gave which answer. This can be done a few different ways. One way that works well with a big group (like from 20 to 30) is to use paper and pens and have everyone write down his or her answer to a question. Then gather up the questions, have someone read them out loud, and together as a group discuss who you think gave which answer (this can be done informally, hopefully with a good amount of laughter). With a big group like this, the best way to do it is to ask several questions at a time, maybe 5 to 10. You could even just hand out a survey with the questions already written down. Then have each player fill out the survey, gather them up, read all the answers out loud, and guess together as a group who filled out that survey. You could even eliminate the guessing part and just read aloud the answers for fun. This could be a great icebreaker game.

Another way to play that’s better with a smaller group (perhaps about 8 people) is to take turns and keep score. It might look like this: Adam is playing with his family. He picks a question, he asks it aloud, everyone write down his or her answer, and then Adam’s brother Stuart collects the cards and reads them to Adam out loud. After Adam has heard all the answers, he has to correctly match each answer with each player. He gets a point for each one he matches correctly. Whoever gets the most points after everyone gets a turn wins. We played this way with my husband’s family last Christmas, and it was sooo fun. We all laughed harder than we had in months! It’s a good way to get more competitive and encourage creativity (since you’re trying to avoid making it obvious which answers are yours). You could even do more than one question at a time.

Variations: What other ways do you like to play with get-to-know-you questions? They’re great discussion starters or time fillers. My husband and I love to ask them to each other in car trips or on out-for-ice-cream dates.

Printables: If you want to print out some questions you can use, I’ve made some free printables for you! Just cut along the lines and you’ll have strips of questions you can fold up and put in a bowl or have people draw. You could also just read them aloud or use the list for ideas. The second list has some simpler questions that might be better suited for young children. So enjoy!

Get to know you questions

Simple get to know you questions

HEY! Wait! I just had an idea! Does anyone want to play? What if I pick a few questions now and we all answer them? Everyone loves to answer fun questions about themselves, right? Well, let’s play! Join in with a comment if you like with the answers to the questions below! I’d love to hear your answers.

1. If money didn’t matter, what food or snack would you buy at the movie theater? Those nachos with the fake cheese! Mmm, fake cheese…usually so gross, but somehow when it’s at a movie theater or baseball game on nachos, so good. A close runner-up to the nachos is good old-fashioned movie popcorn.
2. If you had a month of free time to learn a new hobby, what would it be? Dancing! I’ve always wished I could dance.
3. What’s your favorite way to eat a potato? Twice-baked all the way!

What it is: A simple, flexible time-killing activity for anyone who loves music and guessing games.

Best for: 2 to 8 players.

What you need: Nothing!

How to play: This is just a simple guessing game involving singing, but singing a song only one word at a time. One person, like Lucy, starts out by thinking up a song. Then Lucy starts singing the song out loud, but only the first word.

So let’s say Lucy chooses the song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” She would start singing the first note: “Take…” Then there are several different ways you can play. You can have other players guess what song Lucy is singing by adding what they think is the next word. Ryan, for example, might think Lucy is singing “Take on Me” (he’s an eighties fan). So Ryan would start singing “on…” Lucy could either shake her head no and let other players continue to guess, or, for a more fluid game, the song could change and now all the other players have to guess what Ryan is singing. The song might change several times as players take turns adding notes and words to what they think the song is. You can have play go in a circle, or just have players sing out in any order when they think they know the next word.

Variations: Another similar game you can play is when one person says a word (like take, for example), and the next player has to think of a song with that word in it. You can play with song titles or song lyrics in general. We played this a lot as just kind of a time-killer, not keeping score or having much structure, but just shouting out words and singing songs as they occurred to us.

Some more similar games are Name that tune and What’s the name of that song?

So if you like music and have friends who know a lot of songs, they can be some fun games to play to pass the time or try to stump each other.

Best for: As little as 2 or as many as a carful of people.

What you need: A journey in a car. A long road trip on roads you don’t drive every day works best. Then just a car and people to play! Optional: Paper and pen, or a way to keep score. (It was paper and pen when I grew up, but today it would totally be my iPhone.)

How to play: This game involves spotting and guessing the numbers on those road signs that say how many miles to a certain city, the green ones, you know? Like this:

The point of the game is to correctly guess the next mile number for a certain city, usually your destination.

So say your car is taking a trip to Dallas. Once you’ve seen one sign that says how many miles are left to Dallas (like Dallas: 215), everyone would take a guess as to the number that will be on the next sign that says how many miles to Dallas. Logically, this could be any number lower than 215. You can use your experience or knowledge or just luck to try to figure out exactly how many miles away the next sign will be placed. But I can tell you from playing this game as a kid, it’s not always what you think! It’s not like there’s always a pattern or a rule, especially as cities and landscapes vary (and this all just makes the game more fun).

So everyone puts in a guess for the number on the next mile sign – you can write them down or just have everyone remember. Let’s say a hypothetical car of people make these guesses:

• Jamie – 200
• Louis – 154
• Ann – 194
• Jeff – 172

Then everyone can go about other activities, but make sure at least one person is keeping a lookout for the next sign. Once it’s spotted (Dallas: 160), figure out who won that round. For us, the winner was simply the person who had the closest guess, whether it’s lower or higher. In the above example, this would mean Louis wins. I know a lot of times people play number guessing games like this and make a rule that the winner is the closest number that didn’t go under or something like that, but we liked to keep it simple. You can certainly play with rules as complicated as you like.

So Louis would win that round. You can keep a running score pad of who wins each round, or just play for fun and not keep score. But that round would be followed by another, and another, until you reach your destination. Even when you’re driving in the middle of nowhere, you can still play. The signs just might be really far apart, but that’s okay. Closer to cities, the signs might be only a couple of miles apart, and it’s always fun when that throws everyone for a loop. You can guess but you never know for sure, which is why it’s fun. The game is a good way, too, of tracking the distance until you reach your destination, maybe cutting down on the “Are we there yet?” questions.

Another thing: Our family road trips were often so long that we couldn’t play with our final destination right away. So we’d choose bigger cities on the way to play with until we were close enough to use the final destination. (For example, Dallas, then Oklahoma City, then Wichita…) Just make sure everyone agrees on the next city as you guess.

Rules: One rule we had was that everyone had to put in their guess for the next sign before too much time passed. For example, after passing a Dallas: 215 sign and then gathering up the next round of guesses, there were always some of us who liked to delay as long as possible, realizing that the more miles we drove, the better idea we’d have of the next number on the sign. But this was considered cheating, so guesses for the next sign had to be in before a specified time (like a minute). Otherwise your guess is invalid. However, if you wanted to do away with this rule, you definitely could: Then each person can kind of gamble as to how long they want to wait to guess. Wait too long and you might risk passing a sign without guessing at all. But wait long enough and you could have a big advantage over the other players. Come to think of it, I think we played that way sometimes, too. Either way is fun.

Also, when making guesses, no duplicate numbers: if you want to guess 160 but someone already guessed it, too bad. You have to choose a different number. (It was legal to guess just one number lower or higher, which was often a good strategy.) Guesses are first-come, first-serve, which was why we always said our guesses out loud at least, even if we didn’t write them on paper.

Variations: If you’re hardcore, you could keep score by not just writing down the winner of each round, but the number of miles by which each guess was off. Then at the end you total up each person’s miles, and the person with the lowest score wins. For example, take the above list of guesses again:

• Jamie – 200
• Louis – 154
• Ann – 194
• Jeff – 172

If the right answer was 160, that means each person would be assigned a number of how far they missed the mark:

• Jamie – 40 (200 minus 160)
• Louis – 6 (160 minus 154)
• Ann – 34
• Jeff – 12

Those numbers would be the scores you write down for each player for that round. To be honest, that’s way too much math for my taste ;-), but if you like a more competitive game and your addition and subtraction, it might be a fun way to play.

However you play, happy road tripping!

Best for: One person or a smaller group, maybe during a time when you need to be quiet.

What you need: Everyone needs paper and a pen or pencil. Optional: colored pencils, crayons, markers, or other supplies for making your dream house pretty.

How to play: Really, it’s a simple activity. You just draw your dream house! And when you’re a kid (or an adult), you can let your imagination run wild, which is where the fun comes in. I thought the best way to show this activity would be an example, so imagine how happy I was when, during the move my family recently completed, I was going through a box of old memories and found this:

I wish I had dated it! My best guess is that I drew it when I was 7 or 8? But this is exactly what I’m talking about! Usually my sisters and I drew kind of a floor plan layout like this, and of course our houses were always ginormous and held all sorts of cool extras. Which seemed to mostly be themed rooms: a party room, a toy room, a ferris wheel room, a rock climbing room, a pet room, a maze room, a museum room, a candy room, of course…oh, and a manatee room. (My sisters and I were in love with manatees. We thought they were the coolest things ever.) There also has to be a mini airport, of course, and indoor swimming pool. Anyway, I’m so glad I found this priceless drawing. Maybe I can convince my husband to build this floor plan for us one day.

And as a bonus, here’s another, more recent example. I think I drew this shortly after my husband and I were married; I was babysitting some younger cousins and wanted to show them one of my favorite drawing activities. So, since I was older this one is of course more realistic…(uh, kind of…)

Notice I kept the indoor swimming pool (this time with a dolphin) and now have a private helicopter pad instead of a mini airport. And complete with home theater, exercise room, large kitchen, hot tob, play room, and star-gazing deck, this dream home is perfect. Oh, and slides to reach the lower levels. Who hasn’t wanted a house with slides at one point?

Anyway, this second drawing shows another way you can draw your dream home: as a cut-away side view instead of a bird’s-eye view. And you can use words to label rooms (like in the first drawing), or you can just draw (like in the second). Either way, whatever you want to draw, go for it! Draw your dream home. Adding as many details as possible is always fun.

Variations: We often played this with sidewalk chalk, too, except it was more of a “draw your dream room.” Each of us would take one large square of the driveway (the squares formed by the seams in the concrete) and pretend it was our room, drawing in beds, dressers, rugs, and usually bean bag chairs and lava lamps (things we always wanted but never had), all from a bird’s-eye view. Then you can play house in your new room. My husband also played a similar game in talking version called build a cabin in your mind.

What it is: Next to tag, hide and seek is probably one of the most basic kid games out there. It can be played indoors or outdoors and is easily adaptable for lots of ages and playing areas.

Best for: From as little as 3 or 4 to as many as 20 players.

What you need: You’ll need somewhere to play that has places to hide. This could be almost anywhere: inside a house, in a yard or neighborhood, in a park, in the library (if your public library happens to host a fun lock-in over the summer as a reward to kids who read)…basically anywhere but a big open field or gym.

How to play: Hide and seek is simple. First, set the boundaries for your playing area. Is it one room, one house, one yard, a whole neighborhood? Make sure everyone’s clear on the boundaries at the beginning. Then gather all your players together, choose one person, like Jack, to be It, and have It count out loud to a designated number, such as 20. (The number can be as low as 10, for really young kids in a small room, or as high as 60 or more for older kids in a bigger playing area.) While Jack counts, all of the other players quietly sneak away to hide. Once the other players have hidden, they must stay put until they are found. Everyone tries to hide, silently hoping that Jack will never find them…

Once Jack is done counting, he opens his eyes, calls out loud, “Ready or not, here I come!” and then starts to seek. He searches all over the playing area for the other players. All he has to do is spot someone (not necessarily tag them or anything) and then they’re found. If Jack needs help finding those last few players who had really good hiding spots, the people who are found can help him.

Once everyone has been found (including that last small sneaky player who always gets the best spots and is always last to be found), the game starts over with a new person as It. For us this was usually the first person Jack found (kind of a punishment for choosing such a lame hiding place, I guess). Then play as many rounds as you want!

Variations: Hide and seek was never my favorite game. Too quiet, too slow – and the suspense, fear, and tension of hiding and waiting to be found pretty much always gave me an anxiety attack. You could change the rules a little and allow players, once they’ve hid, to move around and find new hiding spots, at the risk of being seen by It when they move. Or for some more exciting or complex variations along the lines of hiding and seeking, try kick the can, hit the dirt, capture the flag, or sardines.

Best for: A group of 3 to 6.

What you need: First, you need a metal muffin tin. If you have an old one that you wouldn’t mind sacrificing, that would be best. (If not, that’s okay, too.) Then you’ll need a bag of marshmallows, not the mini kind. It’s also helpful to have some way of marking a boundary on the floor (masking tape works well) and a way to keep score (like pen and paper). Finally, if you have some sticky labels, like the small neon circle kinds, and a black Sharpie, you’ll be set.

How to play: The game is really simple: players take turns tossing marshmallows towards the muffin tin, scoring points based on where the marshmallow lands.

To set up the game, you’ll want to assign a point value to each row or each hole in your muffin tin. That might look like this:

 Or like this:

Whatever you want. You can use the sticky labels to assign the point values or, if you don’t want to put stickers on your muffin tin, just write down or remember which points correspond to each row (shoot, you could print out one of those pictures right above) or just make sure the stickers will come off.

Then set the muffin tin up, either flat on the floor or propped up slightly on a book or something, and mark a line on the floor a few feet away. The distance of the line will depend on the age/skill of your players. In my family, where players ranged from my parents to my youngest sister not yet in Kindergarten, we had a few lines for varying ages.

Then to play, just have your players take turns tossing the marshmallow towards the muffin tin. If a marshmallow lands in a hole and stays there, that player gets that number of points. Each player might get three marshmallow tosses, and you can cycle through your players as many times as you want. The player with the most points in the end wins and gets to eat all the remaining marshmallows, mua ha ha! Or, just…win. Either way.

Variations: It’s a really simple game, but you could add some of your own rules if you wanted to make it more exciting. For example, you could give some of the muffin holes negative point values for added variability.

What it is: A really simple hide-and-seek type game. It’s a good kind of quiet, not-too-disruptive game for little kids. We used to play in primary (Sunday church class for little kids).

Best for: 5 to 10 players.

What you need: You’ll need something to hide, but this can be anything: a toy or stuffed animal, a piece of paper, a trinket. For a harder game, pick a smaller item. For an easier game (or for really young kids), pick a bigger item.

You’ll also need somewhere to play. This game is ideal indoors, like in a living room where there are lots of places to hide the object. You could also play in another enclosed area, even a backyard.

How to play: Let’s say you’re playing with a small group of young kids, and the object you’re hiding is a bouncy ball. First, choose someone, like Joe, to leave the room. Then choose another person in the room, like Kylie, to hide the bouncy ball. Make sure everyone sees where it’s hidden.

Then call Joe back into the room. He tries to find the bouncy ball, and everyone else gives him hints. The hints work like this: as Joe gets closer to the bouncy ball, everyone says, “warmer…” As he gets further away, everyone says, “colder…” You can use other temperature-describing words, too, like lukewarm, ice cold, burning hot, etc. The closer Joe gets, the hotter the temperature gets. The further he gets, the colder it gets. (The clues can also get more frantic as Joe gets closer and is about to find it: “You’re cool…getting warmer…warmer…okay, really warm! Ooh, hot! Hot, hot! Ooh, on fire! You’ve got it!”

Then once Joe successfully finds the object, it can be his turn to hide it while someone else leaves the room.

Strategies: It’s pretty fun to hide the object in creative places you wouldn’t expect. Ooh, the best is somehow on a ceiling fan because then someone could be in the middle of the room getting clues, “hot! hot!” and there won’t be anything nearby, haha!

Variations: There are tons of variations to this game. If you’re playing with a pretty small group, you could even have all the players leave the room while one person (like the adult) hides the object and gives the clues. And, though hot and cold words make good clues, you could use other clues, too. When we played in primary, the teacher would use the game as a way to get us to practice our primary songs. One person would leave, and the rest of us would sing to let him know if he was close or far. When we sang loud, he was close. When we sang quietly, he was far. (Our teacher helped us know when to sing loud or soft.) You could do the same thing with music played on speakers, if you wanted.

When my sisters and I were really little, we loooved playing this game with our uncle Jason, but we called it “where’s rabby?” because the hidden object was a little stuffed toy rabbit. My sisters and I would leave the room, my uncle would hide the rabbit, and we’d have a ball coming in and trying to find it with the help of his clues.

Best for: Smaller groups, maybe 3 to 6 people.

What you need: Nothing! But a word list might be helpful.

How to play: This game is really simple, and you could make up more complicated rules if you wanted to. But basically someone says a word, any word, and another player has to respond immediately with the very first word that pops into his or her head (no thinking allowed). So a sample game between Mack and Jane might go like this:

MACK: Apples.

JANE: Caramel.

MACK: Christmas.

JANE: Lights.

M: Spider.

J: Eww.

M: Groundhog.

J: Bill Murray.

M: Slow.

J: Snail.

It’s supposed to be very fast, with only a fraction of a second between Mack’s prompt and Jane’s response. It’s best if Mack responds quickly, too; that gets Jane in the habit of responding quickly. The fun of the game comes in learning possibly interesting things about your friends or family (“Crush.” “Andrew–I mean,…uh…” “What?!”), or in laughing at the interesting, creative, or (il)logical associations our minds come up with. Your game might be interrupted with questions, explanations, or laughter, and that’s all part of the fun.

To help in thinking up quick prompts, feel free to use my online word generator.

What it is: This clapping routine game is set of hand routines involving snaps, claps, and slaps. You learn the routine, then the fun consists of doing it over and over, getting faster and faster. I learned and played the game at a summer camp for teenage girls. It was our favorite game to play in the mess hall while we waited for our food because it makes a lot of noise.

Best for: However many people you want. You could even play by yourself (but I’m not promising that would be as fun as playing with friends).

What you need: Preferably, a table. But if you don’t have a table or flat surface, your lap will do.

How to play: This is one of those games that would be really hard to teach in writing. So my sisters helped me make this short video that teaches you how to play.

You just have to memorize the clapping routines (it’s not that hard once you start), and then you can do them as fast as you can.

Variations: You can play either competitively or non-competitively. To play competitively, make it a game of elimination. Start by doing all six routines slowly, then do them again a little faster, then a little faster. Anyone who messes up at any point is out of the game. (You might need a judge to help decide this.) Or, don’t eliminate anyone and just play for fun, teaching any new friends who walk up to your table and wonder what in the world you’re doing.

Also, for a very similar game, check out the cup game.

What it is: A talking, guessing game, similar to green glass doors, but players think of their own rules rather than following the secret green glass door rule.

Best for: 2 to 8 players.

What you need: Nothing!

How to play: Similar to green glass doors, players try to discover what can be taken on a hypothetical picnic. One player starts by thinking of a rule for things that can go on the picnic; the other players try to guess the rule.

Say Julie and Todd are playing. Julie starts by thinking of a rule of things that can and can’t go on the picnic. The rule can be as complex or as simple as she likes. It can have to do with any attribute (color, shape, size, even the number of letters used to spell the name of the object). Here are some example rules Julie could choose:

• Only yellow things can go on the picnic (bananas, the sun, dandelions, etc.).
• Only things you can eat can go on the picnic (apples, oranges, pancakes).
• Only things bigger than a person can go on the picnic (elephants, houses, the moon).
• Only things that are spelled with five letters can go on the picnic (apple, grass, honey).

The rules could be even more complicated and relate to the person trying to go on the picnic, like these rules:

• I can only bring items on the picnic that start with the same letter as my first name (so Julie could bring jam to the picnic, but Todd couldn’t, though he could bring a truck).
• I can only bring items on the picnic that start with the same letter as the first name of the person sitting to my right (yeah, that one can get really complicated to figure out).

The player thinking of the rule can use his or her imagination and come up with something as complicated or as sneaky as they want; the point of the game is to keep the other players from guessing the rule.

Let’s say Julie picks the rule that only yellow things can go on the picnic. Once she has the rule, she starts the game by declaring something she’s bringing on the picnic. For example, she’d say:

“I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing bananas, and I can go.”

Then it’s Todd’s turn to guess something that he can bring on the picnic. He might say, “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing apples?” Then Julie would shake her head sadly and say, “You can’t go.”

Play would continue, with Julie and Todd taking turns. Julie would usually say things that she could bring to the picnic, but she could give Todd some examples of things she can’t bring, too. Todd keeps guessing until he’s figured out the rule. Then it can be Todd’s turn to think of a new rule for Julie to guess.

It’s a great, entertaining game for long car trips or killing time. Since the rule changes with each round, it doesn’t get boring easily. And the level of difficulty can be easily adapted—just choose easier rules for younger kids and harder rules for older kids.

Variations: This game is a more adaptable variation of green glass doors.

Best for: 2 players or however many more you want.

What you need: You’ll need paper and pencil, or something else to write with (chalkboard, wipe-off board, etc.).

How to play: The object of the game is for one player to think of a word or phrase, then for the other players to successfully guess the word before their guesses run out.

Let’s say Eli, Lucy, and Zander are playing. Eli will be the first to think of a word, so he silently thinks of one: apple. Then he sets up the game on a piece of paper by drawing a shape like this:

Then, next to it, he draws blanks to represent each letter in the word (or phrase) the other players are guessing:

Now Lucy and Zander can start guessing which word fills the blanks. They do so by guessing one letter at a time. Say Lucy guesses the letter E.

Eli thinks of his word. If the letter Lucy guesses appears in the word, Eli fills it in every time it appears:

Now Lucy and Zander know one letter of the word. Next, Zander might guess the letter T. But Eli knows the letter T isn’t in his word, apple, so Eli marks it as an incorrect guess by beginning to draw a hanging stick figure. He also writes the incorrect letter down below, so Lucy and Zander can keep track of their incorrect guesses:

Say Lucy guesses the letter P. Eli fills in all of the P’s in the word:

The game continues with Lucy and Zander guessing letters. If Eli completes the drawing of the stick figure, like this:

…that means that Lucy and Zander lose because they didn’t guess the word in time. But if Lucy and Zander correctly guess all the letters in the word or the whole word itself at any time, they win.

Then start another round! We usually played that the person who guessed the word (or last letter) correctly got to choose the next word or phrase.

Ah, this game got me through lots of long hours of high school economics class. Some of the hardest words to guess are short words with few vowels, like black. Rare words like myrrh and hymn are great, too.

Hangman is easily adaptable for themes: just have players think of words or phrases to fit a particular area. (History hangman, anyone?) It’s a great time-filler, too, and works well with classes when there’s some time to kill.

Printables: Not that it’s necessary to play the game, but if you’d like a pre-made hangman printout, just click here and enjoy!

What it is: A casual, often unorganized talking and guessing game.

Best for: 2 players or however many more you want.

What you need: Nothing!

How to play: The basic game is simple: players take turns quoting movies while other players try to guess which movie is being quoted. Example: Cody might say, “That wimpy deer?!” Everyone else would guess, “The Sandlot!”

So the details of how you play are up to you. You can be strict and say that only the person who guessed the movie correctly gets to say the next movie line. You could even keep score. Or, you could just play casually and have players quote movies as they think of them. It’s a great time killer game.

Variations: A fun (and natural) variation for a larger group of players would be for someone to quote a movie, and then if another player guesses the movie, instead of just saying the title, they could name another quote from the same movie to help the remaining players guess. So, if Cody said “That wimpy deer!?” and Gabby figured out the movie, she might add “You’re killing me, Smalls!” (This can actually be a pretty fun game all on its own.)

You could also require players to, instead of naming the movie, name the quote that directly follows the first quote. (Like, “You can’t run from me!” followed by, “Oh, wait, you can. You keep surprising me!”)

If you have an iPod or computer and someone with an impressive music library, you could also play name that movie with soundtracks or movie scores. Just have one person play snippets of different songs and see who can name the movie the fastest. Our kids love this variation!

Oh, and bonus if anyone can name the three movies quoted in the post’s pictures!

What it is: A visual spying and guessing game, entertaining for younger kids, and, when I was a kid, my family’s game of choice while waiting for food in sit-down restaurants.

Best for: 2 players or however many more you want.

What you need: Just at least two people to play. And something relatively interesting to look at (this would be a hard game to play in an empty room with white walls, for instance).

How to play: It’s a pretty simple game. One player, like Jennie, looks around the room and picks something she can see. Then she says, “I spy with my little eye something ____,” filling in the blank with an adjective that describes the object she spies (traditionally a color).

So say Jennie’s object was a blue ceramic flower pot (like this one) sitting in the Mexican restaurant where she was waiting with her family.

Jennie would say: “I spy with my little eye something blue.” Then the other players would look around the room for something blue and try to guess Jennie’s object.

“Is it the blue border on that poster of the chili peppers?” someone might ask. Or, “Is it that vase holding the flowers by the door?” Jennie would say shake her head no until someone guessed the right object. Then the person who guessed right gets to choose the next object. And everyone would play happily, spying and guessing until the waiter brings their chips and tacos and enchiladas. Yum.

Strategies: Of course, it’s wise to not be staring at the object you’re spying while you say “I spy…” That was the tragic mistake that always got my youngest siblings.

Best for: 2 players.

What you need: A pen for each player and a pad of paper to draw on.

How to play: Start by drawing a line down the center of your paper:

Say Jackie and T.J. are playing. Jackie starts by drawing something, anything, on her side of the paper:

Then T.J. has to draw the same thing on his side of the paper:

After that, it’s T.J.’s turn to draw something on his side that Jackie has to mirror. T.J. might draw something like this:

The game continues, with Jackie and T.J. taking turns drawing and mirroring each other’s drawings. When we played, we usually didn’t know what we would end up drawing; we would just take turns drawing shapes and it would turn into a symmetrical drawing, usually a person or a robot:

A simple game, but entertaining, especially for young kids who like drawing silly pictures.

What it is: More of an activity or chant than a game with a winner and loser, but a perfect activity to occupy long car trips.

Best for: Smaller group of 3 to 6 players.

What you need: Just people to play!

How to play: Players take turns going through the alphabet and saying the following sentence:

My name is ___, my husband’s/wife’s name is ___, we live in ___, and we sell ___.

The first two blanks are always filled by names, the third blank by a place, and the fourth blank by anything you could sell (which often leads to silly results).

So, the first player would start with A and say something like this:

My name is Abigail, my husband’s name is Adam, we live in Amsterdam, and we sell apples.

Then the next player would take the next letter, B, and say something like this:

My name is Bridget, my husband’s name is Brandon, we live in Bermuda, and we sell bouncey balls.

Players just take turns, going in a circle, until you go through the whole alphabet. I suppose you could play this game competitively: If a player takes longer than three seconds to fill a blank, they’re out. But me and my sisters always just played for fun and helped each other think of words when we got stuck. It’s a nice, calm activity, if you want one of those. And it can help younger kids with their phonics skills, too.

Variations: Hmm, I can’t think of any variations. Anyone have any to share?

What it is: A guessing game for two or more players.

Best for: 2 players or however many more you want.

What you need: Just your brains.

How to play: One player (let’s call her Tasha) first gets to think of a noun (a person, place, or thing). Once Tasha has a noun picked out, the other players then get to guess by asking questions that can be answered with a yes or a no. If you’re playing by the strict rules, players only get to ask 20 questions, and if they haven’t guessed by then, Tasha wins. If someone does guess what the object is, that person gets to think of the next thing to guess.

So here’s how a sample game might go: Tasha picks the noun “fire hydrant.” Say she’s playing with one person, her friend Leroy. The game might go like this:

Leroy: “Is it a person?”

Tasha: “No.”

Leroy: “Is it a thing?”

Tasha: “Yes.”

“Is it alive?”

“No.”

“Could I hold it in my hand?”

“No.”

“Is it made of metal?”

“Yes.” …

And the game would go on like that until Leroy uses up his 20 questions or until he guesses what the object is. It’s a great game for filling up long hours on car rides or for playing on walks. And you can go by the 20-question limit if you want, but I never really have. We just ask and guess until someone guesses right, then it’s their turn. And if you’re playing with little kids or just playing for fun, you could allow hints, too, especially if it’s taking a long time to guess something.

We also usually play with concrete nouns, things that you could see, touch, or feel. If you want to allow or disallow abstract nouns (like honor, love, capitalism…), you should probably specify beforehand, either way.

Some of the hardest-to-guess objects I’ve played with are confetti, trash bags, stop signs, and…oh, fire hydrant.

Variations: No, because and breakfast combo are some more difficult variations on this classic game. And poodle is a slightly sillier one

What it is: A talking, thinking game for anywhere from two to a busload of players. This is also one of those games where you need someone who knows the “secret” and other players who are clueless.

Best for: 2 players or however many more you want.

What you need: Nothing! Well, just people to play, at least one who knows the “secret” and at least one who doesn’t.

How to play: The object of the game is for players to discover what can be taken through a hypothetical set of green glass doors. Players who know the secret give other players hints (or further confuse them) by saying “I’m going through the green glass doors and I’m bringing ___, but not ___,” filling in the blanks with an object than can go through the green glass doors and an object that can’t, respectively.

So players who know the secret might say things like this:

I’m going through the green glass doors and I’m bringing a poodle, but not a dog.

I’m going through the green glass doors and I’m bringing the moon, but not the sun.

I’m going through the green glass doors and I’m bringing a puddle, but not water.

I’m going through the green glass doors and I’m bringing boots, but not sandals.

I’m going through the green glass doors and I’m bringing Harry Potter, but not Ron Weasley.

Have you figured it out yet?

Players who don’t know the secret to the game can then try their own sentences, maybe something like, “I’m going through the green glass doors, and I’m bringing a lamp shade, but not a light bulb?” To which the in-the-know players would respond with, “Nope, you can’t go through the green glass doors” while shaking their heads sympathetically. The game can continue indefinitely, and pause and resume as needed, until all players know the secret. It’s perfect for filling long hours during car trips.

So do you know the secret yet? Do you know what can be taken through the green glass doors? (I’ll give you one hint: the fact that you’re reading this post and not playing this game out loud should be a huge help to you.) Oooh, I know! How about, if you still don’t know the secret, leave a comment in the form of “I’m going through the green glass doors and I’m taking ___ but not ___,” and I’ll respond with a yes or a no! And, if you already know the secret, you can post mysterious, enigmatic sentences to confuse all the clueless people! It’ll be like a massive online, ongoing version of green glass doors! Awesome!

Or…since you’re probably reading this blog to figure out how to play, and if you really really really want to know and have no will power at all, or any desire to experience that awesome “a-ha!” moment when you figure out the secret yourself, click here to find out.

Variations: My mom and sister play the same game but call it Fanny Dooley, where Fanny Dooley a made-up lady and phrases take the form of “Fanny Dooley has ___ but not ___.” I’ve also heard the game called “deep but not profound” (which I think is clever, funny, and awesome).

Also, for a very similar game with more flexible rules, check out going on a picnic.

What it is: An easy talking game for anywhere from two to lots of players, perfect for car trips, bus rides, or walks.

Best for: 2 players or however many more you want.

What you need: Just people to talk.

How to play: It’s a pretty simple game. First, players pick a category—let’s say food. One player starts by naming any food, say, a strawberry.

The next player has to name a food that starts with the last letter of the previously named food: so, in this case, Y. Yam, for example, would be a good choice.

Then the next player has to name a food that starts with M. And that’s the game! Keep naming food until you can’t name any more. Then choose a new category and go again!

Variations: You can have players go in order, and the first player to not think of a word (at all or within a certain time limit) or say a repeat word is out. Play until you have one winner. Or, if you’re looking for a less restrictive game, don’t set a playing order and have players call out words whenever they have a good one. Play until no one can think of another word. If you’re competitive, you could even keep points—whoever has called out the most words by the end wins. Can you think of any other ways to play?

Printables: Here’s the list of categories if you need help brainstorming some!

Categories

Best for: Group of 2 to 9 players.

What you need: Just people to play.

How to play: First, have everyone sit in a circle, or establish a clear playing order so everyone knows when it’s their turn. Then you can start. The point of the activity is just to tell a story, one word at a time. Each player gets to say one word. So this is how a sample start to a game might go:

I’ve played where ending punctuation marks count as words, too; otherwise, sentences tend to drag on without any clear end. You can tell your story on paper or out loud or both, and it usually ends up pretty silly or ridiculous. But that’s the fun part.

Variations: To avoid the story breaking down into a totally unrelated mess of words that lacks any continuity whatsoever (which is often what happens when I play with my siblings), you could choose a topic or narrow the scope before hand. Or, just say anything goes. You could also play by having each player say a whole sentence at a time, rather than a single word. Also, the game fortunately, unfortunately is very similar, just with a little more direction.

Best for: 2 players.

What you need: Paper, something to write with, and two players.

How to play: The game is basically the same as regular tic-tac-toe: you try to win by getting three X’s or O’s in a row. The trick is, instead of one grid of nine squares, you have three grids of nine squares, all stacked on top of each other. A diagonal, horizontal, or vertical set of three lets you win, but since the game is 3-D, there are many more winning possibilities, some of which are shown here:

And it’s more fun. And challenging. And harder to end in a tie.

Variations: I suppose, since the playing space is so much larger, you could try with more than two players. I never have, but just use another letter or shape or color and see how it goes. Or I guess you could try with four grids stacked on top of each other instead of three…woah, woah, that’s a lot of squares…but who knows? There are also some other fun variations of tic-tac-toe like ultimate tic-tac-toe and, my personal favorite, human tic-tac-toe.

Printables: Want a printout with grids all drawn up and ready to go? Click here and enjoy!

What it is: Probably the most basic and well-known two-player game on paper. But you probably already knew that, didn’t you?

Best for: 2 players.

What you need: Paper and a pen (or two). Or, really, anything to write with and on (a stick in the stand, a marker and wipe-off board, a sharp stone on a cave wall…you know). And two people.

How to play: We all know how to play, right? Make a grid of nine squares on the paper by drawing two vertical lines and two horizontal lines. One player chooses to be X and one chooses to be O. Players take turns drawing their letters (X or O) in one of the nine squares. The first player to have three of their letters in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) wins.

Easy, right? In fact, so easy it usually ends in a tie game and is really boring after a while. Except I did have one younger cousin who always managed to beat me…he’s smart, I tell you.

Variations: Okay, so maybe an old-fashioned game of tic-tac-toe just isn’t as exciting as it used to be. But 3-D triple-decker tic-tac-toe? Now that can be pretty fun. Ultimate tic-tac-toe brings even more strategy into the game. And human tic-tac-toe gets you off your feet and running around! Go check them out!

What it is: A simple, easy game that can be played with two or lots of people.

Best for: 2 players or however many more you want.

What you need: Just people who know and like music. Optional: something that plays music (piano, guitar, iPod speakers, you know).

How to play: The basic game is simple. Someone picks a song and starts humming or singing it. Then the other players try to guess which song it is. Or, instead of singing or humming, you can play songs on the piano, one note at a time, or from a CD in the car, or with an iPod, or anything that makes music. You could take turns singing or playing songs, or have one designated song-player. You could choose a theme (oldies, Disney, movie scores, 90s pop) or leave it open. And I suppose you could keep score, but you don’t have to at all.

Variations: If you’re into music but not singing, you could play name that tune by reciting lyrics instead of humming or singing. For some similar games, also check out Sing a song and What’s the name of that song?

Best for: 2 players.

What you need: Paper to write on and two pens (sometimes it’s fun if you use different colored ones).

How to play: First, set up the playing space by making a grid of dots on the paper, like this:

You can make it as big as you want. I think we usually did grids of about 10 by 10, unless we wanted a really epic game and made a grid to take up the whole page (and I guess that happened quite a bit, too).

Anyway, now you’re ready to start. Let’s say Chris and Meg are playing. Meg starts by drawing a horizontal or vertical line between any two adjacent dots, like this:

Then it’s Chris’s turn. He also makes a horizontal or vertical line between any two adjacent dots:

And then it’s Meg’s turn again. Play continues back and forth until the grid looks something like this…

And then something like this:

And then the game starts getting exciting. See, the point of the game is to form squares—for every square you form, you get a point. So as you’ll notice on the above grid, Chris and Meg very carefully avoided adding a third side to any set of dots on the grid, because that would allow the other player to form a square and get a point.

So now it’s Chris’s turn. But now the only moves left on the gird are ones that would allow Meg to get a point. But Chris has no choice. So he draws a line in the bottom corner, and then Meg can form a square and writes her initial inside the box to mark it as her point:

But the rule is, if you get a point, you get to go again. Now Meg is forced to let Chris get a square somewhere. So then it becomes a game of letting your opponent score as few points as possible. Chris was smart because he picked a move that only gave Meg one square. Meg also finds a smart move that only gives Chris two:

And, shown above, Chris now has to go again and gives Meg three squares. So all clear? That’s how the game is played, until the grid looks something like this:

And then you count up each player’s squares and declare a winner. In this game, Meg had 11 while Chris had 14, so he’s the winner.

Strategies: If you’re playing with a large enough grid and you’re sneaky enough, sometimes you can make a three-sided almost-square while your opponent’s not looking. Then they’ll never find it and draw a line somewhere else, and you can close up your own square for a point. That’s always fun. And the grid above is pretty simple; if you’re playing with a larger one, it’s more challenging because it’s possible to outsmart your opponent by finding good moves later in the game.

Printables: Don’t want to draw bajillions of dots? Click the links to download a printout of four small grids or a printout of one large grid. Enjoy!

What it is: A talking game for two or more players.

Best for: 2 up to about 8 players.

What you need: Just two or more players.

How to play: The point of the game is to hold a conversation using only questions. Players take turns asking questions to each other, and the first person to say a statement is out. The questions don’t have to make sense or logically respond to one another; the trick is just to get another player to fall into the habit of automatically answering a question. So a sample game between Ian and Lilly might go something like this:

IAN: Why is the sky blue?

LILLY: What are you doing?

IAN: Where are you going?

LILLY: What time is it?

IAN: Where is my hairbrush?

LILLY: Where do you think it is?

IAN: I don’t know….dang it!

LILLY: Haha! I win!

(Ian just said a statement, so he loses.)

With more than two players, you can take turns asking questions in a circle, or players can ask questions specifically to other players, in any order.

This is a great game to play while killing time in the car, on a bus, waiting in line…you get the idea. So go ask some questions!