Dumb.com » » Kids Games

Air Soccer
Items Needed: 2 walls, a balloon, and homemade paddles

How to play >> Designate two walls across from each other in any room as the goals. Then use homemade paddles (with cardboard) or hand fans to bat an inflated balloon across the room. Defend your side of the wall while trying to score a goal on the other side (your opponents wall).

Amoeba Tag
Items Needed: a large yard

How to play >> Two kids are selected to be "it". They must hold hands and chase the other kids. Whoever they tag must link up with them by holding one of their hands as well. Keep going and tagging kids. The more you tag the longer the chain will be. If the chain gets too big you can split up in two's. Keep playing until everyone is tagged.

Alphabet Soup
Items Needed: a table, plates, cans or cereal of alphabet soup, and a timer.

How to play >> Divide people into teams. Pour a can of alphabet soup on their plates. Start a timer to countdown about 5 minutes. All teams must spell as many words as they can before the clock runs out. To make it more interesting, give more points for teams that score words of 5 or more letters.

Baby Food (Hot Potato with a Twist)
Items Needed: canned baby food and a spoon

How to play >> This game is similiar to hot potato but instead of a potato, canned baby food is passed around between a circle of players when the music starts. When the music stops, the person left holding the baby food must eat a spoonful of it. Keep playing until the entire can is gone. The player who eats the last spoonful or the first person to vomit is out. Keep playing until there is only one player left, this is the winner.

Baby In The Air
Items Needed: one large ball and a group of kids

How to play >> Before the game can begin each kid picks a number. Then one kid takes the ball and throws it high into the air. While the ball is in the air the thrower yells, "Baby in the air number...<random number>" and runs away. The kid whose number is called then has to grab the ball and yell "freeze" as soon as he gets the ball. Everyone must freeze! Now the kid with the ball can take three big steps in any direction. He then has the chance to throw the ball at any kid. If he hits the kid with the ball that kid gets a letter B. If he misses then he get the letter B for himself. Keep playing until someone gets B-A-B-Y and is eliminated. The last one remaining is the winner!

Balloon Pop Relay
Items Needed: chairs and balloons

How to play >> Two people sit back to back on the floor. The object is to stand straight up on your feet without using your hands. Once both players get up, add another player. Keep adding another player and see how many you can successfully get up without using hands.

Barnyard
Items Needed: index cards and markers

How to play >> Divide players into 4 groups. For example, if there is 12 people that would be 3 per team. You could actually divide the players according to how many players you have, but for this example i will use 4 groups. Now write 4 animals on the index cards. So, for example you may have 3 pig cards, 3 cow cards, 3 horse cards, and 3 goat cards. Now pass them out randomly to all players. Make sure the players don't show their cards. Once you give the signal, the players need to yell out as loud as they can the animal sound they have. The object is for each player to find their matched animal. First group to find each other wins.

Banana Dress-Up
Items Needed: bag, banana, and other misc. items

How to play >> Give each team a banana and a bag of misc. items such as thumb tacks, buttons, foil, string, etc (be creative) . Each team will then need to give their banana a personality and appearence with the items they are given. After all bananas are dressed up, each group introduces theirs to the other groups.

Battle of the Bagels
Items Needed: bagels and tape

How to play >> Place tape on the floor in two places. One is the starting line and the other is the finish line. Players need to stand behind the starting line and toss their bagels as close to the finish line as possible. The player that comes the closest without passing the finish line wins!

The Big Squeeze
Items Needed: a large yard or floor and alot of people

How to play >> Someone needs to be designated as the judge and it would help if he/she could get on high ground by standing on a chair or climbing up a tree. After dividing your very large group of people into smaller groups of at least 20 or so, the judge then tells the group of players to squeeze into a certain shape such as a football, car, glasses, etc. The first group to complete the task wins.

Broom Tag
Items Needed: one broom and 4+ players

How to play >> One person is IT. This person has to run around and tag the others with the end of the broom stick. Those who are tagged are now on IT's team. Everytime they grab someone they must yell, "Broom Chaser!!" Then the player thats IT needs to show up and tag the held player. When everyone has been tagged except for one player..that player is the winner and he/she is now IT..

Bubble Gum Sculpture
Items Needed: flat dish and lots of bubble gum

How to play >> Divide kids into groups. The more kids per group the better. All kids are the gum chewers except for one kid from each group, which is the sculpter. As the chewers chew and make their gum soft they keep placing the gum on the sculpter's plate. The sculpter then has to hurry and sculpt an item using the gum. You can choose a car, glasses, bike, etc (be creative). The sculpter that finishes first scores the victory for his/her team.

Busted
Items Needed: balloons, ping pong balls, and a marker

How to play >> Think of a long word such as "basketball" and write one letter at a time on ping pong balls. So you will have one ping pong with a "B" another with an "A" and "S" and so on. Spell the word as many times as needed per as many teams as you plan on playing this game. Then begin blowing up balloons. Red balloons will be for the red team, blue ballons for the blue team and so on. Make sure you place some of the ping pong balls inside the balloons. Only one ball per balloon and to make it interesting by blowing up some balloons with no balls inside. Place all the balloons across the yard or room and have the teams line up. Now the fun begins! Only one team member at a time can run and grab one balloon and bring it back to his team. Once they pop it, then another team member and go and get another balloon. One member at a time they go and get the balloons. As they pop them, they get the ping pong balls with letters and the team members waiting to run can start putting the word together. The first team to spell their correct word right...wins!

Butt Charades
Items Needed: pencil, paper, and a bag

How to play >> Write words on small slips of paper and place those words into a bag. Divide kids into two teams. Each team takes turns with its members drawing a word from the bag. Whoever draws the word needs to spell the word by moving their butt around in the air. The team then has to try and figure out what word he/she is spelling with their booty. After spelling it twice its the other teams turn if nobody can guess it. Keep playing til everyone has thier turn or play to a certain number, like first one to 10 wins.

Capture The Flag
Items Needed: 2 flags and 2 yards (neighbors or front/back yard)

How to play >> Split kids into 2 teams. One team hides their flag in a yard while the other team hides their flag in another yard. Once both flags are hidden then both teams must find the other team's hidden flag by going into the other yard. The first team to find the hidden flag wins! But be careful. If you are caught on the other team's yard you can be captured and put in their prison. Once captured you can only be let go if one of your own sets you free. Or you can swap if you catch one of the other team's members.

Cat Tail Game
Items Needed: strips of cloth

How to play >> Every player puts a strip of cloth tucked inside the back of their pants so it hangs out about 2 feet. Once everyone has it tucked in, the object of the game is to pull out other players cloth. Once yours is pulled out, your out of the game. Keep playing until their is only one player left. He or she is the winner.

Clothes Pin Bite Relay
Items Needed: clothes

How to play >> This is just a simple relay race where one kid puts a clothes pin on his shirt then races across the room so his or her teammate can take it off using only their teeth. Once the teammate gets it off, he/she races across the room to get another clothes pin, put it on his/her shirt and race back so the next teammate can take it off using only teeth. Keep doing this til everyone gets a turn. The first team to finish the relay wins!

Colored Cool Whip Rinse
Items Needed: food coloring, cool whip, and loaded water pistols

How to play >> Divide kids into groups such as the red group, the blue group, yellow group and so on. Color one canister of cool whip with food coloring for each team. Each team chooses one of their own to be covered in the colored cool whip. Now they stand back about 8 to 10 feet and start drenching him or her with their squit guns. The first team to completely squirt and rise off all of the cool whip from their teammate is the winner.

Cotton Projectile Wars
Items Needed: straws, paper cups, chairs, and Q-tips

How to play >> Your opponent sits in a chair across the room and places a paper cup on his head. You sit on the other side of the room and do the same thing. Both players now take turns blowing Q-tips out of a straw. The object of the game is to knock your opponents cup off his head with the Q-tip rocket you launch from the straws.

Crack Up Ball Game
Items Needed: one ball and a medium group of kids (5-10 players)

How to play >> The player that has the ball needs to run after any other player and hit him/her. If he successed then he gets 1 point. If the other player catches the ball, the that player gets 1 point. If the ball completely misses then any other player is free to pick up the ball and be "it". Keep playing until someone gets 5 points, that player is the winner.

Criss-Cross
Items Needed: a room with 4 corners

How to play >> Divide kids into 4 teams. Each team goes to their corner. The object of the game is for the teams to get all of their members from one corner to their diagonal corner. But to make it more interesting a leader is calling the shots. If the leader says they can only move by hopping then thats the only method they can use. The leader can mix it up and call out crawling, backwards walking, skipping, etc. First team to make it across to the other corner wins.

DeadBox
Items Needed: street/sidewalk, chalk, and some bottle caps

How to play >> Use some chalk to draw one big square on the street or sidewalk. Inside the big box you also need to draw one smaller box in the middle. Put a big X or skull and cross bones in this box. Now make 13 smaller boxes along the edge of the big box. Use bottle caps for playing pieces. Each kid gets a turn to throw their bottle cap. Take turns inbetween throws. The object of the game is to toss your bottle caps in each of the thirteen squares. However, if any of your caps land in the center square you are either out or need to start all over again. Make sure the rules are clear at the beginning of play. The first one to complete the game is the winner.

Doggy Doggy
Items Needed: a chair and a small object such as an eraser, lunchbox, keys, etc.

How to play >> Sit one kid down in a chair with his/her back turned to the rest of the kids playing. This kid sitting is the dog and must sit with his eyes closed. Place any small object such as a lunchbox under the dog's chair. This object will be known as the bone. While the dog isn't looking, one kid must quietly go up and steal the object under the chair. Then, all the rest of the kids must sing, "Doggy Doggy, where's your bone? Somebody stole it from your home!!" Then the dog has 3 chances to guess who it is. If the dog guesses correctly then he gives up his seat to the one who took the bone. If the dog doesn't guess correctly he/she must remain in the seat for the next round.

Down Down Down
Items Needed: one tennis ball and a small group of kids

How to play >> Continuously throw a tennis ball back and forth until somebody drops it. When the ball is dropped you have to say, "down on one knee!" and that person must get down on one knee and continue playing catch. The second time someone drops the ball, he has to get down on two knees. The third time, is two knees and one elbow, then two knees and two elbows. The final position after a drop is two knees, two elbows and a chin on the ground. After that, if you drop the ball you are out. Keep playing until there is only one person left. That kid is the winner.

Drip Drip Drop!
Items Needed: a cup and water

How to play >> This game is similiar to duck duck goose and is a great game for those hot summer days. Just like Duck Duck Goose everyone sits in a big circle while one kid goes around and drips water on each kids head. But instead of saying "Goose!" the kid will drop the entire cup of water on the one he wants to chase him around the sitting circle of players.

Elf Defense
Items Needed: two different colored balloons

How to play >> Blow up 20 red balloons for the red team and 20 blue balloons for the blue team. Both teams have 5 minutes to capture as many unpopped balloons from the other team while defending their own balloons. When time is up each team's unpopped balloons count for 100 points each and their captured unpopped balloons count for 200 points each.

Encore
Items Needed: music lovers

How to play >> Divide kids into two teams. The leader/judge will then choose a word that is commonly found in songs (such as love, baby, heart, etc) Then the teams must sing a song together that has the given word in it. Score a point for teams that successfully sing a song (or verse). If a team cannot think of a song for that word they don't get a point for that round. First team to 10 wins.

Find Someone Who
Items Needed: a list with enough copies for everyone and a large group of kids

How to play >> Create a list for all kids who are playing. The list is used for the kids to find others who match what they are looking for. For example, some things that might be on the list include "Find someone with a younger sister" or "Find someone who has seen the movie Elf" etc etc. So while the kids are looking for people who might be on their list, there is also kids going up to them asking them if they fit on their list. The first one finished is the winner.

Foot to Ear (Boys & Girls)
Items Needed: even amount of boys and girls and a radio

How to play >> Have each girl team up with a boy. So if there are 8 boys and 8 girls, there would be 8 couples total. Have the girls create a circle and be on the inside with the boys on the outside. When the music starts playing the boys start walking or dancing around the girls circle (like musical chairs). When the music stops, someone needs to shout out 2 random body parts such as "foot to ear" and the boys must run back to their girl and connect those body parts with each other. The last couple to connect is out. Keep playing til only one couple remains. This is the winner.

Form A Group
Items Needed: lots of kids

How to play >> This is a simple game that can be used to divide kids into teams or used to help kids blow off some steam. All you need to do is have a group leader yell out "Form a group according to..." and choose anything! Choose hair color, shoe size, first letter of name, etc. To make it more interesting you can start timing the kids and have them break previous records.

Four Corners
Items Needed: a room with four corners

How to play >> Choose one kid to be "IT". The kid who is IT has to close his eyes. The rest of the kids playing must go to one of the four corners in the room. The kid that is IT then calls a number and the kids in that corner sit down. Any player that doesn't sit is out. Keep playing until there are six or eight left, then tell them there must be two in each corner, or if four kids remain make it one in each corner. The last player left wins and gets to be IT the next game..

Freeze Tag
Items Needed: 4+ players and a spacious yard

How to play >> This game is similiar to tag but with a twist. One person is IT and whoever he tags must stop and freeze in the spot tagged. This player cannot move again until another player who isn't frozen touches him. Once the player who is IT goes through and freezes everyone, the game is over. When playing with a larger group you may need to have 2 or maybe even 3 people be IT. The last person frozen (or the last 2 or 3) are now IT for the next game.

Getting To Know You
Items Needed: golf balls, duct tape and pantyhose

How to play >> With the duct tape, create 2 lines on the floor about 15-20 feet apart across the room. Divide the kids into 2 even teams. Put one golf ball inside the pantyhose and have the first kid playing tie it around his/her waist so the ball is swinging barely above the ground. The first kid in line must use only his body to swing the pantyhose/ball back and forth and hit the golf ball on the ground. Little by little the ball will move until it crosses the other duct tape line. When this happens the pantyhose is then passed onto the next kid waiting on the other end. The team must go back and forth across the lines until everyone has a turn. The first team done, wins!

Grocery Bag Yoga
Items Needed: paper grocery bag

How to play >> Have all the kids sit in a big circle with the grocery bag in the middle. Then one by one each kid will try to pick up the grocery bag on one leg using only their mouth. If any part of the kid's body touches the floor (other than their one foot) they are out. Everytime a kid successfully picks up the bag with their mouth, then that part of the bag is torn off. Keep playing until there is hardly any bag left, this makes it more difficult. The last player left wins!

Group Pantomime
Items Needed: a small to medium group of kids and a timer

How to play >> Divide kids into groups. Each groups gets a turn to act out whatever object they are given. Objects can be anything from a bunk bed to a trash truck. Each group is given one minute to discuss how they will act it out. After everyone has gone, the group with the lowest total time wins.

Guess The Leader
Items Needed: a large group of kids

How to play >> Everyone sits in a big circle, except for one kid who leaves the room. While that kid is gone a leader is chosen among the remaining kids. When the kid that left the room returns he needs to guess who the leader is. The leader will be doing certain things such as crossing legs, winking, yawning etc. and the other players will be closely imitating him/her. If the kid that left the room can correctly guess who the leader is, then he may choose the next kid to leave the room. Otherwise, the leader has to leave the room for the next round.

Hang Time
Items Needed: one tennis ball, a pen, a notepad, and a stopwatch

How to play >> Take turns throwing a tennis ball into the air as high as you can. While one person throws the ball another times the hang time (the time the ball stays in the air) with a stopwatch. Write down the time each player gets. Play as many rounds as you wish. At the end, add up the times. The one with the highest time is the winner.

Hannah's Game
Items Needed: slips of paper, pen, and a chalkboard or posterboard

How to play >> Every kid playing writes a name on a slip of paper then passes it to the judge. After the judge receives them all, he mixes them up and writes the names on the board. Then, the judge picks a kid to start the game. The first person, lets call him John, chooses another person in the game and tries to guess what their name could be. So John would say "Steve", i think your Commando". If John is right, then Steve is now on John's team. If later John's name is guess correctly then John and Steve join that kid's team. John will continue to guess names until he is wrong. The last person asked now gets a chance to guess. When all but two players are left the game is over. Whoever has the most people on his/her team is the winner.

Heads Up Seven Up
Items Needed: a classroom of kids

How to play >> Seven students are picked to go up to the front of the classroom. The rest of the class puts their head down at their desk. Then the seven students go around and they each touch one student. Whoever gets touched needs to stick there thumb up with their head still down. After all seven have touched someone they are say, "heads up seven up!" and each of those students get one chance to guess who touched them. If they guess correctly then they get to switch spots.

Hi My Name Is (An Introducing Game)
Items Needed: pen, paper, lots of kids

How to play >> Tell each kid to give themselves an award for something and write it down on a slip of paper. The awards can be anything they accomplished like perfect attendence or straight B's. Or they can be anything interesting like 'The Blue Shoes Award" or "I'm A Happy Meal Kid". Then have all the kids introduce themselves to the others and learn as many new names as they can. Tell them to give their self-made award to the 15th person that introduces themselves. After all the prizes have been given out, announce who received them and who had them. A good way for kids to get to know each other.

Human Knot
Items Needed: a large group of kids

How to play >> Divide kids in to teams of about 6-8 per group. All teammamtes form a close circle and everyone has to hold two other teammate's hands. Then they must do their best to untangle their knots without letting go of hands. More than likely they will have to climb over and under each others limbs. Time each team, the quickest to finish is the winner!

Human Knots Mixer
Items Needed: kids and a spacious room

How to play >> Divide all the kids into small groups of about 6 to 8. Have them stand in a circle and grab hands with someone not next to them. The first groups to untangle their hands and make a circle holding hands with the two kids next to them..wins!

Human Scrabble
Items Needed: paper, marker, tape, and alot of kids

How to play >> Write one big letter on every sheet of paper. Make sure you make enough letters so each kid gets one. Also, make sure to make enough vowels (A, E, I, O, U). Then randomly give each kid their own paper with a letter on it. Tape it to their chests. Now the fun begins. Divide them into 2 teams. They must now organize their bodies in order to spell words. Give out points based on how big of a word they can spell, such as 1 point per letter. Whoever scores the most points in 10 minutes wins!

Honey, If You Love Me You'll Smile
Items Needed: kids (chairs are optional)

How to play >> Have all the kids sit in a big circle, except the on that is "it" The "it" person has to walk over to a random player sitting down and whisper in their ear, "honey, if you love me you'll smile" If the person sitting down hears that and laughs, snickers, or giggles then they are now "it" If the person sitting down doesn't laugh, then he/she must tell the "it" person, "honey, i love you but i just can't smile". The "it" person must then try his/her luck with another player.

Identity Circle
Items Needed: chairs

How to play >> Have all the kids sit in chairs in a big circle. One kid sits in the middle of the group and yells out a characteristic that multiple kids share (such as blonde hair or blue pants). All the kids that share the same characteristics yelled out must switch seats as quick as possible. If the kid in the middle beats one of them to a seat, then the kid now left out is in the middle and is the new "identity yeller".

I Have Never...
Items Needed: chairs

How to play >> Have all the kids sit in chairs in a big circle. One kid sits in the middle of the group and yells out "I have never..." (worn glasses, played tetherball, eaten at Sizzler, etc). All the kids that have also never done that must switch seats as quick as possible. If the kid in the middle beats one of them to a seat, then the kid now left out is in the middle and is the new "I have never.. ".

Keys (The Chair Weaving Game)
Items Needed: chairs, a ring of keys, and a radio (optional)

How to play >> All the kids except for one sit in a chair scattered around the room. The kid not sitting is the 'Key'. He goes around the room with keys in one hand and grabs a sitting kid with his other hand . They walk hand in hand and snake around the rest of the sitting kids.The grabbed kid now has to use his free hand to grab another kid. Then that kid grabs another and so on. As all the kids continue to snake around the chairs while holding hands, the 'Key' then drops the keys whenever he chooses. As soon as the keys hit the floor all kids need to find an open chair as quickly as possible. The kid left without a chair is now the 'Key'. Playing music is optional and recommended to make it more fun.

King of the Hill
Items Needed: a mound of dirt

How to play >> One kid is chosen as 'king of the hill'. The each other player gets a turn to go up to the top of the hill and dethrone the king. Once he is off another king is selected.

Kiss The Wench
Items Needed: a group of boys and girls

How to play >> Divide the boys and girls into seperate groups. Have them line up in parallel lines facing each other. Give each girl a number and each boy a number. Start the game by having one girl stand in the middle between both parallel lines (she is the wench) and call out a number. Lets say you call out number 4. Then both the boy and girl number 4 must leave their line to persuit their goal. The goal of the boy is to kiss the girl in the middle. The goal of girl number 4 is to try and kiss the boy before he kisses the 'wench' which is the girl in the middle. Whoever losses is now the 'wench' and another number is called.

The Last Straw
Items Needed: straws and small cups

How to play >> Divide kids into two teams and have them stand in two straight line. Each kid will have a straw in their mouth. The first kid in line will hold a small cup up with only his straw. That kid must then pass it along to the next kid in line, using only the straw in his mouth. Keep going until the last kid in line successfully catches the cup with his straw. The first team to complete the task is the winner.

Lengths Of String Mixer
Items Needed: string and scissors

How to play >> Every kid will get a piece of string. Every piece of string has an identical match to someone else's string length. The kids must find the other kid that has their string match. This game can be a good conversation starter or way for kids to meet and greet when first meeting. Or you can eliminate the last kids to matchup and randomly give out the strings again for round 2. Then keep doing this til there is only 2 kids left. This is the winner.

Long John Stuffing
Items Needed: pairs of oversized long john jeans, a timer, pins, and deflated balloons

How to play >> Divide all the kids into teams of about 5 or 6 and scatter hundreds of balloons on the floor. Each team needs to choose one kid to wear the long johns. It would be best if the thinest kid in the group wore the pants. Then, when the group leader says, "Go!!" all teams must blow up the deflated balloons and stuff them down their teammate's pants as fast as they can. After 3 minutes all kids must stop. Then one by one each team must use their pins to pop the balloons (while still inside the jeans). Everytime a balloon pops they must all count out loud...one! two! three!! etc etc. The team with the most balloons wins!

Mexican Hideout
Items Needed: spacious outdoor area such as several front/back yards

How to play >> One person is IT. He/she hides while everyone else counts to 100 by fives. All the counters then spread out and look for the player that is hiding. The first person to find the hiding player must then take the hiding person and re-hide somewhere else, just the both of them. The next person to find those 2 must then find a hiding place for those 2 plus himself/herself. Keep doing this until everyone is hiding except for one person. After that person finds the entire group the game is over. You can start all over again and this time the last person is now IT.

Mother May I?
Items Needed: a spacious room or outdoor area

How to play >> All the kids playing line up at the starting line except for one kid (this is the 'mother') and stands at the finish line. Then one by one the kids take turns asking 'mother' questions. All the questions are similiar to "Mother May I..." but each kid will have a different variation of the questions. For example some may say, "Mother May I take 5 baby steps towards you" or "...take 8 giant steps towards you" or "..."take 3 skips towards you" etc etc. The first kid to ask enough questions and touch 'mother' is the winner. Also, mother may not always say yes.

Musical Boys
Items Needed: boys, girls, a radio, and a spacious room or yard

How to play >> This game is similiar to musical chairs. The only difference is instead of chairs, you use boys! Have the boys sit or stand in a circle. When the music starts the girls dance around them. When the music stops, all the girls need to find a boy to hug. The girl left out is eliminated. Keep playing until there is 1 boy left and 2 girls fighting over him. The last girl left is the winner!

Musical Tape
Items Needed: roll of duct tape, a radio, and a spacious room

How to play >> Cut strips of duct tape into pieces about 5 inches each. Count how many kids are playing. If there are 8 kids then you will cut 7 strips of tape. Place them randomly on the floor. Turn on the radio and let the kids dance anywhere they desire. Then after a minute or so turn the music off. Each kid will then need to step on a tape strip and completely cover it with their foot. The one kid that didn't step on a strip is eliminated. Now take away one more strip of tape and start the music again. Keep playing until there is only one kid left, he/she is the winner.

The Name Game
Items Needed: a group of kids

How to play >> Divide kids into seperate teams. Its more fun if there is only 2 or 3 kids per team and more teams playing. Now the fun starts! Begin with a persons name. It can be a celebrity, politician, a teacher, a parents name, etc. Lets say you choose Bill Clinton. Now the first team to go must come up with a name whose first letter of their first name is the same as the last letter of the last name. Since Bill Clinton ends with an 'N' the team can say Nicholas Cage. Then the next team can say Elizabeth Hurley. Keep playing until a team is stumped. Maybe give them 5 minutes to think of a name. If they cannot think of a name, that team is eliminated. Keep playing until only one team remains. That team is the winner.

Over Under Relay
Items Needed: infalted balloons or balls

How to play >> Divide kids into seperate teams. Each team must line up and pass the item (an inflated balloon or a ball) between the first kids leg to the next kid in line. The next kid in line must pass the item over his head to the next kid. Keep going between legs and over head until the item gets to the last kid in the line. The first team to get their ball or balloon to the end of the line is the winner.

Paper Plate Musical Chairs Mixer
Items Needed: paper plates and a boombox

How to play >> This game is almost like musical chairs, only instead of chairs you use paper plates. Just scatter paper plates around the room (one less plate then actual kids playing the game). Then turn on the music and let the kids dance around anywhere they please. When the music stops the kids need to put their hand on a plate. The one left out is eliminated. Take away one plate and do it again and again until there is only 1 kid left. That kid is the winner!

Pass The Brains
Items Needed: a black marker, cold spaghetti, a pumpkin, some candy, and spooky music

How to play >> This is a great Halloween game! Use a marker to draw a scary looking face on the pumpkin. Then cut out the top and completely gut the pumpkin. Add cold cooked spaghetti inside the pumpkin. This is the brain. Now mix in all the candy and have the kids sit in a circle. Turn on some spooky music and have the kids pass the pumpkin around. When the music stops the kid stuck holding the pumpkin has to reach inside the pumpkin and grab one piece of candy while going through the mushy and gross brain (cold spaghetti). Keep playing until all the candy is gone. The kid with the most candy is the winner!

People Scavenger Hunt Mixer
Items Needed: alot of kids

How to play >> Divide a large group of kids into about 3 or 4 different teams. Assign each team a captain. Now, the game leader must call out specefic characteristics such as blonde hair, white shoes, wearing shorts, etc. Then the captain of each team must bring someone with that characteristic on his/her team to the game leader as quickly as possible. First team to do that wins the round. Play as many rounds as you want. The team with the most rounds won...is the winner!

Pickle
Items Needed: 3 kids and a ball

How to play >> Two kids stand about 15 or 20 feet from each other and toss a ball back and forth. The third kid is in the middle and trying to intercept the ball. If he/she can intercept the ball then the pickle spot (middle) is switch with the thrower that threw the ball.

Play Doh Pictionary
Items Needed: Play Doh and a timer

How to play >> Divide kids into 2 different teams. Each team takes turns sending a member up to the game leader. The game leader then whispers something in his/her ear such as cat, bike, stop sign, etc. Then that team member must use only the Play Doh (without talking) to contruct whatever the game leader whispered. Give the team 3 minutes to guess. Then the other team is up. Keep playing until every kid has had a turn or you can play up to a certain amount like 10 or 15.

Pole Pole
Items Needed: a free standing pole or trash can

How to play >> This game is sometimes called Can Can, since you can use a trash can to play it as well. But if you have no trash can then a free standing pole or post will do. The game is easy to learn, all you do is have all the kids hold hands in a big circle around the pole. Then move around the pole as you please but if you touch the pole, you are out! Also, if you break hands you and the person you broke hands with are both out. Keep playing til only one kid remains. This is the winner.

Popcorn
Items Needed: a parachute (make a hole in the middle), a marker, and about 15 bouncy plastic balls.

How to play >> Each player gets one ball and writes their name on it with a marker. All kids get around parachute and grab it with both hands. All the balls are thrown into the parachute as the kids lift it, pumping the chute up and down to remove the balls through the center hole. The player with their plastic ball on the parachute last is the winner.

Pull Apart
Items Needed: boys and girls

How to play >> Have all the boys get in a big pile and hug each other as tight as they can. Then let the girls go in and start pulling them off one by one. Once any boy isn't touching the others, he is out. Keep going until there is only 2 boys left. Those boys are the winners.

Pyramid Race
Items Needed: At least 12 kids

How to play >> Divide kids into teams of six. They will need to build a pyramid with three kids on the bottom, two in the middle, and one kid on top. Once they complete the pyramid they must stay intact and walk across the floor (or yard) to a certain point. Make the relay part of the race about 15 feet or so. The first team to build their pyramid and walk across the finish line is the winner.

Q-Tip Shuffle
Items Needed: Q-Tips

How to play >> Divide kids into teams. Each team will stand in two lines on the opposite sides of each other and across the room. The kid in the front of the line has to shove six Q-tips in different parts of his body such as sticking out of pockets, in hair, or behind ears. Then he must run/shuffle across the room to the kid in front of the other line. This kid must now take out all the Q-tips using only his teeth and drop them on the floor. That kid then needs to stick the Q-tips on their own body parts somewhere and do the same thing (run back to the other line). The first team to finish wins!

Queen Bee
Items Needed: a jump rope and at least 4 kids

How to play >> Two kids hold each end of the jump rope and are continously turning it. One kid is the Queen Bee and another is the worker bee. The worker bee must copy and do everything the Queen Bee does while inside the ropes and jumping it. While copying the Queen Bee the worker must also try to tag him/her. Only the Queen Bee can exit and re-enter the ropes. Once the worker tags the Queen Bee, he/she is the new Queen, the Queen is now a rope turner, and that rope turner is now a worker.

Razorblade
Items Needed: 3+ players and one frisbee

How to play >> The game starts when one player throws the frisbee wildly. All the other players then have to decide whether or not to chase after the frisbee. Whoever gets the frisbee then yells to notify the others that he/she has it. When this happens all others must freeze wherever they happen to be. All frozen players must stand grounded with their feet but may move any other body part. The frisbee holder is now allowed to take three steps in any direction and throw it at someone. If he hits the frozen player in the torso, that player is out. If he hits the frozen player in the arm then the frozen player isn't allowed to use that arm anymore...unless he/she catches another frisbee thrown at him/her, then that player gets the arm use back. If any frisbee misses making contact then everybody is free to run widly again and anyone can retrieve the frisbee like in the beginning. Keep playing until only one remains...this is the winner!

Red Devil
Items Needed: a house or building that you can completely run around

How to play >> The game starts by choosing one player who is the 'Red Devil'. This player then asks the other players question like..."I'm thinking of a (tv show, football team, tree, etc). All the other players the try to guess, for example (The Simpsons, ER, Lost, etc). The Red Devil will notify the player that eventually gets it right. Then both players will sprint around the building as fast as they can, both players going in opposite directions. Whoever loses the race around the building is now the Red Devil. Or the winner can choose who goes next.

Real Identity
Items Needed: a group of kids with a good memory

How to play >> All kids sit in a big circle and take turns saying their name and something about themselves. For example, "I'm Joe and I play hockey". The next person then says the previous kid's name and item of interest before saying their own. For example, "That was Joe who plays hockey. I am Ed and cook dinner" As the game progresses the kids need to remember more and more info. This is a great 'get to know' type of game or a good memory game.

Red Light Green Light
Items Needed: a large yard or spacious room

How to play >> All kids line up at the starting line except one kid you has his back turned at the finish line. The kid at the finish line then starts saying randomly, "green light", "red light!" or "yellow light" Green means all kids can run. Yellow means all kids can walk. Red means all kids must stop. If the kid at the finish line says red light, turns around, and sees anyone still moving he can send those kids back to the starting line. The first kid to cross the finish line is the winner and now he/she calls out the light signals in the next game.

Reverse Tag
Items Needed: a large yard or spacious room and 4+ players

How to play >> Choose one person to be IT. Everyone else isn't IT and must count to 5 while the person that is IT runs away. After counting to 5, all must go after IT. After tagging the IT, now you are IT and have to run from everyone. This is just a backwards version of tag.

Ro Sham Bo Train
Items Needed: a large group of kids

How to play >> Every kid finds a partner and plays rock paper scissors with the partner. Everytime a kid loses he must go follow behind the person that beat him and they will do it again with another partner. Keep doing this and a large train will contruct behind the kids that keep on winning. At the end, someone will have everyone behind him or her. This kid is the winner.

Run The Gauntlet
Items Needed: boys, girls, balloons and newspapers

How to play >> Give all the girls rolled up newspapers and have them stand in two parallel lines facing each other. Make the two lines about three feet apart. Now all the boys tie balloons to their rears. They can easily do this by using their belt loops near the top of their jeans. The object of the game is for the boys to run through the two lines and make it to the end without their balloon being popped. Sound easy? Well its not, all the girls will be using their rolled up newspaper to try and pop the boys balloons as they pass through. The boys will keep going back and forth through the gauntlet until only one boy with an unpopped balloon remains. This boy is the winner!

Sausage
Items Needed: a spacious room or yard

How to play >> All kids sit in a big circle except for one kid who is IT. This kid sits in the middle of the circle. All kids get to go one by one and ask the kid in the middle a question. The question can be anything such as, "What kind of shoes do you wear?" or "What do you smell like?" but the player in the middle who is IT can only give one answer..."Sausage!". Keep going around the circle asking questions until someone makes the IT player laugh. Whoever makes him laugh gets to switch with him and be the new kid in the middle.

Simon Says
Items Needed: a spacious room or yard

How to play >> Every kid participating stands up in a group facing one kid known as Simon. Simon then gives them all orders to do something like scratching your left eye, whistling, winking, waving, etc. Then all kids playing must do as Simon says. But only if Simon says it like, "Simon says scratch your left eye" if he doesn't say "Simon Says" in front of it and a player does that action...then he/she is out of the game. Keep playing until only one person remains...this is the winner and can be the Simon for the next game.

Sleeping Lions
Items Needed: a spacious room or yard

How to play >> Every kid playing (except one) needs to find a spot on the ground and lie down. After they find their spot they are not allowed to move. Now the one kid that didn't lie down (the hunter) must go around and try his/her best to get them to laugh without touching them. When any of the kids lying down (the sleeping lions) are made to laugh, now they must get up and join the hunter because now they are a hunter themself. Keep playing until only one sleeping lion remains, this is the winner.

Slug Bug
Items Needed: a car ride and at least two players

How to play >> During a car ride everyone must be on the alert for a passing or parked Volkswagen Beetle or Bug. Whoever spots it first must yell out, "slug bug!". Right after yelling it out and finding out you were the first to say it, you get to slug (punch) anyone you choose.

Sockball
Items Needed: socks with squishy balls tied inside of them

How to play >> This game works well if there is about 15 kids around the edge in a circle with 2 or 3 kids in the middle. The object of the game is for the kids on the outside to toss their sockballs to another kid on the outside and on the other side. The kids in the middle are trying their best to capture the sockballs. If they successed then they take over the outside kid and the outside kid is now in the middle. Also, to speed the game up if a kid on the outside holds the sockball for too long any kid in the middle can tag him/her. Then they must switch and the tagged kid is now in the middle.

Spin The Bottle
Items Needed: boys/girls and one bottle

How to play >> A group of girls and boys sit in a big circle, alternating so its girl/boy/girl/boy etc. Sit a bottle in the middle (on the floor or a table) and take turns spinning the bottle. Whenever a boy spins the bottle he must kiss the closest girl the bottle points to when done spinning. Same thing for a girl who spins the bottle, she must kiss the boy it lands on.

The Sponge
Items Needed: sponges, buckets, and water

How to play >> Each team stands in a line. This game would work best if there was 6-8 kids per team. Fill a bucket of water and place it in the front of each team's line. Drop a sponge in that bucket and place a smaller bucket at the end of each team's line. The object of the game is for the first kid in each line to soak up as much water in the sponge as they can and pass it back to the end of the line. The kid in the back then squeezes as much water out of the sponge as he can into the smaller bucket. Keep passing the sponge up and down the line and repeat until one team fills their smaller bucket. The first team finished is the winner.

Stand on the Bucket
Items Needed: 5 gallon buckets

How to play >> Turn a 5 gallon bucket upside and see how many team members you can get to stand on top of it. Whichever team gets the most kids to successfully stand on the bucket at the same time for more than 3 seconds, is the winner.

Statue
Items Needed: 4+ players

How to play >> This game is made up of 1 store keeper, 1 buyer, and everyone else are statues. The store keeper spins all the statues around until they drop to the ground. After they drop they must stay down and choose a statue pose based on how they fell. Example, if you land on your belly you can be a superman statue. Then the storekeeper goes around and names each statue while showing them to the buyer. Each statue has an on/off button which is the person's nose. The storekeeper presses them one by one to show what the statue does. The game concludes with the buyer choosing which one he/she wants to buy...that statue is the winner!

Sticks and Tires
Items Needed: toothpicks and lifesavers

How to play >> Each team stand in a line and each team member puts a toothpick in their mouth. The first person in each line slides a lifesaver down their toothpick and passes it to the next person in line without using any hands. Once the lifesaver is completely on the next person's toothpick he then passes it down the line to the next person. Keep going until it get to the end of the line. The first team to finish is the winner.

Super Sundae
Items Needed: cartons of ice cream, bowls, napkins, a timer, and lots of toppings (peanuts, cookie crumbs, jelly beans, syrup, sprinkles, waffle cones, etc)

How to play >> Divide kids into teams of about 5. Give each team the same amount of ice cream and toppings. When the leader says, "Go!" each team must construct a super sundae in their bowl. Use all the ice cream and as many toppings as needed. After 2 minutes all teams must stop and the leader will judge which ice cream sundae wins the most creative contest. Then start the timer again and this time all teams will indulge and eat as much ice cream as they can. Stop the timer again in 2 minutes. The team with the least amount of ice cream left, is the winner!

Taboo on Easel
Items Needed: easel, paper, and a marker

How to play >> Divide kids into teams. each team will send one member up to the easel. One team member will stand with his back to the easel while the member of the other team will write four words on the easel that everyone else will be able to see. The kid with his back to the easel will then have to guess what the four words are in 2 minutes or less. His teammates can see the words and can say anything they want to help him except the actually word, or "sounds like", or ryhming words, nor can they use hand motions. The team gets a point for every word they guess. After that team finishes the other team goes next. Keep playing until everyone gets a chance to go up the the easel. The team with the most points, wins!

The Ha Ha Game
Items Needed: a spacious room or yard

How to play >> Have each kid lay down on the ground next to each other in a line. The first kid in the line has to say, "Ha!", the second has to say, "Ha Ha", the third, "Ha Ha Ha!" and so on. Try your very best to get to the end of the line. Its difficult since most times the kids will just bust up and start laughing altogether.

The Story
Items Needed: a large group of kids and a timer.

How to play >> Get all the kids to sit in a circle. Then the leader goes around and whispers a person, place, or thing in each kid's ear. Choose one kid to start a story. That kid must use what you whispered into their ear in the story and has only 1 minute to do it. Then the next kid (clockwise) in the circle must go. Its now his/her turn to continue the story and use their whispered word. Keep going until everyone has had their turn. You will get a very interesting story at the end.

Through The House
Items Needed: a house, the more rooms the more fun you will have

How to play >> Everyone start in one room of the house. Works best if you start in your own room or the bathroom. Then move from room to room without touching the floor. You can get on top of chairs, tables, sinks, sofas, etc but no touching the floor! This is a challenging game to play alone but you can also play with others. If you play with others, then the first to go through all rooms is the winner.

Thumb Wrestling
Items Needed: thumbs

How to play >> This is a fun head to head competition game. Choose someone to play against. Lock hands with your competitor so both of your thumbs are on top. Now start the match!! Move your thumb around and try to pin the other person's thumb. Just like wrestling, you need to cover the other thumb for at least 3 seconds in order to win. You can do 2 out of 3 or best of 7. Or, if there are alot of kids you can do a round-robin tournament.

Toe Fencing Mixer
Items Needed: a spacious room and shoes (wearing sandals could cause injury)

How to play >> Pair up every kid with a partner. They must remain locked at the hands. Start up the music and let them dance around. The object of the game is to tap your toes on top of your partners foot. At the same time you are trying to avoid being tapped on yourself. Keep playing until someone is tapped on 3 times. That person is eliminated and the next round begins by pairing up with another who advanced. Keep going til only one person remains...that is the winner!

Toilet Paper Over Under
Items Needed: a long stick (you can use a broomstick) and rolls of toilet paper

How to play >> Put a stick through rolls of toilet paper. One roll per kid playing the game. Hold the stick up so kids can start unrolling the toilet paper when you say, "Go!". If the toilet paper breaks, the kid must tie it together before continuing to unroll. The first kid to unroll all their toilet paper is the winner...but keeping going because the last kid done has to clean up the toilet paper mess.

Toilet Tag (AKA Turtle Tag)
Items Needed: a spacious room or yard

How to play >> This game is a variation of tag. Someone is IT and needs to tag another player to make him/her become IT. The twist is, if the player can successfully squat down like a toilet or get on all fours like a turtle then he/she is safe from being IT reguardless of whether tagged or not. To stop cheaters you may want to set a squating limit or limit how long they can stay down on the ground.

Truth or Dare
Items Needed: a small to medium group of kids (better if its a mix of boys and girls)

How to play >> Each kid gets the opportunity to ask any other kid "Truth or dare?". If the other kid chooses 'truth' then he must tell the truth to whatever question the asker decides to ask. Some questions can be..."what age did you stop wetting to bed" or "What was the last R-rated movie you seen?". However, if the kid chooses 'dare' then the asker will dare him/her to do something...such as, "I dare you to lick the cat" or "I dare you to climb the backyard tree" Once the truth or dare is completed, now its his/her chance to ask anyone else "Truth or dare?"

T-Shirt Challenge
Items Needed: a men's t-shirt (medium or large works best)

How to play >> Place a t-shirt flat on the ground and try to get as many kids to stand on top of the shirt as possible. The kid only counts if he/she is completely on the shirt and not one foot, knee, elbow, or hand off of the shirt. 10 kids is pretty good. 15 is very impressive. 20 is almost impossible.

TV Tag
Items Needed: a spacious room or yard

How to play >> This is another variation of tag and can be played 2 ways...

1.) When a player is tagged he/she must freeze. In order to be unfrozen someone else who isn't frozen must tag you while you yell out the name of a TV show. You cannot use a TV show more than once per game. If you do, or if you cannot think of a TV show within a few seconds, then you are still frozen.

2.) When a player is tagged he/she must freeze. In order to be safe or immune of being frozen you must yell out the name of a TV show right before the person that is IT tags you. You cannot use a TV show more than once per game. If you do, or if you cannot think of a TV show within a few seconds, then you are frozen.

Two Truths And A Lie
Items Needed: kids

How to play >> Each kid gets a chance to state three things about himself. Two of the statements must be true and one must be false. For example, "I have 2 brothers, I have an uncle that lives in Reno, and i'm allergic to grass. Then the other kids try to guess which statement is false (the lie). A correct guess earns 1 point. If nobody guesses correctly then the kid earns 5 points for himself.. After everyone gets their chance to share, the one with the highest score wins!

Up and Down
Items Needed: a spacious yard

How to play >> This game is a variation of tag where one person is IT and the others are running away and trying to avoid being tagged. Whoever is tagged is then IT. The twist in this game is that you can climb onto anything higher than ground level and you are safe from being tagged. You may jump on a tree branch, a chair, a big rock, car, etc. Before playing be sure to setup a time limit or else players will tend to stay up there for hours.

Who's On My Back
Items Needed: post it notes and markers

How to play >> Every kid scretly writes a name on a small piece of post it paper. The names must be someone everyone knows such as Bill Clinton, Eminem, Martin Luther King Jr, etc. Then each kid must tape the name on the back of the person on their left. Now everyone goes around and asks people yes or no questions about the name on their back. Only 1 question per person. Whoever figures out who's on their back with the least number of questions is the winner.

Who Is It?
Items Needed: paper and markers

How to play >> Have each kid write down something unknown about themselves such as "My grandma's name is Alice" or "I have never seen High School Musical". Then all the paper slips are handed in and read off out loud. Then each slip is read out loud a second time and this time players write down who they think wrote the slips. After everyone has guessed, the truth is revealed. Each kid gets 1 point for a correct guess. If nobody guesses a kid's slip correctly then that kid gets 5 pts. The highest score is the winner.

Windows and Doors
Items Needed: a spacious yard and a large group of kids (at least 10+).

How to play >> All kids playin must hold hands and form a big circle.All kids must spread out enough so everyones arms are straight out. These large spaces are the windows and doors. The game starts by one kid running and weaving in and out of the spaces. To make it more diificult the kids holding hands can walk in their circle and randomly drop their arms. If the runner gets caught or touches any arms or body parts then he/she is out and chooses the next kid to be the runner.

Wink
Items Needed: chairs, boys, and girls

How to play >> Create a circle using chairs. All the girls playing sit on chairs and all the boys stand beside them. Make sure there is one more boy playing then girls playing. This will leave an empty chair. The empty chair boy will make eye contact with a sitting girl and wink at her. After that, the girl must run to that empty chair but it will be difficult because the boy behind her tries to grab her shoulders so she cannot leave. Once she is gone, now its the boy with the new empty chair's turn to wink.

Win Lose or Draw
Items Needed: chalk board, white erase board, or an easel with paper and a marker.

How to play >> Divide kids into two teams. Allow one kid per team to go up to the board, one turn at a time. That kid then randomly picks a word from a premade pile of slips that contain random words such as palm tree, rollercoaster, playground, etc. He then has to draw that word on the board so his team can guess. He isn't allowed to use numbers or hand gestures. He also isn't allowed to draw the actually word on the board either. He can point out a teammate that is in the right directions. He can also shake his head yes or no whether someone is in the right direction or not. Give each kid that goes up to the board 2 min. If his team guesses correctly give them 1 point. After every kid gets a turn, the team with the most points is the winner.

Yelling Match
Items Needed: paper and markers

How to play >> Divide the kids into two equal teams. Have each team sit in a single row facing their opponent team. Each team then picks out a piece of paper with their message on it. Make sure the messages are common phrases such as "there's no crying in baseball" or "are we there yet?". Try to not make the phrase too long. About 5 words is perfect. Each team member is assigned a word from the message. If the team has more members that words, then you can assign one word to multiple kids. Now, at the same exact time the whole team yells out their assigned word in unison to the other team. The other team repeats the process. Both teams are given one guess as to what the message is. Yelling is repeated until one team guesses the correct message.

Zip Zap Bop
Items Needed: rolled up newspapers

How to play >> Everyone sits in a big circle and learns the names of the people sitting on their left and right. In this game zip means left and zap means right. The kid sittingin the middle says a person's name and either zip or zap. The person who is called must then say the name of the person to their right or left, depending on what the middle kid said. The middle kid then tried to bop them on the head with a rolled up newspaper before they can actually say it. If he does then he stays in the middle, if not they have to switch spots.

$1000 Bill Exchange
Items Needed: fake money

How to play >> Cut piece of paper and use markers or crayons to make fake money. This money will be used in the game. Make sure each kid gets 10 of the bills. Now they must challenge each other in either thumb wrestling, rock paper scissors, or flipping a coin. Every time you lose, you lose one bill to the winner. Keep playing and challenging until one person has all the money. The winners get to choose the challenge.