13 Quick Games That Create Instant Fun for Everyone
Need a whole bevy of totally fun and quick games you can pull out at a moment’s notice? Try these 13 games that are reminiscent of those on the wildly popular game show “Minute to Win It.”
On the TV show, single players tackle a simple-but silly-challenge in one minute. We’ve transformed the following quick games so all kids can play at once—for a minute or for whatever time frame fits your schedule best.
Ready? Set? Go-play!
13 Quick Games That Create Instant Fun for Everyone
1. Balloon Blaster!
You’ll need:
- masking tape
- large rubber bands
- balloons
Tape a large circle on the floor. Inflate and tie off 12 balloons. Place the balloons in the circle, and have kids stand in a row behind them. Give kids each a rubber band, and have them try to shoot the balloons to move them out of the circle.
WARNING! To avoid choking hazards, pick up pieces of any broken balloons promptly. Balloons may contain latex. Check with your parents, as some kids may have latex allergies.
2. Pass the Paper
You’ll need:
Form two or more teams. Have each team stand in a line with one roll of toilet paper. The first person in line holds onto the end of the tissue and passes the roll. The goal is for the entire team to pass the toilet paper down the line-without breaking the tissue. Players continue to pass the roll up and down their line until the roll runs out. (To conserve the rolls when done, roll the toilet paper and keep it on hand for small spills.)
3. Blow Your Nose
You’ll need:
- coffee stirrers
- tissues
- tables
Give each child a coffee stirrer and a tissue. Have kids crumple up their tissues and lay them at one end of a table. The object of the game is for kids to blow through their coffee stirrers to get their tissues all the way across a table. Set a time limit, or let kids go until everyone finishes.
4. Food Processor
You’ll need:
- drinking straws
- small snack items
- cups
Give each player an empty cup, a drinking straw, and a cup with a few snack items in it, such as M&M’s candies or Goldfish crackers. Kids pick up each snack item using only the straw to create suction and then transfer it to the other cup-no hands allowed. After kids finish, let them eat their hard-earned snack.
5. Tiny Towers
You’ll need:
Form pairs for this quick game. Have one partner in each pair lie flat on the floor, facing up. Give each standing partner some Cheerios. The object is for kids to build the tallest tall tower of Cheerios on their partner’s nose-without it falling over. After the race, let kids eat their Cheerios.
6. Shooting Star
You’ll need:
- plastic spoons
- cotton balls
- and bowls or cups
Give each child a bowl or cup, a cotton ball, and a plastic spoon. Have kids place their bowls or cups on the floor and stand about a foot away. Challenge each child to place a cotton ball on the spoon, aim at the bowl, and try to flip the cotton ball into the bowl. If the cotton ball lands on the floor, the player picks it up and tries again. If the player makes the shot, the player gets the cotton ball, steps back about a foot, and tries again. Encourage kids to successfully flip the cotton balls into the bowls from as far away as possible.
7. Catch a Cold
You’ll need:
Form pairs, and have partners stand a few feet away from each other. In each pair, give one partner five ice cubes and the other a tissue. The partner with the ice cubes tosses them while the other partner tries to catch the ice cubes in the tissue. If the tissue breaks, they get a new tissue. Have pairs trade roles and keep tossing until the time is up.
8. Make Your Mark
You’ll need:
- lots of markers that can be linked together end to end
This quick game requires teams of four. Place a pile of markers in the center of the floor or on a flat surface. Designate a spot for each team near the markers. Set a time limit. On go, each team builds a free-standing tower out of markers by connecting the top and bottom of markers together. Teams must each build a tower—without it falling—in five minutes.
9. Stick Up
You’ll need:
- a pack of sticky notes for every two players
Form pairs. In each pair, one person is the Sticker and one is the Stickee. On go, the Sticker places sticky notes on his or her partner, trying to cover the Stickee with sticky notes in two minutes. Play a second round by having pairs work backward to remove the sticky notes from the Stickee’s body to recreate the sticky notepad.
10. Flip Ball
You’ll need:
- a stack of 3×5 cards
- a chair for each player
Have each player carefully turn his or her chair upside down so the chair back rests on the floor and the chair’s legs point up. The back legs of the chair are the goal posts for the game. Have each player kneel about one foot from the back of the chair with a stack of 3 x 5 cards. Demonstrate how to flick a card by holding it vertically between the thumb and middle finger, squeezing the card lightly to form a letter C, and releasing it. On go, players flick cards through the goal posts to score as many touchdowns as possible in three minutes.
11. Crayon Clean-Up
You’ll need:
- two pencils
- a small box of crayons per player
Give each player a box of crayons and two pencils. Before the game begins, have each player empty the box of crayons on the table. On go, players use the pencils like chopsticks to pick up the crayons and place them back in the box. Crayons must be placed in the box with pointed end up. Players race to place as many crayons in the box as they can.
12. Go Fish
You’ll need:
- one cup of Goldfish crackers
- an empty cup for every two players
Form pairs. Partners choose who’ll be the Fisher and who’ll be the Pond. Give each Pond a cup of Goldfish crackers and each Fisher an empty cup. Have partners stand two feet apart and face each other. On go, the Fisher holds the cup on his or head while the Pond tosses the Goldfish crackers into the cup. Afterward, have partners share the crackers.
13. Clip Dips
You’ll need:
- a pile of paper clips
- a paper cup
- a chenille wire for each child
Give each child a chenille wire, a paper cup, and a pile of paper clips. On go, kids will use the chenille wires to pick up paper clips and put them in a cup—no hands allowed. Kids gather as many paper clips as they can in their cup.
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