You Don’t Say

This is a good game for ages 6-adult. You’ll want a group of 4-6 people. We play this game in the car a lot. It’s our favorite travel game. It doesn’t require any equipment.

Game Instructions: While in the car, we have a front seat group and a back seat group. Each person in the front is paired as a team with a person in the back seat. The front seat group chooses a person’s name. It can be someone famous or otherwise known to the group. Player 1 gives a clue to his partner in the back seat. Let’s say the name is Theodore Roosevelt. Player 1’s clue must result in an answer that is not a proper noun. So, his clue could be, “The name of a common red flower you would give to someone on Valentines Day.” His back seat partner answers, “Rose”. Now his partner has one chance to guess a name. If he guesses wrong, Player 2 in the front seat gives his back seat partner a clue. He may say, “A kind of fabric you might use to make a Christmas stocking or a puppet. Jack’s teddy bear is made with it.” His partner answers “Felt”. He now gets one chance to guess the name. The game continues until the name is guessed. An additional clue might be, “The rectangular object with a knob that leads into a room.” – A door. The players try to put the clues together (Door- Rose- Felt) to figure out the name. Remember, you can’t give clues that result in a Proper Noun.  You can’t say things like, “Dad’s brother” to get the answer Theodore.

 

Spin the Bottle for Kids

This is a good game for preschool and elementary school children. You’ll want a group of 5-8 people. This is another game I use a lot at school for holiday parties. It is usually one of several “centers” at the party. I use a butternut or spaghetti squash instead of a bottle for Halloween and Thanksgiving. I put heart stickers on my bottle for Valentines Day.

Setting: Outdoor or Indoor

Supplies: Bottle and bowl of challenges

Game Instructions: Write several challenges/tasks on strips of paper. Put them in a bowl. The kids take turns spinning the bottle. When the bottle stops spinning, whomever the bottle is pointing to must choose a strip of paper and follow the instructions.

Examples of Challenges

-Build a pyramid with your group. You be on the top.

-Give everyone in the circle a high five.

-Skip around the circle yelling, “Look at me! I’m so fabulous!”

-Tell one of your favorite jokes.

-Sing “Happy Birthday” to the person on your right.

-Jump over every person in your group, leap-frog style.

-Crawl under the legs of every person in your group like a snake.

-Sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” without showing your teeth.

-Make 4 different silly faces.

-Spin around in a circle ten times. Hope you’re not too dizzy!

 

Examples of Halloween Challenges (Spin the Squash)

-Ride a broom around the circle and cackle like a witch.

-Your friends must wrap you up like a mummy using a roll of toilet paper.

-Sneak up behind someone and scare them by yelling, “Boo!”

-Sing a Halloween song for the group.

-Pretend you are a werewolf and howl at the moon.

-Pretend you are a wizard. Cast a spell on the person to your right.

-Pretend you are a black cat. Crawl around the circle, meowing loudly.

-Pretend you are a bat. Fly around the circle, screeching and flapping your wings.

-Tell your teacher she looks “Bootiful” today.

Little Animal, Come Out

This is a good game for little kids who can make animal noises and crawl on the ground. You’ll want a group of at least 2 people. No equipment needed.

Game Instructions:

My 2-year-old son invented this game. One person leaves the room and decides what animal he will impersonate. The group in the room yells, “Little animal, come out! Come out!” The person returns to the room acting and making noises like their animal. The first person to guess correctly gets to be the next animal.