Do your kids love to play games at home? Run out of new game ideas? You’re in luck! Here are 19 super fun, entertaining but lesser known indoor games that the whole family will love!
All of these games are low prep, with some of them requiring only pen and paper, so no need to worry about expensive equipment.
We’ve made sure to include games for kids of all ages including preschoolers and toddlers so everyone can enjoy.
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1. $2 Indoor Bowling
Grab some paper cups, and a soft ball. Simply stack the paper cups on top of each other to form a pyramid. Start with 6 cups on the bottom and built up.
2. Hot Lava Game
We’re sure kids invented this super fun game! The floor is the lava and kids must avoid it by jumping onto other objects. Throw some pillows and blankets onto the floor and let your kid’s imagination do the work!
3. Musical Statues Game
You might know this as the freeze game. Play some tunes. When you stop the track, kids must freeze and strike a pose. If they move, they’re out. Keep going until all kids are ‘out’.
4. Balance Beams
This one isn’t just fun, it’s great for your kid’s balancing and coordination skills. Grab some coloured tape and stick it to the floor in different shapes and ‘paths’. Make the trails as complex or as simple as you like. Each colour trail can represent a different action e.g. yellow = tip-toeing, red = hopskotch etc.
5. Treasure Scavenger Hunt
Kids love hunting for things. Simply hide objects around the house and let your kids hunt for them.
Want to make things extra fun? Create a little treasure map, hiding a bigger, more treasured item that your kids would love e.g. a new toy, a gift basket or a sweet treat.
6. Hot Potato
Younger kids love this game! Pass a ball or even a potato back and forth whilst playing some music. The idea of the game is to pass the potato before the music stops. If you’re holding the potato when the music stops, you’re out.
7. Simon Says
An oldie, but goodie! Kids must follow the command ‘Simon Says’ E.g. Simon Says Jump, and kids then jump. If you just say a command, without saying Simon Says, the kid is out.
8. Indoor Hockey
Grab some pool noodles, and bat an inflated balloon back and forth with the pool noodles. You now have a game of indoor hockey. You can even create some goal posts in the home too.
9. Touch & Feel Sensory Box
Pre schoolers and toddlers will love this one. Find an old shoe box and cut a hole in the side of it (big enough for your kiddos hand to fit through). Place some sensory objects in the box e.g. something furry, something hard, something soft, different shapes etc and ask your kids to guess what the objects are.
10. Magical Mama (or Papa)
Always wanted to be a magician? Now’s your chance. Get three cups, and place a coin under one of them. Shuffle them around and ask your kids to guess which one holds the coin.
If you’re looking to create some magic, hold the cups near an edge, and let the coin drop out. Watch your kiddo’s faces when they see the coin has ‘disappeared’!
11. Alphabet Hunting
Perfect for preschoolers and toddlers learning the alphabet. Write letters A-Z on flashcards and hide them around the house. When your kids find them, they have to shout out the letter.
12. Sardines
A more fun alternative to hide and seek! Instead of everyone hiding and only one seeker. One person hides at first and everyone else becomes the seekers. When the person hiding is found, that person must join them in the same hiding spot.
Eventually, everyone bar one person (the final seeker) will be hiding in the same place, hence the name sardines.
13. Wink, Wink Murderer
A super fun indoor game for kids! Ideal for small groups or families. Everyone must sit in a circle. The parent, whilst everyone has their eyes closed, must choose a ‘murderer’ by tapping them on the shoulder. Then, open your eyes and pick a detective.
The murderer must kill everyone by winking at them (in a discreet fashion). When the people die they must do so dramatically! The detective must figure out who the murderer is before everyone dies.
14. Paper Airplane Races
Simple, but oh so fun! Make some paper airplanes and get racing! See who can throw them the farthest.
15. Balloon Ping Pong
All you need for this fun game is some ping pong bats (or your kids can use their hands) and a balloon. Clear some space in the hallway and let them have some fun batting it back and forth!
16. Geographic Game
Entertaining and educational, first person must name a geographical place e.g. Nice, the second person must then name another geographical place that starts with the last letter of the previous place e.g. NicE—EdinburgH—Hanover etc.
17. The Memory Grocery Game
Kids LOVE this game because it is a real challenge! Start the game off by saying ‘I went to the shop today and bought…’. The first person must say an item (it could be anything, not necessarily something you would buy in a shop!). The sillier the better.
Then, the second person must remember the first person’s item plus add their own. And so on! The longer the ‘grocery’ list, the harder it becomes to remember!
E.g. Today I went to the grocery shop and bought a tub of Play-Doh, a pink elephant, milk etc.
18. Stop the Bus
Great for older kids! Each person has a piece of paper and draws on columns for these headings, Girls Name, Boys Name, Animal, Food/Drink, Place Name.
One person runs through the alphabet silently in their head, then another says ‘stop the bus’. Whatever letter the person was thinking of becomes the initial for the words in each category e.g. B becomes Bernadette, Brian, Bat, Burger, Berlin.
For every right answer, award 5 points. If the person has more than one answer, they score double points. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game, wins!
19. Hang Man
A timeless classic. If you want to incorporate some spelling practice into a game, this would be the one to do it. Kids think of a word, and the other person must guess the word by guessing one letter at a time (before the hangman is drawn!).
Each wrong guess leads to another limb being added to the man.
