Recommended for 3-year-olds! Fun indoor activities and group game ideas
Three-year-olds experience a surge in vocabulary and are characterized by enjoying communication with those around them and showing interest in many things.
They are full of curiosity and eager to say, “I want to try it!”
So this time, we’re introducing ideas for indoor activities and group games that are perfect for the development of three-year-old children.
From games that let them fully move their bodies and discover the joy of interacting with friends, to activities that foster imagination and expressive skills, we’ve gathered a wealth of indoor play ideas that will satisfy three-year-olds!
Please use these as a reference and have fun together!
- No prep needed! Indoor activities for 3-year-olds, including movement play and group games.
- For 3-Year-Olds! Indoor & Outdoor Physical Play and Game Ideas
- [Childcare] Recommended for 3-year-olds! Play ideas everyone can enjoy
- [Childcare] Full of energy! Indoor activity ideas to get kids moving
- No prep needed! Indoor play and game ideas that 2-year-olds will enjoy
- Let’s make it with 3-year-olds! Fun handmade toy ideas
- Ideas for indoor play, physical activities, and games suited to the development of 2-year-olds
- [Childcare / Physical Play] Fun Activities to Get Moving
- [For 2-year-olds] Let’s get moving! A collection of ideas for physical play and movement games
- [For Preschoolers] Fun Riddle Collection
- [For 4-year-olds] Ideas for group games and craft activities that can be done indoors
- [For 4-Year-Olds] A Collection of Indoor Play and Game Ideas That Get Everyone Excited
- For 2-year-olds! Fun craft activities and indoor play ideas
Recommended for 3-year-olds! Fun indoor activities and group game ideas (41–50)
drawing relay

Here’s a drawing relay that everyone can get excited about.
Split into teams, and only the first person looks at the prompt.
The first person draws the prompt and passes it on to the next player.
The next player interprets the drawing and conveys it to the following player with another drawing.
The team whose final player’s drawing matches the original prompt the fastest wins.
It’s best to use simple prompts that are easy for kids to understand.
You can enjoy this game indoors or outdoors, so grab some paper and felt-tip pens and give it a try!
Recommended for 3-year-olds! Fun indoor play and group game ideas (51–60)
gomudan

Here’s how to play Gomu-dan (rubber band jumping).
First, prepare a flat elastic band, and have two people hold the ends.
Let’s start with a simple jump-over game.
Hold the band at ankle height and jump over it.
Even if your feet catch on the band, it’s a success as long as you make it through to the other side.
Try different ways of jumping, like two-footed jumps, backward two-footed jumps, and cartwheel jumps! You can also raise the height to increase the difficulty and excitement.
Be sure to keep the band pulled tight—if it’s slack, it can be dangerous.
Plastic Bottle Bowling

Let us introduce PET bottle bowling, an easy game to enjoy at parties and more.
Line up plastic bottles like bowling pins, then throw a ball and try to knock them down.
Compete by seeing how many bottles you can topple.
It’s a good idea to adjust the weight of the ball according to the players’ ages.
You can also put a little water in the bottles for added challenge and excitement.
Writing point values on the bottles and competing for scores, or playing in teams, can make it even more fun!
Paper airplane throwing

Here’s a paper airplane throwing game that kids and adults alike can enjoy.
Let’s fold paper airplanes using origami paper or flyers.
The size of the paper matters, too.
One of the fun parts of paper airplane throwing is that the flight distance changes depending on how you fold and throw it! If your flight distance isn’t improving, you might discover ways to make it go farther by trying again and again.
Try a variety of games using paper airplanes, such as high-score battles, cup knockdowns, dog-run catches, and pair catches!
Evolution Rock-Paper-Scissors
@kidschallengeclub Introducing Evolution Rock-Paper-Scissors! It’s a game where you keep playing rock-paper-scissors with lots of different people and evolve step by step! If you become a god within the time limit, you win! The kids suddenly start imitating grandpas and grandmas, and it’s so authentic I couldn’t stop laughing. It’s that kind of fun game!evolutionEvolution Rock-Paper-ScissorsRock-paper-scissorsRock-Paper-Scissors Gamebaby#GrandmaGodInteresting
Invincibly Cute – Naoki Endo
An amusing game where you evolve by winning rock-paper-scissors: “Evolution Janken.” Aim to become a god within the time limit! Everyone starts as a baby.
Since you’re a baby, you crawl to move and play rock-paper-scissors with people you meet.
If you win, you evolve and can move by hands-and-knees crawling.
If you lose, keep belly-crawling and look for your next opponent.
It goes like this: belly-crawl, hands-and-knees crawl, bear walk, adult, elderly person, and finally, you become a god and the game ends.
Evolve within the time limit!
Come-here game

Even though the rules are super simple, let’s try playing the “Come Here, Come Here Game,” which kids are guaranteed to love! Divide into a teacher and children.
The teacher gently beckons to the children, saying “Come here, come here.” While the teacher is saying it, the children move slowly toward the teacher without running.
When the teacher suddenly says, “Come here, come here…
It’s a ghost!” the children have to run away so they don’t get caught.
Once everyone gets used to it, you can make it even more exciting by faking them out with similar-sounding words to “ghost,” like “pot” or “mother.”
Morning Noon Night game

Here’s an introduction to the Morning-Afternoon-Night game.
You can play it anytime, anywhere, with any number of people, so it’s perfect for filling small gaps of time! When the teacher says “morning,” the children stand up.
For “afternoon,” they sit in seiza (kneel with legs folded under).
For “night,” they lie down right where they are.
The fun is in doing each action as quickly as possible.
Once they get used to it, try adding twists like “duck” or “monkey.” How will the children respond? Will they imitate the animals, get confused, or tell you, “Teacher, that’s wrong!”? That uncertainty is part of the fun of this game.


