Indoor games and recreational activities recommended for college students
University students are always surrounded by new connections, like in seminars and clubs.
Many of you may be looking for games that everyone can play together to build rapport with new members.
In this article, we’ll introduce recommended indoor activities and recreation games that college students can enjoy.
There are also games you can play online, so they’re perfect for remote classes too! There are plenty of games you can use when you’ve got a bit of free time with friends, so be sure to check them out!
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- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
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- [Part 2] Recommended Indoor Activities and Recreation Games for December
- A collection of simple indoor recreational games
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- Recreation Ideas That Truly Excite High School Students! A Fun Collection of Activities
- [For Adults] Fun recreational games. Perfect for short breaks too!
- Break the ice with intros and team battles! Party games to spice up your welcome event
- Get the Fun Going! Easy Classroom Games You Can Play at School: Recreational Activities for the Whole Class
Indoor games and recreational activities recommended for college students (11–20)
Blindfolded tea drinking challenge
@dual_life_couple Party gameBlindfold challengeFunny videos
Chiguhagu – THE SUPER FRUIT
It’s a game where a straw is placed on a plastic bottle filled with tea, and participants, blindfolded, must drink the tea using only their mouths.
Everyone starts at the same time, and it’s easy to understand the rule: race to see who can finish their tea the fastest.
The way players fumble around to find where the straw is, and then try to guide the tip into the bottle, looks clumsy and makes for a funny highlight.
Using a longer straw increases the difficulty and lets you enjoy watching them desperately feel around for longer, so that’s a recommended variation too.
Yes-No game
It’s a very simple but exciting game—let’s play the Yes/No Game! You ask questions to narrow down to a single answer, but the only responses allowed are “yes” or “no.” That means the questioner must ask only yes-or-no questions.
For example: “Is it food?” or “Is it soft?” You can ask up to 10 questions; use those ten yes/no answers to figure out the solution.
It’s a great brain workout, too—assumptions can get in the way, and your thinking may flip back and forth.
Nanjamonja in English
@aihaori Nanjamonja game in EnglishNanjamonjaNanjamonja GameParty game @miminoosie
♪ Original song – Ai Haoriai – Haoriai Children's English Language Education Specialist
The classic table game “Nanjamonja” is the one where you give names to the creatures depicted on the cards using your own sense, and when the same card appears again, you try to quickly call out its name, right? It’s a game where you can enjoy variations like giving hard-to-remember names, but how about intentionally adding a twist to the flow itself? If you play with rules like “do it in English” or “Japanese is forbidden,” you can enjoy it at a higher difficulty level.
Not only can you get creative when naming, but tactics like steering the conversation so your opponent’s English falls apart become key points on the road to victory.
Human finger smartphone (likely shorthand for smartphone operated by human finger)
That game goes by many names, and what you call it varies by region or even by school.
But if you say “Yubi-suma,” everyone knows what you mean, right? This is a version of Yubi-suma played not with fingers, but with people.
You stand in place, bend your upper body so you’re only looking at the ground, and that’s the start.
In regular Yubi-suma, you call a number and try to match it with the total number of raised fingers.
In this version, you match the number you call with the number of people who raise their upper bodies.
Anyone who matches leaves the circle in turn.
Gesture Game
A classic gesture game that works as a recreation activity and can be played without worrying too much about the number of participants.
Only the person doing the gestures sees the prompt, then uses their whole body to act it out so the others can guess.
You might find yourself wanting to blurt out words, but try to convey everything through movement without speaking.
You can tweak the rules—like competing in teams—and it’s also perfect for playing online.
It might even get oddly more exciting online than in person!
Intro Quiz
If you get together with friends who share your taste in music, be sure to try “Intro Don” (a name-that-tune intro quiz).
For those who aren’t familiar, here are the basic rules: you listen to just the intro of a song and buzz in to guess the title as fast as you can.
When everyone has similar musical tastes, you can even nail the more obscure tracks, which makes it a lot of fun.
Try battling it out to see who knows the most!
Russian roulette
It’s the classic “Russian Roulette” game! Prepare several of the same food, like pizza or takoyaki.
Only one piece is the loser—it’s extra spicy or sour.
In other words, whoever gets the bad one gets an instant penalty.
Some karaoke places even have it on the menu, so it’s easy to enjoy.
You can also make your own with mustard or wasabi.
Real-Object Shiritori
How about trying a game that’s fun both in person and online: “real-object shiritori”? It’s not the usual shiritori—you bring items that are actually around you and connect words using those objects.
If you play online, you’re at home in your own room, so you know exactly what’s available, which makes it easier to play.
It might also reveal what you have at home—like, “You collect things like this?”—and those unexpected hobbies could spark even more excitement.
Armony Game
This is the song-based game “Ah-mony Game,” which was broadcast on Fuji TV’s “AI-TV” and has become very popular.
It’s a game where you guess whether the parent’s sung “Ah—” is aiko, Seiko Matsuda, or Mizue Takada, and then everyone sings together at once.
It feels great when everyone is perfectly in sync, doesn’t it?
Yamanote Line game
The classic “Yamanote Line Game” is a great pick for group dates and drinking parties.
The basic rule is that players take turns saying words that fit a chosen theme; anyone who runs out of ideas is eliminated.
It’s a popular game with simple rules, so it’s easy to play in any situation.
If you’re with people who share similar hobbies, try going for deeper, more niche topics.