Games that rival street festivals and variety shows!? Crowd-pleasers for school cultural festivals
Looking for games or events that will get everyone excited at your school festival? There are plenty of easy, classroom-friendly activities like the “10-in-a-row Kendama Challenge,” “Gachapon,” and “Thousand-String Pull,” and with a bit of creativity, they can be even more fun.
They’re simple yet adjustable in difficulty, and perfect for instantly boosting the atmosphere at your venue.
In this article, we’ll introduce mini-games for school festivals that are sure to put smiles on everyone’s faces.
They’re also easy to prepare, so be sure to use them as a reference!
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Handmade Challenge Game (21–30)
Darts made with paper plates and masking tape
@dekitakun Spiderweb darts with paper plates and masking tapeI tried making it#TikTok ClassroomworkArt#diy
Goodbye Declaration – Chinozo
Let me introduce darts, a surefire hit for livening up your school festival casino games.
Get some paper plates and masking tape, and let’s make it! Stick the masking tape onto the paper plate to form a spiderweb pattern.
When attaching the tape, place it with the adhesive side facing outward.
For the darts, crumple tissue paper into a ball and wrap it tightly with masking tape to make it a slightly firm ball.
Once it’s finished, stick the target on the wall and have fun playing!
Origami poker chip
We’ll show you how to make poker chips used in casino poker games out of origami.
Fold while making crisp creases as you go.
Fold it into a pinwheel shape, then inflate the pocket section to form the round disk shape of a poker chip.
By using origami paper in your favorite colors or with patterns, you can create original poker chips.
Once you tidy up the shape at the end, it’s done! The steps are simple and easy to follow, so give it a try.
Cardboard crane game
Claw machines are loved by both kids and adults, aren’t they? That thrill when you operate it yourself and win a prize is ageless! In fact, you can even make a claw machine by hand.
Of course, building a large one can be challenging, but a small version can be made in just a few hours if you have cardboard! For prizes, you can put in snacks or handmade trinkets—coming up with the contents is fun too.
If you have the time and budget, try making a large claw machine that can be the highlight of a school festival.
Handmade Mini Bowling
@motoseisakujo Handmade mini bowling. I'm making a craft game out of cardboard. Check YouTube for how to make it!#CardboardCraftsCardboard craftscardboardCardboardMario#HandmadeGame#HandmadeToys#cardboard#cardboardcrafts#mario#diycrafts#diycraft#MiniBowlingBowling
♬ Mario-style fun 8-bit NES BGM(1122633) – Yukiko Yamamoto
We’d like to introduce a handmade mini bowling game you can make with cardboard.
Using cardboard, a light ball, and pins, it’s an easy game anyone can enjoy.
From kids to adults, everyone will have fun aiming for strikes, so it’s also great as a classroom event at a school festival.
If you keep score, you can make it a team competition for even more excitement.
It’s a booth that will bring smiles to both the makers and the participants.
Be sure to use this as a reference and work together with your class to make your school festival a hit!
Laputa Shooting Range
@kazuyo_dayo One year ago, we made a Laputa-themed shooting gallery for our school’s cultural festival.#CardboardCraftsCultural Festival#LaputaKazuyo
♬ Original song – Kazuyo – Kazuyo!
How about incorporating the world of a famous anime into your school festival game? Imagine a shooting gallery that pays homage to a scene from Studio Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky.
Make Pazu’s big cannon out of cardboard and try to hit the targets.
Using Colonel Muska, made from cardboard, as the target could really liven things up.
It seems Colonel Muska is quite the marksman in the story, too.
It could be fun to include his handgun as well.
By the way, his pistol is said to be the military sidearm adopted by the British Army during World War II.
Pe-tan Darts
At a school festival, it’s nice to have a game everyone can enjoy together.
How about having fun with a darts game? You can make darts using items like construction paper and straws that you can buy at a 100-yen shop.
If you make darts using straws, prep should be easy.
But straw darts won’t stick into the target, right? In that case, attach a small ball made by rolling up cellophane tape to the tip.
The key is to use slightly larger pieces of cellophane tape.
With homemade darts, everyone’s sure to have a great time.
Bank Bowling
Here’s an introduction to bank bowling, a bowling game that uses a slope.
In regular bowling, you roll the ball straight down a lane to knock over the pins.
In bank bowling, there’s an incline like a ramp.
You calculate how to use that sloped section and throw the ball.
Not only do power and release position matter, but changing where you throw the ball can send it to completely different spots.
It might be harder to hit the pins, but when you do and they fall, it’s sure to be exciting.
You can make the sloped section using cardboard.