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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Quiz/variety games (11–20)
Candy fishing game
Many people probably played a game as children where you clip targets and fish for them with a rod made of string and a magnet on the end.
This time, let’s turn those targets into candy and play! Write point values on each candy, and the person whose total score from the candies they catch is the highest wins.
Of course, letting players take home the candies they caught will make it even more enjoyable.
Preparation is easy: just attach clips to the candies and write the point values, then tie a magnet to the end of a piece of string.
It’s a quick and simple activity to set up.
3-letter word association game
The signature game of the variety show “Banana Sand,” the Three-Letter Association Game.
Players form teams of several people.
Everyone except the guesser gives the guesser a clue word in three characters or fewer that points to the answer.
If the guesser doesn’t get it from the first clue, a second clue—also three characters or fewer—is given, and the goal is to reach the correct answer with as few clues as possible.
In team-versus-team play, the team that answers correctly with fewer clues wins.
Because it doesn’t require a large space, it’s a game you can enjoy in a classroom at cultural or school festivals.
Drink guessing game
It’s a game where you wear a blindfold and guess what drink it is.
Comparing products from different brands can be fun, but since there are also flavored clear beverages on the market, there are versions you can play without a blindfold too.
Comparing different teas or mineral waters makes it more challenging and really exciting!
music game
There’s a wide variety of music all over the world, and there are many types of rhythm games that use it.
How about challenging participants to see how far they can push their records in such rhythm games? Choosing the right rhythm game is key—ideally one that can be played on a large screen so it’s enjoyable for spectators as well.
Since some people are better at this genre than others, make sure the difficulty level can be adjusted.
If the music spans a broad range of genres, even more people are likely to have fun.
Dancing Gesture Game
A dancing gesture game that became a hot topic after being introduced by the hugely popular YouTuber group, Fischer’s.
It’s a simple game where the presenter listens to music through headphones and expresses the song’s lyrics with gestures, and the others guess the song.
It’s great because even people with no dance experience can join, as long as they can convey the lyrics through gestures.
Of course, make sure to choose songs that everyone definitely knows—otherwise the game could go on forever.
Pick wisely and have fun!
Roulette
Spin the roulette and take on the challenge that comes up.
You can buy a roulette wheel, but it’s also fun to make your own with original prompts.
You can either spin the roulette or use darts to play it like a target game.
Giant karuta
Karuta has long been loved in Japan.
We also recommend preparing a “giant karuta” set using oversized cards.
You can choose any size, but the bigger they are, the more exciting it tends to be.
Try making them about ten times the size of regular karuta cards as a guideline.
Another appeal of giant karuta is that you can add originality through illustrations and text.
Consider themes related to your school or class, or use well-known TV shows or manga as material.
You could also have each person create one card of the set.
