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 (1–10)
darts
Let’s try darts, a cool grown-up game, at the school festival! Since real darts can be dangerous because of the sharp tips, it’s a good idea to prepare versions where the tips are magnets or tape, or come up with other ways to make them safe.
Unlike shooting games or strikeout games, with darts it’s not enough just to hit the target—you need the dart to actually stick to that spot.
After all the throws, add up the points for the sections where the darts are firmly attached, and prepare prizes based on the score.
It’s also a good idea to make several targets at different heights so you can adjust the height according to participants’ height and age!
Homemade crane game
The crane game that’s hugely popular at arcades—you can actually make one yourself! That said, the high schoolers who are really building them tend to be in the natural science club that works on robots.
It’s a challenging project without basic knowledge and know-how, but if you can pull it off, it’s sure to be a hit attraction.
Posting videos of people playing it on social media would likely generate a lot of excitement, too.
For prizes, you could use snacks, or have classmates bring in unwanted dolls from home.
Plastic Bottle Bowling
A classic handmade game and recreation activity: plastic bottle bowling.
Making a straight lane like regular bowling and rolling a ball works well, but how about adding a twist and creating a U-shaped lane? It’s like the Bank Bowling game from the TV show “VS Arashi”! You can make it even more fun by designing the lane with bright colors and decorating the plastic bottles to look cute.
It’s enjoyable to create and just as fun to play!
Cardboard Maze
If you use the entire classroom to build it, you’ll end up with a maze that both adults and kids can enjoy! So how about making a maze out of cardboard? Since the main material is cardboard, you can use scrap materials.
Planning the course and assembling it are fun parts of the process, too.
Strikeout
It’s a game where you throw several balls at nine targets and compete to see how many you can hit.
It’s fun to play as-is, but you can make it even more enjoyable by getting creative with the balls or assigning different points to each target.
It’s an easy, casual game that everyone can enjoy, from small children to adults!
Whac-A-Mole
How about making your own whack-a-mole and giving it a try? You can glue pieces of cardboard together, cut holes in it, and pop the moles in and out of the holes.
It doesn’t have to be moles—you could create your own original characters.
Of course, it’s all manual! The person doing the whacking will probably find it pretty stress-relieving!
Wobbly Ball Carrying Game
It’s a game where there’s a ball rolling along a narrow path inside a box, and you guide the path to keep the ball from falling.
The path isn’t a simple straight line—its shape is complex—so move the ball carefully while paying attention to curves and other features.
The steeper the angle, the faster the ball goes and the harder it is to control, so once you get used to it, trying patterns that change the angle is recommended.
Another key point is that by changing the shape of the path, you can create a wide variety of course variations.
