Games and activities everyone can enjoy together. A collection of fun play ideas.
Looking for fun activities everyone can enjoy together? Many people share that dilemma, don’t they? In fact, there are plenty of recreational and party games you can enjoy indoors.
Classics like Fruit Basket, Hula Hoop Down where everyone synchronizes their moves, and majority-rule games that get the whole group excited.
With a bit of creativity, your usual games can become even more fun.
In this article, we’ll introduce indoor recreation and party game ideas that kids and adults can enjoy.
Try them at get-togethers with friends or at your next party!
- Games you can play with just conversation. Classic and popular activities you can enjoy without any props!
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- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
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- [Children’s Club] Easy and fun indoor games. Exciting party games
- Team-based recreational activities for adults that are fun even with large groups
- Recreation Ideas That Truly Excite High School Students! A Fun Collection of Activities
- No worries even in the rain! Fun recreational activities you can do in the gym
- Perfect for killing time! A roundup of games for three people to enjoy
Indoor Recreational and Party Games (71–80)
Ball games you can play with two people!
Balls are very familiar playthings for children, and the ways to enjoy them are limitless! This time, we’re introducing eight ball games for lower-grade students.
In addition to balls, items like hula hoops are used to help kids improve their physical abilities while having fun.
Basically, children pair up in twos and play by throwing or rolling the ball, or dodging a bouncing ball.
There are also games with sport-like elements—such as Copycat Dribble, Hoop Pass Tennis, and Marker Hockey—so we hope even kids who feel uneasy about ball sports will take this opportunity to get interested.
Imitation shiritori
Participants face each other and stand on one leg.
Decide the order with rock-paper-scissors or similar, and the first person starts the word chain game (shiritori).
The basic rule of linking words stays the same, but after saying a word, you have to do an impression that matches it.
For example, if you say “gorilla,” you might pound your chest with your fists.
Everyone else copies the impression, and the shiritori continues.
It might sound easy, but you must stay on one leg the entire time.
If you lose your balance or can’t continue the word chain, you lose.
Avalon
Abalone is a game that exercises your mind while you have fun, played with black and white marbles.
Your goal is to push your opponent’s marbles off the board.
Marbles attack and defend in ways unique to this game, using both linear and lateral movements.
By the way, pushing your opponent’s marbles is called “sumito.” As the game progresses, what looks simple becomes deep and strategic—you might find that attacking opens you up to being attacked.
Think through your tactics and be the first to push 6 of your opponent’s marbles off the board.
Mitsukaruta
It’s a fun game where your vocabulary decides who wins.
Prepare stacks by placing seven cards, each with one hiragana character, and layering more cards on top to form piles.
Everyone playing draws one card from any of the seven piles, and the game begins.
Use three or more of the visible letters on the piles to come up with a word and say your answer.
It’s also okay to use words that include letters not currently visible on the piles.
You get to keep the cards for the letters you used.
There’s no set turn order—first come, first served.
Keep calling out all the words you know!
late hand in rock-paper-scissors
A normal rock-paper-scissors game is too easy! In that case, try playing “after-the-fact rock-paper-scissors.” The leader plays as usual by saying “Jan-ken-pon” and showing rock, paper, or scissors.
The participants must then respond after seeing it and beat that hand.
Because you have to instantly recognize what the leader showed and choose the winning hand, it’s trickier than it sounds.
A few people will slip up and lose or end in a tie.
Try turning it into a knockout format or speeding it up to increase the difficulty and have fun!
Tongue Twister Showdown
When it comes to games that get everyone excited without using any props, tongue-twister battles are a classic.
Gather a variety of fun tongue twisters and face off.
You can present one prompt at a time and decide rankings each round, or set multiple prompts with different difficulty levels and see who lasts the longest.
It’s a good idea to write the prompts on a whiteboard.
Since tongue twisters are tough at first glance, consider adding practice time and other tweaks so everyone can enjoy the game.
Lyrics Shiritori Game
A fun game where you play shiritori using song lyrics.
Sing a line from a song, then continue with lyrics from another song that start with the last character of the previous line.
It’s great for everyone from kids to adults—you’ll recall familiar tunes and discover new ones.
Not only for people who love singing, it’s also a chance to encounter songs you don’t know.
Perfect for karaoke, parties, and school activities.
Even those who aren’t confident singers will naturally smile—simple yet surprisingly deep.
Put your musical knowledge and creativity to use and have fun playing!
