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!
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
- A fun, everyone-joins-in game that gets everyone excited!
- Fun activities for junior high school students. Recreation games.
- A collection of simple indoor recreational games
- Party games collection that get everyone excited in a big group
- [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
Quiz games / Other games (11–20)
Who am I? Quiz
Who Am I? A quiz that everyone—questioners and answerers—can enjoy together.
The questioner chooses a topic and gives hints and characteristics to the answerers.
The answerers think about what the topic might be and give their answers.
It’s a fun game that nurtures and stimulates thinking and imagination.
Once you get used to it, try adding a time limit or increasing the difficulty of the questions as you go.
We also recommend using real people or historical figures as topics.
Have fun and give it a try!
Arithmetic game with both hands
This is a game where you use both hands to show the answer to a given arithmetic expression.
For example, if someone says “What’s 5 + 1?”, you make 6 with your fingers.
You can hold up three fingers on each hand, or five on one hand and one on the other—either is fine.
You’re free to choose, but syncing the answer that pops into your head with your hands is trickier than you’d think.
That’s exactly why it gets so exciting! The rules are simple, so it’s great for helping kids practice math, too.
If you’re the one giving the problems, make sure the answers don’t exceed 10!
duck‐duck‐goose
The English version of the game Hanko-chi Otoshi could be called “duck-duck-goose.” It’s a game that tests your judgment as you listen carefully to the words and act accordingly.
Everyone sits in a circle facing inward, and the tagger lightly taps people on the back in turn while saying “duck.” When they say “goose,” the tagger switches: the previous tagger must sit in the empty spot before being caught by the new tagger.
The anticipation of when “goose” will be said and the instant reaction required make it an exciting and fun game.
Oshibori Roulette
Wet the hand towel and take turns wringing it out one by one.
Whoever can’t squeeze out even a single drop loses.
Be careful not to splash water, but it’s a simple game that needs no prep.
It’s fun in any setting—group mixers, wedding after-parties, you name it!
A Daruma’s Day
How about a game called “Daruma-san’s Day,” based on “Daruma-san ga Koronda”? The rules are mostly the same: players gradually approach the Oni (tagger), and if you manage to touch the Oni, you win.
The person who touches the Oni becomes the next Oni, and the previous Oni leaves the game.
The difference from “Daruma-san ga Koronda” is that the “koronda” part is replaced with commands that prompt various actions, and you must move exactly as instructed.
For example, if the Oni says “Daruma-san laughed,” you have to laugh.
If you react too slowly or can’t perform the action, you temporarily drop out and can’t rejoin until the Oni changes.
Players keep becoming Oni and then leaving, and the last person remaining loses.
By the way, if the Oni says “Daruma-san is a ghost!” everyone has to run away.
Coin Drop Close Call
This is a game you can play with just a cup, water, and some coins.
Fill the cup with water to the brim, then each person drops in up to three coins.
Whoever makes the water spill from the cup loses.
Thanks to surface tension, it doesn’t spill as easily as you’d think, which makes it pretty suspenseful.
Quiz-type games / Other games (21–30)
Rubber Band Relay
It’s that game where you hold a disposable chopstick in your mouth or clamp it between your nose and mouth to pass a rubber band to the next person.
At parties, I recommend the nose-and-mouth version—you get to see funny faces from people who don’t usually make them! It seems easy but is actually tricky, and it’s simple yet really gets everyone hyped.
The prep is easy too, which is great!