[Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
When a large group gathers indoors and you think, “Let’s do something fun!”, do you ever find yourselves surprisingly stuck for ideas? In this article, we introduce simple games that are perfect for getting everyone excited, including team battles and cooperative play.
From games that require almost no props to ones you can play easily with everyday items, we’ve gathered activities ideal for indoor recreation.
Games that you progress through by cooperating naturally spark conversation and deepen relationships! There are also slightly brain-teasing games that adults will especially enjoy, so be sure to give them a try together.
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Classic Board and Card Games (1–10)
Backgammon
Backgammon, known in Japan for over a thousand years as the “Western sugoroku,” is a two-player race game where each player competes to be the first to bring all 15 of their checkers to the goal.
You start by scattering your 15 checkers across four points, then roll two dice each turn and move your checkers clockwise toward home.
You can’t land on a point occupied by your opponent’s checkers, so you have to use the dice cleverly.
If a point has only a single opposing checker, you can hit it and send it back to the start.
It’s a board game that requires a good deal of strategic thinking.
ito
This game is cooperative, not competitive.
Instead of saying the number you drew, you express its size by comparing it to objects or other things.
Everyone playing does the same.
While interpreting each other’s intentions, you then play your cards in ascending order—that’s the rule.
The goal is to clear the stage three times.
There’s also an alternate rule called “Akaiito,” where you look for your destined partner whose number adds up with yours to make 100.
It’s the kind of game that would be lively to play while chatting during an online hangout with friends—and it might even help you rediscover your friendships.
Insider Game
There is one Master and one Insider, and everyone else is a commoner.
The Insider blends in with the commoners and asks the Master questions to figure out the secret topic.
At the end, everyone discusses and tries to identify who the Insider is.
Even though the Insider knows the answer, they must pretend not to and ask the Master questions, which can be tricky.
It seems like it would be a hit at online drinking parties.
Have a blast enjoying it!
Without Katakana
Katakana words are everywhere in our daily lives.
When we’re trying to communicate or just talking, we don’t really think about whether we’re using English or made-in-Japan English, but those words end up all over our conversations.
The card game “Katakanāshi” asks: can you accurately convey an object or idea without using those katakana words? You draw a card with a prompt on it, and you have to explain it correctly without using any katakana.
Set a time limit, and do your best to get your teammates to guess within the time by making full use of Japanese!
coyote
Each participant draws a card with a number on it and, without looking at the number, fastens it to their forehead with a headband or similar.
This way, everyone can see others’ numbers but not their own.
In this state, players take turns saying numbers and adding to a running total.
When someone thinks the total has exceeded the sum of all players’ numbers, they call “Coyote.” If the total had already exceeded the sum before the caller’s turn, the previous player loses; if it had not exceeded the sum before the caller’s turn, the caller loses.
codename
Codenames, which won Germany’s prestigious Spiel des Jahres in 2016, is available to play online here.
In Codenames, players split into red and blue teams and try to guess their team’s word cards from a grid of 25 word cards.
Each team has one player who serves as the Spymaster, and the Spymaster knows the color of every card.
Using the clues provided by the Spymaster, teammates deduce and select the correct cards.
The Mind
The Mind is an analog game in which all conversation and communication are strictly forbidden.
Each player is dealt cards with numbers on them, and the goal is to play those numbers in ascending order.
If you think the number on your card is lower than everyone else’s, you play your card.
Until a card is played, you must not talk about it or make any kind of appeal or expression—no facial expressions or gestures.
If, by the time the last player has played, all the numbers are correctly arranged in ascending order, you succeed.
There are 12 level cards: at level 1 each player has 1 card; at level 10 each player has 10 cards.
As the level rises, it becomes increasingly difficult to judge which card should be played first and by whom.