A collection of simple indoor recreational games
Looking for team-based games that can get everyone excited indoors? Indoor recreational activities that use open spaces and simple tools actually hide a lot of charm.
From easy games using familiar items like balloons and plastic bottles to idea-driven challenges that make the most of teamwork, we’ll introduce a variety of fun options.
Why not discover new ways to play with your friends and family? Welcome to the world of indoor recreation, where everyone can smile!
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- [Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- Get the Fun Going! Easy Classroom Games You Can Play at School: Recreational Activities for the Whole Class
- [Children’s Club] Easy and fun indoor games. Exciting party games
- Team-based recreational activities for adults that are fun even with large groups
- [Part 2] Recommended Indoor Activities and Recreation Games for December
- Games you can play with just conversation. Classic and popular activities you can enjoy without any props!
- Games and activities everyone can enjoy together. A collection of fun play ideas.
- Elementary School Fun Day a Big Hit! Indoor Game Idea Collection
- Fun Indoor Games for Elementary School Kids Without Any Equipment
- A simple and fun co-op game that enhances teamwork
Wordplay & Quiz Game (1–10)
The “When–Where–Who–Did What” game
This is “When–Where–Who–Did What,” where combining all kinds of words can create outrageous sentences.
Prepare four boxes: put dates and times in the “When” box, places in the “Where” box, people’s names in the “Who” box, and actions in the “Did What” box.
Shuffle them thoroughly, draw one slip from each box, and complete a sentence.
It seems like it would be a blast if you include inside jokes.
A game where everyone matches their answers
It’s a game where everyone tries to match answers.
It’s the same type of game that used to air on a variety show featuring Taka and Toshi.
You set a prompt and everyone gives an answer aiming to match; if all answers match, the game ends.
If you play with a rule like “no one can go home until the answers match,” it adds a sense of seriousness! For example, with a question like “What comes to mind when you think of Chinese food?”, if you answer with your personal favorite, it’s harder to match and the game can drag on.
The fun is in deducing each other’s preferences and answering accordingly.
It’s a great game to enjoy indoors with family and friends.
Don’t Associate! Game
This is a game that anyone can play easily.
Word association games are classic, but this one is the opposite.
In rhythm, you say a word that cannot be associated with the word said by the person before you.
For example, saying “watermelon” after “lemon” is a loss.
Here, you have to say something unrelated to fruit, like “airplane.” It’s surprisingly easy to end up saying something similar!
Lineup Game
It’s a game where you try to guess everyone’s profiles from the conversation without stating the answers outright, and then arrange them in the correct order.
To make the correct order clearly verifiable, let’s use prompts based on profiles that can be expressed numerically—like shoe size—to proceed.
First, to keep things simple, we’ll communicate through a conversation that avoids giving the answers directly, gradually getting closer to them.
Once you’re used to it, you can evolve the rules to gradually reduce the amount of conversation, and eventually try predicting purely on intuition—testing how well you’re in sync could make it even more exciting.
Detective Game
A “detective game” where you give hints and use them to figure out the answer.
You offer various clues about someone present—for example, “That friend is wearing a hat” or “That friend has short hair”—and whoever figures it out raises their hand and answers.
The person who gets it right becomes the next hint-giver.
It could also be fun to use not only friends who are there, but animals, celebrities, or anime characters as the subjects.
30-second guessing game
This is a game where you rely solely on your internal body clock to try to stop a stopwatch at exactly 30 seconds.
The rule is simple: press start and stop using only your sense of timing, without looking at any numbers, so you can add all kinds of variations.
You could keep a conversation going while measuring the time, or have people around you call out random numbers to distract you—both would likely make it more exciting.
You can also try closing your eyes to sharpen your senses, or keeping a rhythm to feel the passage of time.
Experiment with whatever method works best for you.
Treasure Hunt Game
Easy at-home treasure hunt! This game is recommended when you want to play with young children.
The theme is “Something in the house that’s ___!” and you give lots of clues about the treasure.
For example, if the treasure is a stuffed rabbit at home, you might give hints like, “It’s white, fluffy, and has long ears.” Imagining from the clues helps develop thinking skills, and when you talk and listen a lot—recognizing and empathizing with your child—it nurtures their confidence.
It’s wonderful: while playing, they grow emotionally and build the ability to think and act on their own.
Perfect for times when you want to have fun with your child!