Fun activities for junior high school students. Recreation games.
Introducing recreational activities for middle schoolers to enjoy during breaks, after school, or in free periods! We’ve gathered games that get everyone excited with friends and group activities that strengthen class bonds.
From games that test your ability to read the room to ones that challenge memory and reaction speed, there are lots of genres to enjoy.
They can even be a great chance to get closer to your friends! All the activities have simple rules and can be started right away, so invite your classmates and give them a try!
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Wordplay & Shiritori Game Collection (1–10)
Oh My Lyrics Game
Titled “Oh My Lyrics Game,” this activity uses Google Translate to translate original lyrics into English, then back into Japanese.
The host reads the lyrics, and the challenger guesses the song title.
The concept is unique in that it turns the nuances and mismatches of Google Translate into a game.
You can enjoy it like taking on a quiz show.
Some lyrics can be answered instantly, and others are so funny you’ll burst out laughing—guaranteed to get everyone hyped!
Shiritori with “〇〇”
When you’re bored, a classic way to kill time is shiritori.
Let’s level it up a bit and turn it into a game you can enjoy in real life.
Instead of just playing with words, how about doing shiritori with objects? Bring actual items from the room to play.
If you don’t have many things at home, it’ll turn into quite a challenging game.
Myanmar Game
“Myanmar Game” is a game that became hugely popular in the early 2000s after being introduced on V6’s variety show “Gakkō e Ikō.” Players take turns saying the word “Myanmar,” increasing the number of times they say it by one each turn.
Anyone who hesitates, mispronounces it, or stumbles loses.
Repeating “Myanmar” makes your tongue twist, so just saying it out loud feels amusing.
It’s fun with both large and small groups.
No-No Yo Game
The “Iyaiyayo Game” is a game where you say things that would be unpleasant if they happened and have fun with it.
The game proceeds to the melody of the American folk song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” It’s a game you can enjoy with close friends and a great way to sharpen your sense of humor! If your parody lyrics are a bit off, someone may call a stop, so it’s a good idea to build up a stock of ideas in your daily life so you can improvise funny lyrics that fit the melody.
Picture shiritori
Picture shiritori, a version of the word-linking game where you draw instead of speak, is a quick and fun pastime you can enjoy even during free time in middle school! The rules are the same as regular shiritori: you keep drawing pictures that start with the last sound of the previous picture’s name.
What’s different from the regular version is that, depending on how well someone draws, the next person might not be able to tell what it is and fail to continue.
Even among skilled artists, drawings can be so good they’re hard to recognize! As long as you have the school essentials—writing tools and paper like a notebook—you can play anytime.
It’s an easy, low-effort game that always gets people excited.
Hiragana Karaoke Showdown
“Hiragana Karaoke” is a game where the person who can quickly sing a song whose lyrics start with the specified Japanese syllable wins! For example, if the specified syllable is “a,” you sing a song whose lyrics begin with “a.” Any part of the lyrics is fine—whether it’s the verse or the chorus.
The basic way to play is to prepare slips of paper with one syllable of the gojūon on each and draw them one by one, but if you have three or more players, someone can simply call out a random syllable instead.
The key to winning is how many songs—and their lyrics—you know.
Build up a wide repertoire, from J-pop to children’s songs!
Ten Times Game
Many of you may know the “say-it-10-times game.” You say a word ten times, then you’re asked a quiz whose answer sounds similar to that word, and you end up saying the wrong answer even though it should be easy.
Sometimes the respondent gives an answer different from what the quizmaster intended… but that’s what makes it fun!