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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Drawing, Quizzes, and Riddles (1–10)
Whose Voice Game
Form teams of several people, and have the representative team come to the front.
One person will speak, and the other teams should listen with their eyes closed.
It’s a game where you guess whose voice it is.
If the whole team guesses correctly, they earn 1 point! Repeat this, and the team with the most points at the end wins.
The speaking team should try to disguise who it is by changing their voice or doing impressions.
Prepare slips of paper or mini whiteboards for everyone to write their guesses.
You can also play it as an individual competition.
Blackboard Matchstick Puzzle
“Chalkboard Matchstick Puzzles” are a classic type of quiz game! The rules are simple: move a specified number of matchsticks from the ones laid out to create the correct shape.
It’s surprisingly tricky—and it’s frustrating when you get it wrong.
It’s also great brain training, so try playing with friends when you have a little free time.
There are compilation videos of the quizzes too, so with just a smartphone, everyone can enjoy them together!
Three-Letter Staring Contest
It’s a fresh new game that combines the humor of pairing prompts and punchlines (like a comedy improv challenge) with the straight-faced tension of a “don’t laugh” staring contest.
It’s played two-on-two with a clear turn-based system of first and second moves, making the win/lose conditions easy to understand.
Within each team, one person provides the prompt and the other delivers the answer; after the prompt is given, the answerer reveals a three-character response, aiming to make the opposing team’s answerer laugh.
A key element is that the answering player can’t see the prompt, so the spontaneous, off-the-cuff responses interweaving with the prompts create the laughs.
Prompts that seem likely to be funny, plus tactics involving pronunciation, wording, and facial expressions, lead to complex mind games that make the gameplay even more exciting.
Don’t Laugh TikTok
Let’s play a game using TikTok called “Try Not to Laugh: TikTok Edition.” We’ll all watch funny, laugh-out-loud videos on TikTok together.
Just watching might not be that exciting, right? How about we try watching while holding a sip of a drink in our mouths—if you laugh, you’ll end up spitting it out! Of course, that could get a bit messy, so don’t forget to have something ready to catch the spills!
Word Bingo
Try a unique Bingo that uses letters! Here are some Word Bingo ideas.
In regular Bingo, you cross off selected numbers on a card with numbers, and aim to win by lining up one row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally and shouting “Bingo!” This time, let’s try Word Bingo using letters instead of numbers.
Draw lines on a sheet of paper to make nine squares, and, without letting each other see, write one hiragana character in each square.
The first player asks the opponent questions, and as they get answers, they cross off the hiragana that apply, aiming to complete a Bingo.
Drawing, Quizzes, and Riddles (11–20)
Escape Game
Let’s work together to solve puzzles and aim for a clear! Here are some escape room ideas.
An escape game is a game in which players solve riddles and puzzles with the goal of escaping from a certain room or place.
If you have classmates who love quizzes, it could be fun to start by creating riddles and give it a try! If you take on the challenge in teams, it will definitely strengthen the team’s unity! By getting the teacher involved and working together, you’re sure to have a wonderful time.
Vague Memory Drawing Game
It’s a game where you recall the exact shape of the prompt you were shown and compete to see how high-quality an illustration you can draw.
It tests not only your drawing skills but also your memory—how precisely you remember the fine details of the prompt.
Let’s consider a variety of categories, such as things with tricky color placements like a panda, or logos you see around town.
Even if no one reproduces it perfectly, we recommend deciding the winner based on whose drawing is closest to the real thing.