![[For Kids] Exciting Class-vs-Class Games: Team Competition Activities](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Frg9Ihc1Rm8/sddefault.jpg)
[For Kids] Exciting Class-vs-Class Games: Team Competition Activities
Looking for team-based games that will get everyone excited indoors with your friends? We’ve gathered a variety of cooperative indoor games—like creative twists on the classic charades, flipping races, and telephone—that teams can enjoy together! With simple rules that let you start right away, these games are sure to bring out smiles all around.
Indoor games that deepen team bonds while letting each person’s individuality shine.
Let’s sync up and have fun together!
Indoor team-based activities (1–10)
Paper Cup Relay
Let’s split into teams and enjoy a paper cup relay! Each team, prepare three paper cups.
Place two side by side, then set one on top to start the game.
If you move the two bottom cups left and right with your hands, the top cup will drop down.
If it lands upright without falling over, that’s a success—then switch to the next person.
If the cup falls over, try again and only switch after a successful attempt.
You’ll want to celebrate when you succeed, but remember it’s a relay, so pass it to the next person right away!
Team Gesture Game Competition
It’s a game where one person on the team looks at a prompt and acts it out with gestures, and the other members try to guess what it is.
It tests the team’s ability to cooperate—choosing movements that communicate clearly and carefully observing the details of those movements.
Setting a time limit is also recommended to encourage quicker answers.
In the rush to convey things faster, some funny moves might pop out.
If you gradually make the prompts more detailed and difficult, you’ll likely start to see each person’s unique approach in terms of which aspects they focus on and how they move.
Newspaper Tower
Let’s get everyone excited with Newspaper Tower, a game you can make with things you already have at home and enjoy together with friends and family.
Split into several small teams.
It’s a team-versus-team game, but rather than sports, it’s about pooling your wits and competing with ideas, so kids and older siblings alike can have fun together.
Using the newspapers provided to each team, the rule is simple: the team that builds a taller tower than the others wins.
Any shape and any idea is fair game, so you can think creatively and build freely as you play.
It also tests teamwork, so give it a try with your group!
Without Katakana
In everyday life, we often use words written in katakana.
Here, I’d like to introduce “Katakana-less,” an activity where you explain given topics without using katakana.
For example, show a ball used in physical education and ask, “What is this?” The likely answer will be “ball.” Next, have them describe the ball without using any katakana.
Children will probably search for answers by thinking of various words in their heads.
Try switching the roles of questioner and answerer as you take on the challenge.
Whose Voice Quiz
It’s a game where you listen to a voice without seeing the person and try to guess whose voice it is, aiming to match your team’s answers.
Split into teams; one team stands facing a wall while someone speaks, and the other teams listen with their eyes closed.
The goal is not only to identify whose voice it was but also to align your answers within your team.
If it’s too hard to get a perfect match, let’s award points based on how many people guessed correctly.
It’s a game where you can also enjoy strategic bluffing, like the way you use your voice so the opposing team won’t catch on.
Flip-over race
This is a “flip-the-boards” race where players split into two teams and flip boards to their team’s color.
An equal number of double-sided boards—each side a different color—are placed randomly.
If you’re on the Red Team, flip white boards to red; if you’re on the White Team, flip red boards to white.
The team that flips more boards to its color within the time limit wins.
The boards are large, so they might be a bit hard to move, but do your best and flip as many as you can!
Liar Memory Introduction Game
This is a game that tests imagination and powers of observation, using stories about days off as the theme.
Give everyone a blank sheet of paper, have them fold it into quarters to create four boxes, and write four summer memories—mixing in one false episode.
Split into groups of 4–5 and take turns presenting your memories; the rule is that everyone works together to guess which one is the lie.
As funny anecdotes spark laughter, everyone also listens intently to spot the lie hidden somewhere.
Hearing stories about friends that you wouldn’t normally learn about can be a chance to deepen your bonds.
It’s an idea that’s sure to liven things up, giving presenters and listeners alike a little thrill.
Illustration Gesture Game
This activity suggests playing the classic gesture game—this time with drawings.
Divide into several teams, and within each team split roles into a drawer and a guesser.
Each team takes turns drawing the prompt given, and the team members try to guess the answer.
The team that guesses the most within the time limit wins.
The key to victory is how quickly you can draw something that captures the main features.
Choosing prompts that everyone knows and that have clear, distinctive traits will make it fun for kids.
It’s also a good idea to have about four people per team so the drawer and guesser can switch if things aren’t going well.
PET bottle darts
This is a game where you drop a pair of disposable chopsticks into a plastic bottle placed on the floor while standing.
Divide players into several teams of about 3–5 people.
At the start signal, team members take turns aiming at the bottle and dropping the chopsticks.
The team that gets the chopsticks into the bottle first wins.
It counts no matter which team member succeeds.
Be careful: leaning forward too much or getting too close to the bottle is a foul.
Depending on the children’s ages, one successful drop might end the game too quickly.
Adjust the win condition to suit their age, such as “the first team to get three chopsticks in wins.”
Team Battle Treasure Hunt
Let’s play by giving each other riddles! Here’s a team-based treasure hunt battle.
It’s an idea that sparks cooperation and creativity! Split into a team that creates riddles and a team that solves them to find the next clue, all aiming for the treasure.
Playing this game not only boosts problem-solving and reasoning skills, but also teaches the importance of teamwork and communication.
The real charm lies in getting absorbed in solving puzzles with your teammates and feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Try it out in a spacious, versatile location.