[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!
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Relay and racing events (11–20)
Costume Relay
It’s a team competition where each runner changes into a costume at the start line before setting off, then hands the costume—used like a baton—to the next person.
Using unique outfits like dresses, animal suits, or hero capes lets kids enjoy both the thrill of transforming and the speed of a relay.
If someone struggles to put on a costume or drops a hat, it’s guaranteed to cause an eruption of laughter, keeping spectators entertained, too.
We also recommend rules that award bonus points not just for placement, but for styling and how well participants play their characters.
It’s a lively contest filled with smiles and cheers.
Borrowed Item Race
This is a race where participants compete to quickly find and bring back objects or people that match the themes written on cards, making it a contest that requires not only physical movement but also quick thinking and courage.
Each time themes like a red hat, a large stuffed animal, or a tall person are announced, the event becomes highly energetic as players dash around, cheer when they find items, and enthusiastically call out to others.
One of the appeals is that with a bit of planning, it can be carried out safely both at home and at school.
Adding a time limit or team format introduces tension and strategy, keeping the outcome uncertain until the very end.
It’s a competition that captivates every participant, where creativity and quick reflexes make all the difference.
Dice Cone Relay
This is the “Dice Cone Relay,” where you run as many cone markers as the number rolled on a die.
The runner first rolls a die.
Along their course, six cone markers are placed at equal intervals.
The runner sprints to the cone corresponding to the number shown on the die, returns, and hands off to the next person, continuing the relay.
Since a smaller number means a shorter run, roll while hoping for a low number!
S-ken / Esuken
Draw a big letter “S” on the ground.
The two round parts of the S are the territories, and the gap is the entrance/exit.
It’s a game where you hop on one foot, go through the gap into the opposing team’s territory, and steal their treasure.
You’re allowed to put both feet down only in the safe zone and inside a territory.
If you’re attacked by the other team—pushed or otherwise forced to put both feet down—you’re out and must go to the out zone.
The team that gathers the opponent’s treasures the fastest wins.
Classic events at school sports days (1–10)
Dodgebee
Dodgebee is a slightly modified version of dodgeball.
It’s played with a thin, lightweight disc instead of a dodgeball.
Since it’s made of soft material, it doesn’t hurt even if you get hit hard, which is great.
The rules are the same as dodgeball.
And just like dodgeball, there are lots of local variations.
Feel free to use your own original rules and make it even more exciting!
Hula hoop down
Let me introduce you to “Hula Hoop Down,” a game that’s fun no matter when you play it.
The rules are simple: participants stand in a circle, balance a hula hoop on their index fingers, and work together to lower it to the ground without anyone’s finger losing contact.
It looks easy at first, but you’ll be surprised how often the balance slips or the hoop pops off someone’s finger—unexpected mishaps that make it extra exciting.
It’s great fun with close friends, and it can also be a perfect chance to get in sync and build rapport with people you haven’t talked to much before.
Tug of war
A major event at sports days and the like is tug-of-war.
A mark is placed at the center of the thick rope, and a line is drawn on the ground in the middle.
At the starting signal, teams pull on the rope, leaning their bodies backward while shouting in unison, bracing themselves so they aren’t pulled by the other team, and hauling the rope to their side.
The competition is decided by which side has pulled the rope farther by the time limit.
The chant is important—don’t be shy!
How many people can fit? game
A game where you see how many people can fit on a prepared platform.
If you just keep getting on without thinking, the platform will quickly fill up.
So before you get on, do a dry run—discuss the details, plan your strategy, and try it while thinking about smart, efficient ways to board.
the eye of a typhoon
This is the relay game called “Typhoon’s Eye,” where teams run while holding a long pole.
Several people run together holding one pole, spin around at the turnaround point, then return and pass it to the next group.
When they come back, they don’t just hand over the pole directly; they pass it through the waiting team’s feet, then on the way back over their heads, and return to the front of the line.
It’s a game where everyone waiting also takes part.
Giant ball rolling
This is “ōdama korogashi,” a relay where you roll a ball as big as your own body.
Two people roll one large ball together.
Then they turn back, pass the big ball to the next pair, and hand off the relay.
The team that reaches the finish fastest wins.
Because the ball is so large, it’s hard to control—if you go too fast, it can veer off the course from the momentum, and your turnarounds can end up too wide.