Games that liven up festivals. Ideas that children can enjoy.
Festivals and fair days are fun events that kids can take part in, aren’t they? In addition to local festivals, many kindergartens, nursery schools, and elementary schools also plan summer festivals, don’t they? In this article, we’ve gathered ideas for festival games and activities recommended for those who want to find games that kids will love or want to know about events beyond food stalls.
It’s packed with fun ideas you can enjoy both indoors and outdoors, so please use it as a reference.
If you’re making the games by hand, having the children help will make great memories!
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Games that liven up festivals. Ideas that children can enjoy (41–50)
All-you-can-fill candy
From a child’s perspective, an all-you-can-pack candy game is a dream come true.
There are all sorts of “pack-as-much-as-you-can” activities out there, but for kids, candy is the way to go! Prepare lots of individually wrapped treats like gummies and hard candies, set them out, and add a time limit—the excitement will skyrocket.
You can even have a contest to see who can pack the most by being the most clever.
Just be sure to avoid meltable sweets like chocolate if the festival is held outdoors in the summer.
Games that liven up a festival. Ideas that children can enjoy (51–60)
Empty Can Fishing Game
Introducing an “Empty Can Fishing Game” that kids will want to try over and over.
Just attach paper clips or rings to empty cans and use a fishing line with a magnet or hook to lift them—simple rules that even adults can’t help getting absorbed in.
It takes concentration and a bit of technique, making you want to keep trying.
Add point values to the cans or sort them by color to make it more game-like and even more fun.
Adjust the can sizes and distances to suit the child’s age so it can be enjoyed safely.
It’s easy to prepare, low-cost, and perfect for game corners at festivals and summer fairs.
children’s taiko drums
When you think of festival music, it’s all about the flute and the taiko drums, right? In some regions, there are children’s taiko teams, and festivals often serve as their recital.
Even if you don’t practice year-round, preparing for the festival and putting on a performance can really liven things up.
We don’t get many chances to hear taiko drums, so it’s great to experience their sound in person at events like these.
Lucky Ball
Lucky Ball is a game whose play style and format vary by region.
Similar attractions are popular at places like Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan.
You line up cups or use a pegboard-style target with holes drilled into a board, then throw balls about the size of a baseball.
You can set your own rules—like getting the ball into a designated color, or lining them up vertically and horizontally like bingo.
As long as you can throw a ball, anyone—young or old—can enjoy it, so it’s perfect for festivals that draw a wide crowd.
And don’t forget to prepare some eye-catching prizes!
Chikirin Tournament
Chikirin refers to the small metal gong used in festival music.
At the Chikirin competition, groups perform traditional rhythms using this chikirin along with Japanese drums and flutes, and they compete based on their performance.
It’s an attraction that lets you enjoy and become familiar with traditional Japanese instruments and classical music that have been passed down since ancient times.
Festival music is indispensable to any festival, so it’s highly recommended—spectators can soak up the festive atmosphere too!
Okonomiyaki Game
A perfect pick for summer festivals and fair booths is the “Okonomiyaki Flipping Game,” which is fun to watch and even more fun to play.
Using a spatula, players try to flip a large okonomiyaki made from felt or cardboard—simple, yet super exciting! You can adjust the size of the tools and the difficulty to match kids’ ages, which is a big plus.
Decorate it to look realistic and you’ll feel like you’re at an actual food stall.
You can also tweak the gameplay however you like—time the flips, aim for consecutive successes, and more.
It’s safe to enjoy indoors, easy to set up, and perfect for creating an event filled with laughter and cheers.
Gem scooping
Shops with scooping games—like goldfish scooping, yo-yo balloon scooping, and super ball scooping—really spark that urge to take on a challenge.
Part of the appeal is how easy they seem: you find yourself thinking, “I could do that,” or “Even I can get one.” That’s why I recommend the glittering “gem scooping.” You’re scooping toy gems, of course, but combined with the festival atmosphere, you somehow end up wanting them.
You can probably source fake jewelry that looks real at a low cost, so it’d be nice to mix a few in as prizes.
Candy shaped like rings would likely be a hit, too!