[Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
Lively, fun recreation games that get elementary school kids excited! Whether in the classroom or the gym, there are plenty of activities that bring smiles to everyone’s faces.
Here, we’ll introduce fun ideas ranging from team-versus-team cooperative games and brain-teasing hiragana quizzes to active ball tag—everything from no-equipment options to games you can enjoy with simple prep.
These games help deepen friendships and reveal new sides of each other, so be sure to enjoy your time with friends through play!
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Unique/variety show-style, laugh-inducing hype-up games (11–20)
When, where, who did what? Game
This combines the fun of a lottery draw with the fun of getting active—the “When, Where, Who, What Game.” In this game, elements like “when” and “where” are each decided by drawing lots, and the rule is to carry them out exactly as drawn.
Because it can lead to totally wacky situations, it’s guaranteed to be full of laughs and get everyone really excited!
kotoro-kotoro (onomatopoeic; a light rattling/rolling sound)
Let me introduce a game called “Kotorokotoro.” Four players line up in a single file and stand facing the tagger.
Each of the four places their hands on the shoulders of the person in front, and the leader clasps their hands in front of their chest.
Set a time limit: if the tagger manages to touch the last person in line within that time, the tagger wins.
It’s a team-based tag game where the line moves cleverly to protect the person at the back.
Players are free to move, but if anyone’s hands come off the shoulders in front of them, they’re out.
That means moving or dodging too vigorously could get you out, so you need to balance your movements.
You can play it both outdoors and indoors.
Flip-over game
Prepare several dozen double-sided cards colored red on one side and white on the other, and place them around the venue.
Divide participants into a Red Team and a White Team.
Their goal is to flip the cards so that all of them show their own team’s color.
At the starting signal, both teams rush in and keep flipping cards during the time limit, making for an intense, fast-paced game.
If you form teams with an eye to balancing athletic ability, it should be a game everyone can enjoy on equal footing.
It’s also important to ensure things don’t get too heated and turn into an argument.
Baseball-type game
This is a simplified, baseball-inspired game called a “baseball-style game.” You set up home, first, and second base in a triangle in a smaller space than regular baseball.
Players kick the ball and advance around the bases.
It’s an out when the fielding team retrieves the ball and everyone lines up behind the fielder who has it.
The score depends on how far the runner advances before the out: reaching first base is 1 point, second base is 2 points, and returning home is 3 points.
Ruler Battle
It’s a game where rulers lined up on a desk are flicked one by one with a pen, with the aim of knocking the opponent’s ruler off the desk.
The classic flicking method is to press the ruler with the pen, and the ruler’s movement changes depending on how much force you use and the angle of the pen.
Deciding where to hit the opponent’s ruler and how to apply force to achieve that are key strategic points for securing a win.
The game’s details—such as which pens and rulers are allowed, flicking techniques, and victory conditions other than knocking a ruler off—are finely customized by generation and region, so adding new rules on the spot can make it even more exciting.
horizontal tug-of-war
In a regular tug-of-war, everyone holds a rope and pulls in a straight vertical line, but in this “horizontal tug-of-war,” participants hold the rope and pull in a straight horizontal line.
Unlike the vertical version, parts of the rope may be pulled toward your side’s territory while other parts are being pulled toward the opponent’s territory, so you need not only strength but also strategy.
You’ll get closer to victory by shifting the sections you pull on as you observe how the battle unfolds.
Rhythm, Music, and Dance Games (1–10)
Fish, Birds, Trees
It’s a word game written as “魚鳥木” and read as “gyo-cho-moku.” You can’t tell what kind of game it is just from the name, but it’s basically like the Yamanote Line Game, where players take turns saying words that fit a given category.
The rules: choose one person to be “it” and have everyone else form a circle around them.
The leader says, “Gyo-cho-moku, mōsu ka mōsanu ka?” and the players respond, “Mōsu, mōsu.” Then, pointing to one of the players, the leader says one of “fish,” “bird,” or “tree.” The player who’s pointed at must say the name of a fish if it was “fish,” the name of a bird if it was “bird,” or the name of a tree if it was “tree.” You keep going like this, and if someone hesitates and can’t answer, or repeats a name that’s already been said, they lose.
It’s simple but really tests your quick thinking—and you don’t need any materials, so it’s easy to play anywhere.
