Perfect for killing time! A roundup of games for three people to enjoy
What kinds of games can you play when there are three people—like a close-knit trio, three siblings, or a family of three? Some games are easier with an even number, but once it’s an odd number, certain games get harder to play, right? In this article, we’ll introduce games you can play with your body or hands that work for three people.
We’ve gathered games you can use in various situations: to get some exercise, to burn off extra energy, or to kill time when you have a free moment.
Spend a fun time moving your body and hands together with your children or friends!
- Games you can play with just conversation. Classic and popular activities you can enjoy without any props!
- Games and activities everyone can enjoy together. A collection of fun play ideas.
- A card game for three players. Enjoy mind games and psychological battles!
- Fun activities for junior high school students. Recreation games.
- Brain-teasing game roundup
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
- Kill time while waiting or stuck in traffic! A roundup of games four people can play
- Perfect for killing time! Fun games you can easily play on LINE
- Indoor Games for Small Groups: Exciting Recreational Activities
- A collection of simple indoor recreational games
- Recreation Ideas That Truly Excite High School Students! A Fun Collection of Activities
Psychological Warfare & Deduction Games (11–20)
A Werewolf Game Where There Might Be No Wolves
The game Werewolf, where you deceive and suspect others to pinpoint the werewolf, has been a hot topic, but this version is a new-rule “Werewolf game” played with three people.
It’s originally meant for four players, so depending on how the cards are dealt, it’s possible that no one is the werewolf—which is a fun twist.
Including that possibility, everyone becomes increasingly suspicious of each other.
In this way, even games played with a different number of players than usual can become more enjoyable by incorporating new rules, so give it a try.
The Mind
The Mind is a game where you play your cards in ascending order without any discussion whatsoever.
Everyone starts with a single card in hand, and, without consulting each other, players lay down their cards when they feel they have the lowest number.
If all the cards end up on the table in perfect ascending order, you win! If the order is broken at any point, it’s a miss—but there are a few life cards that let you keep the game going as a form of mercy.
Once you clear the round with one card each, you gradually increase the number of cards in each player’s hand.
The more cards you have, the harder it gets!
Meow Meow Game
A game where you pretend to be a cat: the “Meow-Meow Game.” In this game, the person playing the cat can only speak in cat language—“meow meow”! Draw one prompt card and, based on that prompt, say the word you think of using cat language.
For example, if the prompt is “dessert” and you want to answer “pudding,” you must say “pudding” in cat language.
The other players try to figure out what the cat player is saying, and the first person to guess correctly receives a Cat Token.
Set a time limit; if the group collectively gets 20 correct answers within that time, everyone wins, and the person with the most Cat Tokens becomes the MV-Meow.
If the group doesn’t reach 20 correct answers in time, everyone loses.
It looks competitive, but it’s actually a cooperative game.
Mei-Mei
Meimei is a fresh, new-feeling card game where you give names to things from an unknown planet.
Using 100 cards with cute illustrations, you enjoy the game in four steps: naming, making a quiz, presenting, and judging.
Players split into a Namer and Respondents.
First, the Namer draws one card and gives a name to the item depicted.
Once they come up with a name that feels fitting, they announce only the name to the Respondents.
Then they add several more cards to the display, and the Respondents try to guess which item the name belongs to.
Because the key is that it “feels right,” there’s a surprising rule: if everyone picks the correct answer, the name is judged as not having been “fitting” enough, and the score is 0.
It’s a card game that delivers surreal laughs and is recommended for adults too!
Surface Tension Game
When a glass is filled to the brim, the water bulges up from surface tension, making it hard to predict exactly when it will spill.
This game takes advantage of that surface tension: you challenge the limit of the bulging water and enjoy the suspense until it finally spills.
Prepare a glass already filled so the water is domed by surface tension, then keep adding water to see how far you can go.
The person who makes it spill loses.
Not only the amount you pour, but also a careful pouring technique that avoids disturbing the surface is a key to victory.
Brain training: fun, mentally challenging games (1–10)
Upside-Down Word Quiz
It’s a game where the host presents words that have been reversed, and players quickly answer what the original words were.
Since the reversed words are given only by sound, it tests your ability to visualize them as text in your head before thinking.
Simple words can sometimes be answered by intuition alone, so shorter ones are recommended for checking the rules.
To make it a more advanced game, you might gradually move on to longer words or even full sentences.
Ten Times Game
It’s that “say it 10 times” game that almost everyone played as a kid.
The most famous one goes: after making someone say “pizza” ten times, you point to their elbow and ask, “What’s this?” and they slip up and say “knee.” It’s a classic trick.
Do you ever play it as an adult? If you try it seriously for the first time in a while, it gets ridiculously lively!
