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!
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Active body games and hand-play games (1–10)
One-Leg Stand Challenge
Good balance is an important ability for getting through daily life smoothly.
Let’s check each person’s sense of balance and compete to see how far our abilities go.
Basically, the idea is to see how long you can maintain standing on one leg, and we’ll gradually increase the difficulty by adding rules.
Recommended variations include spreading your arms to make balancing harder, and closing your eyes to make it more difficult to sense your body position.
If your results are poor, it might be affecting your daily life, so take this as a chance to start training your balance.
Catch
It’s a game that tests your brain’s ability to instantly coordinate different movements with each hand, as well as your reflexes for quick hand motions.
With one hand you make a pointing index finger shape, and with the other hand you make a tube shape.
Thread your pointing finger through the “tube” of the person next to you, so that all participants form a large circle.
Decide on a leader beforehand; at the leader’s signal, those making tubes try to grab the finger inside, while those pointing try to swiftly pull their finger out before it’s caught.
Even if you succeed with one hand, you might fail with the other, so repeat the game many times to train your reflexes.
Teleportation Game
The key is to move in an instant! Let me introduce the “Teleportation Game.” First, roll up newspaper to make long sticks—one for each person.
Stand in a circle facing inward, each person holding their stick upright on the floor.
At the cue of “Ready, go!” everyone lets go of their own stick, moves to the next person’s spot, and grabs that stick.
The key is to move before the stick falls.
Anyone whose stick falls is out, and the last person remaining wins.
If you gradually make the circle larger, the difficulty increases and you’ll need even quicker movements, which makes it super exciting.
Give it a try!
Movement games and hand-play games (11–20)
Finger Smash
Yubisuma is a game where players sit facing each other and try to guess the total number of thumbs that will be raised on a cue.
Many people may remember it being popular and playing it often back in their student days.
Since it requires no equipment at all, you can play it anytime, anywhere—it’s a very easy pick-up game.
The rules are as follows: First, all participants face each other.
Then each person makes fists in front of their body with both thumbs resting on top of their fists, not raised.
Next, the “caller” says a number after saying “Yubisuma,” declaring how many thumbs they think will go up on that cue.
If the caller says, for example, “Yubisuma, three,” and the total number of raised thumbs is indeed three, the caller wins that round and lowers one of their hands.
The first person to lower both hands is the overall winner.
Camera Boxing
A game invented by popular YouTubers Fischer’s: “Camera Boxing.” It’s a fun activity you can play anywhere with two players, one referee, and two smartphones! Boxing sounds painful… that’s what you might think.
But this game is very safe! Instead of throwing punches, you take photos of your opponent with your smartphone, and the number of times you capture them in your camera becomes your score.
Keep both feet planted without moving them, and for 30 seconds use your upper body to the fullest to avoid being caught on your opponent’s camera.
It’s quite a workout, so it’s recommended for anyone who feels they’re not getting enough exercise!
Stack and slam
Didn’t you play this when you were a kid and had free time? It’s a hand-only game called “Stack and Slap.” Everyone puts both hands out in front and stacks them at random without overlapping their own hands.
One person pulls out one hand and slaps down from above; the person who gets slapped is out, and the slapped hand leaves the game.
The last person with a hand remaining wins.
If the slapper misses, that hand is also out.
Gesture game where your partner doesn’t get it
This is a cooperative gesture game played in pairs.
If there are three players, split into a pair and a solo player and rotate team members as you play.
The two players act out a prompt devised by the opposing team, but one of them must join the performance without knowing what they’re acting out.
While participating, that person should infer the storyline and, when the gestures end, state what the prompt was.
It’s a game where the key is how well the person who knows the prompt guides their partner.
