It might be the weather, holidays or as we have it a pandemic which might force kids to stay indoors for a long time. This should be the reason alone you will enjoy this list of indoor games for kids to play.
Children staying indoors are happy and engrossed when they take part in different entertaining activities. Make sure fun games for kids are easily available for such a scenario.
Games which are mentally challenging and consist of physical activity keeps children fit and the process of learning never stops. Even while being cooped up in the house because of lockdown, holidays, rain or some other reason.
Fun games for kids
Guess the food? – One of the best indoor games for kids.
A classic game of blindfolded player tasting different food and guessing what it is. The blindfolded person has to guess the food item based solely on how it tastes. Things like soy sauce, honey, jam, fruits, spinach, and banana slices go well with this game.
Tip:- Stock up your kitchen.
Questions Questions – Chooses one person/thing without anyone else knowing about it. Let others try to guess what it is by questioning you about the chosen person/thing. You can only answer in Yes/No. Maximum questions which can be asked is 20. The person who guessed it right gets to choose a person/ thing for the next round.
Charades – This is an interesting game for kids as well as adults.
Form 2 teams and choose a player from each team who acts out a word/phrase/sentence without uttering a single word. The team who guesses the correct word wins the game. A great game to see which kid is easily able to express their thoughts without using words.
Face Painting – Creative indoor game for kids you must not miss
All you need is watercolors and you are good to go. Paint out your heart on each other’s faces and the result ranges from hilarious to artistic. This game let’s kids tap into their creative side and enjoy it while doing it.
Tip:- Keep a strict check to avoid paint getting into eyes and damaging them.
2 Truths 1 Lie
One of the best games for kids where each player has to say 3 sentences. Out of the 3 sentences, 2 must be truths and 1 must be a lie. All the other players must guess which is the lie out of all the three sentences.
A unique way to get to know how well each player knows each other.
Hide and Seek
A popular indoor games for kids where more than 2 players hide and the “chosen” player tries to locate them. It usually starts with the chosen player closing their eyes and counting upto 100 so that the remaining players hide themselves and on the completion of counting the chosen player then starts to search for the hidden players.
Find all the hidden players to win the game.
Sardines
This is quite the opposite of hide and seek. In this game one player hides and all the other players try to find the one person who is hiding. When a player finds the hidden player they have to hide with them and this goes on till all the players are hiding in one place till only one player remains.
Treasure hunt – Kids love a good treasure hunt which makes this the most exciting indoor games for kids.
This game keeps kids busy for a long period of time. All you have to do is keep clues hidden all around the house in a manner that one clue leads them to another and so on until they reach the end where the treasure(aka something valuable for kids) is.
Chinese Whispers – A quite simple game for kids to play among themselves.
Players form a circle out of which one player comes up with a message and whispers it into the ears of the person sitting on their left/right side. The person who hears it then whispers the same message (or at least what he thinks he heard) to the next person and so on till the last person.
In the end the last person says the message aloud. Most of the time the initial message and the final message comes out to be quite different. The main goal of this game is to focus on how communication is important and meaning can be totally different from what has been said due to lack of communication gap.
Musical Chairs
Chairs are arranged in a straight line and each chair is facing the opposite side. The number of chairs is one less than the number of players.
All the players should be around the chairs while the music is playing and as soon as the music stops, players should find a seat.
The one person who doesn’t get a seat is eliminated and one chair is removed from the arrangement for the next round. This goes on until 1 chair and 2 players are left for the final round where the winner is the one who gets the last seat.
Interesting games for kids using a masking tape
Jumping games
Use masking tapes as a start and finish line where each player has to jump from one line to another. Gradually keep increasing the distance between the masking tapes to increase difficulty.
To bring a twist to this you can ask the players to jump backwards with arms folded at the back to increase the fun.
Try jumping with one leg. Take a run up before jumping.
You have multiple games for children to play with one setting of masking tapes.
Hopscotch – Can’t miss this indoor game for kids to play because it’s the most popular of all.
Draw traditional hopscotch diagrams with the help of mask tapes. Throw a pebble or an eraser on any number on the diagram. Then retrieve the pebble or eraser by hopping on one leg on all the unoccupied numbers. This is one of the most popular and fun games for kids.
Tic Tac Toe
Instead of playing it on the whiteboard or a notebook, try it with creating the tic tac toe grid on the floor with masking tapes and use your hands/legs to draw X’s/O’s.
To make this game more interesting, you can have kids race to the grid (similar to relay races) and drop objects assigned as X’s and O’s. This will make the game more competitive and fun to play with kids.
Follow the path – Want to keep the kids occupied with a engrossing indoor games for kids?
Create a maze on the floor with masking tapes and tell the kids to follow the path to escape the maze.
The player to come out of the maze first wins the game.
Obstacle Maze – This is a super fun game to play with kids.
In this game you stick masking tapes across a narrow hallway (Mission Impossible style) and ask the kids to go through the hallway without touching the tapes. Difficulty can be increased by sticking the tapes as close to each other as possible.
You can even arrange the tapes closer to the ground so that kids have to crawl through it to reach the other side without touching the tapes.
Who doesn’t like to play with balloons? Creative games for kids using a balloon
Balloons bring out the best games for kids and given the fascination kids have for balloons, these games will be the most fun to play with.
Keep it up
This game has a simple rule. Balloon should not touch the ground. Once the game starts you have to keep hitting the balloon up so it doesn’t touch the ground. This is the best indoor game for kids and they fall for it every time because it is so much fun.
In order to include more players in the game and make it more enjoyable,every player will hit the balloon in succession to avoid it falling on the ground.
Keep a count of how many times a player hits it before dropping it and try to beat the score.
Tip: Make sure expensive stuff around the house is kept at a safe place before starting the game because this game has the highest chances of breaking stuff.
Racing Balloon
Create a finish line and let your kids blow their balloon to the finish line. One who reaches the finish line first wins the game.
This will have the kids walking and crawling all over the place before reaching the finish line which will guarantee fun all the time.
Balancing Balloon – Perfect indoor game for kids to play that keeps them engrossed for a long time.
Try balancing the balloon on your feet while the kids are lying down. A great way to exercise the core and increase concentration level of kids.
Balloon Volleyball
This can be a single player or a multiplayer game. Tie a string or a cloth across two chairs so as to form like a net.
If a single player is playing they have to hit the ball from both sides of the court by running back and forth keeping in mind the balloon does not touch the ground.
If more people are playing then you can form teams and keep hitting the balloon across the net until one team drops it which means they lose.
Catch it
A quite simple game for kids yet challenging to play this game is use a funnel or a cup to catch the balloon in it. Sounds easy but everytime the balloon touches the surface of the funnel/cup it bounces away. In order to catch it the player should have patience and elegance.
Football – Who would have thought this would be on the list of indoor games for kids?
Football can be fun with balloons instead of football when you are playing indoors. Everytime you kick the ball it’s going to float which will create more anticipation the next time someone wants to kick it when it comes down. In this game, kids can even use their hands to direct the balloon into the goal.
Tip : Make sure no one hurts the other person while trying to hit the ball and accidentally hits another person.
Popular and easy games for kids
Floor is lava:
Most common indoor game for kids. The floor is lava and you have to avoid landing on it. Jump on the tables, bed, couch, sofa and avoid getting caught on the floor.
Tip : Great way to keep kids off the ground if there’s a floor cleaning going on in the house.
Potato Race:
One of the most enjoyable games(even for adults) which needs physical activity and is usually played at parties. All players must hold a potato between their knees and race to the end line and place it in the bucket without dropping it while reaching the end line. If you touch the potato with your hand or drop it then you have to start again.
Airplane Race:
As simple as an airplane race can be one of the most fun indoor games for kids to pass their time. Make paper airplanes and check whose plane covers the largest distance. In order to collect the planes, one must hop/crawl/skip and bring back the paper planes.
Aim It : A nice game for kids to improve their aim.
Arrange objects far away from kids and let them throw soft balls to knock down the objects. Keep increasing the distance between the players and objects to make it difficult.
There is one more variation to it where you make numerous paper balls and try to throw them in the dustbin from a distance.
You can use plastic cups and table tennis balls to recreate this game.
Copycat – This is a fun game for children and sure to leave you in splits.
Pair up kids and tell them to face each other. Now one kid will try to imitate what the kid opposite to them is doing.
Act like a monkey, crawl, jog on spot or freeze in an uncomfortable position, the possibilities are endless.
Switch roles and continue to have fun.
Bowling:
Arrange some bottles or plastic cup pyramids as pins and have your kids bowl at them using a hard/soft ball aiming to knock over most of the pins. Track the score to keep it interesting and competitive.
Egg & Spoon Race
We all have played this game during our summer camps. This can be turned into a fun indoor game, all you need is spoons and marbles (if not an egg) and you are good to go.
Make the participants hold the spoon in their mouth and place the marble on the spoon. Now balance the marble and reach the finish line without dropping the marble. Players have to go back and start again if they drop the marble mid run.
Sack race – It doesn’t seem like an indoor activity for kids but because it’s so much fun we found a way we can play it indoors.
Don’t worry if a sack isn’t available, pillow cases will do wonders. Players should step in the pillow cases and hold it around their waist while hopping towards the finish line. This game will have you laughing from start to end.
Follow the leader – This game is on every indoor games list.
A fun game where you choose a leader among yourselves and all the other players line up behind the chosen player.. Everyone has to mimic what the leader does and the one who fails to do is out of the game. The last person behind the leader wins the game and gets to be the leader for the next round.
3 legged race – Turns out this outdoor game can be one of the great indoor games for kids.
Pair up the kids before starting the game.
Now tie up one ankle of both the kids together. Do this with every pair of players. Hop till the finish line while your ankles are tied together. This game helps boost motor function coordination. It is also fun to watch how kids try to work it out mostly ending up in hilarious scenes.
Throwball Fight
No one’s getting hurt in this game because we will be using balls made of socks.
All the kids have to do is throw this ball at each other.
There is a twist though, you can only hit the ball if you get hit by the ball.
This game will ensure chaos and needs a wide area but trust me, when kids finish playing this game all they want to do is rest which is a win-win situation for parents.
We hope this list helps you to entertain kids and yourself at home. What fun indoor activities do you do? Did we miss some super fun games? Do tell us in the comments.
FAQs
- Which games are effective to reduce the screen time for kids?
Any indoor games for kids to play which involve physical activity is ideal to reduce screen time since they won’t be sitting in one place while playing.
Hide and seek, Musical chairs, 3 legged race and Treasure hunt will do the trick.
Skipping rope is a great alternative to screen time as it’s fun and good for the health of kids. Even older kids can join in on the fun and challenge each other.
Bring in the outdoor sports inside by playing football with a soft ball or playing cricket in the hallway. This will ensure your kids stay active throughout the day.
Play Pictionary where you have to try and get your teammates to guess a word based on your drawing on the board. The one who guesses the word faster gets the most points. - What games can I play with my family?
Board/card games are one of the classic games to play with friends and family.Be it “Game of life” or “Monopoly” or “UNO” any other board/card game for children to play is a sure way to have fun with the family.
Game of life – This board game gives you the adventure of a life where you simulate your travels from school to college, moving out to marrying and buying a house etc.
UNO – A popular card game among teenagers which specially printed cards.
Scrabble – Famous board game which helps in building vocabulary of teenagers. 2 or 4 players can play this game by placing tiles on the 15×15 grid of squares where each tile has a letter and these tiles are arranged in such a way that they form a word either horizontally or vertically. These words should be included in the dictionary and undocumented slang words cannot be used. - How do I entertain my child at home?
Kids stuck at home are easily bored unless you have this list of indoor games ready with you.
Be attentive to what kind of indoor games your child responds to.
For starters you can play a simple game called “Freeze” because it's an entertaining game. In this game one member will play the music and everyone will dance and as soon as the music stops everyone has to freeze in the position they are in. The player who played the music will then try to make you laugh by passing a comment so that you fail to freeze and are out of the game.
Play Hot potato – Hot potato is a fun game for kids where all kids form a circle and pass around a designated object in clockwise direction as the music plays. As soon as the music stops whoever has the designated object in hand is out and loses the game. This continues till there’s only one player left who is the winner of the game. - What can a 12 year old do when bored at home?
Let kids draw a cartoon on a piece of paper instead of watching cartoons on television or the internet.
Indulge them in a simple game for kids like Name Place Animal Things where they have to name each of them words starting from a specific letter.
Teach them how to paint, write a card, make a collage, make a bracelet and decorate their room.
Indoor games for kids to play like obstacle courses and maze work wonders to keep them occupied and happy. Help your kids in arranging the obstacles for them to slide under and jump over to complete the obstacle maze.
