Family Games for Kids: 21 Ideas for a Family Game Night

One of the best activities that brings people together is family game night. It is a great family tradition. Do you have one in your family? Or are you ready to start one? Well, no matter the case, we have a couple of ideas for family games for kids. Check them out.

When you are stuck at home and can’t go out in the park or anywhere else, these games will come in handy. Not many people get excited about spending the whole day home. But they have no idea how much fun these games can bring. Let’s check them out.

1. Imaginary Traveler

For this game, you need to take turns. Continue with consecutive letters of the alphabet. Kids imagine where they might go and what object they want to take on their trip. For example, “I am going to Canada and I am taking my favorite candy with me.”

Here is another example: “Let’s spend the day on the beach in Hawaii and I am bringing my headband.” Encourage your kids to be as silly as possible.

2. Story Time

You can never get enough stories. For this party game, one child begins a story with a single sentence. And then you have to build upon that sentence. Continue the story for as long as possible.

You can vary this family edition game by telling it with alternating words, sentences, paragraphs, and phrases.

3. Fortunately, Unfortunately

Inspired by the book Fortunately by Remy Charlip, this is a fun and awesome game for kids. One player starts a story with a sentence like, “Fortunately, the dog woke up on time this morning.” And then the next one counters with a sentence like, “Unfortunately, it pooped on the carpet.”

And then the next player continues with Fortunately again. Continue for as long as possible. You will get loads of laughs for sure.

4. Name Five

For this game, you need to choose a category. Some of them include animals, flowers, plants, states, cities, or anything you can think of.

Then, go through the alphabet and each player must name five things in that category. For example, let’s say the category is animals and the letter is B. You can name bat, beefalo, bear, beaver, beetle, and more.

Then the next player continues the same category but with the letter C. And those animals include cat, camel, caterpillar, chicken, cow, and more.

Professor Swen’s Lab

Houdini’s Secret Room

Wooka Booka Island

The Gilded Carcanet

7. Keep the Balloon Up

It is one of the simplest indoor games for kids and friends. Simply blow up some balloons and then tell the kids to keep them from touching the floor. You can play with hands, heads, legs, and anything in between.

Get the party started. But make sure to move the breakable things out of the way.

8. Touch and Feel Boxes

This is a classic game you can try for any occasion. It is a great indoor perfect game for kids to get them to focus on their touch. For little kids, touch is so important. It helps them develop fine motor skills.

And with this fun game, you help your kids to train their minds to associate information other than just how the object looks. Put some interesting objects into containers and the child has to reach inside and identify the object by touch.

If you don’t have containers, shoe boxes work as well.

9. I Spy

There are so many variations of this classic game. If you want to play it as a family game, you can help your kids get to know the world around them. It belongs in the group of sensory games and activities for young kids.

Start by picking out an object in the room and say, “I Spy something red” and see if your kid can guess it correctly. Take turns looking around the room and guessing.

You can also go “I spy something that is a circle.” Change the difficulty as your kid progresses.

10. Hide and Seek

You can never get enough of hide and seek. You are never too old to play this fun family game. And kids love finding grownups. This game gives your kid a sense of accomplishment once he finds you. And you will get one of the best smiles and giggles as a result.

11. Hangman

Here is another classic pencil and pen simple game. This great game is one of the oldest in the books. One person thinks of a word and draws dashes along a paper to represent each letter in the word.

Then, the player draws a platform and a stand above the dashes. The second player guesses one letter at a time. For each incorrect letter, the person draws one body part at a time. If the person doesn’t guess the word before the body is completed, he loses.

12. Tape Maze

You can play this favorite game only if you have enough space on the floor. Clear as much space as possible, and then construct a tape maze. It is a super fun indoor activity. If you have older kids, you can add dead ends to challenge them.

13. Number Maze

Here is a variation of maze games. If your children are learning number recognition and counting skills, this simple game will come in handy. Just mark numbers along the maze route. This way, the child can follow the maze in the correct order.

14. Sock Basketball

Here is a fun fact for you. You can play many sports with socks. And we start off with sock basketball. Make a few balls out of socks and get a laundry basket. Now you are set for a game. Take turns throwing to score. Up the ante by making a longer throw worth more points.

Here is another challenge. Once you score, you take a step back. The person who scores from the furthest distance wins the game.

15. Sock Hockey

Speaking about sock games for kids, sock hockey is literally the safest way to play the game. You don’t need any helmets or sticks. Put a plastic laundry basket tipped sideways for the goal. Pick any person to be the goalie. Then, try to toss socks into the goal.

16. Hot Potato

Speaking about classic fun games for younger kids, you have to mention hot potato. The indoor cooperative game can get a little giggly, so be careful. It is one of those games that you can play with kids of all ages. 

You can make a hot potato out of any soft ball or rolled-up socks. You have to throw the potato to another player as quickly as possible. The game doesn’t end until you get rid of the hot potato.

If you want a challenge, play short segments of music while tossing the game. Stop the music, and the last person to touch the hot potato is out of the game. Repeat until you have only one person standing.

17. Musical Chairs

Let’s get that groove on. Ready for some dancing? You need at least 3 or more children for this game and one person to stop the music.

It is one of the most popular children games for inside. If you don’t have enough chairs, put some colored paper on the ground. When the music stops, each kid has to sit on a chair or stand on a paper. The one doesn’t have a seat or a piece of paper to stand on is out of the game.

18. Charades

Who hasn’t played this classic game? It is all about acting out a word or phrase using no spoken words. You can modify the game to fit any age group.

19. Simon Says

Here is another game that is as old as time. It is rather simple. One person is Simon, and the others have to listen to his commands.

Say “Simon Says” and give a command. Everyone must follow. If they don’t, they are out of the game. You can try and trick them by saying “Sit on the chair” without saying Simon Says. People who follow the command without hearing “Simon Says” are out of the game as well.

20. Land, Sea, and Air

This is a great active indoor game you can play with your kids. It is great for kids with loads of energy. You need tape and a floor with two distinct areas laid out. 

Determine which part of the floor is land and which is sea. If you are using tape, it is easier. Same as in the game Simon Says, one person is the leader. The leader calls out one of the three directions, and kids have to jump to one of the areas. When the leader says Air, kids have to jump as high as possible.