Games for when you have a group and nothing else: rain, a late bus, the last twenty minutes before pickup. Answer three questions and read the card aloud. Where a game needs one, this phone is the caller, the judge or the dealer. It stays in your hand; the children play with each other.
4–30 players · about 5 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 1 of 5
Read this aloud
Sit in a circle. We count up, one number each, round the circle. If your number has a three in it, or three goes into it, say 'buzz' instead. Three is buzz, six is buzz, thirteen is buzz. If someone slips, nobody is out: we all start again from one. Let's see how high the whole room can get.
The phone is the judge
Tap to hear what comes next.
2–4 players · about 5 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 2 of 5
Read this aloud
Two players, or two teams. We count up to twenty-one together. On your turn you add one, two or three to the count. Whoever says twenty-one wins. Play three games. After that, see if anyone can say which numbers the winner always seemed to land on.
3–20 players · about 10 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 4 of 5
Read this aloud
One person is it. They think of an animal and keep it secret. Everyone else asks questions that can be answered yes or no. Is it bigger than a dog? Does it live in water? We have twenty questions between us. If we guess it, the person who guessed is it next. If we run out, it tells us.
The phone keeps the secret
Hand the phone to whoever is it, then tap.
2–8 players · about 10 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 4 of 5
Read this aloud
This phone is our dice. On your turn, roll as many times as you like and add up what you roll. But if you roll a one, you lose everything from this turn and it passes on. You can say 'hold' at any time to keep your points. First to fifty wins. The question is always: one more roll, or hold?
The phone is the dice
Tap to call.
6–30 players · about 10 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 2 of 5
Read this aloud
Each corner of the room has a number, one to four. I'll read a question with four answers. Walk to the corner you think is right. You can talk on the way, and you can change your mind until I say freeze. Then we find out. Nobody is out, ever. Everyone walks to the next one.
The phone is the caller
Tap to call.
3–30 players · about 5 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 2 of 5
Read this aloud
I'll give you two choices. This side of the room is the first one, that side is the second. Walk to the side you'd choose. Then one person from each side says why. Here's the twist: after you've heard both reasons, you can switch sides. Changing your mind for a good reason is allowed.
The phone is the caller
Tap to call.
3–30 players · about 5 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 2 of 5
Read this aloud
How many of your steps would it take to walk from that wall to this one? Everyone make a guess and remember it. Now line up in order, smallest guess to biggest. The person in the middle of the line is the room's guess. Then one person walks it while we all count. Was the room close?
2–30 players · about 5 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 1 of 5
Read this aloud
I clap a pattern and you clap it back, exactly. Listen first, then copy. Ready? After a few, someone else becomes the leader and makes up a pattern for the rest of us. Patterns can be fast, slow, or have a gap in them. There is no wrong way to lead.
The phone is the leader
Tap to call.
3–15 players · about 5 minutes · A soft ball · weight 1 of 5
Read this aloud
Stand in a circle. I say a word and throw the ball. Whoever catches it says a word that rhymes, then throws it on. Cat, hat, bat. When nobody can think of one, the catcher picks a brand new word. Made-up words count if they rhyme. No ball? Point instead.
The phone is the caller
Tap to call.
3–20 players · about 10 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 3 of 5
Read this aloud
One person waits outside the door. The rest of us hide something small, like a cup. When they come back, we help them find it with words only: warmer when they get closer, colder when they move away, hot when they're very close. No pointing. Whoever finds it picks the next seeker.
2–4 players · about 10 minutes · Paper and a pencil · weight 4 of 5
Read this aloud
Draw a square of dots, four across and four down. On your turn, join two dots that are next to each other with a line. If your line closes a box, write your initial in it and take another turn. When every box is closed, the one with the most boxes wins. Watch out for giving away the third side.
3–15 players · about 10 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 1 of 5
Read this aloud
We'll make up a story together, one sentence each, round the circle. I'll start it. Each sentence has to follow from the one before, so listen. The last person ends it with a sentence that begins 'And that is why'. Silly is good. Anyone who'd rather just listen can say 'pass'.
The phone is the caller
Tap to call.
6–20 players · about 5 minutes · Nothing needed · weight 1 of 5
Read this aloud
Everyone holds hands in one long line. You are a chain, and you can only bend where two hands hold. I will call a shape and the chain makes it without letting go. Curl up like a snail. Zigzag like a fence. Tuck both ends into the middle. Nobody is out: if the chain breaks, we join up and try again.
The phone is the caller
Tap to call.
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