Snowball Fight
10–10 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Each person writes 2-3 facts about themselves on a regular sheet of white paper. Everyone crumples the paper into "snowballs" and has a snowball fight for 30-60 seconds while mu…
149 games
No-Equipment Games for 10 People
Ten people, nothing to hand. This is the most common version of the problem — a group has assembled, the plan has fallen through, and something has to happen in the next thirty seconds.
Ten is a forgiving number for improvising. It splits into two fives for anything competitive, or stays as one group for anything conversational, and it is small enough that you can explain a game once and have everyone hear it.
The games that work best empty-handed at this size are the ones built on a rule rather than a prop: someone has a secret, someone is trying to guess it, or everyone is trying to do the same thing at the same moment without talking. All of those scale to ten without modification.
Ordered so the ones that need the least explanation come first, on the assumption that if you are reading this you are short of time as well as equipment.
Last reviewed:
Kho-Kho
10–12 players 30–60 min No equipment needed
A popular Indian game played on a rectangular field with two teams, where players from one team try to tag players from the other team before they can "sit" on the ground and av…
Willow in the Wind
8–12 players 10–15 min No equipment needed
A trust-building circle. One volunteer — the willow — stands in the center, feet planted, body straight, arms crossed over the chest, and eyes closed. The tight circle around th…
If I Went to Mars
6–10 players 20–30 min No equipment needed
1. If I went to Mars is a fun memory game where the game starts by one person saying their name and the sentence 'If I go to Mars I would take a', and end the sentence with obje…
Circle Untangle
8–15 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Everyone stands in a big circle and then grabs onto two different peoples hands (not the people standing on either side of them). Once everyone is holding onto two other peoples…
Countdown Guessing
5–10 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
The game host decides on a certain amount of time. Using a watch, they set a countdown for this time when they say "Go". Players cannot communicate with each other in any way. E…
Down by the Banks
5–15 players 10–15 min No equipment needed
Sit in a circle, each player's right hand resting palm-up on their neighbor's left palm. As the group chants the traditional rhyme — "Down by the banks of the hanky panky…" — ea…
Escape The Monster
10–15 players 5–15 min No equipment needed
Escape the monster is one of the interesting birthday party games for kids. Where all the children are supposed to be lined up on one side of the room. Then, one or two other ch…
Find a Wordle
6–15 players 20–30 min No equipment needed
1. Use a book to get the text for a larger section of scripture - maybe a whole chapter - that you are studying. 2. Copy that into the Wordle site and let it generate a Wordle f…
Concentration (Categories)
4–15 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Set the rhythm in a circle: slap thighs twice, clap twice, snap right, snap left. Once the beat is locked in, the leader chants "Concentration… category is… fruits!" and on each…
Gibberish Translator
4–16 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
One player is a distinguished foreign visitor who speaks only gibberish — confident, expressive, utterly meaningless syllables. Their partner is the official translator, renderi…
Mother, May I?
4–15 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
One player is "Mother" and stands at one end; everyone else lines up far away. Players take turns asking, "Mother, may I take three giant steps?" — or baby steps, bunny hops, tw…
Sherlock
4–10 players 20–30 min No equipment needed
In the game "Sherlock," participants gather, and one person is chosen as the detective, called "Sherlock," for each round. The detective has 30 seconds to examine everyone befor…
Vacation Slideshow
4–16 players 15–25 min No equipment needed
Two players return from an imaginary holiday and narrate their photo slideshow. The photos are alive: the rest of the group leaps into frozen poses for each slide — with no idea…
Marco Polo
3–10 players 15–30 min No equipment needed
The classic swimming pool chase. The player who is "it" closes their eyes and calls "Marco!"; all other players in the pool must immediately answer "Polo!" Using sound alone, "i…
Chicken Fighting
2–10 players 5–20 min No equipment needed
All players have to hop on one leg while holding their other leg up behind their back. The goal is to knock over the other players. If you fall, you are out. Last player standin…
Bunny Bunny
6–20 players 10–15 min No equipment needed
A gloriously silly focus game. The player who is "it" makes bunny paws and chants "bunny bunny bunny bunny" before throwing the bunny — a two-handed point — to anyone in the cir…
Buzz
4–20 players 5–15 min No equipment needed
The group counts upward around the circle — but every number containing a seven or divisible by seven must be replaced by "Buzz!" So: five, six, buzz, eight… thirteen, buzz, fif…
Count to 20
5–20 players 5–15 min No equipment needed
The group sits in a circle, or better, scattered with eyes closed. The mission: count to twenty out loud as a group, one number per voice, with no order agreed in advance. Anyon…
Count to Ten
2–20 players 10–15 min No equipment needed
Players take turns counting up, starting with 1. Each player says either one or two numbers. If you say 10 then you are eliminated. Restart the count at 1. Continue until only o…
Dance Detective
6–20 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
All players stand in a large circle. One player is chosen as the detective. Detective leaves the circle as the rest of the players decide who their leader will be. All players i…
Desert Island
4–20 players 15–25 min No equipment needed
The scenario: you're stranded on a desert island and may bring only three items. Each player reveals their three choices and defends them — is a knife smarter than a satellite p…
Fortunately, Unfortunately
4–20 players 10–15 min No equipment needed
The group tells one story, alternating a single rule: sentences must begin "Fortunately…" and "Unfortunately…" in strict turns. "Fortunately, Maria won a free cruise. Unfortunat…
Freeze
4–20 players 15–30 min No equipment needed
Two players improvise a scene — any scene — with big physical movement. At any moment, someone watching shouts "Freeze!", and both actors lock in position. The caller taps one a…
Going up or Going down
4–20 players 15–30 min No equipment needed
This team-building activity starts by splitting participants into pairs. Each pair stands back-to-back with hands raised and attempts to sit on the floor without falling. Once s…
Grab the Item
6–20 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
All players walk/run around an area while music plays. Put a number of objects in that area that is one less than the number of players. When music stops, players attempt to sec…
Human Knot
4–20 players 15–30 min No equipment needed
Have the group stand in a circle, reach in and grab someone else's hand (not from the same person), then try to untangle the knot without letting go of each other's hands.
Medusa
10–20 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Medusa is a game where everyone sit around a table. Everyone will put their heads down and count down from three, then have everyone sit up and look at someone else in the circl…
Mind Meld
2–20 players 5–15 min No equipment needed
Two players count "Three, two, one…" and simultaneously say any word. Then, thinking about both spoken words, they count down and speak again — each trying to say the word that…
Mirrors
2–20 players 5–15 min No equipment needed
Partners face each other. One leads, moving slowly and smoothly — raising an arm, tilting the head, shifting weight — while the other mirrors them in real time, as if they were…