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…
91 games
No-Equipment Games for 20 People
Twenty people and nothing to work with is a harder problem than ten, because the structures that save you at ten — one conversation, one circle, one explanation — stop working at twenty.
What replaces them is simultaneous play. If all twenty people are doing something at the same time, you do not need equipment to keep them occupied and you do not need to manage turn order. Games built on everyone moving at once, everyone guessing at once, or everyone trying to avoid the same thing at once all hold at this size with nothing in your hands.
Agree a stop signal first. Twenty people playing an energetic game with no equipment are loud, and you will need to interrupt them at some point.
Ordered by how well each game holds together at twenty specifically, rather than by how well it works in general.
Last reviewed:
Most Likely To
10–20 players 15–20 min No equipment needed
Most Likely To is a game where we gather in a circle. Begin with one person asking, "Who's most likely to trip over their own feet?" (Or another scenario, attribute, deed, etc.)…
Red Rover
10–30 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Two teams form lines facing each other about 30 feet apart, holding hands firmly. One team calls "Red Rover, Red Rover, send [name] right over!" The named player runs and tries…
Telephone Whisper
10–25 players 20–30 min No equipment needed
1. Get players to sit in a circle facing inwards. 2. Pick a player to start. Tell this player to come up with a sentence or phrase and then whisper (or "pass it on") to the pers…
Broken Telephone Charades
8–25 players 5–10 min No equipment needed
Arrange players into a line, with all players looking away from the stage so they can't see what is happening. Whisper an action to the first player in line. They act this out f…
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…
Clap Pass
6–25 players 5–10 min No equipment needed
The group stands in a circle and sends a single clap around it: you turn to your neighbor and you both try to clap at exactly the same instant, then they turn and pass it on. On…
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…
Opposites
6–30 players 10–15 min No equipment needed
The goal of this game is for guests to do the opposite of what they are told. When you say, "put your right foot out," they put their left foot out. When you say, "look up," the…
Sharpshooter
6–20 players 15–20 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 the murderer will be. Detective rej…
Wah!
6–20 players 5–15 min No equipment needed
The samurai energy game. Standing in a circle, one player raises both arms and brings them down toward a victim across the circle with a mighty "WAH!" The victim throws their ow…
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…
Never Have I Ever (Family Edition)
5–20 players 15–30 min No equipment needed
Everyone holds up ten fingers. Players take turns saying something they have never done — "Never have I ever ridden a rollercoaster," "Never have I ever eaten sushi." Anyone who…
The Green Glass Door
5–20 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
The host announces they're going through the Green Glass Door and can bring certain things: "I can bring a puppy, but not a dog. Grass, but not a lawn. The moon, but not the sun…
The Machine
5–20 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
One player steps forward and starts a simple repeating motion with a sound — a piston arm with a "chk-chk," a spinning wheel with a whistle. One by one, other players attach the…
What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?
5–20 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
One player is Mr. Wolf and stands with their back to the group, who wait on a start line. The group chants "What time is it, Mr. Wolf?" and the wolf answers a time — "Three o'cl…
Zip Zap Zop
5–20 players 5–15 min No equipment needed
The theatre warm-up that wakes up any circle. One player claps and points at someone, saying "Zip!" That person immediately passes it on with "Zap!", the next with "Zop!", and t…
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…
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…
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.
Word Association
4–20 players 5–15 min No equipment needed
Around the circle at speed: each player says the very first word triggered by the previous one. "Beach" — "sand" — "castle" — "dragon" — "barbecue." Hesitate for more than two s…
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…
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…
Grouped by Numbers
20+ players 20–30 min No equipment needed
In an open space, a large group moves around. The game leader shouts out a number, and everyone must quickly form groups of that size. Anyone who can't find a group gets elimina…
Birdie on a Perch
12+ players 15–30 min No equipment needed
Players should pair off into partners (girls with girls and guys with guys is usually better). One player will be the birdie and the other will be the perch. All of the perches…
Human Relay
12+ players 10–30 min No equipment needed
Each team forms a straight line behind the start line. When the relay starts, the first team member carries the second team member to the finish line. Once they arrive, the pers…