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…
313 games
Games for 8 People
Eight splits cleanly into two fours, which is the most useful property of this number. Two teams of four is small enough that everyone on each team has a job and large enough that the teams can genuinely compete. It is also the last size at which a single circle still functions as one conversation.
Watch the turn-taking math. A game with individual turns and eight players means each person waits through seven other turns, and attention goes at around the fourth. Either pick games with simultaneous play, or pick ones where watching someone else's turn is the entertainment.
Eight is awkward for anything needing an odd split or a single person in the middle, because you end up with three-and-four or a spare. Several of the games below solve that by rotating the odd role rather than assigning it.
Ordered by how specifically each game suits a group of eight, so the ones built for this size come first.
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Seated Basketball
6–10 players 15–30 min Minimal materials
Make two teams. Everyone can place a chair somewhere on the basketball court and cannot move until the round is over. Play basketball, either into hoops or into a basket on the…
Tic Tac Toe Relay
6–10 players 5–10 min Minimal materials
Mark a tic-tac-toe grid on the floor with tape and split into two teams — one is X, the other O — each armed with three markers of their own (plastic cups and paper plates work…
Avalon
5–10 players 15–20 min Minimal materials
Discover Avalon, an immersive social deduction game set in Arthurian legend. Use strategy and deception as loyal servants of Arthur or minions of Mordred to complete quests and…
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…
Pogo
5–10 players 15–20 min Minimal materials
Four players at a time: ace, king, queen and jack. Each one is located in the corner of a square. The ace starts and needs to hit the ball with his open hand and must make the b…
The Resistance
5–10 players 40–60 min Minimal materials
A game of social deduction where players are divided into two teams, the Resistance and the Spies. The Resistance's goal is to complete missions, while the Spies' goal is to sab…
Codenames
4–12 players 45–60 min Minimal materials
Codenames is a word association game played on a 5x5 grid of word cards. Each team has a spymaster who provides single-word clues followed by a number, indicating how many words…
Double Dutch
4–12 players 15–30 min Two long jump ropes
Two turners swing two long ropes in opposite directions like an eggbeater while jumpers time their entry and skip inside. Start by teaching the rhythm: jumpers rock on the spot…
Flip the Blanket
4–8 players 15–20 min Minimal materials
Have teams each stand on their own blanket. Teams must work together to flip over the blanket without having any team member touch the floor. If they touch the floor, the team m…
I Declare War on
4–10 players 20–30 min Minimal materials
Draw a large circle in the dirt and divide it into as many spaces as there are players. This is the Earth. Each player chooses a country name. Players take turns throwing a ball…
Kan Jam
4–8 players 40–60 min Minimal materials
A team sport played with a frisbee and two cans, where players try to throw the frisbee into the opposing team's can to score points.
Keypad
4–10 players 10–20 min Minimal materials
Place pieces of paper at random around the playing area. Each paper has a number on it, from 1 until 21 (or more). The goal is for teams to work together to touch each paper in…
Paper Maze
6–12 players 5–10 min Minimal materials
Lay out paper on the floor in a grid. On a separate piece of paper, draw a path through this grid that only the game host can see. Teams take turns trying to go through the grid…
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…
Sitting Volleyball
4–10 players 15–30 min Minimal materials
String a net (or rope, fabric, etc) across 2 chairs to make a net. Mark boundaries with painters tape. Same rules as volleyball but everyone has to sit cross legged on the groun…
The Imposter Artist
4–10 players 5–20 min Minimal materials
The host chooses a word, writes it on paper and gives it to the participants. The twist is, one participant will get a paper that says imposter. Now, the host chooses one player…
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…
500
3–12 players 15–30 min Football (or frisbee/tennis ball)
One thrower faces a spread-out group of catchers and launches the ball high while calling a value: "200!" Whoever catches it cleanly earns those points; drop it and you lose the…
Cheat
3–8 players 15–30 min Deck of cards
Deal the whole deck out. Players take turns discarding cards face down while announcing them in rising order: "two threes," "one four," "three fives." The catch — you may lie. A…
Ghost
3–8 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Players build a word one letter at a time around the circle — with one rule: never be the player who completes a real word of four or more letters. Each added letter must still…
Kubb
3–12 players 30–60 min Minimal materials
Kubb, a traditional Swedish lawn game, involves players alternately throwing wooden batons to knock over wooden blocks (kubbs) before aiming to knock over the king. Elements of…
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…
Monkey in the Middle
3–8 players 10–15 min Ball
Two or more players pass a ball to each other while the "monkey" in the middle tries to intercept it. If the monkey touches the ball — in the air or on a bounce — the player who…
Stop the Bus
3–12 players 15–30 min Paper, Pens
Everyone draws the same columns on their paper: name, place, animal, food, movie — pick five or six categories. A letter is chosen at random and all players race to fill every c…
The resort
3–8 players 5–10 min Minimal materials
Two people put an elastic band between their ankles, leaving a space between them. The rest jump on and off the elastic, following one of the numerous variations and songs that…
Around the World
2–8 players 15–25 min Basketball, Hoop
Mark five to nine shooting spots in an arc around the key, from one baseline to the other. Players must sink a shot from each spot in order to travel "around the world." Make it…
Axe Throwing
2–10 players 5–10 min Minimal materials
Players take turns throwing a hatchet at a wooden target, scoring points for how close to the bull's-eye it sticks. Run it in rounds — three throws per turn — and total the scor…
Bocce Ball
2–8 players 20–40 min Bocce ball set
One player throws the small target ball — the pallino — down the lawn. Teams then take turns rolling their larger bocce balls as close to the pallino as possible, knocking rival…
Bubble Soccer
6–14 players 30–60 min Minimal materials
Players wear large inflatable bubbles and play soccer. The bubbles protect players from impacts, making the game safe and hilarious.