Stacking Balloon Cups
14–20 players 10–15 min Minimal materials
Prepare 5 to 10 plastic cups and place them in a row on the table. The player will then be given an uninflated balloon. Your task is to inflate the balloon INSIDE the plastic cu…
110 games
Indoor Games for 20 People
Twenty people indoors is mostly a space problem. A room that comfortably seats twenty is usually too small for twenty to move in, and the games that fail here fail because somebody misjudged the floor rather than because the game was weak.
Measure the usable space before choosing, not the room. Chairs stacked against a wall still take three feet. A hall with tables in it is a hall at half size.
Games that work indoors at twenty fall into two groups: seated or near-seated games where the energy comes from what people say rather than where they go, and games with a small active area where most of the group watches and reacts. Both avoid the problem of twenty people trying to run in a space meant for standing.
Each game below carries its space requirement in plain text, so you can rule things out before you commit to them.
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Stoolball
11–22 players 10–15 min Minimal materials
A match shall be played between two teams of not more than 11 players. Each team shall play under a captain, who shall toss a coin for the choice of first innings. The game is l…
Bad Bite
14–30 players 10–15 min Minimal materials
Bad Bite is a hilarious and challenging team game that tests your agility, coordination, and teamwork. You split into two teams and use only your mouth to pick up and hold onto…
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…
Poison Pole
10–20 players 10–30 min No equipment needed
You have a pole (a broom will suffice) and you place the pole on a stool. Everyone needs to gather around the pole and hold hands. The aim is to try and get OTHER people to knoc…
Squared Off
10–20 players 15–20 min Floor mat grid or chalk-marked squares
All players stand on a giant board of squares. Players move in turns, stepping from their square to another. They can only move vertically and horizontally. After players move,…
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…
Four on the Couch
8–20 players 20–30 min Minimal materials
Goal is to get 4 from the same team on the couch. There must be one less seat than there are people in the room. Divide into at least two teams and have everyone put their name…
Make it out of a chair
8–24 players 25–30 min No equipment needed
First, you split up into groups of 3-5. You should have at least three teams to play. Each team gets a chair and the caller chooses any random tangible-object noun. Each team is…
Black Magic
6–20 players 10–15 min Small household objects to point at
A two-person trick disguised as mind-reading. The "psychic" leaves the room while the group picks any object in sight. On returning, their secret partner points to objects one b…
Human Foosball
6–22 players 30–90 min Minimal materials
Create a life-size version of the classic foosball game by setting up a large rectangular area with ropes or poles dividing it into sections. Players hold onto the ropes and can…
Plate Flipping
6–20 players 20–30 min Minimal materials
Get lots of paper plates. Mark one side with an X. Divide the group into two teams. One team must flip plates over to show the X, the other team must flip to hide the X. Winning…
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…
Strip the present
6–20 players 10–20 min Minimal materials
A gift is wrapped and re-wrapped in layers of newsprint, foil, wax paper, plastic, paper, etc. All guests sit in a circle. Each one removes one layer of wrapping and passes the…
Two Rooms and a Boom!
6–30 players 30–60 min Two Rooms and a Boom game set
Two Rooms and Boom! is a social deduction game where players are divided into two rooms, and a "bomber" must be found before time runs out. Players are divided into two groups,…
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…
Hot Seat
5–25 players 15–30 min Whiteboard or screen, Marker, Timer
One player sits in a chair facing away from the board or screen where a secret word is revealed to everyone else. The group shouts descriptions, definitions, and desperate chara…
Piñata
5–30 players 10–20 min Piñata, Stick, Blindfold
Hang a candy-filled piñata from a branch or beam with room all around. Players take turns — blindfolded and spun for the classic version — swinging a stick to crack it open whil…
Silent Ball
5–30 players 10–20 min Soft ball
The classroom-taming classic. Players spread out (standing or sitting on desks) and toss a soft ball to each other in total silence. You're out if you talk, laugh, drop a catcha…
The Toilet Paper Game
5–25 players 15–25 min Toilet paper roll
Pass a toilet paper roll around the group with a single instruction: "Take as much as you think you'll need." No further explanation. Once everyone is holding their wad, reveal…
Balloon Volleyball
4–20 players 15–25 min Balloons, Rope (for the net)
Stretch a rope or line of chairs across the room as a net and swap the volleyball for a balloon. The balloon's slow float gives everyone time to react, which makes long, dramati…
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.
Park Bench
4–20 players 15–25 min Bench or two chairs
One improviser sits on a bench (two chairs) as a neutral, patient person. A second enters as a bizarre character of their invention — a conspiracy theorist, a heartbroken opera…
Scissor Cutting
2–20 players 10–30 min Minimal materials
Draw a track on a piece of paper. Give contestants scissors and they race to cut out that track.
Ships Wreck
20+ players 15–20 min Minimal materials
Ships Wreck, Divide the kids into teams of around 10 people. Each team will need a "ship" - this could be a hula hoop or something else of a similar size (small blanket, plank o…
Fruit Salad
15+ players 25–30 min Chairs (one fewer than players)
All sit in a circle facing the center. One person in the middle says for example: "everyone with glasses". Then everyone with glasses gets up, changes seats and the one in the m…
Actionary
12+ players 10–30 min Minimal materials
A mash-up of Pictionary, charades, and sculpting. Prepare a list of guessable words, split the group into teams, and give each team paper, pens, and a tray of modeling clay. Eac…