20 Questions
2+ players 15–20 min No equipment needed
One person thinks of an object, and the others have 20 questions to guess what it is. Everyone ask the person a series of questions to which he or she can answer with a 'yes' or…
105 games
Games That Need No Equipment
Every game here needs nothing but the people in the room. No props, no printing, no shopping, no setup beyond moving some chairs.
This is the list to reach for when a session collapses — the weather turned, the equipment did not arrive, the projector died, or a gap opened in a schedule and somebody has to fill twenty minutes starting now. It is also the honest answer to a budget of zero.
The constraint turns out to help. Games with no equipment cannot hide a weak idea behind materials, so what is left is structure: a rule that creates tension, a role that creates a decision, a reason for people to pay attention to each other. Several of the strongest games in the whole catalog need nothing at all.
Filter by group size from here if you know your number, and check the space note on each game — no equipment does not always mean no room.
Last reviewed:
60 Seconds Objects
6+ players 5–10 min No equipment needed
In this game small groups form an object like breakfast, a car, a washing machine, a fire, etc. They have only 60 seconds to work as a team to replicate the item. You can modify…
Amoeba tag
6+ players 25–30 min No equipment needed
Start off the game by choosing 1 person to be 'it' and have a designated tag area for the game to run in, preferably a large open area (so the other youth can't hide behind, or…
Band-Aid Tag
8+ players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Everyone is "it" at the same time. When you get tagged, you must place a hand — a "band-aid" — on the spot where you were touched, and keep playing. The second tag adds your sec…
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…
British Bulldog
8+ players 15–30 min No equipment needed
One or two players are bulldogs standing in the middle of the play area, and the rest line up on one side. On the call of "Bulldog!" everyone charges to the other side while the…
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…
Broken Telephone with Mimic
5+ players 15–25 min No equipment needed
Players stand in a line, everyone facing the back of the person ahead of them. The last player in line is given the name of a movie and taps the shoulder of the player in front,…
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…
Camouflage
5+ players 15–30 min No equipment needed
One player is the spotter and stands on a fixed base. Everyone else hides — but with a twist: every hider must be able to see the spotter at all times. The spotter, without leav…
Campers and tents
10+ players 10–30 min No equipment needed
Players pair up: one is the camper (usually the smaller partner), the other is the tent. Form a circle with the tents standing arms-raised like a roof and the campers sitting cr…
Caterpillar Race
10+ players 15–30 min No equipment needed
Divide into two teams. Both teams divide again into two lines and then sit with their feet touching one another. Number each pair. When a number is called, those two must run ar…
Chair on the wall
4+ players 5–20 min No equipment needed
No equipment needed — just a smooth stretch of blank wall. Everyone stands with their back flat against the wall and walks their feet forward, sliding down until they're "sittin…
Cheerleader Rock Paper Scissors
8+ players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Rock Paper Scissors tournament with winner decided by best of 3 matches. Losers become cheerleaders for the players who beat them. They continue to follow them and cheer at all…
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…
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…
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…
Commando
10+ players 20–30 min No equipment needed
Commando is basically hide and seek meets red light green light. Choose a counter (preferably a leader/staff member). Their job is to regulate the game and call people out. Pick…
Common Ground
6+ players 15–25 min No equipment needed
Split into small teams of four to six. Each team has five minutes to find the most unexpected things every single member has in common — beyond the obvious ("we all breathe" sco…
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…
Contact
5+ players 5–10 min No equipment needed
There is one person (Chooser) who thinks of a word and reveals the first letter. Then one participant thinks of a word and tries to describe it in a way that the Chooser does no…
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…
Crab in a circle
11+ players 15–20 min No equipment needed
Large group forming a circle. One participant stands in the center in a quadripedal position. The participants who make up the circle shake hands and squat. The one in the cente…
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…
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…
Everybody's It
6+ players 5–15 min No equipment needed
The fastest tag game there is: on "Go!", every single player is "it". Tag anyone; anyone can tag you. When you are tagged, you sit down where you are. If two players tag each ot…