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…
159 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…
Awkward Situations
6+ players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Everyone starts standing up. Read through a list of awkward situations that could happen to anyone. Participants sit down if they have not experienced this. The last one standin…
Balance Beam Race
2+ players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Have a variety of balance beam style challenges, done as a race. If a player falls, they must return to the start of the section in which they fell.
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…
Bible Story Jigsaw Puzzle Race
2+ players 20–30 min No equipment needed
Divide a Bible story picture into jigsaw puzzle pieces. Participants race to put the puzzle together as quickly as possible.
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…
Bottle Bomb
3+ players 5–20 min No equipment needed
Players stand around a table. Music plays and players have to do a bottle flip until the bottle stands still. When they succeed they pass the bottle to the next player. When the…
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…
Connect 4
2–2 players 10–20 min No equipment needed
Connect 4 is a two-player connection board game in which the players first choose a color and then take turns dropping colored discs into a seven-column, six-row vertically susp…
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…
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…