Throwing a birthday party for your little one? As the date comes up, you’ve got a lot to prepare… the food, the decorations, and, of course, the entertainment. While you could hire a clown or a princess, nothing replaces some good old games to play for everyone to enjoy and expel some energy in the meantime. So, without further ado, here are the 25 top birthday party games for kids, including classic games, indoor games, and outdoor games. Let’s get into it!
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CLASSIC BIRTHDAY PARTY GAMES FOR KIDS
These birthday party games are a classic for a reason. Everyone enjoys these games, and you simply can’t go wrong with them!
1. LIMBO
Turn some music on and grab a long stick or rope, with two people, ideally adults, holding either end of the stick. Then, line up all the children and have them go underneath the stick by bending backward. After every child has gone through, lower the stick. If, at any point, a child falls over or touches the stick as they go underneath, they are out! Keep lowering the stick after every round until only one player remains.
2. MUSICAL STATUES
Musical Statues is a great game to play to burn off some energy! Grab your speaker and turn on some fun music to dance to. Have everybody dance along to their favorite music. But beware! When the music stops, everyone has to freeze! If anybody moves, they are out. Keep playing until one player remains.
3. KIM’S GAME
To play Kim’s Game, you’ll need to give every child a piece of paper and a pen. Then, on a tray, place various random objects on it, such as a spoon, a sock, a Rubik’s cube, and a pair of scissors. Cover this tray and then reveal it for around a minute, giving the players time to memorize the contents of the tray. When the minute is up, cover it back up with a towel. Everybody must then try to write down everything that is on the tray by memory. Whoever remembers the most items wins!
4. OBSTACLE COURSE
What better game to play with a group of excitable children than an obstacle course of some sort? You can either buy an obstacle course online or make your own, using your surroundings. The best thing about this game is that you can play this wherever you want: indoors, using your furniture, or even outdoors, such as at a playground or in your backyard. Set up a starting and finish line and time each child as they go through the obstacle course from start to finish. The fastest wins!
5. TRUTH OR DARE
Truth or Dare is a super classic game you can play in any setting, such as a sleepover, a girls’ night, or, of course, a kid’s birthday party! In this game, players take turns getting asked to choose between telling the truth or doing a dare. Once they pick an option, they must answer or do what is asked of them! When playing this game, it’s a good idea to act as the moderator to keep things nice and fun.
Here are some Truth or Dare ideas to help get the game started.
6. RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT
A super fun and simple game, Red Light, Green Light starts with a volunteer who would like to play the Stop Light. The Stop Light stands on one end of the playing area, with everybody else standing behind a designated safe line. The Stop Light turns around away from the other player and says, “Green Light.” At any point, the Stop Light may turn back around to face the players and say, “Red Light!” When this happens, everyone must freeze in place. If they are caught moving, they must return to the starting point. Keep playing like this until someone manages to tag the Stop Light. This person is the new Stop Light!
7. SIMON SAYS
For a game that is a bit more calm, play Simon Says. In this classic game, one person acts as Simon. Simon must stand in front of everyone else and give everybody commands. However, the trick is all other players must only follow commands if the commands start with “Simon says.” While this game may seem simple at first glance, it can get super confusing! If someone messes up at some point, they’re out!
8. PIN THE TAIL ON THE DONKEY
In Pin the Tail on the Donkey, each player takes turns being blindfolded. Then, they must try their best to pin the tail on the donkey on the wall. If you want to make the game more difficult, spin the blindfolded player three times before letting them loose!
If you want, you can play any variation that’ll have kids more excited about the game, such as pinning a tiara on a princess or a tail on a dinosaur. Whatever you end up pinning, you play the game the same way.
9. TUG OF WAR
Looking for a fun team game to play at a kid’s birthday party? Look no further than Tug of War. This game is best played outdoors, but if you have a large indoor space, that could work too. To play, you’ll need a large rope that two teams hold onto either end. Then, on your mark, the two teams pull with all their might and try to get the other team over to their side.
INDOOR BIRTHDAY PARTY GAMES FOR KIDS
Whether it’s a winter party or the weather simply isn’t too good, you still need an arsenal of games to keep the children entertained. But don’t worry; we’ve got you covered with the best indoor birthday party games for kids!
You should check out our full list of rainy day games for more ideas like this.
10. SLEEPING LIONS
Instead of having all the kids running around wreaking havoc, play Sleeping Lions. In Sleeping Lions, all the children must lie down as still as possible while an adult walks around trying to get the sleeping lions to move. The adult may use tactics like telling jokes or tickling to get the children out one by one. The last sleeping lion wins the game!
11. PICTIONARY
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Pictionary is a perfect birthday party game for teens and younger children. To play this game, divide everybody into teams. The teams must try their best to guess the drawings within an allotted timeframe in order to move their game piece on the board. Did you manage to guess the drawing? Then, you get another turn! Keep playing until one team wins the game by reaching the end of the game board and guessing one last drawing.
12. THE FLOOR IS LAVA
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The Floor is Lava is one of the best board games for 5-year-olds and up. With this board game, you make use of the space in your home to navigate the room without falling into the lava! To set up the game, place colored “safety stones” around the room. Then, spin the spinner and call out the color that it lands on. All the players must quickly jump to the correctly colored stone. But here’s the twist: at the end of the round, one stone is removed. If someone is unable to get onto a colored stone, they are out of the game! Keep playing until only one player remains.
13. TELEPHONE
Telephone, also called Broken Telephone or Chinese Whispers, is a classic parlor game you can easily play indoors with no setup required. To play this game, have everyone line up and give the first player a word or phrase. Then, that player must pass this word or phrase onto the next player by whispering it in their ear. Keep passing this word or phrase down the line until the last player hears what it is. The last player must say the word or phrase out loud! It’s surprising to know how much a word or phrase can change over time!
14. TWISTER
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Twister is a super classic party game for kids that’ll get their bodies moving even when indoors. This is a simple game that requires a moderator to spin the board and make sure no one is cheating. To play, lay down the mat. Then, spin the board and call out the body part and color the spinner lands on. All players must put that part of their body on the specified colored circle. As you keep spinning and calling out body parts and colors, the children will find themselves twisted in all sorts of directions, leading to a ton of laughter and fun! Whoever loses their balance is out of the game, and the last player remaining wins.
15. MUSICAL CHAIRS
Who hasn’t played Musical Chairs before? To play this indoor birthday party game for kids, you’ll need to set up a circle of chairs, making sure to have one less chair than children playing. Then, start the music as everybody walks around the circle of chairs, having a little boogie. Stop the music whenever you like! But when the music stops, everyone must rush to get a seat on a chair. Whoever is left standing is out. Then, remove another chair from the circle. Keep playing like this until only one child remains – the winner!
16. HIDE AND SEEK
Hide and Seek is a simple game that everyone enjoys playing. If you need a refresher on how to play, simply pick one player to be “it.” “It” must close their eyes and count to a predetermined number, such as 100, while all the other children run around the house looking for a place to hide. When the time is up, “it” goes around the house looking for the other players. The last person to be found is the winner and is “it” for the next round!
17. BALLOON STOMP
As you might be able to guess from the name of the game, Balloon Stomp requires stomping on balloons. In this game, every player has a balloon tied to their ankle with a piece of string. Then, when the game begins, all the players must try their best to keep their balloons from getting stomped on while stomping on the other players’ balloons. The player with the last inflated balloon tied to their ankle wins the game!
OUTDOOR BIRTHDAY PARTY GAMES FOR KIDS
Having a lovely summer day and want to get some fresh air? We’ve got you covered with these awesome outdoor birthday party games for kids.
If you’d like even more ideas, check out our post on the best summer camp games and kid’s field day games.
18. DUCK DUCK GOOSE
Everyone sits in a circle for Duck Duck Goose, with one player standing up outside the circle as the tapper. This tapper walks around the circle, tapping on everybody’s heads and saying, “Duck.” However, at any point, instead of saying, “Duck,” the tapper may tap a player and say, “Goose!” The “goose” must stand up and chase the tapper around the circle before the tapper has a chance to sit down in the empty spot in the circle.
If the goose manages to tap the tapper before the tapper sits down, the tapper must be the tapper once again. However, if the goose is unable to tag the tapper before the tapper sits down in their seat, they become the new tapper.
19. SACK RACE
Probably one of the most classic outdoor games for kids is Sack Race or Potato Sack Race. In this game, you’ll need a stack of potato sacks or large pillowcases. Give one sack to each player and have them stand behind the starting line of the game. Players must put both feet inside the sack. Then, blow your whistle and start the race, and each player must race to the designated finish line by hopping within their sack! The first player to cross the finish line wins.
20. EGG AND SPOON RELAY RACE
Looking for a fun team game to play with a group of children? You should play the Egg and Spoon Relay Race. To play this game, divide everybody into two teams and give everybody a spoon and an egg to hold on the spoon. Set up the race by designating a starting line and a turning point, which can be a chair, tree, or another chosen object. Then, line up the children behind the starting line, according to their teams.
On the whistle, the first player from each of their teams rushes with their eggs on their spoons to the turning point and back. When they’re back, the second person on their team does the same. Continue in this manner until every player in the team has completed the race. The first team to finish wins!
Keep in mind that the egg must stay on the spoon. So, if the egg falls off at any point, the player must stop and put it back on before continuing.
21. TAG
If you want to expel some energy by running around, there’s no better way to do it than to play some classic tag. In tag, one player is “it.” This player must chase around all other players in a designated playing area. If “it” tags another player, that player is the new “it!”
22. WHAT TIME IS IT, MR. WOLF?
What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf? is another game that requires some running around if you’d like the kids to burn off some of the sugar they’ve been eating and drinking at the birthday party. One player is “Mr. Wolf,” who must stand at one end of the designated playing area with their back turned to everyone else. Everyone else must stand behind the starting line.
At the starting line, everyone must chant, “What time is it, Mr. Wolf?” Mr. Wolf must then answer by saying a time, such as, “It’s 4 o’clock!” The hour determines how many steps everybody takes. In this case, all other players must take four steps closer to Mr. Wolf. Then, the players must once again chant, “What time is it, Mr. Wolf?”
Keep playing until Mr. Wolf decides to say, “It’s lunchtime!” instead of an hour. If it’s lunchtime, Mr. Wolf must turn around and chase the other players and try to tag someone before everyone is safe over the starting line. The tagged player is the new Mr. Wolf.
23. THREE-LEGGED RACE
A Three-Legged Race is a great way to get the hearts pumping while teaching some coordination and cooperation skills at the birthday party. Have everybody line up behind the starting line and get them to find a partner. With the partners standing side by side, tie together the two middle legs, that is, one player’s right leg and one player’s left leg.
Then, on the whistle, the partners must run to the finish line. The first pair across the finish line wins!
24. SCAVENGER HUNT
A Scavenger Hunt is a great game and activity to play at a birthday party for kids. However, this game does require some organization beforehand. Before the party, hide items and write clues around a designated area. Then, at the party, give every player or team of players a clue to start them off on the hunt! The first player or team to find all the items wins the game!
25. CORNHOLE
Another super fun game to play outside at a kid’s birthday party is Cornhole—something both the children and adults will enjoy. Set up the two cornhole boards some distance apart. Then, two teams play against each other, trying to score as many points as possible by throwing their bean bags onto the cornhole board. The goal is to get the beanbags onto the board or through the hole. The team with the most points wins!
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