No Supplies Needed: Easy Classic Games to Play With Your Family

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Add some fun back into your family’s routine with these silly games

Co-authored by Ashton Wu and Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: November 14, 2024 Fact Checked

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It’s almost time for a family game night…but what can you do if you don’t have any board games or card games to play? From physical games like Ninja to word games like Telephone, Stinky Pinky, and Alphabet Categories, it’s surprisingly easy to spend hours playing, laughing, and making fond family memories using nothing but the power of your imagination. Read on for a detailed list of family-friendly games that don’t require any additional materials to play!

1

Ninja

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The goal of Ninja is to become the last person standing. Have each player stand in a circle, about an arm’s width apart. Then, jump into a ninja pose! Going around the circle, each player can either try to hit another player’s hand or move somewhere else on their turn. Players can also dodge incoming attacks. When you hit someone’s hand, they’re out of the game—and the last person left wins.^{[1]
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- Remember: you can make a single, smooth movement on your turn—whether you’re attacking or dodging.
- In other words, you can’t take several swipes at someone or move multiple times while dodging. You can only move once (as fluidly as possible), so make it count!
- Similarly, when moving elsewhere, you can’t walk away. On your turn, you can take one big jump or step in any direction.

2

Telephone

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Telephone involves passing a message from player to player. To play Telephone, sit in a circle or stand in a straight line. The first person in the line or circle must whisper a phrase to the person on their right, with each player continuing to whisper what they hear to their neighbor until reaching the last player. The last player then says the phrase out loud so everyone can hear how it evolved.^{[2]
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- Make sure you’re all sitting close enough to whisper to one another but far enough apart that you won’t hear anybody but the player next to you whispering.

3

Story Circle

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Story Circle encourages players to hone their storytelling skills. The rules of Story Circle are easy; first, have the entire family sit in a circle. Then, have one player start with a word—with each player after them adding a word to keep the story going. Keep going around the circle, taking turns until you have an entire collaborative story!^{[3]
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4

Stinky Pinky

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Stinky Pinky is a clever game of rhymes and riddles. Think of 2 words that rhyme and have the same number of syllables. Then, give the other players hints by either describing each word or listing their synonyms, and let them try to guess what the words are. The first player to guess correctly wins the round and has to think of the next riddle!
- For example, if your words were “Mountain, fountain,” your hint might be “Rocky peaks and a spray of water.”

5

Word Association

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Word Association is a simple thinking game that can be endless. To start the game, think of a random word—it can be absolutely anything! Say that word out loud; then, the next player must follow up by saying whatever word comes to mind when they hear the first one. Have each player keep it up, contributing a new word based on the previous player’s statement.
- For example, if you say “magic,” the next player might say “wands,” and the next might say “Harry Potter,” and so on.^{[4]
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- This game doesn’t really have a clear ending or winner; you can keep cycling through players and coming up with new words until you feel like doing something else!

6

Imaginary Traveler

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Imaginary Traveler is a thinking game that lets you make up silly trips. To play, have each player take turns and state where in the world they might go along with a single object they’d take with them on the trip. However, the place and object must start with the same alphabet letter. Try to cycle through the entire alphabet while playing the game!^{[5]
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- For example, you might say, “I’m going to Florida, and I’m bringing my flute,” or “I’m going to grandma’s and bringing my glass gnome.”

7

Alphabet Categories

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Alphabet Categories is a basic sorting game with a twist. Start the game by pitching a specific category (or having someone else do it). Then, each player must take turns coming up with a word that falls under that category. However, each word has to be in alphabetical order, continuing until there’s a word for every letter of the alphabet. If you complete the alphabet, you all win the game!^{[6]
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- For example, say the category is food. The first player might say, “Apple.” Then, the next might say, “Brisket,” and the player after might say, “Cheddar,” and so on.

8

Excuses, Excuses

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Excuses, Excuses is an improvisation game filled with elaborate tall tales. This game requires 3 players: one is the boss, one is a late employee, and one is their co-worker. The boss must face the employee while the co-worker stands behind the boss. To start, have the boss ask, “Why were you late?” Then, the employee must make an excuse based on whatever their coworker acts out from behind the boss.^{[7]
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- For example, the co-worker might act out tripping over an alligator or riding a bike into a lake, and the employee would have to narrate those movements.
- At any point in the game, the boss can turn around and yell, “What are you doing?” at the coworker. The coworker must then come up with a plausible excuse.
- If the boss likes that excuse, the game continues. If not, the boss must say, “You’re fired,” and the next player becomes the co-worker.

9

Name That Business

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Name That Business asks players to name a fictional company. First, have one player pitch a strange combination business idea (like a sporting goods jewelry store or an arcade spa). Then, have players take turns creating a clever, funny name for the imaginary business. The player who pitched the business can decide who had the best name—and that name gets a point.
- You can play as many rounds of Name That Business as you like, and at the end of the game, the player with the most points wins!

10

Ghost

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Ghost is a spelling game that requires deception to win. Players take turns saying a letter, adding each letter to a communal word fragment. Instead of naming a letter, players can also choose to challenge the previous player to prove that the current fragment is actually part of a word. If the challenged player can name a word, the challenger loses the round. If not, the challenged player loses the round.^{[8]
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- If a player can bluff or complete a word without other players noticing, the game keeps going.
- If a completed word is formed, the player who calls the final letter of it loses the round.
- The losing player of each round earns a letter, and players get eliminated from the game entirely when they earn all 5 letters of the word “ghost.”

11

Hide and Seek

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Hide and Seek is a classic game with many optional versions to try. To play Hide and Go seek, have the “seeker” hide their face and count to a number of your choice while the others hide. When the seeker is done counting, they must try to find everyone. Finding a player means they’re out, and the last player to be found is the new seeker. However, try these variations if you’re looking for a challenge:^{[9]
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- One-Room Hide and Seek: Make players find hiding spots all in the same room! To make it even more silly, have the seeker wear a blindfold while trying to find everyone.
- Squished Sardines: Turn the game on its head; have one person hide while everyone else tries to find them. Each player who finds the hidden person must hide with them until there’s only one left looking.
- Chains: When the seeker finds the first player, they must link arms or hold hands. Each time a player is found, they must join the “chain” of players.

12

Six Degrees

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Six Degrees is a word association game for pop culture enthusiasts. Start the game by naming any two famous people you can think of—from artists and movie stars to social media influencers. From there, the game's goal is to connect those two people within 6 steps by finding connections between them and other people they’ve worked with.^{[10]
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- For example, say your two names were Zendaya and Danny DeVito. You might say:
  - “Zendaya was in The Greatest Showman with Zac Efron.”
  - “Zac Efron was in The Lorax with Danny DeVito.”
  - Voila! The actors are only two degrees of separation from one another.
- This is a more general version of the popular game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” which challenges players to connect any other actor to Kevin Bacon in 6 steps or less.

13

Get Down, Mr. President

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Get Down, Mr. President is all about the element of surprise. One player begins the game by holding two fingers against their ear (like a secret service agent might if they’re listening for intel). Then, everyone else must do the same as they notice the first player! Once there’s only one person who hasn’t noticed, every other player must yell, “Get down, Mr. President!” and tackle them.
- You actually can’t tell anyone you’re playing the game—so make sure the whole family knows the rules first. That way, they’ll know what’s happening when they see you holding two fingers to your ear.

14

Assassin

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Assassin is a sneaky game of observation and quick thinking. To play Assassin, assign each family member a target to “assassinate” (one of the other players). From there, each player must try to eliminate their target by either winking or pointing at them—without being seen by the “assassin” that’s after them. The last person still in the game without being assassinated wins!^{[11]
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- Playing Assassin is all about strategizing and figuring out how to target your assigned person without giving away what you’re doing.
- Plus, it’s just as important to keep a watchful eye and avoid being targeted while you’re trying to pull off your own “assassination.”

15

Charades

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Charades is a classic acting game that requires no materials. Sure, there’s a card game version—but you don’t actually need anything but your imagination to play. Split into teams; one player must act out a word while their teammates try to guess it within a minute. If they guess correctly, they get a point. If not, it becomes the next team’s turn.^{[12]
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- Keep playing Charades until every team member has had a chance to act out a phrase.
- At the end, the team with the most points wins the game!
- You can think of any word or phrase to act out, from “airplane” to “waterfall.”
- Want to complicate things a little? Try a game called In the Manner of the Adverb, wherein one player must think of an adverb and act it out while the other players try to guess what it is.
  - This game is a lot like Charades, but the word choices are more specific because they have to be adverbs.
  - For example, you could act out the adverb “quickly” by rushing around the room or the adverb “loudly” by shouting everything you say!

16

Finish the Lyrics

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Finish the Lyrics challenges you to find the most musical family member. Have each player think of a song and sing the first few lines. Then, when they stop singing mid-line, the other players must complete the lyrics. Whichever player correctly finishes the lyric first wins a point. You can keep playing as long as you like, and the player with the most points at the end wins.
- Before playing, you might want to make sure there are a few songs everyone in the family has heard of.
- Not every song has to be everyone’s favorite, but it definitely helps to use songs that most players are at least a little familiar with.

17

Pluralize the Song

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Pluralize the Song can turn songs from serious to silly. The rules are simple, and there’s no “winner.” Rather, it’s just a fun exercise to try with your family! Sing a song, but turn every person in it into two people. Every “I” becomes a “We” or “Us,” and all other words get adjusted accordingly. For example:
- If you sang “All Star” by Smash Mouth, the lyrics would go from “Somebody once told me the world was gonna roll me,” to “Some people once told us the worlds were going to roll us.”
- Alternatively, you could make a song sound downright goofy by replacing “I,” “me,” or “mine” with a random name.
- For example, if you choose the name Bert and sing “All Star,” the lyrics would be, “Somebody once told Bert the world was gonna roll Bert. Bert ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed.”

18

Oscar Moment

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Oscar Moment is an acting game that tests your ability to create drama. What’s life without a little drama? To play Oscar Moment, have two players start a scene that feels totally normal, like something that could happen in everyday life. Then, have an audience member yell, “Oscar Moment!” From there, the last person who spoke must start overacting and deliver every line dramatically, as though it’s their “Oscar moment.”^{[13]
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- For example, two players might start a scene where they discuss the fact that it’s raining outside.
- When it’s time for their Oscar moment, one player might launch into a dramatic monologue, saying, “It’s raining today. It was raining yesterday. It shall rain for all the days to come. When will this endless deluge end?!”

19

This or That

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This or That is a question game about preferences. It’s also very popular and easy to play for a family game night! Take turns asking one another questions with a “This or that” format, and let the other players express their preference. That’s it! If you like, you can also compare your preferences to other players.^{[14]
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- For example, you might ask This or That questions like, “Beach day or camping?” and “Books or movies?”
- There are plenty of other question games to play with your family, too. For example, you could play Would You Rather? in which you take turns posing hypothetical scenarios and asking other players which they’d prefer.
- You could also play How Well Do You Know Me? in which you and your family members could answer trivia questions about one another like, “What’s my favorite song?” or “Are carrots or peas my least favorite veggie?”

20

I Spy

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I Spy encourages awareness and attention to detail from players. Start a game of I Spy with one family member choosing an object within eyesight. They must then give a clue about the object that begins with the phrase, “I spy with my little eye, something that’s…” Everyone else must take turns guessing what the object is, and the person who guesses correctly wins!^{[15]
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- For example, when it’s your turn to “spy” something, you might focus on a blue vase in the room and say, “I spy with my little eye, something that’s blue.”

21

Simon Says

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Simon Says is a classic game that tests players’ listening skills. To play Simon Says, designate one person to be “Simon,” while everyone else becomes a player. From there, have Simon give orders to the group. If an order begins with “Simon Says,” everyone must follow the order. However, if the order doesn’t begin with “Simon Says,” anyone who follows it is out of the game.^{[16]
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- For example, if you heard, “Simon says, touch your nose,” you’d have to follow the order. However, if you hear, “Touch your nose,” you wouldn’t follow the order.
- The last player standing (and correctly listening to each order) wins the game!

22

Dance Competition

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Find out which family member can bust the most creative move. While a dance competition might not necessarily be a game, you can definitely turn it into one! Try taking turns challenging one another to do different dances or specific dance steps. You could even see which player can dance the longest and have a contest where everyone has to dance until they drop.
- You don’t need music for a dance competition—you can just shout out different moves or styles and see what everyone comes up with!
- However, if you have a way to play music (like a playlist, record, or even an instrument), you can always include a little music in your family’s dance-off.