🛒 I Went Shopping
"I went shopping and I bought..." Each player repeats the whole list in order and adds one more item. It is a classic memory game that needs nothing at all, so it works in class, at home and on car rides.
What you need
Equipment: Nothing. Sit in a circle. Choose the opening line: "I went shopping and I bought..." or "I packed my suitcase and in it I put..."
How to play I Went Shopping
- The adult starts: "I went shopping and I bought milk."
- The first player repeats the full sentence and adds an item: "...milk and a banana."
- The next player repeats both items in the right order and adds a third.
- The order matters: an item in the wrong place counts as a mistake.
- Forgot or mixed it up? You are out of the round and help count items.
- No helping, hinting or pointing, or the helper is out too.
- Keep going around the circle until one player is left.
- For a twist, every item must be ridiculous: "a dinosaur, three balloons and a math teacher."
Scoring and wrapping up
Scoring: Each item remembered: 1 point. Last player standing: 5 bonus points.
To finish: The last player standing has the Memory of an Elephant. Finish with the whole group trying to say the entire list together.
By age
- Ages 6-8: play cooperatively, nobody is out, and the group helps if someone gets stuck.
- Ages 9 and up: alphabet version, where items go in A to Z order: apples, balloons, carrots...
Variations
- Big group: split into circles of 5-6 so turns come round quickly.
- Capy twist: the Crazy Chain, where every item must be silly, like a dinosaur, three balloons and a math teacher.
Tips for the adult in charge
- Around 10-12 items is the limit for most groups. Celebrate when you reach it.
- For younger kids, act out each item with a gesture. It makes remembering easier.
🖨️ Printable silly shopping list ideas
Use these when you play the Crazy Chain variation, or hand one to a child who gets stuck.
- ☐ A dinosaur
- ☐ Three balloons
- ☐ A math teacher
- ☐ A singing toothbrush
- ☐ A jar of moonlight
- ☐ A purple elephant
- ☐ Ten rubber ducks
- ☐ A flying carpet
- ☐ A pizza the size of a car
- ☐ A sleepy penguin
- ☐ A box of thunder
- ☐ Invisible socks
- ☐ A dancing cactus
- ☐ A king's crown
- ☐ A bucket of jelly
- ☐ A robot grandma
- ☐ A rainbow umbrella
- ☐ A very polite crocodile
Questions and answers
What is the I Went Shopping memory game?
A classic chain game where each player repeats a growing shopping list and adds one item. It is also known as I Packed My Suitcase or I Went to the Market.
How does it help children?
It trains working memory, listening and sequencing, and the alphabet version adds vocabulary practice.