🎉 Games with no equipment

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Sometimes the best thing is to play without needing anything at all: no paper, no pen, no ball. This collection only includes games you can start right away, anywhere.

Charades is the perfect example: all you need is imagination, and you can play it in the living room, the yard or the car at a rest stop. Hot and Cold is just as easy: hide something and guide the seeker with 'warmer' and 'colder'. Before you choose a no-equipment game, don't ask 'what do we have?' but 'how much space do we have?'. Charades and Who Am I? work just as well sitting down in a tight space.

A tip that really helps: choose one 'judge' or adult to run each round, even in the simplest game.

Our top picks

👂 Who Made That Sound?: Just voices and ears: the guesser closes their eyes and tries to tell who made the sound.
📸 Freeze Frame: All you need is a group and a scene: 'At the beach!' and within ten seconds everyone freezes in one picture.
🎵 Guess the Song: Humming or three words: a song game that suits road trips, holidays and game night.
🙃 Wrong Answers Only: Simple questions you are not allowed to answer correctly. Funny from the first second, no paper or pen needed.

All 59 games

Would You Take the Deal?Ages 8+ · 3-20 players · 10-15 min Closest Guess WinsAges 8+ · 2-30 players · 10-15 min Silly Inventions PitchAges 8+ · 3-20 players · 10-20 min One-Sentence StoryAges 7+ · 3-20 players · 10-20 min Bracket BattleAges 6+ · 4-30 players · 10-20 min Group SculptureAges 6+ · 5-20 players · 5-10 min Freeze DanceAges 4+ · 4-30 players · 5-10 min One-Star ReviewsAges 10+ · 3-20 players · 10-15 min Finish the SentenceAges 8+ · 3-30 players · 10-30 min Excuses, Excuses!Ages 7+ · 3-30 players · 10-20 min Get Me Out of This!Ages 9+ · 3-30 players · 10-25 min What Would You Do?Ages 7+ · 2-40 players · 10-30 min Family Trivia NightAges 7+ · 2-40 players · 10-30 min I Went ShoppingAges 6+ · 4-20 players · 5-10 min Crazy LetterAges 7+ · 3-20 players · 5-10 min If I Were an AnimalAges 5+ · 4-25 players · 5-10 min Everyone Knows But MeAges 8+ · 5-20 players · 10 min Wrong Answers OnlyAges 8+ · 3-20 players · 5-10 min Four CornersAges 5+ · 8-30 players · 10 min What's the Connection?Ages 8+ · 2-20 players · 5-10 min One-Minute MovieAges 10+ · 4-20 players · 10-20 min Who Switched Places?Ages 5+ · 6-25 players · 5-10 min Three-Word Birthday WishesAges 7+ · 4-30 players · 5-10 min Silent Line-UpAges 7+ · 6-30 players · 5 min Tip of My TongueAges 8+ · 2-20 players · 10-20 min Five-Second CategoryAges 7+ · 3-20 players · 5-10 min My Favorite ThingAges 5+ · 4-25 players · 5-10 min Everyone vs. CapyAges 6+ · 5-30 players · 15-25 min Name and MotionAges 4+ · 5-30 players · 5 min Invent an Imaginary PetAges 5+ · 3-20 players · 10-15 min Who Made That Sound?Ages 5+ · 6-25 players · 5-10 min Invent a SuperheroAges 6+ · 3-20 players · 10-15 min Speed MeetingAges 8+ · 8-30 players · 10-15 min Guess the SongAges 6+ · 2-30 players · 10-15 min Who's Most Likely To...?Ages 8+ · 5-20 players · 10 min How Well Do You Know the Birthday Kid?Ages 6+ · 5-30 players · 10-15 min The Mirror GameAges 5+ · 2-20 players · 5-10 min What's Changed?Ages 5+ · 4-25 players · 5-10 min Do the OppositeAges 6+ · 4-25 players · 5-10 min The Human MachineAges 7+ · 5-20 players · 10 min One Line, Three EmotionsAges 8+ · 3-20 players · 5-10 min Freeze FrameAges 7+ · 5-20 players · 10-15 min The No-Instrument OrchestraAges 5+ · 5-25 players · 5-10 min Copy MeAges 4+ · 4-20 players · 5-10 min Add-a-MoveAges 5+ · 4-20 players · 5-10 min The Yes/No GameAges 7+ · 2-20 players · 5-10 min Fact or Fib?Ages 6+ · 2-30 players · 5-15 min Would You Rather?Ages 7+ · 3-30 players · 10-15 min Simon SaysAges 4+ · 4-30 players · 5-10 min This or ThatAges 6+ · 5-30 players · 5-15 min Walk Like a...Ages 3+ · 4-30 players · 5-10 min Human MemoryAges 6+ · 8-24 players · 10-15 min Red Light, Green LightAges 4+ · 5-30 players · 5-10 min Color HuntAges 3+ · 3-30 players · 5-10 min Three Truths and a LieAges 8+ · 4-20 players · 10-15 min TelephoneAges 6+ · 6-20 players · 10 min Word LinksAges 8+ · 2-20 players · 5-15 min Invent a New HolidayAges 7+ · 3-20 players · 10-15 min Sell Me This!Ages 8+ · 3-20 players · 10-20 min

Questions and answers

Can these games be played with just one child?

Yes. Hot and Cold and Who Am I? work great with only two players, a parent and child or two siblings.

What if the kids start getting bored halfway through?

Swap roles within the same game, so the leader becomes the guesser. That's usually enough to bring the excitement back.

Which no-equipment games work on a long drive?

Spoken word and memory games: I Went Shopping, Crazy Letter, What's the Connection? and Guess the Song. Everyone stays seated and nobody needs to look at a page.