Birthday party games
Birthday party games that work at home with what you already have.
All birthday party games
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Balloon Keep Up
Keep a balloon in the air without letting it touch the floor. Simple for one balloon, frantic with three.
- 2+ players, move game
- 10 min
- Ages 4+
- Rowdy
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Egg and Spoon Race
Racers carry an egg balanced on a spoon to the finish line. Drop it and you go back to the start.
- 4+ players, move game
- 15 min
- Ages 4+
- Lively
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Freeze Dance
Everyone dances while the music plays and freezes like a statue the instant it stops. Wobble and you are out.
- 3+ players, move game
- 10 min
- Ages 3+
- Rowdy
-
Hot Potato
A ball or beanbag is passed around the circle as fast as possible. Whoever holds it when the music stops is out.
- 5–25 players, move game
- 10 min
- Ages 4+
- Lively
-
Limbo
Players bend backward to pass under a bar that drops lower each round, without touching it or the floor.
- 4+ players, move game
- 15 min
- Ages 5+
- Lively
-
Memory Tray
Study a tray of small objects for one minute, then write down as many as you can remember once it is covered.
- 2+ players, think game
- 10 min
- Ages 5+
- Calm
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Mummy Wrap
Teams race to wrap one teammate from head to toe in toilet paper until they look like a mummy.
- 4+ players, make game
- 10 min
- Ages 5+
- Rowdy
-
Musical Chairs
Players circle a ring of chairs while the music plays and scramble for a seat when it stops. There is always one chair too few.
- 5–25 players, move game
- 10 min
- Ages 4+
- Rowdy
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Pin the Tail
Blindfolded and spun around, each player tries to stick a tail in the right place on a picture. Closest wins.
- 3–20 players, move game
- 15 min
- Ages 3+
- Lively
-
Scavenger Hunt
Teams race to find everything on a list, hidden or in plain sight, before the time runs out.
- 2+ players, move game
- 30 min
- Ages 5+
- Lively
-
Telephone
A whispered sentence travels around the circle and comes out the other end as something else entirely.
- 6+ players, talk game
- 10 min
- Ages 5+
- Calm
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Three-Legged Race
Pairs race side by side with their inside legs tied together, so the two of them have to move as one.
- 6+ players, move game
- 15 min
- Ages 6+
- Rowdy
How to choose
For a children’s birthday, plan more games than you think you need and keep each one short; a game that drags loses the room. Alternate a moving game with a sitting one so the energy rises and settles. Decide before the party whether players go out of a game, because sitting out is hard on the youngest guests.
Not sure which of these fits your group? The game picker asks how many people you have, how old they are and where you are, then deals three games.