When you’re hosting a party or family gathering, there’s really no better way to break the ice than by playing a few fun games, and the more ridiculous the game, the better! Some of our family’s fondest memories are silly moments from a fun game at a family gathering.
But in order for party games to be truly memorable, you need enthusiastic participation. (My family is somewhat lucky in that respect, because we have plenty of competitive people with very little shame!) ;-) I find that offering prizes is a good way to get people interested in competing, even if it’s just for a $10 gift card!
Another important factor with party games is how long they take to play. I suggest planning a handful of quick games, rather than one or two longer ones, because they don’t require a lot of sustained attention. “Minute to Win It” games are perfect for parties, because they’re fast, fun, and you can play them with stuff you already have around the house.
Today I’m sharing 25 Minute to Win It games you can play to make your next party or family gathering even more memorable! But before we dive in, I wanted to quickly offer a few tips about adapting these fun games to better suit your party goers.
Tips For Adapting Minute To Win It Games for Adults and Kids
One of the best things about Minute to Win It games is how easy they are to adapt. You can make them easier for kids to play, harder for adults, and even turn single player games into games for couples or small teams.
If I had listed out adaptations for each of the 25 games below, this post would have been a mile long and taken a year to read. So instead, I’ll offer some general advice here to help get you started! :-)
To figure out if a game needs to be adapted, it helps to try playing the game yourself. You’ll quickly be able to tell if the game is fine as is, or if it needs to be tweaked to make it fun for your family or guests.
To make a game more difficult to play, you can either require more from each player (assemble more pieces, stack more items, etc.), or impose a new rule or penalty that makes the action harder (use one hand, eyes closed, etc.). Take the opposite approach to make a game easier to play—simplify the action or require less from the players.
25 Easy “Minute To Win It” Games That Are Perfect For Parties
1. Cereal Scramble
Create simple puzzles by cutting up the front panel of empty cereal boxes. First one to correctly re-assemble the cereal box image wins!
2. Cookie Face
Have players stand in a line with their hands behind their backs, the place a cookie each player’s forehead. The first person to get the cookie into their mouth WITHOUT using their hands wins! (If the cookie falls off a player’s face, the player must start over by replacing the cookie on their forehead.)
3. Scoop It Up
With their hands behind their backs, players must move ping pong balls from one bowl to another using a spoon held in their mouth. The first one to successfully move six ping pong balls wins.
4. Defy Gravity
The goal of this game is to successfully keep three balloons in the air for one minute. Players can only use one of their hands to do it!
5. Apple Stacks
Players are each given five apples. The first one to stack all five apples in one vertical stack wins!
6. Bubble Battle
In this distance-based bubble-blowing competition, players attempt to blow a bubble that successfully travels through a hoop set up 10-15 feet away. The first player to do it wins!
7. Junk In The Trunk
Each player receives a tissue box filled with eight ping pong balls. The tissue box is attached to a belt or length of rope, with the opening of the tissue box facing outward.
With the tissue box secured around their waist, the players must attempt to dislodge all of the ping pong balls without using their hands or arms. (You’ll want to have your camera for this one!)
8. Stack It Up
Using only one hand, payers must move 25 pennies into a single stack in under a minute. This game works well with three players competing in each round of play.
9. Suck It Up
Players must use a straw to suck up and move 25 M&M’s from one plate to another. (Players can use one hand to help hold the straw.) This game also works well with three players competing in each round.
10. Movin’ On Up
Each player starts with a stack of 40 plastic cups, with 39 red cups and one blue one at the top. Players must move the cups one at a time from the top of the stack to the bottom, continuing until the blue cup returns to the top of the stack. First one to reveal their blue cup wins!
11. Thread It
Players attempt to thread as many needles as they can in one minute. It sounds simple, but the game can get very frustrating (not to mention competitive!) Great for adults.
12. Stuff It
Provide each player with a bag of puffy marshmallows and start a 1 minute timer. The players will attempt to fit as many of those marshmallows into their mouth as possible, and the one with the most mallows wins!
13. State Of Affairs
Players attempt to name as many U.S. state capitals as they can in one minute. Oral and written answers both work equally well here.
14. Name Dropper
Players have one minute to name as many celebrities as they can. If the players are pop culture savvy, make it tougher by limiting them to a specific segment of celebrities, like female rock stars, talk show hosts, or olympic athletes.
15. Mr. President
Players have one minute to name as many of the 45 U.S. presidents as possible. It sounds easy—until you’re the one attempting to do it!
16. Rice Bowl
Armed with only a pair of chopsticks, players attempt to transfer rice from one bowl to another. The one who moves the most rice in one minute wins! (Hint: Even seasoned chopstick users will struggle with this one if the rice is uncooked!)
17. Who’s Your Lucky Charm?
Each player receives the same amount of Lucky Charms to start. They then have one minute to pick out as many marshmallow pieces as possible and sort them by kind (a pile for balloons, one for rainbows, etc.). The one who has correctly sorted the most “charms” wins. Great for kids!
18. Name That Tune
Players are given a piece of paper and something to write with. Play five-second snippets of 12 different songs (for a total of one minute of music). Players will attempt to correctly identify as many of the songs as they can, and the person with the top number of correct guesses wins! Good for groups.
19. Yank Me
Each player stands in front of tower made of five plastic cups and five index cards in alternating order, starting with a cup as the base. The players then have one minute to attempt to stack the cups together by yanking the index cards out of the tower.
If no one can get all five cups stacked, then the player who stacked the most cups wins. (This game is hard, so this is most likely outcome!)
20. Toothpick Words
Using a large pile of toothpicks, players attempt to spell out three-letter words without breaking or bending any of the toothpicks. The player who has spelled out the most words after one minute wins!
21. Whipped Cream Worm Search
Each player is given a plate with a large pile of whipped cream and several gummy worms hidden inside. Using only their mouths, players have one minute to retrieve as many worms as they can, and the top worm retriever wins. (It’s a little messy, but kids love it!)
Related: How To Play The Flour Game – Silliness Guaranteed!
22. Blown Away
Each player stands in front of a pyramid of 36 stacked plastic cups. Players have one minute to knock over as many of the cups as they can by blowing up a balloon, aiming it towards the cups, and then letting it go. The first one to knock down all of their cups (or the person with the least cups left standing after one minute) wins.
23. Mummify Me
Working in teams of two, players have one minute to “mummify” their partner by wrapping them up in toilet paper. The team with the best wrapped mummy (as in has the least amount of visible skin and clothing) wins!
24. Donut Chew
Tie a length of string around a donut, then attach the string to a suspended length of rope. Players stand (or kneel) under the hanging donut and have one minute to eat it without it falling to the floor. This game is always a hit with kids, and you can do it one player at a time or in groups!
25. Puddle Jumper
Each player has a number of ping pong balls and sits in front of two plastic cups full of water, with one cup positioned in front of the other. The players have one minute to move ping pong balls from the first cup to the second one by blowing on them, and the one who moves the most balls wins.
Do you have a favorite party game?
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