Here are 21 of the Most Fun Games to Play with Kids

Looking for quick, easy games that require little planning?

These simple games can be highly educational, helping kids develop essential skills.

Here are 21 of the best and most fun games for kids.

1. Hopscotch

Hopscotch is one of the top favourite games kids love to play. It involves jumping into squares where the marker lands.

It is very easy to set up and play once your kids get the hang of it. Read the rules of hopscotch to see how to play.

Hopscotch is a great way to teach children coordination as they try to jump into the correct box, and it helps develop balance. They also learn how to count as each square is numbered.

2. Catch

Grab a soft ball and practise throwing and catching the ball with your children. Use a harder ball with gloves for older children.

Simply toss the ball lightly so your child can catch it, and vice versa. Teach them the correct stance and how to throw properly.

Catch is a game that teaches hand-eye coordination and builds motor skills, both fine and gross.

Here are more ball activities for preschoolers.

3. Beanbag Toss

This is similar to catch, but with a few adjustments. The point of the game is to try to toss your beanbags into the holes.

You can either buy a board, make your own or toss beanbags into a box or laundry basket.

This is also a great game for hand-eye coordination. It will also help your children build strength.

4. Simon Says

Simon Says is a fun game to play with your kids that they will beg you to play again and again.

You can take turns being Simon, or just have it be you the entire time.

Start by giving an action command. Each time you say an action, if you say ‘Simon Says’ before the action, your children have to complete the action. If you do not say ‘Simon Says’, they must not do the action. If they do, they are out of the game.

The last person standing wins. This teaches your kids listening skills. It will also teach them motor skills, depending on the actions you choose to do.

5. I Spy

I Spy is a great game to play in the car. The rules are quite simple:

• One person chooses an object.
• That person says the phrase, “I spy with my little eyes something…” and then the colour of the object.
• Take turns guessing what it could be.
• The first person to guess it wins.
• Then they get to choose an object.

I Spy will teach kids to listen to what others are saying. It will also help with their observation skills. They will learn to socialize better and take turns.

It is a simple game with lots of educational value.

6. Matching Game

Use a matching game set. Make sure there is a pair for each picture. Take turns choosing two different cards. If they match, you keep it. The person with the most matches wins at the end.

This game will help your children develop logical thinking skills. They also learn to focus on a particular task for a longer period of time. You can also find some that involve maths or language to help them develop those skills.

7. Follow the Leader

Get kids to practice listening and following directions with a game of Follow the Leader.

• One person (adult or child) is the leader and all the children must line up behind the leader.
• They must copy all the leader’s actions and movements. 

If playing with older children, they can be called out if they don’t copy the actions corrections, and the last person standing becomes the new leader.

8. Hot Potato

Play a game of Hot Potato with a beanbag, ball or other object that represents a potato.

• Children sit in a circle, passing the “hot” potato around as quickly as possible to avoid being burnt, while the music is playing.
• They must take care not to drop it or they’ll be out.
• When the music stops, the person holding the potato is out.
• The last person is the winner.

It’s a great game for crossing the midline.

9. Musical Chairs

Musical chairs is another fun game to play with kids. Here is how it goes:

• Put chairs into a circle, one less than the number of players.
• Have a DJ start/stop the music.
• Start walking around the chairs.
• When the music stops, sit in a chair.
• The person without a chair is out of the game.

This teaches kids to enjoy music, as well as gain social skills. They learn to be silly and have fun around different people. They also learn how to listen while completing a task.

10. Category Game

There are many variations of category games but this is the simplest version:

• Kids sit in a circle.
• Choose a category and go around the group, having each child add a new word that belongs in the category. Words may not be repeated.
• It could be a list of examples of a certain thing, such as vehicles (car, truck, bus), or it could just be words you’d associate with the category, such as the doctor (injection, stethoscope, medicine).
• When the group run out of new ideas, choose a new category and play another round.

11. Hide and Seek

Children love playing Hide and Seek. They love to hide, but they also love to find you as well. This game could go on for hours.

Count while your children hide. When you’ve reached a certain number, go find them. Once you do, switch positions.

This game helps your kids learn to count. It also is a great way to teach them to take turns and be patient while someone is finding them.

12. Kim’s Game

Kim’s Game will build kids’s visual memory, an important pre-reading skill.

• Show children a few objects placed onto a tray.
• Cover the tray and remove one item, asking them to identify the missing object.

This will develop memory and concentration as they try to commit the four or five items to memory, and then try to spot the missing object each time.

13. Broken Telephone

Broken Telephone is another fun game. Here is how to play:

• Everyone sits in a circle.
• One person comes up with a phrase and whispers it to the person next to them.
• That person then whispers what they heard to their partner.
• The last person in the circle says what they heard out loud.

The point of the game is to try to pass the message intact, all the way to the last person. It is a great way to teach your children listening skills and it’s the perfect quiet game when you need to calm a rowdy bunch.

14. Balloon Toss

For this game, choose a partner and take turns tossing the balloon back and forth. With each toss, one person takes a step back. If you drop it, grab another balloon and start over.

It is a perfect game to play on a hot sunny day.

This again is similar to catch as it builds hand-eye coordination. Kids also learn to manage how much force they need to propel the balloon forward, depending on how close their partner is.

Here are more fun balloon games.

15. Tag

Tag is an easy game to play that all kids enjoy.

One person is “it” and has to tag someone else. Then, that person becomes “it.”

There are multiple variations to make it more interesting, including freeze tag and so on.

Tag is a great chasing game that gets your children moving. It teaches them to balance while they run and helps with their gross motor skills. It is also a great social game to play at school during recess.

16. Red Light, Green Light

Red Light, Green Light is another game to help your children focus. Here is how to play:

• One person is the caller and starts with their back turned to everyone else.
• When the caller says ‘green light,’ everyone tries to run up to them.
• The caller sometimes says ‘red light,’ and then must turn around and face the group.
• Everyone then has to freeze. If someone moves, they have to start at the beginning again.
• The person who reaches the caller first then becomes the next caller.

This game teaches a lot of things. First, it teaches kids to listen to what is being said. They also have to balance and control their bodies when someone says ‘red light.’

17. Stuck in the Mud

Stuck in the Mud is a chasing game similar to Tag.

• One child is “on” and must chase and tag as many players as possible.
• The tagged players are then “stuck in the mud” and must stand with their legs apart.
• They cannot move until someone frees them, by crawling through their legs.
• The game ends when all the players are stuck.

18. Duck, Duck, Goose

Duck, Duck, Goose is an active game.

Take turns being the person who goes around the circle. When you tap each head, say either duck or goose. When you say goose, that person has to run and tag you. If you sit down in their spot before they tag you, then you become the tagger.

This teaches kids to listen to what is being said as well as helps them to be more comfortable socially.

19. Volleyball with Balloon

This can be played in multiple ways, as well. It can be as simple as trying not to let the balloon fall on the ground or it can be an actual game of volleyball. Kids love balloons, so this game should keep them entertained for quite some time.

This teaches them to focus and control their strength as well as build their gross motor skills. It also is a great game for hand-eye coordination.

20. Do This, Do That

Teach children to listen and pay attention with a game of Do This, Do That, which is a similar game to Simon Says.

• Act out a series of simple actions to be followed – such as putting your hands on your head or wriggling your nose – beginning each with either “do this” or “do that”.
• If you call out “do this”, the children must copy the action, but if you call out “do that”, children must freeze and not follow the action.

This game demands a lot of concentration and listening. 

21. Charades

Build your kids’ thinking skills with a game of Charades.

• If playing with younger children, an adult can start the game by acting out a word or phrase, such as brushing your hair or a lion roaring.
• Whoever guesses correctly, acts out something in the next round.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these ideas.

There’s a handy printable of educational game ideas in the Free Activity Pack below, so don’t forget to sign up for that too!

Here are more easy, fun games for kids!