Are you feeling the rainy-day blues? Are you having a bad day? You need to stay within your budget. This massive selection of indoor games for kids will help you beat boredom regardless of the season. What indoor games was your family fond of growing up? And what indoor games are you enjoying now with your children? We’d love to hear about your favorite indoor games, so please leave a comment!
Indoor Bowling
To create a “bowling alley”, you will need to have enough space indoors. You can collect items such as plastic cups and empty water bottles to be used as pins. Indoor bowling is best with a small ball. Make it an indoor team if there are many kids.
Variations Create a bullseye from masking tape or a piece of paper. The kids can challenge one another by taking aim at each other with each section being worth a different amount of points.
You might prefer to get outside of your house, so check out our list of Twin Cities Bowling Alleys.
Musical chairs
Get your dancin’ shoes on! This game works best when there are at least four children participating and one additional person stopping the music. This is the most loved of all the indoor children’s games.
Variations You don’t need enough chairs? Try substituting colored construction paper that has been taped to the ground. The child with the best foot position wins the spot if the music stops.
Indoor Obstacle Course
Obstacle courses can be indoor games that are fun for all ages, from kindergarteners to adults, depending on their skill levels. These are some suggestions for your course. You can put them in any order.
For the children to jump between the cushions and pillows, place cushions on the couch or pillows. You could also let the children jump on the cushions or pillows.
Allow only jumping/somersaulting/crawling/crab walking from one area of the course to another.
As a kid, crawling through tunnels made of blankets or sheets that were hung over chairs and couches was one of my favorite activities.
Sardines
Are you tired of playing the same indoor games with your kids? You can shake up the game of hide-and-seek by having only one person searching and one person hiding. The game of Sardines requires that a seeker locates the hider and joins the hider at the hiding spot. It’s a challenge to find a hideout that fits your entire group. The hider for the next round is determined by the last person to find it.
Hide and Seek
This is one of the oldest games anywhere on Earth. This is one of my favorite indoor games for family get-togethers. Everyone can join in, from baby to grandma. This is a great way to teach hide-and-seek skills to smaller children.
In darkness: There are many variations of this game that can be great fun for adults and kids. It can be quite scary to hide and seek in the dark. Older children will find it much more difficult to find someone. Like all games, be cautious and discuss what is acceptable.
Lava is the Floor
This indoor game is a must-have for preschoolers. My four-year-old loves it and learned it from her older siblings. She will yell, “The floor is boiling!” any time and anywhere she goes. Mom, you’re dead”. Sweet, I’m sorry. It’s a simple game to master. The floor becomes lava and no one can touch it. The floor is lava and players must use it to their advantage. Hint: Moms and Dads should have special lava shoes so that we can still walk on the ground.
Variations: Hey! It’s possible to make any lava: “The refrigerator is lava.” “Mom’s chocolate is also lava.” Could it work?
Many of these Fun Physical Games for Kids can be adjusted to be indoor games for kids.
Scavenger Hunt
You aren’t living if you haven’t taken part in a scavenger hunting activity lately. You have two options: either write the items by hand or use a computer to create a list and print copies. Write clues next to each item on the list if they are in difficult hiding places. It will be a fun adventure for the kids.
Color & Number Hunts
For younger children, simplify the hunt. Instead of listing items on a list that they might not be able to read, mark boxes of color on white paper and ask children to search the house for items that match the colors. If they are proficient in numbers, you can add them to the list.
Variation We often play a stationary color scavenger hunt when we are out in public, waiting in line. The first kid finds something red, the second a piece of orange, and so on. It is a great way to keep the kids entertained and helps them learn their colors.
Puzzle Piece Hunt
It is best to start with a tidy space. We have a lot of them around our house. Ask your children to search for the pieces in a large jigsaw puzzle hidden around the room. To fit the puzzle together, bring each piece back one at a.
Glow-in the-Dark Hunt
Denise, a reader, came up with this brilliant idea, which I couldn’t resist sharing! Denise shared that her children love to find glow-in-the-dark stones. She turned off the lights and then let them compete for the prize. They often demand that we play the game again (ages 4-7).” I was able to find some adorable glow-in-the-dark stones online for $10.
Treasure Hunt with Clues
The indoor game is a great way to get everyone involved in your family. Many younger siblings ask their older siblings for help in designing a treasure hunt that leads them around the house looking for a token prize, usually fruit snacks. Writing the clues that lead them from one point to the treasure is the most difficult part. If the children are not able to read yet, adults can help them. You can use picture clues in place of written clues, for example.
Rhyming clues for Older children might like the added challenge of creating rhymes. They’re also improving their writing skills.
