Here is a list of games that are just as much fun to look at as participate in. Maybe elderly relatives don’t want to play but rather sit and watch or maybe the group is too big for everyone to participate and play at the same time. With these games, everyone will have a good time.
You will need: Pancakes and frying pans.
This entertaining party game is best played outdoors and is suitable for kids and adults.
The game’s objective is simple: players must race to a designated turnaround point—such as a tree or a stick—and then run back. However, there’s a twist: each participant must carry a frying pan and flip a pancake three times without dropping it during their round. If the pancake falls, that flip does not count, and players must redo the flip. It’s a good idea to have extra pancakes ready if anyone breaks theirs during the race.
The first team to cross the finish line wins!
This game is hilarious to watch, and the excitement from onlookers is guaranteed!
The game becomes even more exciting when played in teams. In this version, the race is a relay. Once a team member finishes their leg of the race, they keep their pancake but pass the frying pan to the next person, who must flip their own pancake while running.
You will need: An empty bottle, a string, and a pen for each player/team.
This is a hilarious party game to play both in teams and individually. You can have mixed ages and play both indoors and outdoors. The game is also entertaining to watch for your other guests, making this the perfect party game idea.
Each player ties a string or yarn around a pen and then ties the other end around the waist. Let the pen hang from the back. Place an empty bottle 10 yards from each player/team.
When the start signal sounds, the competitors must run to their bottle and try to get the pen into their bottled without using their hands by squatting.
The first player to drop their pen into the bottle wins the game.
The game can easily be made into a relay game. Do the game as described above. When a player succeeds with their pen, they must run back to their team and hand it over to the next person in line. That person ties the string around their waist (with the pen hanging from the back). Then, the player runs to the bottle and repeats the challenge. The team where every member has managed to get the pen into the bottles wins the game.
Use a tampon instead of a pen. Fill the bottles (preferably plastic ones) with water halfway. When the tampon enters the bottle, it will swell and get stuck inside it. To win, the players now must run back and cross the start line (no hands), with the bottle hanging behind them.
You will need: A cookie and chair for each participant.
Face the Cookie Challenge is a classic, popular and fun game that is much harder than it looks. It’s also easy to prepare and fun for other party guests to watch.
The participants are seated in chairs with their faces turned toward the ceiling/sky. Their hands should be at their backs. Place a cookie on each of the participants' foreheads.
When the start signal sounds, the participants must as fast as they can move the cookie from their forehead to their mouth and take a bite out of it without using their hands or leaving their chair.
The first one to take a bite is the winner.
If someone drops their cookie, they can use their hands to pick it up and place it back on their forehead again to start over.
You will need: 3 crackers for each participant.
In this party game, all you need is crackers (or similar).
Provide each player with three crackers each. When the game begins, the players must eat their crackers.
The quickest player in eating the crackers and then whistling loud wins the game.
You will need: An open space and some strings.
This game can be played both in teams and individually.
The first step is for everyone to tie their own feet together by the ankles using a string. When the competition starts, the participants must make it through a course as fast as possible. They’re only allowed to two-foot jump (or try to wiggle forward). No hands or crawling is allowed.
The course can, for example, be to round a tree in the garden. You pick if you want everybody to compete simultaneously or if you use a stopwatch and let one participant finish the course at a time.
The fastest contestant wins!
If you want a team contest, you can play this game as a relay. The team members go one at a time, still with their feet tied together, of course.
When the first participant crosses the finish line, the next member of the team starts.
The first team to finish wins the relay!
A hilarious version of this outdoor game is to tie the whole team together. First, everyone ties their feet at the ankles, just as described above. Then the team binds themselves to each other. The whole team must be connected, and each member tied to at least one other team member.
Now let the teams try to finish the course as fast as they can. The team that first crosses the finish line wins.
You will need: Chairs, cotton balls, bowls, and vaseline.
This party game is a lot of fun for both kids and adults, and the best part is that everyone can participate, regardless of age. It’s easy to set up, hilarious to play, and just as entertaining to watch for those who aren’t competing. While it’s often played outdoors, it works just as well indoors as long as there is enough space.
To prepare for the game, set up two chairs for each player or team, placing them at least seven feet apart. On one chair, place a bowl filled with cotton balls; on the other, an empty bowl.
Before the game begins, apply a small dab of petroleum jelly (like Vaseline) to the tip of each contestant’s nose. This is their only “tool” for transporting the cotton balls - no hands allowed!
The goal is to move as many cotton balls as possible from the full bowl to the empty one using only their noses. Players can shake, nod, or swing their heads to help drop the cotton balls into the bowl, but their hands must stay out of the game!
The player who transfers the most cotton balls in 2 minutes wins.
To play in teams, set up two chairs per team and turn it into a relay. One person at a time will take a turn moving cotton balls for about 30 seconds to a minute, then tag the next player. Continue this process until all team members have played or until a specified total time has elapsed (such as 5 minutes). The team with the most cotton balls in their bowl at the end wins!
You will need: Balloons.
This hilarious balloon race game is enjoyable for both kids and adults. It’s a bit goofy and chaotic, making it entertaining for spectators as well.
The game works great as either an individual challenge or a team competition.
Each player starts with a fully inflated balloon placed snugly between their knees. (Tip: use smaller balloons for younger kids to make it manageable.) At your signal, contestants must waddle, hop, or shuffle their way to a designated checkpoint, round it, and make their way back - all without dropping or popping the balloon.
If a player drops their balloon before reaching the checkpoint, they must pick it up and return to the starting line to try again. However, if they drop it after rounding the checkpoint, they only need to go back to that point, not all the way to the start.
If someone pops their balloon, they must run back to the start, inflate a new balloon, and return to the point where the old balloon burst before continuing.
To play a relay version, divide players into teams. Each team will have its own course and checkpoint. One player at a time completes the race and then hands the balloon over to the next teammate. The first team to have all members complete the course wins!
This game can be played at parties, in schools, or in preschools, making it suitable for all ages.
You will need: A roll of toilet paper for each participant.
Unroll the toilet paper is a short game that, for example, works well to play as a birthday party game for kids or as a student party game.
Provide each participant with a roll of paper. When the game starts, the goal is to unroll all the toilet paper and then yell “I am done!” through the roll.
The first player to yell the sentence wins.
You will need: Something that can function as a bar.
Limbo is a classic party game that is fun to play at kids' birthday parties, as a student party game, or as an entertaining activity during your garden party. It really works for any kind of party.
The rules are straightforward. Two people will hold the bar (unless you happen to have a suitable frame to hang it on).
The challenge is for all participants to walk under the bar while only bending backward, and no hand must touch the ground. The bar is lowered after each round.
The person who walks under the bar at the lowest height wins the game.
Be sure to have some pleasant music playing in the background during this party game.
You will need: A knife, fork, tray, and a rugged plate and glass that both can take a beating. And a stopwatch for timing it all.
This is a very challenging balancing competition. It’s a perfect outdoor game for adults, older kids, or teenagers. Play it in the garden or in a park.
Place the knife and fork, glass, and plate on the tray. The players must balance the tray using only one flat hand placed under the tray. Curling fingers around the edge of the tray to hold it steady is not allowed while moving.
The goal of the game is to traverse a course as fast as possible.
The course can be as simple as just rounding a tree in the backyard and running back. You can also put up obstacles along the way as a table to crawl under or something to step over.
If the contestants drop anything off of the tray, they must stop and pick it up. They are allowed to continue only once everything is placed back on the tray. Still with just the one flat hand under the tray while moving. They can put the tray down and use both hands to pick things up and reset the tray, though.
The fastest to reach the goal wins!
The game can easily be made into a relay race!
Divide the players up into teams. When a player finishes the course, they hand the tray over to the next team member.
The fastest team wins!
You will need: A stick, bat, or other similar long objects per player. Longer for adults and shorter for kids.
Dizzy Bat is a very fun game to play and even more fun to watch. Holding this activity on the soft grass in the backyard is not bad since some people get very dizzy from the spinning and might fall.
Play this lawn game individually or in teams as a relay.
Prepare the game by making a starting line and then placing a stick/bat at a 50 feet’s distance from the start. Place one stick for each participant and make sure to have a lot of space between the sticks.
The goal is to run to a stick and pick it up. The players must now hold one end of the stick against their forehead and the other against the ground. Then they have to run seven laps around the spot where the stick meets the ground. The stick should be kept in place in the same spot on the ground while running.
When players have spun around seven times, they have to run back to the starting line. The first one to get back wins!
This can turn into a relay team competition where the whole team competes.
One team player starts and runs to the stick, spins around, and runs back. Then the next player of the team does the same thing and so on.
The first team to have all members finish and back at the starting line wins the game.
You will need: One sack per participant.
You probably are familiar with this game since it is such a popular game and has been so for many decades.
Sack race if often a favored activity at kid’s parties, but it is also an entertaining game for adults. The onlookers will sure enjoy it too. Challenge the guests at your garden party or arrange it at as a student party game. The game works well both as an individual and a relay team competition.
Each participant gets a sack and stands in it with both legs, with the sack reaching the waist. When the start signal sounds, the goal is to hop from start to finish.
The participants might have to round something and hop back to the start again or just hop forward to a finish line from the starting point. The first one to reach the finish wins.
The sack is just handed over to the next team member if you play in teams.
You will need: A boot.
This game has many names like Welly Throwing, Welly Hoying, and Boot Throwing.
The game can be played as an independent game or as an event of a pentathlon. You need to play outside since you need a lot of space. Play it with your family and friends on your lawn, garden, or as a field game.
All you need is a boot. The game’s goal is for the participants to try to throw the boot as long a distance as possible.
The participants are allowed to throw the boot in the way they prefer. You can even allow them to run before releasing the boot if you want. They, however, must throw it from the same starting point.
In this challenging version, the participants must stand still with their backs towards the throwing direction. They must then swing the boot over their head to throw the boot as far as possible.
In this very challenging version, the participants must stand still facing the throwing direction. They then must swing the boot back between their legs and over their head and release it at the right time to get the boot as far as possible in the right direction.
If you want to make it a bit silly, you can offer a helmet since this version sometimes ends with the participant getting the boot in their head.