Playing games is not only meant for fun. It’s a stress-buster! Research shows that indoor games are essential to children’s development.
When children are tired of reading, they become restless and start fidgeting on the couch. And that’s when the clock begins ticking slower. The only thing they can think of is huddling in either indoor or outdoor games.
Most kids think that indoor games are only smartphones or video games. You can teach them helpful kids’ games you played in your days.
List of Indoor Games
| Name of Indoor Game | Requirements | Number of Players |
| Pitching Pennies | Plastic drinking cups or a large-sized paper Coins | No limit on players |
| Scrabble | Complete scrabble set | More than 1 |
| Indoor Bowling | Flat surface Tennis ball 10 empty bottles Plastic tape | 2 at a time or teams of 2 each |
| Pictionary | Marker/pencil Board | More than 1 |
| Follow the Leader | List of activities Ample space | More than 1 |
| Hide and Seek | Ample Hiding space | More than 1 |
| Treasure Hunt | Treasure to hide Prize | More than 1 |
| Hot Potato | Potato Ample sitting space | More than 1 |
| Bubbles | Soap solution Water Bottle Bubble former | More than 1 |
| Puzzles | Diverse puzzles | More than 1 |
1. Pitching Pennies
Pitching pennies involves tossing coins across the room in a curved hole near the seat or a wooden bench. The game is essential in the development of your child’s hand-eye coordination.
The requirements include Plastic drinking cups or large-sized paper and coins.
Every competitor begins with an equal number of coins. They all pitch their coins from a mark at a specific distance toward the direction of the hole in the ground.
All the competitors are then ranked depending on how close they are to the hole. The one closest to the hole gets all the coins and proceeds to the next mark near the vent. Repeat the process until there are no coins left.
Always remember, the kid should always win more times.
2. Scrabble
Even with the new word indoor game available, Scrabble still takes the lead. It’s one of the top indoor games for youth groups that may reduce stress. Two to four players score by placing tiles with letters on a game board.
The board is divided into 15×15 square grids. The tiles should create words in crossword form, and you should read them from left to right side in a row or from up to down in columns. The words should appear in the dictionary.
Scrabble improves competitiveness, confidence, communication, and fosters repertoire among family members. It’s also a great way to advance your grammar.
3. Indoor Bowling
With an indoor bowling game, you should create a bowling alley within your house and start the fun with your kids.
It’s a good game for hand-eye coordination for children. The requirements include flat floor space, ten empty bottles, non-toxic spray paint, tape, and a tennis or plastic ball.
Using the tape, generate a bowling line, peel off the wrappers on the bottles and the cans, then paint them. Let them dry for a while, then arrange all the bottles at the far end of the lane. You can also stack the cylinders on top of each other to create a pyramid.
Ask your child to strike the pyramid using the ball.
4. Pictionary
Pictionary is a charades-inspired fun and word-guessing indoor game that was invented and published in 1985 by Garry Everson. This game requires one player to make an image drawing illustrating the word and a different player tries to guess it.
You only need a marker or pencil and a board.
To play Pictionary, you’ll have to jot down different words on the board and then drop them inside the bowl. Request your kid to pick the pieces and draw them on a board without notification on what it is, then your kid can guess.
5. Follow the Leader
This game can be great fun if you have several children at home. It’s one of the best ways to make your kids imitate what you’re doing.
Follow the leader is an indoor game for kids where the head of the line is selected, then the kids line up behind this leader. You can choose to be the leader or let your kid lead the activities.
The leader will then move, and the children will mimic his actions. Anyone who fails to follow what the leader is doing will be kicked out of the game for not following the instructions.
The requirements include space and a list of activities.
6. Hide and Seek
No indoor games list can be complete without Hide and Seek. In this classic play, one person hides his or her face and begins to count aloud while others hide.
Immediately after the counting, he or she begins to search for the hiders. The first person to be found will be the next “searcher.”
Note: this game is generally a source of giggle fits. If you have older children, sometimes they may take things a notch higher and play the game in the dark.
To be safe, ensure there aren’t loose pieces of stuff on the floor. You can play the game with your kids using a torch in such a scenario.
7. Treasure Hunt
Children love searching for hidden pieces of stuff— especially when they know that a prize is coming at the end.
Write some clues on slips of paper and position them in hidden places around your home, creating a trail to the hidden treasure. Rather than giving a prize, the treasure hunt may lead to several coins all over the house. Through this, your kids will collect all the coins and store them in their piggy banks.
Sounds enjoyable? Give it a shot.
8. Hot Potato
This indoor game will leave everyone giggling. Request your kids to sit down, turn on some music and ask them to pass on the potato around as fast as possible. Immediately the tune stops, the kid holding the potato will be forced to leave the circle.
Keep doing that until one person is left. He or she becomes the winner.
9. Bubbles
There’s no need to go outside the house to enjoy the bubbles. With this kids’ indoor game, you only require a straw and a plate for each player, and some soap and water.
Place some drops of dish soap on each plate. Pour some water on the plate, then mix with the dish soap.
Immediately suds start forming; allow your kids to place a straw in the suds, then advise them to blow them gently.
Sit and watch as big bubbles begin to form. To make the game more interesting, check who blows the largest and most long-lasting bubble.
10. Puzzles
You can exercise cognitive, creative, and problem-solving skills with a perfect puzzle. Allow your children to draw some pictures on a Bristol board or cardboard.
Using a pencil, outline the puzzle pieces directly on their drawings. Cut out the pieces with a razor blade, then mix them up.
If you have younger kids, you can expose them to 3D puzzle toys. Word puzzles are great for kids to improve their vocabulary.
If you want a change of environment, you can consider taking your children to an outdoor fun centre. This will help them explore the world and interact with other kids.
