Author Archives: Robert Coats

Squirrel Nut Race

This game can be played just about anywhere, but it’s a really great camping game. You’ll need lots of nuts, which can be a fun mission to accomplish on a hike or roaming around the campsite. If you’re not camping, you can just get shelled peanuts or other nuts at the store. Number of players: 4+ Ages: 4+ Space: outdoors Materials needed: lots of nuts To begin, divide the players into teams of two or more each, who stand in relay formation at one end of the room or playing space. If you have enough people, two can act as … Continue reading →

Costume Race

This game is so much fun for both children and adults that it’s well worth the amount of time, and possibly the minimal amount of money needed to get it together. Number of players: 4+ Ages: 5+ (although all participants should be roughly the same size) Space: fairly large room To begin, the players line up in even numbered relay teams at one end of the room. A couple of yards in front of each team is a basket of clothes. Women’s clothes are a lot more fun, because men feel sillier putting these on. The more outlandish and ugly … Continue reading →

Existential Marbles

Marbles looks like an inocuous kids game. The rules are simple. You put a bunch of marbles in the center of a ring, and tried to blast them all out. When I was a kid, I learned an important lesson about life that perhaps all of the grown-ups in the world could use. Most marble games are for keepsies; The winner of the game keeps all the marbles. The stakes ran high. Desperate times called for desparate measures. My friend Stevie found some ball bearings in his dad’s shop, and painted them black to look like shooters. He ruled the … Continue reading →

Backward Sentences

Backward sentences is a great memory game for a party but can be played just about anywhere. There’s no setup involved, so it can be a great distraction for a long car ride. Number of players: 2+ Ages: 7+ To begin play, one player takes the job of leader. One by one, the players repeat a phrase or sentence given by the leader. Then the fun begins. When each player has repeated the phrase or sentence, the players then take turn repeating the sentence again, except this time they have to do it backwards. These should start simply, and if … Continue reading →

Photographer

Number of players: 5+ Ages: 6+ Photographer is a GREAT party game for kids and adults. It involves a lot of imagination and improvisation, but at the same time it’s very easy for young children to pick up on. The success of the game is really up to the crowd. It’s a great icebreaker, and can get very funny, very quickly. To begin, two players take the roles of photographer and guesser. The guesser leaves the room, and the photographer takes a picture of someone in the room. It’s an imaginary picture, which leaves the players free to use whatever … Continue reading →

Sardines

Number of players: 6+ Ages: 4+ Space: a whole house (preferably with a lot of rooms) or playground. The other night my daughter suggested we play sardines. At first I thought she said, “Eat sardines” and I was shocked. At the ripe old age of 40, I’d never heard of the game sardines before. My daughter then proceeded to teach me this game that’s been around for generations. She’s a chip off the old block. Sardines is a game of hide and seek that reverses some of the usual methods of playing the game. Instead of covering his eyes and … Continue reading →

Still More Fun with Potatoes: The Two-Step Team Potato Race

Number of players 8+ Ages: 5+ Space: Playground, gym, and great at the beach Materials needed: Potatoes, at least two baskets. This game is similar to the potato races I described earlier this week, except it’s a little more complicated, and I think, a lot more fun. The earlier potato race I described before is an individual competition, and this is more of a team relay. Make a starting line on the ground, and in front of the starting line mark off two or more rows of spots according to the number of teams competing. The rows should be at … Continue reading →

More Fun with Potatoes: Potato Spoon Race

Number of players: 6+ Ages: 4+ Space: Big living or family room, yard or playground. Materials: a lot of potatoes or similarly odd shaped objects, spoons This is a form potato race that requires some skill, and, unlike many other forms of potato races it can be played in a relatively small space. The players are divided into two or more teams competing against each other. Each team lines up in single file, so the leaders are all standing on a starting line. Place a line of potatoes, two or three feet apart, in front of each line of players. … Continue reading →

Potato Race

Number of Players: 2+ Ages: 4+ Space: Outdoors Materials: lots of potatoes, oddly shaped blocks or other similarly sized objects, enough buckets or baskets for each player. This is a very simple, but very fun game to play with everyone’s favorite tuber. You can actually use any object the size of potatoes, but using the old fashioned potato gives the game a more nostalgic feeling. There’s a product on the market in toy stores that’s really squishy and bouncy, and usually comes in a plastic tube that flies out of your hands. I don’t know what it’s called but it … Continue reading →

Team Tag

Partner Tag Number of players: 4+ Ages: 4+ Space: outdoors Anyone familiar with professional wrestling has heard the expression “tag team”, but what about team tag? This variation of tag adds a whole new meaning to the word “teamwork.” It adds a whole new dimension to the simple game of tag. To begin play, all of the players except two hook arms in couples. For the two who aren’t “coupled” one is “It” or the chaser, and the other one is the runner. The runner’s job is to avoid being tagged by the person who is it. So… how is … Continue reading →