10 No-Prep Family Games You Can Play Anytime

PortlandVancouver

Feb 5

You know that moment when everyone’s home, slightly bored, and asking for something to do… but the idea of planning an activity makes you want to lie down? Same. That’s why no-prep family games are such a lifesaver. These easy family games at home don’t require supplies, setup, or advance notice. Just a few minutes, the people already in the room, and a willingness to laugh at yourselves a little. Whether it’s a rainy afternoon, a slow evening before bed, or one of those “we need to reset the vibe” moments, these fun family games make connection feel simple again.

Picture of family playing a game at a table with text that reads "10 no-prep & super fun family games"

1.Slap Jack

This is one I forgot about for awhile, but it’s super fun and easy. In case you haven’t played it, all you need is a deck of cards and at least two players. You’ll divide the cards evenly, keep them facedown, and then take turns turning over cards into one stack in the center. Whenever there’s a jack, you slap! The player with the most cards wins. We also add in slapping on doubles and sandwiches (2-3-2, etc) to keep it fun. All my kids have gone through a period where they LOVED this game and could not get enough of it. While I tired of it, I also loved a quick and easy way to connect with my kids.

2. Tapping hand game

Ok, don’t know if there’s an official name for this game, but it’s super fun! You need at least three people for this one. You’ll sit in a circle either around a table or laying on your stomachs on the ground. You’ll put your hands on the either side of the people next to you so that your hands are not right next to each other-just make sure there’s at least one hand in between yours. You’ll take turns going in order and tapping in a circle. One tap means keep go the same direction, two taps means change the direction (ie clockwise to counter-clockwise). If you accidentally start lifting your hand up to tap, you can keep it lifted until it’s actually your turn to tap, but if your hand fully taps the table/floor, then that hand is out! Keep going until only one person is left.

Family of four sits at table playing a game and talking

3. Would you rather?

Pretty sure everyone’s played this game! Just ask silly would you rather questions until you’re done! This one can be pretty entertaining and eye-opening.

4. Complete the story

This is another easy one and can be played pretty much everywhere-hanging out at home, road trips, waiting in line, etc. One person starts a story with one sentence, and each person adds on parts of the story one sentence at a time. If you’re playing with small kids the story will definitely take some unexpected turns!

5. Freeze/Remote Game

This is one I played with my siblings when I was younger and just remembered the other day! My siblings and I would play it with a remote to make it feel more real, but you totally don’t have to! One person is the “robot” and the other is controlling you. You can make them pause/play, or you can go really crazy and have them rewind and fast forward too. Trying to get them to pause in crazy positions or on one foot is always fun.

Mom and daughter sit at table and write down words on cards for the game scattergories

6. Charades

This one is so fun and adaptable! My kids found my Christmas charades cards that I had printed for an activity with the teenagers in my church, and loved it! We also did a Thanksgiving version with friends where we had to act out things we were grateful for. You can come up with your own ideas, or use ChatGPT to give you a quick and easy list. We’ve also done teams or no teams, so it’s really up to you how you want to play.

7. Imposter

This one you will need to download an app for (there’s a lot of them out there), and you will have to help younger kids, but it’s so fun! We’ve been playing this one a lot when family friends come over. Basically everyone except the imposter is given a word. You take turns going around the room and saying one word that describes the secret word. Whoever the imposter is has to try and blend in AND figure out what the word actually is. You can be purposely super vague, or be a little more obvious, either way it’s super fun.

8. Bank

I had never heard of this one until our friends introduced it to us, but it’s great for kids of all ages! You will need to download an app again, and you’ll need ideally two dice per person. Everyone takes turns rolling. If you get a seven in the first three rolls, it counts for 70 points. After those three rolls, if you roll a seven it ends the round. Rolling doubles will double the score, and you can “bank” or reserve those points at anytime until a seven is rolled. The person with the highest amount of points after your selected number of rounds wins.

Family with two girls sitting on floor and cuddling and laughing

9. Fortunately/unfortunately

I haven’t played this one with my kids yet, but it sounds so fun! You basically take turns and turn whatever situation you're playing with good or bad. For example, one person could start with, “Unfortunately, I got a bad haircut.” The next person could say, “Fortunately, the bad haircut distracts people from the outfit my mom made me wear.” And so on. Definitely keeping this one in my back pocket for road trips!

10. The classics: Simon Says, I spy, & Telephone

These are games everyone’s played before, but I somehow always forget about! The only one we do regularly is I Spy, so I’ll have to rotate that one with some other games!

Well, that’s it for today! I hope you’re able to use these easy games with no prep the next time you’re looking for something to do with your kids!