Pencil Bounce
All this game requires to play is seven unsharpened pencils, seven tall, wide-mouthed, glass jars -- Mason jars work well -- and a skillful flick of the wrist. Line up the jars in a row on a table, open end up. Have players take turns attempting to get a pencil into each jar by bouncing pencils off of the table by their erasers so that they flip and land in the jar. Players must bounce all the pencils into all the jars within one minute.
Shell Game
This fast-paced, quick motion game is traditionally played with large shells, hence its name. Place three to five painted baby food jars on a table, upside down, so that the their openings sit flush against the table. Put a small, lightweight object, such as a cotton ball, underneath one of the jars as the players look on. One person then shuffles the jars around the table, switching their positions in quick motions while keeping them flush against the table. The players must try and keep track of where the jar with the object ends up. You can easily play this game with jars of any size; just make sure they are not transparent.
Musical Notes
Get creative with some glass jars, water and a spoon to create an impressive, fun and challenging game. Fill the jars with different levels of water, ranging from 1 tbsp. to 1 cup. Tap the sides of each jar with the spoon, fine-tuning the notes with more or less water to play a simple, well-known song, such as "Row Row Row Your Boat" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Once the jars have been tuned, randomly place them on a table. Challenge players to arrange the jars so that the tune can be played when the jars are tapped in succession with the spoon. Allow players to test the notes by tapping the jars with the spoon as many times, as needed, to identify the correct order or set a one-minute time limit for an intense challenge.
Coin Toss
Coin tosses are classic carnival games that are easy to recreate at home with just a handful of loose change and three to five jars of various sizes. With a marker, assign various points to the jars, making smaller jars worth more points. Arrange the jars on a tabletop or floor in a "V" shape, with jars spaced 1 to 3 feet apart. Establish a foul line for players to begin the game. The further away the foul line is, the more difficult the game will be. Players take turns attempting to toss three to five coins into a jar. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.