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List of Games to Play at Home

Pull your children away from video games and the television with exciting games to play at home. A few supplies and a creative imagination are all you need to get started. Games prevent boredom and teach children how to build social skills. Having a few games planned for rainy days and family gatherings will keep everyone busy, active and happy.

Time Is Up
- To play a game of "Time Is Up," you need a kitchen timer and two or more players. One player must set the timer for 15 minutes and hide it somewhere in the house. After the player hides the timer, all other players must try to find the timer before it goes off. If someone finds the timer before it goes off, he can hide the timer for the next round. If no one finds the timer before it buzzes, the player who hid the timer gets to hide it again.
Sardines
- Play a game of Sardines, which is a backwards game of hide and seek. Select one player to be "it." The "It" player must go hide, while the other players count to 100. After the players count, they must start looking for the "It" player. When a player finds "It," he must crawl in his hiding space with him and be quiet. As each player finds "It," she must hide with him. The last player to find "It," is the new "It" for the next game.
Sharp Shooter
- Flip a shoebox open side up and cut five to six square notches of increasing size down the side. Be sure the smallest notch is just large enough to fit a marble. Place the box on a table, notches side down. Write different point value above each notch. Write larger point values on smaller notches and smaller point values on larger notches. Give each player five marbles and use tape to mark a line about five feet from the box on the table. Players must try to roll their marbles from the line into the notches on the box. Add each player's point up and the player who scores the highest amount of points wins the game.
ABC Game
- Have all players sit in a circle and start the game by saying "A and _______." She must say a word that starts with the letter "A," such as apple or awesome. The next player in the circle must say, "B." That player must say a word that starts with the letter "B." Each player must say the next letter of the alphabet and a word that starts with that letter. If someone cannot think of a word, she is out of the game. To make the game more challenging, play with categories like food or names. The players must name a word from that category.

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