Hobbies And Interests
Card Games
War is a perpetual favorite two-player games, especially among younger children. Deal out all the cards. Players flip one card at a time simultaneously. The player with the higher card wins both cards. If there is a tie (a "war"), players place three cards face down and flip over a fourth card. The highest wins all cards involved in the war. Play until one player has all the cards. Other good two-person card games for kids include Go Fish, Crazy Eights, Spit and Memory.
Mental Games
Keep kids entertained with games designed to exercise their minds. Have kids play "I Spy," where one player silently chooses an item in the room and says, "I spy with my little eye something that is (insert color)." The second player must guess what the item is. Have kids play "Geography," where players must alternate naming cities or countries, each beginning with the last letter of the previous place. Other good mental games include 20 Questions and Hangman.
Board Games
"Candyland" is a classic game that is appropriate for younger children. Players draw cards and move their gingerbread people across the board to the Candy Castle. For children that are slightly older, try "Sorry!" In this game, kids draw numbered cards to race around the board to a goal. For older kids, try a game such as "Boggle" or "Boggle, Jr.," where players must make words out of a try of scrambled letters.
Physical Games
Entertain children and let them use up their energy with physical two-person games. Hide and Seek is a classic in which one child hides and the other must find him. If you have access to hula hoops and bean bags, set up a station indoors or outdoors where children take turns trying to toss the bean bags into the hoops laid flat on the ground. Alternatively, set up an obstacle course in the backyard. Children must take turns racing through hula hoops and around objects. Let children design their own obstacle courses for each other.