Hobbies And Interests
Group Games for Young Children
If you have a group of children, they can play number of games that require little or no materials. For younger children, classic games such as "Simon says," "heads up, seven up" and "hide-and-seek" can capture their attention. These games require little conversation, but you might have to remind the kids to stay quiet.
In Simon says, the children have to follow the directions of the leader, "Simon," whenever he says "Simon says." If he fails to say "Simon says," anyone who follows his directions anyway is out of the game.
In "heads up, seven up," seven children are "it." All of the others put their heads down and close their eyes, while each child who is it taps someone on the shoulder. Those who are tapped have to guess who tapped them. If they guess correctly, the two switch places.
In "hide-and-seek," one child closes his eyes while the others hide. He then has to find them in their hiding places. The last child found wins, and gets to look for the others in the next round.
Board Games
Board games are an effective way to keep children engaged and to work on their critical thinking skills. Many are simple to learn from about kindergarten age on but are enjoyable even for adults. Some classic two-player games include chess, checkers, Connect Four, Battleship, Mancala, Othello, Mastermind and backgammon. Group games include Sorry, Trouble, Candy Land, and Chutes and Ladders. Older children might enjoy strategy board games such as Risk, Monopoly or Settlers of Catan.
Mafia
Older children enjoy might enjoy a social game such mafia. Just make sure the players keep their voices down if you need quiet. In this murder-mystery game, a moderator assigns roles to all the other players, who are part of an imaginary town. At the beginning of every round, everyone closes their eyes while the players who are assigned to be part of the "mafia" have to silently agree on one player to "murder" and remove from the game. Everyone opens their eyes, and the moderator reports who was eliminated. The players then have to discuss who they think is part of the mafia, and they can agree by votes on one player to "execute" and remove. After the execution they learn whether that person was guilty or innocent. The game continues until all of the mafia members are executed or until the mafia prevails. The moderator narrates throughout the game, usually with some humor.
Go Fish
A standard deck of cards provides an endless variety of games for players of all ages. "Go fish," for two to four players, is one of the easiest to learn and play. Seven cards are distributed to each player, while the rest of the deck stays in a pile face-down in the middle. Each player takes turns asking a player of his choice whether she has any of a particular set of cards, such as queens or threes. If so, she must hand them over, and the player gets another turn.
The object is to make as many sets of four as possible; whenever a set is made, the player who collected it sets it aside. If the player asks for a card but the other person does not have it, the player has to "go fish" and draw a card from the middle. Play continues around the circle until all of the cards are used.
Other Card Games
Other simple card games include "war," "slap Jack," "old maid" and "crazy 8s." More complex games for older players are "hearts," "spades," "pinochle" and "rummy." As an alternative, some children enjoy specialty trading card games such as Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! These games work best when players bring their own cards.
Computer and Video Games
Many parents and caregivers might be hesitant to encourage children to sit in front of a screen, but a number of computer games are educational and build skills. Websites such as FunBrain.com and PBSkids.org offer games that help kids work on subjects like language, math, logic and science. Not every video game is created equal, so do your research if the quality of the education matters to you. According to Parenting Science online, some of the best games and programs are Quest Atlantis, Whyville, SimCity, the Nobel prize organization's free educational video games and the Dreambox Learning program.