Who doesn’t love a good birthday party game? It gets everyone talking and moving, not to mention helping make a memorable day for your child. But with all the other planning involved—from cake to goodie bags—you may not have the time to plan a fun activity. That’s where we come in, with 40 kids birthday party games to make your next celebration one for the books. We’ve included classic fun birthday party games like Red Rover that are perfect for an outdoor party. Or there are unique games that you can change up to match the theme of the birthday. There are even helpful filters like age group and props needed so you’re picking a game that works best for your type of party.
With planning underway, don’t forget to invite family and friends! Our birthday invitations are as unique as your party, covering everything from 1st birthdays to sweet sixteens.
Instructions: Click the buttons below to filter the options by kid age, group size, energy level and props needed. Click the game’s title for more complete instructions and examples of how to play.
Have everyone bring their bikes for a race to the finish!
Mix up the classic cake walk with fun prizes instead of sweets.
See who can finish the race with the fewest bubbles popped!
Give teams a list of hidden objects with clues to find them.
Pop balloons and complete the challenge hidden inside.
Get the creative juices flowing with a short play.
Pool optional! Get everyone on their feet with this classic game.
Match this classic game to your party theme.
Have each player act as their own Navy captain in battle.
Hide and Go Seek meets I Spy.
This clever balloon game makes science fun.
Try to knock over your friend without touching them.
Try to guess who keeps eating all the flies.
Have players try to draw a simple snowman without looking.
Use silly string instead of arrows for target practice.
Try spin offs of this classic game with different prizes or challenges.
Add different levels or decor depending on your party theme.
Depending on your party theme, replace the donkey with a funny character or animal.
See who can guess how many items are in a jar for a prize.
Perfect for an Army themed birthday party.
See which team can direct their teammate across a field of landmines.
Pick words that match your party theme for a spin off this fun game.
For a spy themed birthday party, see who can match up fingerprints of each player.
All you need are leftover cans to create a fun, challenging race.
Find the sharpest shooter in your group.
See who has the best aim in this simple outdoor game.
Keep the balloons in the air to see who will win the prize.
See who can match the colors with the flowers found in the yard.
Bring this classic word game outside.
See which team can collect the most popcorn in this easy race.
Play this tug of war spin off with as few as two players.
Add obstacles to the classic potato sack race.
Make this game difficult or easy depending on your group.
See who can collect the most items from outside.
Use leftover milk gallons for an easy DIY game of catch.
See who can ask the most questions without answering any.
Get everyone guessing what their lie is in this zero prop game.
Create a fun story full of good and bad luck.
See who can go the longest without laughing.
Don’t break your grip in this fun outdoor game!
Bike Race
Description
Set up obstacles on a quiet street for the kids to race through. Obstacles can include cones to turn around, shallow puddles to ride through and even off-bike challenges like jumping jacks or trivia.
Example
Draw a starting line for the kids to begin the race and set up cones along the road. At each cone the racers must stop, do five push ups and then get back on their bikes. The first to finish the race back at the starting line wins.
Cake Walk
Description
Draw or place sheets of paper on the ground with numbers—one for each player in the game. Play music and have each player walk to a new number. When the music starts, pick a number at random. Whoever is standing on that number wins the prize.
Example
Draw numbers 1 – 10 (for a group of ten) in a circle. Start playing music, having the group walk in a circle from number to number. Stop the music at random and pull a number out of a hat. The number is ’5’ and whoever is standing on number 5 gets a prize.
Bubble Wrap Race
Description
Lay out a large sheet—at least 5 feet—of bubble wrap. Have each player try to walk the length of the bubble wrap without popping and bubbles. The player with the least popped bubbles wins.
Example
Hannah walks across the bubble wrap first, only making a popping sound twice. Jonathan goes next, but only pops the bubble wrap once.
Photo Scavenger Hunt
Description
Give each player a camera (or, if they have smartphones, use those!). List out clues to items each player has to find in the backyard, like trees, squirrels, flowers and more. Whoever photographs the most items on the list before time is up wins.
Example
The first clue is ’I love taking a bath outside’. George goes over to the birdbath in the backyard and takes a photo of the first bird he spots.
Balloon Challenge
Description
Blow up balloons and fill each one with a piece of paper with a challenge written on it. Have everyone pair up into teams, where each team has to work together to pop the balloon and then complete the challenge inside. Whoever completes it first wins.
Example
Jimmy and Erin are in a team and run to pop the first balloon. They manage to pop it and inside the clue says ’Give your partner a piggyback around the house’. They manage to complete the challenge first.
Playwrights
Description
Have the group separate into teams and have them write a play in 30 minutes or less. When time is up, each group must act out their play. Add fun props, set a fake stage or even video tape each play.
Example
The first group decides to act out a play about Louis and Clark, using a wagon found in the garage as a boat. The next group recreates a dream someone recently had.
Marco Polo
Description
Blindfold one person in the group and instruct them to call out ’Marco’. The group can only respond with ’Polo’. ’Marco’ must then try to tag someone in the group following only their sound.
Example
Heather is the first ’Marco’. She calls out ’Marco’ and hears someone respond ’Polo’ to her left. She runs over and manages to tag her friend Julia. Julia is the next ’Marco’.
Charades
Description
Write different people, movies, TV shows and more on slips of paper. Have each player pick a sheet of paper from the hat that they have to act out without talking. Play as individuals or as teams!
Example
Tim picks a sheet of paper that says ’The Lion King’ and begins to act out being a lion. His team tries to guess what he is acting out before the time is up.
Battle at Sea
Description
Give each player five balls and a cardbox box to wear around themselves. Standing on opposite ends of the room, each player then must try to toss the balls into the opponent’s ’ship’. If a ball lands in the box, that player is ’hit’. Whoever ends the game with the least amount of balls in their box wins.
Example
Becca throws a ball towards David and it lands inside his box. At the end of the game, Becca only has two balls in her ’ship’, whereas David has three.
Boomer Whitz
Description
Pick a small object to hide in the house for the group to try and find. Whoever finds the object first wins.
Example
For a pirate themed birthday party, a gold coin is hidden under the couch. Tony manages to find the coin first and wins the game.
Static Cling
Description
Inflate about 30 balloons and split the group into teams. Give each team a sweatshirt for one teammate to wear. Start the timer and each team has to see how many balloons they can stick to the sweatshirt using static cling. The team with the most balloons at the end wins.
Example
Kimberly and Richard start rubbing the balloons on the carpet and on their hair to create static and manage to stick five balloons to the sweatshirt. When the time is up, they have the most balloons.
Don’t Fall Over
Description
Have half of the group stand on one leg, while the other half tries to knock them over without touching them. They can make funny faces, dance around them or run past them—as long as they don’t touch! Whoever is left standing wins.
Example
Tristan stands on one foot and Riley tries to make him laugh. Tristan laughs, but is able to maintain his blanace. At the end of the game, Tristan is the only one still on one foot.
Frog Detective
Description
Assign one player as the ’detective’, one as the ’frog’ and the rest as the ’flies’. The ’frog’ can stare at a ’fly’ and stick his tongue out. If they ’fly’ is caught by the ’frog’, they must lay down and play dead. The ’detective’ must try to guess who the frog is (the flies can’t talk!) before all the flies die.
Example
Ronnie is the ’frog’ and looks at Evan who is a ’fly’. Evan lays down on the ground and before Ronnie can catch another fly, the ’detective’ guesses it’s him.
Snowman Draw
Description
Give each player a marker and a paper plate to put on top of their head. Have each player try to draw a snowman (or another simple figure to match your birthday theme) while keeping the paper plate on their head.
Example
Teresa, Daniel and Walter are each given the paper plates and markers. They have 2 minutes to draw their snowman. At the end, they stop and look at each player’s drawing.
Silly Archery
Description
Each player gets a can of silly string to spray at a target. Whoever is able to hit the bullseye wins.
Example
Sam and Fred each have a can of silly string. Sam goes first and misses the target. Fred goes next and is able to get on the board, but misses the bullseye.
Party Piñata
Description
Have everyone line up to take turns. Blindfold the first person in line and give them the bat to swing at the piñata. Each player gets three attempts to break the piñata. Once the piñata breaks open, everyone can rush to grab as many treats as possible.
Example
Will goes first and manages to hit the piñata on his third try, but doesn’t break it open. David goes next and all three swings hit the piñata, breaking it open.
Bean Bag Toss
Description
Create a grid using chalk or have players try to toss them bean bags in different color buckets. Create a scoring system based on level of difficulty.
Example
Richard tosses his bean bag first and manages to score 5 points. Sam goes next and tosses his bean bag in 10 point bucket.
Pin the Tail on the Donkey
Description
Hang a poster of a donkey and give each player a tail with tape adhered on one side. While blindfolded, each player has to try to pin the tail on the donkey. Add extra difficulty by spinning each player three time beforehand.
Example
Barbara goes first and manages to miss the donkey poster. Frankie goes next and places the tail on the poster, but at the donkey’s legs. Henry goes next and gets the tail closest to the donkey.
Guess How Many
Description
Fill a glass jar with candy, coins or other small items. Based on only touching and looking, each player guesses how many of the small item is in the jar. Reward the player who guesses the closest (without going over) with a prize.
Example
Nicole looks at the jar of candy and guesses 120 pieces, while Jill guesses 99 pieces. The actual number is 113, so Jill wins the prize.
Basic Training
Description
Create an obstacle course that resembles basic training exercises, like crawling under wire, hopscotch jumping, jumping jacks and even a climbing wall! Whoever completes the obstacle course first wins.
Example
At the start of the whistle, each player races through the separate obstacles. One obstacle is to do 10 pushups and 10 jumping jacks. The second obstacle is to crawl under fake ’barbed wire’. Each kid races to the finish line.
Minefield
Description
Create fake ’mines’ by using cones, beanbags or rocks. Split into teams of two, electing one player from each team to be blindfolded. The blindfolded players must then try to get from one end of the ’minefield’ to another without hitting any mines. They cannot look and can only be directed by their teammates on the other end of the minefield.
Example
Billy and Greg are the blindfolded players. After being spun around, they each try to cross the minefield. Billy runs into two minefields before reaching the end, while Greg only runs into one. Greg and his team win.
Hangman
Description
Draw a line on a sheet of paper for each letter in the word or phrase. For every word the group gets wrong, part of the ’hangman’ is drawn. If they get a letter right, write it on the line in the order it appears in the word.
Example
The phrase is ’Happy Birthday’. One player guesses the letter ’J’ and the player draws the head of a hangman. The next player guesses the letter ’A’ and the player writes two ’A’s’ where they appear in ’Happy Birthday’.
Fingerprint Match
Description
Give each player two index cards and an ink pad. Each player must add their thumbprint to both of their index cards. Collect all the index cards and write each player’s name on the back. Scramble the pile and have the group try to match the fingerprints without looking at the names on the back.
Example
Ian, Sherry and Taylor each add their fingerprints to two index cards. Once the deck is shuffled, they try to match their fingerprints with its pair. Add a time limit or keep track of time to see how quickly they match it correctly.
Stilt Race
Description
Collect tin cans, enough so each player has two, and thread string through each can so the players can wear them under their shoes. Have each player try to race to the end of a course keeping the cans under their feet. Whoever finishes first wins.
Example
Jenny, Chris and Thomas are each given cans to place under their shoes. While holding onto the long strings, each player tries to race to the finish line. Jenny manages to make it to the end first and wins the race.
Target Practice
Description
Gather five ping pong balls and place them atop five golf tees. Give each player a squirt gun and distance them far enough away from the balls for the squirt gun to still reach the target. See how many balls each player can knock off the tees.
Example
Leslie goes first and manages to knock off three of the five balls off their tee. Emily goes next and manages to knock off all five, winning the game.
Ball Toss
Description
Hang a tire or a hula hoop to be the target. Give the player a football and three chances to toss the ball through the target. Whoever gets the most in the hole wins.
Example
Justin is first and tosses the football three times, only getting the ball in the hole once. Alex goes next and manages to hit the target all three times.
Floating Prizes
Description
Give each player a balloon that is a different color. Start playing music and all the players have to tap the balloons, trying to keep them in the air. When the music stops, each player has to grab a new balloon. Call a color out—whoever has that color balloon wins a prize.
Example
Ben, Kelly and Caroline each have a balloon and at the start of the song start hitting them in the air. When the music stops, Ben grabs the yellow balloon and Kelly grabs the red balloon. The adult yells out red and Kelly wins a prize.
Flower Hunt
Description
Create a sheet of paper with different colors based on the flowers found in the backyard. Give each player the sheet of paper and have them hunt for the flowers. Whoever finds and matches the most flowers to colors on the sheet wins.
Example
Ellie and Margaret each are given the sheet of colors. The first color is red and Margaret finds a rose bush outside. Margaret write down the rose next to the color.
Outdoor Words
Description
Write letters onto big sheets of paper and give to the group. The first player spells a word with some of the letters. The second player has to build a word off of what the first player created. See how many words the group can spell before all the letters are used up.
Example
Paul spells ’play’ as the first word. Jenny goes next and spells the word ’attic’ using the ’a’ in ’play’. The game continues until all letters are gone.
Popcorn Drop
Description
Collect plastic cups, one for each player, and poke holes in the bottom of each cup. String a lace through each so they are attached to the player’s foot. Split the group into teams, fill the cups with popcorn and have each player complete a race where they have to dump their popcorn in a bucket at the end. The team that finishes the race with the most popcorn wins.
Example
Team 1 and team 2 begin the race, having each player race to the end and dumping their popcorn into the bucket. Once each player has finished the race, measure the amount of popcorn in each team’s bucket. Whoever has the most popcorn wins.
Tumbling Tug of War
Description
Have both players stand on a sturdy cart or basket and give them an end of the rope. Both players must try to tug the other player off their basket. The first player to fall off loses.
Example
Oliver and Kurt are standing on their carts and begin to tug at the ends of the rope. Oliver falls off first, so the next player must challenge Kurt.
Sack Race
Description
Give each player a sack or large pillow case. Each player must stay in the sack and hop to the end of the race. Whoever finishes the race first wins.
Example
Patrick, Lindsey and Tiffany start the race inside their potato sacks. Lindsey races ahead while Patrick and Tiffany are close behind. Lindsey manages to reach the finish line first and wins the race.
Frisbee Toss
Description
Place markers 10, 20 and 30 feet away from the starting line. Have each player throw their frisbee and see how far they can reach it. Whoever tosses their frisbee the farthest wins.
Example
Derek goes first and tosses past the 10 foot mark. Quincy goes next and manages to reach the 20 foot marker. Quincy wins for tossing his frisbee the farthest.
Backyard Scavenger Hunt
Description
Give each player a list of items found outside like grass, leaves, flowers and moss. Have each player try to find the items and collect them in a bag before time is up. Whoever collects the most items wins.
Example
The first item on the list is a white flower and Eric finds a dogwood tree. The next item is a piece of moss, which he also finds. At the end of 10 minutes, Eric has collected five out of 10 items on the list.
Bottle Catch
Description
Cut out the bottom of milk cartons and give one to each player, along with a ball. Have the players toss the ball to each other, trying to catch the ball in the carton.
Example
Geraldine and Whitney are each given a jug to act as a catcher. They toss the ball back and forth, trying to successfully catch the ball in the jug.
Question Game
Description
Break everyone up into pairs and tell the pairs they have to ask their partner a question and the other player can only respond with another question. Whoever pauses too long or doesn’t respond with a question loses.
Example
Ryan and Tara are paired up. Ryan’s first question is ’What day of the week is it?’ Tara responds with ’What are you doing this weekend?’ Ryan pauses and can’t think of a new question so Tara wins.
Two Truths and a Lie
Description
Each player thinks up two truths and one lie to share with the group. The other players must then guess what the lie is. Whoever guesses correctly gets to go next.
Example
Henry goes first and says ’I’ve never traveled overseas. I’ve never eaten broccoli. I don’t know how to ride a bike.’ Sammy guesses that he’s never eaten broccoli while Lee guesses he’s never traveled overseas. Lee is correct and gets to go next.
Fortunately Unfortunately
Description
Start the story with a sentence that each player must build a new sentence on to. Each new sentence must start with either ’fortunately’ or ’unfortunately’.
Example
The first sentence is ’Billy leaves for school.’ The next player says ’Unfortunately, he is running late because he forgot his pants.’ The next player says ’Fortunately, this isn’t the first time.’
Laughing Game
Description
Have one player try to make another player laugh, without laughing themselves. If the player laughs, they are out.
Example
Eli goes first and tries to make Franklin laugh. Eli doesn’t and moves on to Donna who doesn’t laugh but it makes Eli laugh in the process. Eli is now out.
Red Rover
Description
Split the group into two teams and have them line up on opposite ends. All the players must hold hands with their teammates. Each team takes turns electing someone on the opposite team to run over and try to break their human chain. If the player fails, they become a part of that team. If the player succeeds, they get to take a team member over to their team. The team who captures all the players first wins.
Example
Team 1 and Team 2 face off on opposite ends. Team 1 says ’Red Rover, Red Rover send Jackie right over’. Jackie races to their team and tries to break their grip. Jackie fails and has to stay with Team 1.
