Every parent should have a few minute to win it games for kids up their sleeve. They are the perfect activity for any occasion because they’re quick, easy, and use what you have at home. Minute to win it challenges can also be an easy way for the whole family to play together and connect.
Minute to win it games:
- Encourage communication and teamwork as you strategize and cheer each other on.
- Level the playing field, giving everyone a chance to participate teaching valuable lessons about sportsmanship and resilience.
- Can help children and adults alike develop and improve skills such as hand-eye coordination, agility, and problem-solving.
- Bring joy and laughter to the whole family.
Consider creating a minute to win it game basket stocked with essentials like plastic cups, ping pong balls, pom poms, and chopsticks. That way, you can pop it in the car before a picnic or have it ready for impromptu family fun time. A stash of boredom-busting activities is a major parenting hack!
Minute to Win It Games Even You Will Want to Play
1. Stacking Pennies
What You Need:
- 25-30 pennies
- A steady hand
The JCTV Family Vlog shows us how it’s done with their penny-stacking skills. This is one of those fun minute to win it games that the whole family can get involved in. It also gives a new meaning to “save your pennies.”
Twenty-five pennies is a good starting point as each person sees how many pennies they can stack in one minute using only one hand.
2. Don’t Blow It
What You Need:
- Paper plates
- Ping pong balls
All you need for this game is two paper plates and some ping pong balls. Place the paper plates on a table. Each player has one minute to blow as many ping pong balls from one plate to the other. To make the game more challenging you can add extra paper plates or make them further apart.
3. Suck It Up
What You Need:
- Goldfish crackers
- Straws
- Plate
- Bowl
If your kids are anything like mine, they constantly want snacks. That is why this minute to win it game is such a hit. Empty some goldfish crackers onto a plate. Each person then has to use a straw to “suck up” the goldfish and drop them in a bowl. You can make the game trickier by moving the bowl further away from the plate.
4. Yank It
What You Need:
- Plastic cups
- Pieces of card
This game takes a bit more skill so you might need to encourage the younger members of the family. The goal is to stack the cups with a piece of card in between each one. Then you have to quickly pull out the pieces of card one at a time, causing the cups to collapse onto each other. You can start with three or four cups and work up from there.
5. Donut on a String
What You Need:
- String
- Donuts
- Broomstick or pole to tie the donuts onto
This game will have you laughing and keep your belly full. Hang donuts from a pole and explain to everyone that they have to try to eat their donut without using their hands. To add an extra twist, use powdered sugar or frosting on the donuts to make them more slippery and challenging to eat. You can also use other treats if you aren’t a donut family.
6. Stack Attack
What You Need:
- Plastic cups
Many easy minute to win it games involve plastic cups, and Stack Attack is a classic. The number of cups can vary depending on how tricky you want the game to be. The goal is to build a pyramid shape until all the cups are used and then collapse them into one stack.
7. Pom Pom Race
What You Need:
- Tape
- Pom poms
- Straws
Pom poms are a craft staple, and I always look for fun ways to use them. Pom pom races are a favorite in our house. Using tape, create a “race track” with a start and finish line. Then, see how many pom poms you can blow across the finish line in one minute. Designing a more complex race track can make this game more challenging.
8. Cotton Ball Scoop
What You Need:
- Two plastic bowls
- Cotton balls
- Spoon
- Blindfold
Minute to win it challenges like Cotton Ball Scoop are tricky enough to keep tweens and teens engaged. The game’s goal is to scoop as many cotton balls from one bowl into another. The catch is that each person is blindfolded and has to hold the empty bowl on their head.
9. One-Handed Bracelets
What You Need:
- Pipe cleaners
- Beads or cheerios
Using only one hand, each person must thread a certain number of beads or Cheerios onto a pipe cleaner before bending it into a bracelet.
10. Rattle and Roll
What You Need:
- Two large empty soda bottles
- Tape
- Beads/marbles
This is an energetic game everyone will love. Fill one of the bottles (about halfway) with beads. Then, tape the tops of the bottles together. The goal of the game is to shake the beads from the top bottle into the bottom bottle before the minute is up.
11. Cereal Box Scramble
What You Need:
- Cereal box
- Scissors
Who would have thought that a cereal box could be such a source of entertainment? Cut the front of a cereal box into pieces and jumble them up. The goal of the game is to build the cereal box puzzle in one minute.
12. Marshmallow Move
What You Need:
- Chopsticks
- Marshmallows
Marshmallow Move is another versatile game with yummy snacks at the end. Each player has to use chopsticks to create a marshmallow tower. Younger kids can use the chopsticks to move the marshmallows from one bowl to another.
13. Apple Stack
What You Need:
- Apples
- Patience
Apple Stack is the perfect game to play with those bruised and neglected apples at the bottom of your fridge. The goal is simple: stack as many apples as possible in one minute. After this one, consider making apple sauce or apple pie to use up the bruised apples.
14. Defy Gravity
What You Need:
- Balloons
Balloon games are an easy way to keep kids entertained. You can also make this minute to win it game harder by adding in more balloons. Each player has to keep the balloons off the ground for one minute using only one hand.
15. Rubber Band Can Shoot
What You Need:
- Empty soda cans
- Elastic bands
A rubber band shoot will have the family engaged and laughing in no time. It will also get the competitive juices flowing as each person tries to earn points by knocking the cans over. You can add as many or as few cans as you like to adjust the difficulty level. If you don’t have soda cans, plastic cups work well, too.
16. Penny Drop
What You Need:
- Two glass jars, one big and one small
- Pennies
- Water
Place the smaller glass jar inside the bigger one. Fill the large jar with water. Each player has to see how many pennies they can drop into the smaller jar in one minute. This is trickier than it looks!
17. Getting Sticky
What You Need:
- Sticky notes
You can play Getting Sticky in pairs and see which person can stick the most sticky notes on their partner’s face. Or you can play individually, and each player has to stick as many sticky notes as possible on a wall (or themselves).
18. Cookie Face
What You Need:
- Cookies
Cookie Face is another classic minute to win it game for kids. Each person places a cookie on their forehead and has one minute to get it to their mouth using only their facial muscles.
19. Cup Coin Stacking
What You Need:
- Paper cups (you can try plastic, but they may be too slippery)
- A selection of coins
Assemble the cups in a group, touching each other. Then, each player has to balance as many coins as possible on the cups in one minute. Different-sized coins up the ante in this game.
20. Noodle Thread
What You Need:
- Dried spaghetti/wooden skewer
- Uncooked pasta
Speed, skill, and laughter are what this game is all about. The goal is to get as many pieces of pasta as possible on the piece of spaghetti or skewer. To spice things up, you can add different types and sizes of pasta.
21. Toilet Paper Wrap
What You Need:
- Toilet rolls
- Scale
I recommend pairing parents and kids for this one. Your kids will love getting to wrap you up in toilet paper. The scale is to weigh the toilet rolls at the end to see which team used the most.
22. Nut Stacker
What You Need:
- Chopstick/wooden skewer
- Metal nuts
Dad might need to dig in the garage for this game. Each player will have five nuts on the chopstick. Then, in pairs, they must each take turns to stand one nut on top of the next until they are all stacked.
23. Dice Stack
What You Need:
- Dice (or sugar cubes)
- Wooden craft stick
Laughing could be the difference between winning and losing in this game. The goal is to stack as many dice as possible on the stick while holding it in your mouth (no hands!)
24. Pantyhose Swing
What You Need:
- Pantyhose
- Tennis ball
- Plastic cups
Place a tennis ball in the leg of a pair of pantyhose and pull the top of the hose over your head. Then, create a plastic cup tower. The goal is to knock down the tower. You can make this game more challenging by separating the cups and having each player knock one over at a time.
25. Flip It
What You Need:
- Plastic cups
- A flat surface like a table
Balance plastic cups along the edge of a table. Each player then has to flip the cup over using one or two fingers, trying to get the cup to land the right way up.
Fun Minute To Win It Games for the Whole Family
If you’re looking for family game night options, consider trying some of these easy minute to win it games. They will keep you laughing and create deeper connection.
On the tense days when life feels chaotic, try a quick game after dinner to help everyone reset and connect.