60-second party games

The challenges

Every challenge lasts one minute. One player (or one pair) goes at a time, or several at once with a set of supplies each. Beat the goal before time runs out to win the round; if nobody does, whoever got furthest takes it.

• Cup pyramid

  • Ages 4 and up
  • At a table

  You need (per player): 15 plastic cups.

  Goal: Stack 15 cups into a 5-4-3-2-1 pyramid, then unstack them back into one tower, before the minute is up.

  Tip: Little kids: 6 cups (3-2-1). Grown-ups: 21 cups (6-5-4-3-2-1), one hand behind your back.

• Sock match dash

  • Ages 3 and up
  • Indoors

  You need (per player): 10 pairs of socks, mixed up in a pile.

  Goal: Find and roll together all ten pairs from the pile in 60 seconds.

  Tip: Use socks that look alike for teens and grown-ups; bright odd colors for little kids.

• Laundry basket toss

  • Ages 3 and up
  • Indoors or out

  You need (per player): 10 rolled-up pairs of socks; 1 laundry basket.

  Goal: Throw ten rolled socks into a basket from behind a line. Every sock in counts; get all ten in to win.

  Tip: Move the line back for older players: two big steps for little kids, five for grown-ups.

• Book balance walk

  • Ages 4 and up
  • Indoors

  You need (per player): 1 paperback book.

  Goal: Walk to a wall and back three times with a book on your head. If it falls, stop, put it back and carry on.

  Tip: Grown-ups add a second book; little kids can hold one hand near the book.

• Paper chain race

  • Ages 4 and up
  • At a table

  You need (per player): 30 paper strips, cut ahead of time; 1 roll of tape.

  Goal: Make the longest paper chain you can in a minute. Longest chain wins; 15 links is the target.

  Tip: Cut the strips before the party (about 1 by 8 inches). Little kids work in pairs: one holds, one tapes.

• One-minute mummy

  • Ages 4 and up
  • Indoors

  You need (per player): 1 roll of toilet paper or crepe streamer.

  Goal: In pairs: wrap your partner from shoulders to ankles with one roll before time runs out. Face stays clear.

  Tip: If the paper tears, tuck the end in and keep going. Grown-ups judge the neatest mummy.

• Cards in a hat

  • Ages 6 and up
  • Indoors

  You need (per player): 1 deck of playing cards; 1 hat, bowl or small box.

  Goal: Stand behind a line and flick cards into a hat on the floor. Land ten in the hat to win.

  Tip: Start two steps away. Flicking the card flat with a snap of the wrist works better than throwing it.

• Pencil flip

  • Ages 7 and up
  • At a table

  You need (per player): 5 unsharpened pencils.

  Goal: Lay pencils on the back of your hand, flip them up and catch them all in the same hand. Start with one; add one each time you succeed. Catch five at once to win.

  Tip: Use unsharpened pencils only.

• Card house

  • Ages 10 and up
  • At a table

  You need (per player): 1 deck of playing cards.

  Goal: Build a card house two stories high (three tents on the bottom, a floor, one tent on top) that stands for three seconds.

  Tip: Old, soft cards are easier than a new slippery deck.

• Paper plane runway

  • Ages 6 and up
  • Indoors or out

  You need (per player): 3 sheets of printer paper; 1 roll of tape for the landing zone (one for the whole game).

  Goal: Fold a paper plane and land it inside a taped box across the room. Three sheets, three tries, all in one minute.

  Tip: Make the landing box about 3 by 3 feet, 15 feet away. Closer for younger players.

• Cup blow race

  • Ages 6 and up
  • At a table

  You need (per player): 1 plastic cup; 1 drinking straw.

  Goal: Push an upside-down plastic cup from one end of the table to the other by blowing through a straw. No hands.

  Tip: One straw per player, never shared.

• Paper square transfer

  • Ages 6 and up
  • At a table

  You need (per player): 10 paper squares about 2 inches across; 1 drinking straw; 2 paper plates.

  Goal: Move ten paper squares from one plate to another by sucking through a straw to hold each one. Hands behind your back.

  Tip: One straw per player, never shared. Squares bigger than 2 inches are easier.

• Potato spoon walk

  • Ages 4 and up
  • Indoors or out

  You need (per player): 1 small potato or plastic egg; 1 large spoon.

  Goal: Carry a potato on a spoon to a line and back three times. If it drops, go back to the start of that leg.

  Tip: Grown-ups hold the spoon handle in their teeth; everyone else uses one hand.

• Sticky note dash

  • Ages 3 and up
  • Indoors

  You need (per player): 20 sticky notes.

  Goal: In pairs: stick all 20 notes on your partner (clothes only), then they shake them off without using hands. Both halves inside one minute.

  Tip: Little kids love the shake-off. Count any notes left at the end.

• Tissue box shake

  • Ages 6 and up
  • Indoors
  • Small items

  You need (per player): 1 empty tissue box with a belt or scarf to tie it on; 6 table tennis balls.

  Goal: Tie an empty tissue box to the small of your back with six balls inside. Wiggle and jump until every ball is out. No hands.

  Tip: Table tennis balls are a choking hazard for small children; keep them away from toddlers.

• Bounce into the cup

  • Ages 6 and up
  • At a table
  • Small items

  You need (per player): 5 table tennis balls; 5 plastic cups.

  Goal: Bounce a ball once on the table so it lands in a cup. Fill all five cups to win.

  Tip: Fill the cups with a little water so they do not tip. Water only.

• Snowball scoop

  • Ages 5 and up
  • At a table
  • Small items

  You need (per player): 10 cotton balls; 1 spoon; 2 bowls; 1 scarf for a blindfold (optional).

  Goal: Scoop ten cotton balls from one bowl to the other with a spoon held in your other hand. Grown-ups play blindfolded.

  Tip: Keep cotton balls away from toddlers.

• Chopstick pom-poms

  • Ages 7 and up
  • At a table
  • Small items

  You need (per player): 10 craft pom-poms; 1 pair of chopsticks; 2 bowls.

  Goal: Move ten pom-poms from one bowl to the other with chopsticks.

  Tip: Little hands can use a clothespin instead of chopsticks. Pom-poms are a choking hazard for small children.

• Dice on a stick

  • Ages 8 and up
  • At a table
  • Small items

  You need (per player): 5 dice; 1 craft stick.

  Goal: Hold a craft stick in one hand and stack five dice on its end, one at a time, without the tower falling.

  Tip: Hold the stick level in your hand; nothing in anyone's mouth.

• Coin tower

  • Ages 8 and up
  • At a table
  • Small items

  You need (per player): 20 coins.

  Goal: Stack 20 coins into a single tower using one hand only. It has to stand for three seconds.

  Tip: Coins are a choking hazard for small children; count them back in after the game.

• Keep it up

  • Ages 6 and up
  • Indoors
  • Balloons

  You need (per player): 2 balloons, blown up.

  Goal: Keep two balloons in the air for the whole minute without holding them. If one touches the floor, you are out.

  Tip: Clear the space of anything breakable. Grown-ups play with three balloons.Balloons: an adult watches under-8s and picks up every broken piece straight away.

• Balloon fan race

  • Ages 6 and up
  • Indoors
  • Balloons

  You need (per player): 1 balloon, blown up; 1 paper plate.

  Goal: Move a balloon across the room and over a finish line by fanning it with a paper plate. No touching the balloon.

  Tip: A hallway makes a good course.Balloons: an adult watches under-8s and picks up every broken piece straight away.

• Air blast

  • Ages 10 and up
  • At a table
  • Balloons

  You need (per player): 1 balloon; 10 plastic cups.

  Goal: Blow up a balloon and let the air out to knock ten cups off the edge of the table. Blow it up as many times as you need.

  Tip: Tweens, teens and grown-ups only: younger children should not blow up balloons. Each player uses their own balloon and never shares one that has been in someone else's mouth.Balloons: an adult watches under-8s and picks up every broken piece straight away.

• Cookie face slide

  • Ages 6 and up
  • Indoors
  • Uses food

  You need (per player): 3 cookies (check for allergies).

  Goal: Tilt your head back, place a cookie on your forehead and work it down to your mouth using only your face. Three cookies in a minute wins.

  Tip: Ask about allergies first; a flat cracker or a sticky note works as a no-food swap.

• Cereal necklace

  • Ages 6 and up
  • At a table
  • Uses food
  • Small items

  You need (per player): 1 cup of ring-shaped cereal; 1 length of string or pipe cleaner.

  Goal: Thread 20 cereal rings onto a string with one hand while the other holds the end.

  Tip: Check for allergies. A pipe cleaner is easier than string for younger kids; uncooked tube pasta is a no-eating swap.

• One-minute gift wrap

  • Ages 8 and up
  • At a table

  You need (per player): 1 empty box; 1 sheet of wrapping paper or newspaper; 1 roll of tape.

  Goal: Wrap an empty box so no cardboard shows. Grown-ups wear oven mitts.

  Tip: A great Christmas or birthday version. Judge the neatest one at the end.

Station cards

One card per challenge with the goal in big print, to stand on each table or tape to the wall. The cards follow the challenges ticked in the planner.

This is what prints: the station cards, sized for US Letter. Use your browser's Print (Ctrl+P, Cmd+P on a Mac, or Share then Print on a phone).Another sheet on this page is set to print. Print the station cards instead

Safety: balloons, small items and food

Party challenges are quick and loud, which is exactly when small things go into small mouths. Three rules we used to sort the games:

• Balloons only from age 6, with an adult watching. The American Academy of Pediatrics says balloons are a choking risk to children up to 8 years of age. Pick up broken pieces right away. Adults blow the balloons up; the one game where players inflate their own (air blast) is for ages 10 and up.
• No small items for little kids. Table tennis balls, coins, dice, cotton balls and pom-poms are marked "small items" and none of them appear in a game for ages 3 to 5. Count them back in afterwards if toddlers are around.
• No food games under 6, and a no-food switch. The same page lists hard, gooey or sticky candy, marshmallows and popcorn among foods to keep from children until at least age 4, so the candy-and-straw style of challenge is left out entirely. The two food games here (cookie and cereal) list a no-food swap, and the picker hides them for groups with allergies.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org: Choking Prevention, checked 2 October 2026. Straws, balloons and spoons are one per player and never shared.

Versions for kids, grown-ups and Christmas

Little kids (3 to 5)

Cup pyramid, Sock match dash, Laundry basket toss, Book balance walk, Paper chain race, One-minute mummy, Potato spoon walk, Sticky note dash. Shorten the goal rather than the time: six cups, five socks, one lap. Let everyone play every round; cheer the effort, not the winner.

Kids' birthday party

Run it as stations: three challenges set up around the room, kids rotate every minute, and the birthday child picks the final challenge for everyone. More ideas sorted by age are on our birthday party games picker.

Grown-ups

Use the harder targets in each tip and play as teams of three or four (split the room with the team generator). Gift wrap in oven mitts, card house and dice on a stick get the loudest reactions. Everything here is clean and has no drinking, so it works at an office party.

Christmas

Same games, festive props: wrapped empty boxes for the cup pyramid, cotton-ball "snowballs" for the scoop, a shatterproof ornament on the spoon walk for ages 6 and up, and one-minute gift wrap as the finale. Keep glass ornaments and ornament hooks out of every game. Our Christmas games page has bingo cards and a charades deck for the rest of the party.

Big groups

With 20 or more, play in teams and run four stations at once. Each team sends a different player to each station, and the scoreboard counts wins. For a longer event with medals, the family olympics scoreboard handles events, teams and certificates. More crowd games are on our large group games page.

What this page adds

Most lists of minute games are photo slideshows with a supply list for each game. Here you filter the games by age, space and group, switch off food, balloons or small items with one tap, and get one combined shopping list for the exact games and number of players you chose. The station cards print from the same choices, and the timer and team scores run on the phone you are holding.

Questions about 60-second games

What are some easy 60-second games with household items?

cup pyramid, sock match dash, laundry basket toss, book balance walk, paper chain race, one-minute mummy. Each needs only cups, socks, paper, tape or a deck of cards. Tick them in the planner on this page and it adds up the supplies for you.

Which minute games are safe for little kids?

For ages 3 to 5, pick games with big objects and no food, balloons or small parts: cup pyramid, sock match dash, laundry basket toss, book balance walk, paper chain race, one-minute mummy, potato spoon walk, sticky note dash. The American Academy of Pediatrics says balloons are a choking risk up to age 8 and lists hard candy, marshmallows and popcorn among foods to keep from children under 4, so none of the little-kid games use them.

Are there games with no food for kids with allergies?

Yes. 24 of the 26 challenges use no food at all. Tick "Leave out games with food" in the picker. The two food games each list a no-food swap.

How do you run minute games for adults?

Use the harder targets in each tip (21-cup pyramid, three balloons, gift wrap in oven mitts) and run them as a team tournament: each team sends one player per challenge and the team with the most wins takes it. 26 of the games here work for grown-ups, and none involve drinking.

How many games do you need for a party?

Six to eight challenges fill about an hour for 10 to 12 guests when two or three people play each heat at once. The planner on this page estimates the time from your guest count.