Rain on the windows, boots by the door, and everyone circling the kitchen like sharks. A good list of indoor games for family days is the difference between a cozy afternoon and a long one. Here are eight that work for a mixed crowd, from the four-year-old to Grandpa.
Half need nothing at all. Half need a deck of cards or a table. None of them need batteries.
Indoor games for family days that actually work
Before the list, a quick test. The best indoor games for a whole family pass three checks.
- Short rounds. Ten minutes or less. A kid who loses gets another go before the sulk sets in.
- Luck plus skill. A little luck lets small kids beat grown-ups now and then. That keeps them playing.
- Room to talk. The games people remember are the ones with jokes between turns.
Every game below passes. Each one comes with who it suits and what you need. Read the list once with the kids, then let them vote. A game they chose gets played with far less grumbling, and the losing votes make a handy backup list for the next storm.
Four games that need nothing at all
1. Sardines
Hide and seek, flipped. One person hides. Everyone else searches, and when you find the hider, you squeeze into the hiding spot too. The last seeker is alone and very suspicious. Good for: ages four and up, bigger houses. You need: a closet nobody minds sharing.
2. Charades
Write movies, animals and family members on slips of paper. Act them out with no words. Kids are shockingly good at acting out Dad. Good for: ages five and up. You need: paper and a bowl.
3. Twenty Questions
One person thinks of something. Everyone else gets twenty yes or no questions. Great for the couch, the car and the line at the store. Good for: ages six and up. You need: nothing.
4. The floor is lava
Someone shouts the words and everyone must get off the floor before a slow count of five. Cushions become islands. Good for: small kids with energy to burn. You need: a few pillows and some patience.
These four travel well, too. Save them for the car, the waiting room or the hotel room when the pool closes early.
Four games that need a deck or a table
5. Spoons
Put spoons in the middle, one fewer than the players. Pass cards fast. When someone collects four of a kind, they grab a spoon, and everyone else lunges. Good for: ages seven and up, loud families. You need: a deck of cards and spoons.
6. A memory game with your own photos
The classic flip two cards game, made from family pictures. Small kids can win it outright, which they love. Matchy Matchy Memory keeps your real photos, from $19.99. Good for: ages three and up, grandparents included. You need: a table and a deck. The honest catch: it shines with two or more players, so it suits a crowded house better than a solo kid.
7. Draw and guess
Split into teams. One person draws a word from a bowl while their team guesses against a timer. The drawings are terrible, which is the point. Good for: ages six and up. You need: paper, markers and a timer.
8. Build the tallest tower
Blocks, cups, books or cereal boxes. Everyone takes turns adding one piece. Whoever topples it starts the next tower. Good for: toddlers to teens. You need: anything stackable.
Keep a regular deck of cards in the kitchen drawer just for spoons. A worn deck with a missing queen still plays fine, and nobody minds a joker standing in for her.
How to play with a four-year-old and Grandpa at once
Mixed ages are the whole challenge. A few small tweaks keep everyone in.
- Team up. Pair the youngest with the oldest. Grandpa gets a helper, and the kid gets every win.
- Shrink the game. Play memory with fewer cards for little ones, then add more for the grown-up round.
- Give a head start. Small kids go first, or get one free peek. Nobody minds.
- Rotate the judge. In charades or draw and guess, the youngest player picks the winner. Chaos, every time.
Watch the clock as much as the score. Stop while everyone is still having fun, even halfway through a round. Ending on a laugh means the box comes back out the next rainy day with no persuading at all.
Turn a rainy day into a tradition
Kids remember rituals. Give rainy days a few of them and they start to look forward to bad weather.
Keep a box of rainy day games on a high shelf, opened only when it pours. Add a scoreboard on the fridge for the whole season. Pick a silly trophy, like a gold spray-painted spoon, and let the winner keep it until the next storm. Make the same snack every time, maybe popcorn with too much butter. Let the kids name the tradition. Something like the Puddle Cup, with a trophy shelf of its own.
A game made from your own photos fits the box well. Matchy Matchy Magic re-draws your photos in 3D Film, Watercolor or Anime, from $29.99. Kids get a big laugh out of finding Grandma drawn as an Anime hero.
Make your own rainy day deck
Pick a handful of family photos: cousins, the dog, the snow day, the birthday cake. Choose real or re-drawn. Choose 12, 24 or 48 cards. You upload from your phone and you see your first card before you pay.
Start with Matchy Matchy Memory for your real photos, or Matchy Matchy Magic to see everyone re-drawn. Questions? Write to us at hello@matchygame.com.