Fun Indoor Group Games

Indoor group games serve as a great icebreaker and help a crowd interact and familiarize themselves with one another. Depending on the reason for which the group has gathered together, one can also include games that teach qualities of teamwork or leadership. A good way to start any game session is with an icebreaker game. Most icebreaker games have the simple purpose of enabling people to get to know each other. They also come in handy to separate the crowd into groups. Here are a few tried and tested game ideas for casual meetings.

Animal Farm (Icebreaker for grouping)

Let us say you want to organize your crowd into four teams. Pick four creatures that make distinct sounds, like ducks, donkeys, cows, owls, etc. Divide the number of people you have by four and write each animal's name on that many pieces of paper. For example, if there are 40 players, write donkey on 10 papers, duck on another 10, cow on 10, and owl on 10 more. Now put all the papers in a bag and give them a good shake. Allow each player to pick one paper. Once everyone has a paper, they have to make the corresponding animal sound, as well as an action (like flying, walking on all fours or waddling) and find their way to their group. This usually results in quite a cacophony and makes for a good laugh.

Story Time with Props

This game requires a fairly large group of people (at least 20). It also requires a bit of planning as 20 'props' (like a pillow, plate, belt, flowers, etc) from around the house have to be collected. To begin playing, group the players into four teams. Now give them 5 props each, and some preparation time so that they can come up with ideas for incorporating all the props. Each item must be used in any way apart from its conventional use. Each team has to enact their story while utilizing all the props given to them. The team which uses the props in the most creative manner, or the team that comes up with the most hilarious story, wins.

Tablecloth Maze

You need to be in a fairly big room to play this game. Lay plastic rectangular table cloths on the floor to form a maze. Wherever needed, attach them using sticky tape. While making the maze, leave three entry points. Now blindfold the first three participants and position them on their hands and knees at each entry point. As they crawl through the maze, they have to feel their way along the path formed between the tablecloths. Their objective is to get to one of the other entrances and exit the maze. As all three start to crawl at the same time, the first one to find his way out wins!

Trash Can Ball

To organize this fun game you need 5 tennis balls, 3 sturdy trash cans and a magic marker. Decide on a throwing line, i.e. the place where each person will stand while chucking the ball. Position the cans in a straight line, directly ahead of where the player will stand. The first can should be at a distance of 7 feet from the 'throwing line', the second one at 14 feet and the third at 21 feet. Draw a star on one of the tennis balls. The rule is that the closest can is 3 points, the next one is 6 and the farthest one 9. The ball with the star on it adds 10 points to whichever can it lands in.

To start the game, split your group into two teams. Let one player from the first team stand behind the throwing line. Each player gets to chuck 5 tennis balls into the trash cans. The second person to play should be from the other team. It keeps the interest alive if players from different teams alternate. If you want both the teams to play simultaneously, you have to arrange for an additional set of 3 cans and 5 tennis balls. In the end, the team with the highest points wins!

Blind Shave

Supplies you need for this game include whipped cream, plastic spoons, towels and blindfolds. Split your crowd into two teams. Have two chairs placed in the center of the room. Get two players from each team, preferably a girl-boy pair, to come to the center of the room. Make one from each team, ideally the girls, sit in a chair, while you blindfold the other two. Now allow the blindfolded team members to spray whipped cream onto the face of their team member sitting in the chair. They can use their hands to feel their team members face before spraying. Next, hand them the plastic knives and when you call out they can begin 'shaving' their team members face. After 30 seconds, call out for them to stop. While the player is shaving, team members waiting their turn can call out instructions like 'higher' or 'to the side'. The player who gets more cream off wins.

Indoor group games are a lot of fun, and time spent making great memories. As organizers, with sufficient thought it is very easy to come with games of your own. However, it is very important not to let the crowd become too competitive, as the purpose of these games is for everyone to have fun and stay occupied.