LIFE CAN BE A GAME

LIFE CAN BE A

GAMEGAMEGAMEGAME

Make Life A Little More Fun!Games Created By: John P. Harjung

“The most wasted“The most wasted“The most wasted“The most wastedof all days,of all days,of all days,of all days,iiiis one withouts one withouts one withouts one withoutlaughter.”laughter.”laughter.”laughter.”

---- c.c. cummingsc.c. cummingsc.c. cummingsc.c. cummings

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CARS…………………… p 4

OUT TO EAT….………… p 12

SPORTS………………….. p 18

HOME…………………… p 24

MISC...…………………… p 30

IN THEIN THEIN THEIN THE

CARCARCARCAR

HOW TO PLAY:

The game starts as soon as the last door of the vehicle has been

closed. The race begins to be the first to secure your seatbelt and

touch the ceiling – declaring you the winner.

If you are the first to finish securing your belt, yell out “First!” as you

touch the ceiling. If you are the second, yell out “Second” and so

on until the last person is belted.

1st place winner gets to choose the radio station.

THIS GAME IS GREAT because it gets kids into the habit of fastening

their seatbelts as soon as they get in the car, and the driver knows

all passengers have their seatbelts on before driving.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:

2+

SEATBELT RACER

games t o p l a yIN THE CAR

HOW TO PLAY:

Best played on a 2 way street. Choose a designated spot on the

street – a street sign, a large crack in the road, etc. The cars will

have to pass this spot in order to count. Each player chooses a

color of a car for that round. First player to get 10 (must win by 2)

wins!

CHANGE IT UP by trying Vehicle Types instead of colors!

(motorcycles, vans, cars, SUVs, pick up trucks, semi-trucks)

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:2+

COLOR CARS


HOW TO PLAY:

Before leaving, passengers decide on an item to guess on

- A type of decoration

- A color of house

- A type of street sign

- The more specific you are, the more fun it can be!

Each member decides on a number before leaving for the trip.

“I think there will be 27 houses with white Christmas lights on!”

The game ends when the car parks at the destination.

NOTE: The car must pass by each object for it to count. Do not

add any item to the count until the car has driven past!

WINNING:

Win by having the closest guess to the actual total without going

over.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:

2+

WITHOUT GOING OVER


…AND I’M BRINGING


D . . . . C . . . . B . . . . AD . . . . C . . . . B . . . . AD . . . . C . . . . B . . . . AD . . . . C . . . . B . . . . A

HOW TO PLAY:

Great for long car trips.

Choose one player to start.

Always begin with “I’m on a trip to _____, and I’m bringing…”

The game goes in order of the alphabet – so the first player decides

on something to bring that begins with A. It can be ANYTHING, real or

imagined.

When the next player goes, he/she has to successfully repeat all the

previous items before adding on the next item they would bring.

[If player is on letter D: “I’m on a trip to Florida, and I’m bringing an

Astronaut, a Balloon, a Cactus and … a Dinosaur!]

Play continues until getting all the way to letter Z.

IT’S ALL RELATIVE - make it more challenging by trying to create a

specific category for each round. All the items have to fit into the

category [i.e. food, animals, famous people, etc]


EASTER ROAD RALLY


HOW TO PLAY:

The road rally must be planned in detail ahead of time. Drive along the

route you would like the teams to go and write down a list of tasks or items

you want them to find. Make sure to note down the route so you can

include the driving directions.

After finishing the route, put together a story/riddles for your guests to solve

to find each item.

For Example, if the item they should find is the grocery store “JEWEL” – the

clue for the road rally could be:

“Peter Cottontail hopped along the bunny trail, but stopped to

take a photo of a shiny, precious _ _ _ _ _.”

Make sure to bold or underline any words that describe what the team

should do, in this case – take a photo of the Jewel.

SCORING:

The team with the most correct answers wins a prize.

ALONG THE WAY – Have volunteers who wait at each “check point” with a

riddle to solve to get bonus points!

[Example: Go inside to aisle three, what you seek is buy 1

get 1 free!]

If the team finds the correct item, they get added bonus points to their

final score.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:Best in large groups

OUTOUTOUTOUT

TOTOTOTO

EATEATEATEAT

HOW TO PLAY:

Play begins with a volunteer. The player says a quote from a movie

(one the family has all seen). Other players then “buzz” in or raise

their hand to guess. Each get 2 guesses to try and name the movie

and name the character who said it.

If no one guesses correctly – the player gets a point and goes

again.

If someone DOES guess correctly, they are awarded a point and it

is their turn to say a quote.

( Example: “I killed Mufasa” - Lion King, Scar )

ADD A CHALLENGE by requiring not only the movie & character

name, but the name of the actor/actress who played the

character as well!

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:

3+

“WHO SAID IT”

games t o p l a y whenOUT TO EAT

WHAT YOU NEED:

Crayons & Coloring Pages (Same design for all players)

*Many restaurants will have these available or you can print &

bring copies from online sites for free!

HOW TO PLAY:

(For 3+ People) Choose 1 person as the announcer. Lay out 4-5

different colored crayons in front of each player. Players must sit

with their hands flat on the table, not touching any crayons. The

announcer calls out a part of the page & what color to fill it in.

Example: “Color the turkey’s right feathers….. BLUE!”

As soon as the announcer says the color – players may grab their

crayon and begin.

GO FOR THE WIN:The first player to completely fill the instruction section with the

correct color without going outside the lines and place your crayon

back on the table!

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:

3+

COLOR CODED


WHAT YOU NEED:

Anything on the table or from any member of the game can be used

in play.

HOW TO PLAY:

Pick one member of the table to start. This player chooses a “BASE

ITEM”. They then slowly slide this item to the person to their left. The

item must end up directly in front of the next player for the turn to end.

No other players may touch the item or table during “THE SLIDE”.

Once the entire item has safely landed to the next player – a single

item is added and they must then slide it to the next player on their

left. Play continues until all or any part of the structure falls.

It is not all about height. Items can be added in ANY way, so long as it

is a part of the structure.

WARNING: Do not use any breakable items owned/supplied by a

restaurant if you are out to eat!

PLAYERS:2+

TABLE JENGA


SPORTSSPORTSSPORTSSPORTS

WHAT YOU NEED:

A Timer – Paper/Pen – A sporting event

HOW TO PLAY:

Depending on the sporting event, there is usually a National Anthem

performed to start the game.

Players wager a bet & write down their guess as to how long the

singer will go! The timer starts at the first sound and ends at the very

last!

Whoever had the closest guess without going over wins the pot!

KEEP IT GOING by applying these rules to other factors of the game

throughout the rest of play! (How many fights on the ice in the first

period? How many flags in the 3rd quarter? How many walks in the

7th inning? Etc)

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:

2+ More fun with large groups!

PLACE YOUR BETS


WHAT YOU NEED:

Bowling Alley or Bowling Nintendo Game – Deck of Cards

HOW TO PLAY:

Continue to bowl as usual.

Any time a player gets a strike or spare – they draw a card from the

top of the deck. For a double strike, take 2 cards that turn. For a

turkey, take 3 cards that turn.

If a player bowls a gutter ball, another player chooses a card from

their hand at random and places it at the bottom of the deck.

NOT UP FOR BOWLING? This can also be played with Pool! Take 1 card

for each ball that is hit in per turn. If a player scratches – another

player chooses a card at random and places it at the bottom of the

deck.


BOWLING POKER


WHAT YOU NEED:

3 coins (can be pennies, dimes, etc)

HOW TO PLAY:

Begin with all 3 coins touching in a triangle.

Player A is the kicker, Player B is the goal

Player A:The first flick should hit at the point of the triangle to split the other two

coins apart.

The next flick can be on ANY of the 3 coins, but the coin must pass

through the other 2 coins on the table for it to count.

Each player only gets 3 flicks, including the starting flick to try and

score a goal.

Player BPlaces hands on the opposite end of the table, forming a U shape,

and this player can NOT move or block the shot from player A at any

time.

TOO EASY? Try adding obstacles on the table that the kicker will have

to maneuver around!

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:2

PENNY SOCCER


ATATATAT

HOMEHOMEHOMEHOME

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 Flashlight per player.

HOW TO PLAY:

1 Player is “Simon”

Follow the basic rules of Simon-Says but with flashlight actions:

- “Simon says point your flashlight at the door!”

- “Simon says turn your flashlight off!”

- “Simon says find the teddy bear with your flashlight”

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT: This game is great for after dark on camping trips

or for slumber parties!

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:

3+

FLASHLIGHT SIMON-SAYS

games t o p l a yAT HOME

TABLE-TOP NERF WAR

WHAT YOU NEED:

Nerf Guns (or similar type)

10 Nerf Bullets

Toy soldiers (or similar toys)

HOW TO PLAY:Each player sets up 5 Toy soldiers on their end of the table.

Choose 1 player to start.

Each player gets 10 Nerf Bullets to try and knock over all 5 of the

opponent’s soldiers.

At the end of both turns, whoever knocked over the most toys wins!

**If any player knocks over all 5 soldiers and has remaining bullets,

he/she receives 1 extra point per bullet that is left!

ADD A CHALLENGE to the next rounds by adding obstacles in front of

the soldiers! Start with 1, then add more per round!

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:

2


WHAT YOU NEED:

Furniture / Objects to use as obstacles & create a course.

Spoon & Hardboiled Egg (less mess)

Scoreboard

HOW TO PLAY:

Set up furniture & other items to create a fun obstacle course. This can

be done indoors or outside. The most fun is to create courses where

players will need to go over, under, crawl, hop, etc. The course is done

one at a time. One player is in charge of the timer and records each

person’s run time. The player must hold a spoon with the egg balanced

through the entire course, either in their hand or mouth. At the end, 5

seconds is added for every time the egg fell during their run. Once

everyone has gone through, the person with the shortest time wins!

CHANGE THE COURSE around or change the item to balance to keep

the fun going!

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:

2+

EGG-DROP OBSTACLE


WHAT YOU NEED:

Ceiling Fan

Soft Item (i.e. small plush toy, hair scrunchy, sock, etc)

HOW TO PLAY:

Players lay in a circle underneath the ceiling fan.

Choose 1 person (adult) to place the item on top of the fan blade when

fan is OFF.

Next, the fan should be turned on high.

As the fan picks up speed, the item will fly off. Whichever player is hit

with the item is out.

Play continues until the last man is standing.

FOR ADDED FUN Place one item on each fan blade before starting. You

can also play where instead of being OUT if the item hits you, designate

each item with points. (i.e. 1 point for the hair scruchy, 2 points for the

plush toy, and 5 points for the sock!) Play 3 rounds, whoever has the

most points wins!

NUMBER OF PLAYERS

4+

FAN TAG


MISCMISCMISCMISC

GAMESGAMESGAMESGAMES

SCAVENGER HUNT +

games t o p l a yWHENEVER!

WHAT YOU NEED:

List of Items

2 Dice

1 Judge

HOW TO PLAY:

Each team goes out on scavenger hunt with a set time limit. If

any team returns after the set time, they are given a penalty of -1

point for each minute they are late! Each team must keep their items hidden

until the scoring/reveal.

SCORING:

Each item on the list has it’s own ROUND. At the start of each round, the judge

rolls a pair of dice to see how much that item is worth. If the roll comes up with

doubles – that round is a BONUS ROUND.

For a BONUS ROUND, the judge must decide on something specific regarding

that item (i.e. specific color, fabric, brand, etc). If the team has not only the

item on the list, but it matches the bonus requirements, that team receives

double the points rolled that round.

If a team reveals any item before it is asked for by the judge, they receive no

points for that round!

BE CREATIVE Add 3 points for creativity! For example, if the item is an 8 Track

Tape and your team was unable to find one – tape together 8 toy train tracks…

the Judge may decide to award “creative points” instead of ending up with 0

points for that round!

ON THE HUNT : If you are playing this game at a Halloween Party – include

things on the list that will make each team go into a public place! (i.e. takeout

menu from Chinese restaurant, Deli ticket from grocery store, etc)

NUMBER OF PLAYERS

Best played with large groups

COLOR SQUARES

games t o p l a yWHENEVER!

HOW TO PLAY:

This game is ALWAYS in effect – but never talked about.

Any time you and any other players walk into a store – the

game is ON!

The only rules are to avoid any colored squares, prints or

mats on the store floor. The first person to step on one loses

the game!

That‘s it!

SHHHHH! If you are lucky enough to remember, make sure

not to bring it to the other players’ attention! You want them

to forget until BAM! They step on a square and you win!

NUMBER OF PLAYERS

2+

YOU HAVE TO LEARN

THE RULES OF THE GAME.

AND THEN YOU HAVE TO

PLAY BETTER THAN

ANYONE ELSE.

----albert albert albert albert einsteineinsteineinsteineinstein

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LIFE CAN BE A GAME