• 45 games
  • Checked October 2026

Games to Play With Cousins

Games a pack of cousins can run by themselves, each with a job for the youngest.

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  1. The Cousin Café Serves Dessert1. A restaurant run by the cousins, serving food that the grown-ups have already made. Name the café and write a menu.2. One cousin seats the guests, one takes orders, and the oldest carry the plates.3. An order for anything that is not on the menu is answered with "The chef is sorry."4. Afterward the staff clears the table together. Hot dishes and knives stay with the grown-ups.The youngest: from age 4, hands out napkins and takes orders by drawing them. Players: 3 to 10. You need: paper for menus, a pencil and napkins.
  2. The Grown-Ups Play Our Games1. The cousins choose three games that they have played during the visit.2. They explain the rules to the grown-ups, who play in teams while the cousins referee.3. A referee may stop play at any time to explain a rule again.4. Award a point for each game, and a bonus point to the grown-up who was the best sport.The youngest: from age 4, chooses the best sport. Players: 3 to 12. You need: paper and a pencil for the score.
  3. A Coin for Every Birth Year1. A hunt through the family coin jar, with permission. Write down the year each cousin was born.2. Tip out the coins and spread them on a towel.3. Working together, find a coin stamped with each birth year and lay it beside that cousin's name.4. If a year cannot be found, the nearest year counts. Put every coin back in the jar afterward.The youngest: from age 5, sorts the coins by color while the older ones read the dates. Players: 2 to 8. You need: a jar of coins, a towel, paper and a pencil.

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The whole pack at once 8

  • Blanket Drop: Name the Cousin First 1. Two teams sit on the floor on either side of a blanket held up like a curtain. 2. Each team silently sends one cousin to sit close to the blanket, facing it. 3. The holders count to three and drop the blanket. The first of the two to say the other's name wins that cousin over to their team. 4. Play until one team has everyone. For cousins who know each other well, say the middle name or the birthday month. The youngest: from age 4, holds one corner of the blanket with a big cousin. Players: 6 to 14. You need: a blanket.
  • House Telephone, a Cousin in Every Room 1. The whisper game, stretched through the house. Post one cousin in each room along a route, from the top of the house to the back door. 2. The first cousin makes up a message of one sentence, walks to the next room and whispers it. That cousin carries it on to the next. 3. Nobody may repeat a whisper. 4. The last cousin announces what arrived, and the first says what was sent. Send the next message the other way. The youngest: from age 5, is posted in the middle of the route, between two big cousins. Players: 4 to 12. You need: nothing.
  • No Two Siblings Together 1. A quick way to mix the pack. Everyone walks around the room. 2. A caller shouts a number, such as "threes." Cousins rush into groups of that size, and no group may hold two cousins from the same house. 3. A group that breaks the rule, and anyone left over, joins the caller for the next shout. 4. The last groups formed are the teams for whatever is played next. The youngest: from age 4, is pulled into a group by the nearest big cousin. Players: 6 to 15. You need: nothing.
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The whole pack at once, continued

  • Sardines, Oldest With Youngest 1. Sardines is hide-and-seek turned around: one cousin hides and everyone else seeks. Agree which rooms are in the game. 2. The seekers split into pairs, each of the oldest cousins with one of the youngest, and count to fifty together. 3. A pair that finds the hider squeezes into the hiding place too, without a sound. 4. The last pair to find the pile chooses the next hider. The youngest: from age 4, seeks hand in hand with an older cousin. Players: 5 to 12. You need: nothing.
  • Stagger Race, a Step for Every Year 1. A running race made fair by age. Mark a finish line, and a start line for the oldest cousin. 2. Every other cousin starts one giant step ahead for each year they are younger than the oldest. The oldest cousin measures the steps. 3. On "go," everyone runs. 4. A cousin who wins twice starts two steps farther back in the next race. The youngest: from age 4, starts closest to the finish. Players: 3 to 12. You need: nothing.
  • What Is Your Trade? Act It, Then Run 1. A chasing game with a mime in it. Two teams face each other across the yard, each with a safe line behind it. 2. One team secretly agrees on a job, such as baker or dentist, walks up to the other team and acts it without a word. 3. The other team calls out guesses. 4. At the right guess, the actors run for their safe line and the guessers chase. Anyone tagged changes teams. Then the other team acts. The youngest: from age 5, chooses the trade for their team. Players: 6 to 16. You need: nothing.
  • Which Aunt or Uncle Says This? 1. A guessing game about the grown-ups. Each cousin thinks of something that one of the parents, aunts or uncles always says, such as "Shoes off at the door." 2. One cousin says the line in their own voice. 3. The others guess which grown-up says it. The cousins who live with that grown-up may not answer. 4. A line that nobody can place scores a point for the cousin who brought it. Use only lines the grown-up would laugh at. The youngest: from age 5, may ask a brother or sister for a line. Players: 4 to 12. You need: nothing.
  • The Youngest Leads, the Oldest Copies 1. Follow the leader, with the order of ages turned upside down. The pack lines up from youngest to oldest. 2. The youngest leads the line anywhere inside the agreed edges and does whatever they like: crawl under the table, hop, spin, sing. 3. Everyone must copy exactly, and the oldest, at the back, is watched hardest. 4. After two minutes the leader goes to the back and the next youngest leads. The youngest: from age 4, is in charge first. Players: 3 to 12. You need: nothing.

After lights-out: quiet, one flashlight 8

  • A Bedtime Story Built for the Youngest 1. A story told in turns. The youngest cousin chooses a hero and one thing the hero wants. 2. The cousin holding the flashlight tells a part of the story, a few sentences long, and passes the light on. 3. Each teller must bring in something from the room: the lamp, a sock, the window. 4. The oldest cousin brings the hero home. If the youngest is still awake, the youngest decides whether that ending is allowed. The youngest: from age 4, picks the hero and judges the ending. Players: 3 to 8. You need: one flashlight.
  • How Many Stairs? Checked at Breakfast 1. A quiz about the house everyone is sleeping in. By flashlight, one cousin asks a question that can be counted or checked: how many stairs, how many chairs at the big table, what color the front door mat is. 2. Everyone whispers an answer, and one cousin writes them down. 3. Ask five questions, then lights out. 4. In the morning the whole pack walks the house and checks. The most right answers earns the first pancake. The youngest: from age 5, asks the first question. Players: 3 to 8. You need: one flashlight, paper and a pencil.
  • Lights Check: Look Asleep When the Beam Comes 1. Sleeping lions, by flashlight. One cousin is the grown-up at the door and holds the flashlight. Everyone else is in bed, whispering. 2. Without warning, the checker says "lights check" and sweeps the beam slowly over the beds. 3. Everyone must look fast asleep: eyes shut, no smiling, no giggling. 4. A cousin caught awake is the next checker. If nobody is caught in three sweeps, the checker chooses. The youngest: from age 4, is never the one caught, and takes a turn as checker when they ask. Players: 3 to 8. You need: one flashlight.
  • One Year in One Whisper 1. A catching-up game for cousins who have not met for a while. The flashlight goes from bed to bed. 2. Whoever holds it whispers one thing that has changed since the cousins were last together: a tooth, a teacher, a bike, a pet. 3. The others may ask one question each. 4. Pass the light on. When it has gone all the way around, do a second lap with something that has stayed exactly the same. The youngest: from age 5, goes first, before sleep wins. Players: 3 to 8. You need: one flashlight.
  • Remember When, and Someone Must 1. A memory game about earlier visits. The cousin with the flashlight starts a sentence with "Remember when." 2. It must be something that really happened when cousins were together. 3. If at least one other cousin remembers it too, the teller scores a point. If nobody does, the story still gets told, with no point. 4. Pass the light on. The oldest cousins have the most visits to choose from, so they go last. The youngest: from age 5, scores two points for a memory, having had fewer visits. Players: 3 to 8. You need: one flashlight.
  • Replay Today in the Spotlight 1. Charades about the day just gone. One cousin props the flashlight so that it lights a patch of floor. 2. A cousin steps into the light and silently acts out one moment from today: the spilled juice, the dog on the sofa, the long car ride. 3. The others whisper their guesses. 4. Whoever names the moment acts next. Nothing that would embarrass a cousin goes on stage. The youngest: from age 4, can act with a partner. Players: 3 to 8. You need: one flashlight.
  • Sleeping Bag Post Office 1. A quiet letter game. Each cousin has two slips of paper and a pencil. 2. By flashlight, write a question or a kind line to the cousin two sleeping bags along, fold it and write the name on the outside. 3. Letters are passed from bag to bag until they arrive. Nobody opens mail that is not theirs. 4. Write one reply and send it back the same way. The flashlight travels with the mail. The youngest: from age 5, sends a drawing, and has help with the name. Players: 3 to 8. You need: one flashlight, slips of paper and pencils.
  • Whose Laugh Was That Downstairs? 1. A listening game for when the grown-ups are still up. Everyone lies still with the flashlight off. 2. When a laugh or a voice comes up through the floor, the first cousin to whisper a name claims it. 3. Cousins who live with that grown-up say whether the guess was right. 4. Keep count on your fingers. The game ends when the house goes quiet, or when the counters fall asleep. The youngest: from age 4, only has to pick out their own parents. Players: 2 to 8. You need: nothing.

Back-yard games 8

  • Catch Your Age 1. A catching game with a different target for each cousin. Pairs stand a few steps apart with a ball. 2. Each cousin has to make as many catches in a row as their own age: five for a five-year-old, twelve for a twelve-year-old. 3. A drop sends that cousin's count back to zero. 4. A cousin who reaches their age takes one step back and starts again. The pair that ends farthest apart wins. The youngest: from age 4, has the shortest count to reach. Players: 2 to 12. You need: a ball for each pair.
  • Five Hundred, Called Before the Throw 1. A throwing and catching game. One cousin throws a soft ball high toward the others and calls a number first, such as "a hundred" or "two hundred." 2. Whoever catches it before it lands scores that number. 3. A ball caught after one bounce scores half. 4. The first cousin to reach five hundred becomes the thrower. No pushing under the ball: call "mine," and the rest step back. The youngest: from age 5, scores the full number for a catch off the bounce. Players: 3 to 10. You need: a soft ball.
  • Four Corners of the House Relay 1. A relay against the clock, with the whole pack on one team. Post a cousin at each corner of the house, and the rest at the start. 2. The first runner carries a baton to the next corner and hands it on. 3. The baton goes all the way around and back to the start, and an older cousin times the lap. 4. Change corners and try to beat the time. Stay on the grass, and stop at once if a car is moving. The youngest: from age 5, runs the shortest side with an older cousin beside them. Players: 5 to 12. You need: a baton, such as a wooden spoon, and a watch.
  • Over the Sheet: Catch It and Sneak Around 1. A game for two teams who cannot see each other. Hang a bedsheet over a clothesline, with a team on each side. 2. One team throws a soft ball over the top and shouts "over." 3. If the other team catches it, the catcher sneaks around either end and tries to tag a player with the ball in hand, while that team runs around to the other side. 4. Anyone tagged changes teams. If the ball is not caught, throw it straight back. The youngest: from age 5, watches the ends of the sheet and shouts when someone is coming. Players: 6 to 14. You need: a bedsheet on a clothesline and a soft ball.
  • Rescue Tag, Only the Little Ones Unfreeze 1. Freeze tag, with the youngest as rescuers. Agree the edges of the game. One of the older cousins is the tagger. 2. A cousin who is tagged freezes with arms out. 3. The two youngest cousins cannot be frozen. Their job is to run in and set frozen cousins free with a high five. 4. If the tagger freezes everyone else at once, the tagger wins. Change taggers every three minutes. The youngest: from age 4, is a rescuer and cannot be caught. Players: 5 to 15. You need: nothing.
  • Sock Ball With Ghost Runners 1. Baseball for a small pack, with a rolled pair of socks for the ball and an open hand for the bat. Mark home and one base. 2. The pitcher tosses underarm. A batter who hits the socks runs to the base. 3. A runner on base may leave a ghost runner there and bat again. The ghost comes home at the next hit. 4. Three outs and the sides change. Catching the socks before they land is an out. The youngest: from age 4, swings until they hit, and nobody may catch their ball. Players: 4 to 10. You need: a rolled pair of socks and two base markers.
  • Spy Note to the Grown-Ups' Table 1. A stealth game for the whole pack. Write a short, kind note, such as "The cousins request pancakes." 2. The pack must get the note onto the grown-ups' table, or under a coffee cup, without any grown-up seeing who put it there. 3. Plan the jobs: two lookouts, a decoy who asks a grown-up a long question, and one carrier. 4. A carrier who is caught hands the note to a new carrier. The mission is done when a grown-up reads the note aloud. The youngest: from age 4, is the decoy, with a long question ready. Players: 4 to 12. You need: paper and a pencil.
  • Statue Shop on the Lawn 1. A pretending game. One cousin is the shopkeeper, one is the customer, and the rest are statues. 2. While the customer looks away, the shopkeeper poses each statue by moving its arms gently: a dancer, a goalkeeper, a monster. 3. The customer comes in and presses a pretend button on each statue's shoulder, and the statue comes to life and moves as what it is. 4. The customer buys a favorite. That statue is the next shopkeeper. The youngest: from age 4, is the first customer. Players: 4 to 12. You need: nothing.

Rainy-day games with nothing bought 7

  • A Coin for Every Birth Year 1. A hunt through the family coin jar, with permission. Write down the year each cousin was born. 2. Tip out the coins and spread them on a towel. 3. Working together, find a coin stamped with each birth year and lay it beside that cousin's name. 4. If a year cannot be found, the nearest year counts. Put every coin back in the jar afterward. The youngest: from age 5, sorts the coins by color while the older ones read the dates. Players: 2 to 8. You need: a jar of coins, a towel, paper and a pencil.
  • Breath on the Window: Guess It Before It Fades 1. A drawing game for a cold, wet day. One cousin breathes on a window pane until it fogs. 2. With one finger, that cousin draws something in the fog: a boat, a cat, a letter. 3. The others call out what it is before the fog clears and the drawing is gone. 4. Whoever guesses right draws next, on a fresh patch. Wipe the glass with a sleeve when the game is over. The youngest: from age 4, draws on the lowest pane, and an older cousin does the breathing. Players: 2 to 8. You need: nothing.
  • Climb the Stairs by Guessing the Hand 1. A guessing game on the staircase, played sitting down. Everyone sits on the bottom step. One cousin, the teacher, stands at the foot of the stairs with a button hidden in one fist. 2. Each cousin in turn taps the fist they think holds it. 3. A right guess moves that cousin up one step, sitting all the way. 4. The first to reach the top step is the next teacher. Nobody stands or runs on the stairs. The youngest: from age 4, starts one step up. Players: 3 to 8. You need: a button and a staircase.
  • How Many Cousins Long Is the Hallway? 1. A measuring game with nothing but cousins. Everyone guesses how many cousins, lying head to toe, would reach from one end of the hallway to the other. 2. The first cousin lies down at one end. The next lies down with head touching the first one's feet, and so on. 3. When the pack runs out, the first cousin gets up and joins the far end. 4. Count as you go. The closest guess chooses the next thing to measure. The youngest: from age 4, counts as half a cousin. Players: 3 to 10. You need: nothing.
  • One New Rule Each for the Old Board Game 1. Take any board game from the cupboard that everyone has played before. 2. Before the first turn, each cousin adds one new rule and writes it down: land on blue and swap seats, roll a one and move backward. 3. Play with every new rule in force. 4. At the end, vote on which rule to keep for next time and tuck the slip into the box. The youngest: from age 5, makes the first rule, and it cannot be voted out. Players: 2 to 8. You need: a board game, paper and a pencil.
  • Paper Strip Height Chart, Guesses for Next Time 1. Tape a long strip of paper to a door frame. 2. Each cousin stands against it, and another marks the height with a pencil and writes the name. 3. Then everyone marks a guess for each cousin: where that cousin's line will be at the next visit. 4. Roll up the strip and leave it with the grown-up of the house. At the next visit, measure again and see whose guesses came closest. The youngest: from age 4, is measured first. Players: 2 to 12. You need: a long strip of paper, tape and a pencil.
  • Skill Swap, Three Minutes a Teacher 1. Each cousin thinks of one small thing they can do that the others might not: a tongue twister, a way to fold a paper cup, a yo-yo trick, a way to draw a horse. 2. One at a time, each has three minutes to teach it to the pack. 3. Everyone tries it. 4. When all have taught, each cousin shows the skill they learned best, and the applause goes to its teacher. The youngest: from age 4, teaches too, with a big cousin as helper. Players: 3 to 10. You need: nothing.

Things to put on for the grown-ups 7

  • A Quiz About the Grown-Ups as Kids 1. A quiz the cousins write for their parents, aunts and uncles. First, ask a grandparent or the oldest relative in the house for five true stories about the grown-ups when they were small. 2. Turn each story into a question, such as "Who hid the peas in a boot?" 3. After supper, read the questions to the grown-ups, who answer on paper. 4. The grandparent is the judge. Use only stories that the grown-up would tell too. The youngest: from age 5, rings the bell for each right answer. Players: 3 to 12. You need: paper, pencils and a bell.
  • A Ten-Minute Play With a Part for Every Cousin 1. Choose a story everyone knows, such as a fairy tale. 2. The oldest cousins share out the parts so that everyone has one. One cousin is the narrator, who tells the story while the others act. 3. Rehearse it twice, with a blanket for a curtain. 4. Make tickets, seat the grown-ups and perform. Bow together at the end, with the youngest in the middle. The youngest: from age 4, has the part with the last line. Players: 3 to 12. You need: a blanket, paper for tickets and whatever is in the dress-up box.
  • Ads for Things in This House 1. A show of short advertisements. In pairs, cousins choose one ordinary thing in the house: the squeaky stair, the big armchair, the dog's bowl. 2. Each pair plans a thirty-second advertisement for it. 3. Perform them one after another for the grown-ups, each inside a paper frame held up as the screen. 4. The grown-ups vote for the thing they would buy. No ad may make fun of a person. The youngest: from age 4, demonstrates the thing while the partner talks. Players: 4 to 12. You need: a large paper frame.
  • The Cousin Café Serves Dessert 1. A restaurant run by the cousins, serving food that the grown-ups have already made. Name the café and write a menu. 2. One cousin seats the guests, one takes orders, and the oldest carry the plates. 3. An order for anything that is not on the menu is answered with "The chef is sorry." 4. Afterward the staff clears the table together. Hot dishes and knives stay with the grown-ups. The youngest: from age 4, hands out napkins and takes orders by drawing them. Players: 3 to 10. You need: paper for menus, a pencil and napkins.
  • Four-Part Kitchen Orchestra 1. A concert on things from the kitchen, borrowed with permission. Split the pack into four sections by age. 2. Each section gets one sound: wooden spoons on a pot, a shaken jar of rice, a tapped mug, clapping. 3. The conductor points each section in and out, and builds a piece that starts with one sound and ends with all four. 4. Rehearse it, then play it for the grown-ups, who must clap the last beat with the orchestra. The youngest: from age 4, plays the shaker and starts the piece. Players: 4 to 12. You need: pots, wooden spoons, a jar of rice with its lid on, and a mug.
  • The Grown-Ups Play Our Games 1. The cousins choose three games that they have played during the visit. 2. They explain the rules to the grown-ups, who play in teams while the cousins referee. 3. A referee may stop play at any time to explain a rule again. 4. Award a point for each game, and a bonus point to the grown-up who was the best sport. The youngest: from age 4, chooses the best sport. Players: 3 to 12. You need: paper and a pencil for the score.
  • This Visit in Six Frozen Scenes 1. A slideshow made of cousins. Choose the six best moments of the visit so far. 2. For each one, the pack arranges itself into a frozen picture of it. 3. Rehearse moving from one picture to the next on a clap. 4. Perform for the grown-ups: a narrator claps, the pack freezes, and the audience guesses the moment before the narrator reads the caption. The youngest: from age 4, is at the front of every scene. Players: 4 to 12. You need: nothing.

Games for two cousins 7

  • A Mission to Take Home 1. Each cousin writes one small mission for the other to finish before the next visit: learn to whistle, find a perfectly round stone, read a certain book, grow a bean. 2. Swap slips and shake hands on it. 3. Each cousin keeps the slip somewhere safe at home. 4. At the next visit, report back with proof. A finished mission earns the right to set the next one first. The youngest: from age 5, sets a mission with a drawing in place of words. Players: 2. You need: two slips of paper and a pencil.
  • The Age-Gap Quiz: Five From My Grade 1. Each cousin writes five questions from what they are learning at school this year. 2. The younger cousin asks first, and the older must answer all five within one minute. 3. Then the older asks. The younger may take as long as they like and may ask for one hint a question. 4. Count the right answers. If the older cousin wins, play again with five new questions from the younger cousin's grade only. The youngest: from age 6, gets hints and no clock. Players: 2. You need: paper and a pencil.
  • Big Cousin Reads, Little Cousin Changes the Story 1. The older cousin reads a picture book aloud, one page at a time. 2. Before each page turn, the younger cousin says what happens next, however silly. 3. The older cousin must tell that version of the next page, using the picture that is really there. 4. On the last page, read the real ending and decide together which story was better. The youngest: from age 4, steers the whole story. Players: 2. You need: a picture book.
  • Draw My Room From My Words 1. One cousin describes their bedroom at home, a wall at a time: where the bed is, what is on the shelf, what you see from the window. 2. The other draws it as it is described. 3. The describer looks at the drawing and gives three corrections. 4. Swap jobs. Keep both drawings, and check them on the next visit to each other's homes. The youngest: from age 5, describes first and draws second. Players: 2. You need: paper and pencils.
  • Family Trading Cards, Kind Powers Only 1. Cut paper into cards. Together, make one card for each person in the family, cousins included. 2. Each card has a drawing, a name and three powers with a score out of ten, such as pancakes 9, bedtime stories 10, finding lost shoes 7. 3. Only kind powers go on a card. 4. Shuffle and split the deck. Each cousin turns over a card, the younger one calls a power, and the higher score takes both cards. The youngest: from age 5, chooses the powers and calls them. Players: 2 to 4. You need: paper, scissors and crayons.
  • Two Circles: What Both Our Houses Have 1. Draw two big circles that overlap in the middle, one for each cousin's home. 2. Take turns to name something about life at home: a pet, a bedtime, a breakfast, a rule. 3. If it is true of both homes, write it in the overlap. If not, write it in one circle. 4. Stop at ten things in the overlap. Then each cousin chooses one thing from the other circle that they would like to borrow. The youngest: from age 5, says the things while the older cousin writes. Players: 2. You need: paper and a pencil.
  • Who Comes Through the Door Next? 1. A guessing game for two cousins on a sofa with a view of a door. 2. Each whispers which grown-up will walk through it next. 3. When someone comes in, a right guess scores a point. A grown-up who asks what is going on is not told until the game ends. 4. The first cousin to five points wins. A pet through the door scores for nobody and makes both cousins guess again. The youngest: from age 4, guesses first. Players: 2. You need: nothing.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions for a pack of cousins aged about 4 to 16 with no adult running the game. The wording, the ages and the player counts are ours, and so are the three play-safe rules: agreed edges, the youngest paired with an older cousin outdoors, nothing outside after dark unless an adult knows. Nothing here is scary, nobody is lifted or carried, and no cousin is the joke. Sardines and the whisper game were checked on 10 October 2026 against these Wikipedia articles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Hide-and-seek, Telephone game. Licence: own work

How it works

These games to play with your cousins are for a pack of mixed ages with no grown-up in charge. Every game says what the youngest does, so a four-year-old and a teenager can play the same round.

Read the full guide

Three rules for a pack with no grown-up

1. Agree the edges of the game before it starts, and stay inside them. 2. Outdoors, each of the youngest cousins plays beside an older one. 3. Nothing is played outside after dark unless a grown-up knows.

When the grown-ups ask what you have been doing

Show them. Things to put on for the grown-ups holds a ten-minute play, a quiz about the grown-ups as kids, a kitchen orchestra and a café that serves dessert.

  • Let the youngest cousin choose the first game. The oldest chooses the second.

Questions and answers

What are fun games to play with your cousins at a sleepover?

Eight are for after lights-out, played in whispers with one flashlight between you: One Year in One Whisper, Sleeping Bag Post Office and How Many Stairs? Checked at Breakfast among them. None of them is scary.

What are good games to play with your cousin when there are only two of you?

Seven are written for two, among them Two Circles: What Both Our Houses Have, Draw My Room From My Words and A Mission to Take Home, which lasts until the next visit.

How do you make a game fair when cousins are different ages?

Give the youngest a head start or a job that nobody else has. In Stagger Race, a Step for Every Year, each cousin starts a step ahead for every year younger. In Rescue Tag, Only the Little Ones Unfreeze, the two youngest cannot be caught.