One-Minute Party Games With a Built-In Timer

Pick the occasion, deal a game, start the 60 seconds.

A one-minute game needs three things: props from a drawer, a goal anyone can follow in one sentence, and a clock the whole room can see. Each page here supplies all three for one occasion.

35 pages

Holidays and seasons 12

Games for one date or one season, built from what it already has in the house: candy canes, plastic eggs, mini pumpkins, party hats.

One-Minute Christmas Games With Candy Canes, Bows and Ornaments44 games with candy canes, shatterproof ornaments, bows, stockings and carols, with kids, adults and no-food sets and a 60-second clock. Candy Cane Log Cabin
Thanksgiving One-Minute Games With Mini Pumpkins, Feathers and Corn45 games with mini pumpkins, feathers, corn kernels and paper plates, with kids' table, grown-ups' table and seated sets and a 60-second clock. Colander Turkey
One-Minute Halloween Games With Candy, Spiders and Paper Mummies47 games with wrapped candy, plastic spiders, toilet-roll mummies and a broom, with not-scary, no-food and teen sets and a 60-second clock. Upside-Down Chair Web
One-Minute Easter Games With Plastic Eggs, Spoons and Jelly Beans42 games with plastic eggs, jelly beans and spoons, plus 8 old Easter games cut to a minute, with kids, adults and no-candy sets. Bunny's Night Shift
Winter One-Minute Games With Mittens, Scarves and Snowballs43 cold-weather games with mittens, scarves, cotton snowballs and ice cubes, none tied to a holiday, with desk-top and whole-class sets. Five Knots, One Hand
One-Minute Games for New Years Eve With Hats, Balloons and Streamers43 games with cone hats, balloons, streamers, party blowers and clock faces, with kids, adults and quiet sets and a 60-second clock. No alcohol. Hat Tip Flip
4th of July One-Minute Games With Cups, Pinwheels and Water Balloons50 cookout games with red, white and blue cups, stick flags, water balloons and grill tools, with a rain plan, a dusk set and a 60-second clock. Red, White and Blue I Spy
Spring One-Minute Games33 games with seed packets and plant pots, umbrellas and rain boots, paper flowers and butterflies, and kites, pinwheels and ribbon. Ribbons by Length
Summer One-Minute Games40 dry games with beach balls, flip-flops and sunglasses, pool noodles, sand pails and shovels, and beach towels, for a lawn, a patio or the sand. Fold It Down to a Book
Mardi Gras One-Minute Games32 games with bead necklaces, masks and feathers, paper cups in purple, green and gold, and a king cake made of paper. No alcohol and nothing eaten. Six Masks Under a Cloth
Valentine's One-Minute Games43 games with paper hearts, candy hearts, envelopes, stickers, cotton-swab arrows and red cups. About cards and friends, with a no-candy set for a class. A Fan of Ten Envelopes
Mother's Day One-Minute Games31 games for a brunch or a church event: flowers and vases, the brunch table, aprons and cards, and 8 with no props. Mothers against children, or table against table. Follow Mother Duck

By crowd, place and props 23

Lists built around who is playing and where: adults at the office, a family with mixed ages, kids from 5 to 12, a class at their desks, a back yard, or nothing but cups and table tennis balls.

One-Minute Games for Adults From the Desk Drawer and the Kitchen59 games from the desk drawer, the break room and the coat closet, with funny, work-safe and large-group sets and a 60-second clock. Sticky Note Countdown
Simple One-Minute Games With Cups, Table Tennis Balls and Balloons44 games that need only plastic cups, table tennis balls or balloons, with cup stacking, grab-and-go, at-a-table, kids and teens sets. Cup Goalkeeper
Family One-Minute Games, From Five-Year-Olds to Grandparents48 games that pair an adult with a child, plus sets for teens and youth groups, a deck of cards, Bible stories and players who stay seated. Animal in Ten Questions
Outdoor One-Minute Games With Sponges, Buckets and a Garden Hose45 garden games with sponges, buckets, a hose, a sprinkler and pool noodles: 31 with water and 14 dry, with kids, adults and team sets and a 60-second clock. Blindfold Sponge Hunt
One-Minute Games for Seniors, Seated, With Cards, Buttons and Yarn45 seated games with cards, dominoes, buttons, yarn, coins and the newspaper, with whole-room, pairs and easy-on-the-fingers sets and a 60-second clock. Eight -ight Words
Classroom One-Minute Games With Pencils, Rulers and Index Cards42 desk-top games with pencils, rulers, linking cubes and index cards, sorted by grade band, with whole-class and silent sets. No food, no mess. Magnet Clip Fishing
One-Minute Birthday Party Games for Ages 5 to 1345 games made from party blowers, gift bows, cake candles and cupcake cases, 15 for each age band from 5 to 13, each with an everyone-plays version. Cards in Their Envelopes
One-Minute Games for Kids, Sorted by Age45 games with beanbags, craft sticks, cardboard tubes, bubbles and toy animals, sorted for ages 5 to 7, 8 to 10 and 11 to 12, with a no-food set. Behind-the-Back Catch
One-Minute Games With No Supplies41 games that need nothing bought or fetched: hands and fingers, feet and balance, voice, memory and counting, and games for pairs. Syllable Pass
One-Minute Dice Games34 games for a handful of dice: stacking, rolling for a target, flicking and catching, and games with a cup. No bets and no score sheet. Back-of-Hand Tower
One-Minute Penny Games36 games for a jar of pennies and a few other coins: stacking, spinning and flipping, sliding to a target, and sorting and counting. Penny Checkerboard
Graduation One-Minute Games32 games for a graduation party with caps and tassels, paper scrolls and ribbon, gowns and sashes, and pens, notebooks and books. Sleeves Off the Table
One-Minute Baby Shower Games44 games with diapers and a doll, baby bottles and pacifiers, a clothesline of tiny socks and alphabet blocks. Nothing is eaten or drunk. Arm in Arm at the Changing Mat
Glow in the Dark One-Minute Games43 games for a dimmed room with glow sticks, glow bracelets and necklaces, a flashlight and table tennis balls. No food, and nobody runs. Ten Rings Closed
One-Minute Games With Straws29 games with a box of drinking straws: blow a cup off a table, build a bridge, carry pom-poms with straw chopsticks. Nothing is sucked through a straw. Straw Chopsticks
One-Minute Games With Popcorn29 movie-night games with a bowl of popped corn: spoon it, toss it, balance it on a coin. Nothing is eaten against the clock. Two-Card Scoop
One-Minute Games for Partners37 games that cannot be played alone: one throws and one catches, one sees and one does, or four hands share one job. Over the Bar and In
Basketball One-Minute Games45 challenges with a ball: dribbling counts, wall passes, shots at a hoop, ball tricks, and 9 with paper balls and a waste basket for a room with no hoop. Front Hands, Back Hands
Science One-Minute Games32 challenges that each show one idea: a can rolled by static, drops heaped on a penny, a paper bridge for twenty pennies. Every game says why it works. Roll the Can, No Hands
Camping One-Minute Games35 challenges from the gear pile: pine cones and sticks, a tent and a pack, rope and carabiners, the camp kitchen. 19 work in a cabin on a wet day. Bundle of Sticks
One-Minute Games for College Students33 challenges from a dorm room: the desk, the laundry basket, the snack shelf, the bed and the hallway. No drinking games, and 18 suit quiet hours. Towel on the Hook
Food One-Minute Games33 challenges with whole fruit, rice, beans, dry pasta, cookies and tortillas. 8 are played blindfolded, and 16 use food that goes back in the cupboard. Three Eggs, One Hand
One-Minute Games for Teachers34 challenges the adults play with classroom supplies: the whiteboard, papers and the stapler, the supply closet, a teacher's day. 14 are seated for a staff meeting. Red Pen Sprint

More about these tools

Open the page that matches your party, such as Christmas Eve with a box of candy canes, a classroom where food is not allowed or a back yard with a hose, and a game is dealt with its props and its target. Press Start a 1-minute timer and the 60 seconds run beside it. Every page has its own games and its own props, so the Halloween list is not the Easter list with the nouns swapped. Switch to five games at a time to plan the night, lock the keepers, then print the list. The TV show Minute to Win It made the one-minute party stunt famous; none of these pages is made by or tied to the show. Every game is clean and alcohol-free, and each target is a starting point to raise or lower.

Holidays and seasons 12

By crowd, place and props 23

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