Instant Family Fun

What is fun on the outside, is disguising a million other wonderful benefits on the inside. There are opportunities to connect, problem solve, communicate, cooperate, adapt and negotiate. Not to mention lots of laughs, bonding, and making memories.

BYU Instructor Heather Johnson shares five quick games to play together.

Cracker Whacker
Family Volley – Cracker Whacker
You will need dental floss or string
Saltine Crackers
Newspaper or magazines to roll up

Have each plater take a pieceo fdental floss and thread it through one of the holes in the Saltine Cracker. Tie it tightly so the cracker won’t fall off.

Next, tie the dental floss around your waist or a belt loop on the BACK of your pants. You will want the saltine to hang just low enough so that if someone was looking at you from the front they could see it hanging between your legs.

Give each plater a rolled up newspaper, like a mini bat.

Establish boundaries and get ready.

Using only the newspaper, players must attempt to smack and break off the crackers of the other players. Remember that while you are trying to whack someone else’s cracker, you have to keep moving to keep your cracker safe.

Once your entire cracker has been whacked off your dental floss, you are out. Even if you have the smallest bit still attached, you are still in the game.

Battle Chairs
Battle Chairs
All you need for this game, are chairs.

The object is to win “Rock, Paper, Scissors” AND get your team across to the other side first.

Family members “bounce” towards each other on the chairs. When they meet, they play “Rock, Paper, Scissors”. Winner keeps bouncing, while the looser runs back to his team and the back of the line.

As the winner keeps progressing down the chairs, the next player from the losers team needs to jump on the first chair and starts moving down the line to meet them. When they meet, they play “Rock, Paper, Scissors”. and the game continues.

Move fast and keep going until your whole team gets to the other side of the row of chairs.

Dice 1 to 100
Family Volley – Dice 1 to 100

You will need…
2-6 Sided Dice
1 piece of paper
1 pen
Gather your materials. On the piece of paper write everyone’s names in a column on the left (down the left hand side of the paper). Leave a few spaces or lines between each name.

Have all the players stand around a table in a circle, or sit in a circle. If you sit, be sure you are on a hard surface.
The first person rolls the dice, trying to roll doubles. If they don’t, the dice is passed to the next player who tries to roll for doubles.
The dice continues to be passed around the circle until someone rolls doubles.
When doubles are rolled, that person grabs the paper and pen and starts to write the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc… all the way to 100, BY THEIR NAME.

THE CATCH – while the person is writing, the dice is continuing around the circle. As soon as another person rolls doubles, they “steal” the paper and pen and start writing their own list of numbers by their name. Starting with 1.

The game continues in this fashion. The dice is always being passed, the paper and pen being “stolen” whenever someone rolls doubles.
The first person to be able to write all the numbers, 1 to 100 WINS!

Flying Carpet
Family Volley – Flying Carpet

You need a tarp or blanket. An old sheet works really well also. It should be a blanket that you don’t mind standing and pulling on.

Spread out the blanket and have everyone stand on it. It should be a very, very tight fit. Very tight.

This is your magic carpet. Unfortunately you can’t fly anywhere because your carpet is upside down.

The object is to flip the carpet back upright without anyone stepping off the magic carpet onto the ground. So, somehow you have to flip the tarp/blanket over while everyone is still standing on top of it. You can use your hands, just make sure no one steps off the blanket. Or you have to start over.

Exploding Straws
Exploding Straws

You will need straws cut in half. One half straw for each person.

Have each person stand in a circle facing inward. Then have them place one finger pointing out on each hand. One hand faces up, holding the straw; the other hand is on top of another straw facing down so that each person is working with the people at his or her sides to hold two straws. No one can touch the sides of the straws. Just the tops and bottoms of the straws with the tip of one finger.

As a group, you need to turn around so you end up facing outward. You need to do this without dropping the straws or touching the sides of the straws. Otherwise they will explode, and you have to start all over again.

This means the entire circle needs to stay connected to one another with their straws, while they are turning around.