These are the games people play at birthday parties, with the rules written out so you can run them without practice. Most are for children's parties. Five also work for teens and adults, and the ages line on each game says which.
The list starts with the games guests expect at a birthday party.
1. Pin the tail on the donkey
Players: 3 or moreAges: 3 to 10You need: A donkey poster, a paper tail with tape for each child, and a blindfold
- Hang the poster on a wall at the children's eye level. Write each child's name on a tail.
- Blindfold the first player, turn them around three times and point them toward the poster.
- The player walks forward and sticks the tail where they think it belongs. The first spot they touch is where it stays.
- When everyone has had a turn, the tail closest to the right spot wins.
Some small children hate blindfolds. They can close their eyes or pull a hat down over them.
2. Musical chairs
Players: 6 or moreAges: 4 to 10You need: Chairs and music you can pause
- Line up the chairs in two rows, back to back, with one chair fewer than there are players.
- Players walk around the chairs while the music plays. The birthday child's favorite songs make a good playlist.
- When the music stops, everyone grabs a seat. Whoever is left standing is out and takes one chair away.
- Play until two players circle one chair. Whoever sits on it wins.
Put each child who goes out in charge of the pause button for the next round, so nobody sits around bored.
3. Pass the parcel
Players: 5 or moreAges: 3 to 8You need: A present wrapped in one layer of paper per guest, and music
- Wrap a small present in as many layers as there are guests. Write a silly forfeit on some of the layers, such as "hop like a frog" or "sing happy birthday in a whisper".
- Sit the children in a circle. The birthday child starts the parcel off.
- Pass the parcel around while the music plays. When it stops, the child holding it unwraps one layer and does the forfeit if there is one.
- The child who unwraps the last layer keeps the present.
Use a different wrapping paper for each layer. It shows when one layer is off and stops eager hands tearing through three at once.
4. Piñata
Players: 4 or moreAges: 3 to 12, with an adult in chargeYou need: A filled piñata, a rope, a stick and a blindfold
- Hang the piñata from a branch or a beam, with an adult holding the other end of the rope. Mark a line that everyone waiting must stay behind.
- The children line up, youngest first. Each one gets three swings with the stick, and the older ones wear the blindfold.
- The adult raises and lowers the piñata to make it harder for the bigger kids.
- When it breaks, the hitter puts the stick down, and then everyone runs in for the candy.
Give each child a paper bag before the game starts, and hold back a handful of candy for anyone who ends up with none.
5. Scavenger hunt
Players: 4 or more, in teamsAges: 6 and up, including teens and adultsYou need: A list, a pencil and a bag for each team
- Write a list of 10 to 15 things to find, such as a red leaf or something that starts with B.
- Split into teams of two to four. Set the boundaries and a time limit of about 15 minutes.
- Teams collect the items in their bag and tick them off the list.
- The first team back with everything wins. If time runs out, the team with the most items wins.
For teens and adults, write the items as riddles, such as "something older than the birthday person".
6. Limbo
Players: 4 or moreAges: 5 and up, including teens and adultsYou need: A broomstick and music
- Two people hold the broomstick level at about chest height.
- Players line up and pass under it one at a time, leaning backward. Only their feet may touch the ground.
- Anyone who touches the stick or falls over is out.
- After everyone has gone through, lower the stick a little and go again. The last player in wins.
Rest the stick loosely on the holders' open palms, so it falls away if someone bumps it.
7. Three-legged race
Players: 4 or more, in pairsAges: 5 to 12You need: A scarf or soft band for each pair, and grass to run on
- Pairs stand side by side. Tie the left ankle of one to the right ankle of the other, snug enough to stay on.
- Line the pairs up at the start. On "go", they race to a finish line about 20 paces away.
- A pair that falls over gets up and carries on from where they fell.
- The first pair across the line wins.
Match children of about the same height, and give every pair a minute to practice counting "one, two" as they step.
8. Water balloon toss
Players: 4 or more, in pairsAges: 6 and up, including teens and adultsYou need: Filled water balloons and a yard
- Partners stand facing each other about two steps apart, in two long lines.
- One side throws its balloons across. Every pair that makes the catch takes one step back.
- A pair whose balloon bursts or hits the ground is out.
- Keep throwing and stepping back until one dry pair is left.
Fill twice as many balloons as you think you need. Pick up the burst pieces afterward so pets and small children do not swallow them.
9. Mummy wrap
Players: 4 or more, in teamsAges: 5 to 12You need: Two rolls of toilet paper per team
- Split into teams of two or three and pick one player in each team to be the mummy.
- On "go", the others wrap their mummy in toilet paper from the shoulders down to the ankles.
- Stop after three minutes, or when the first team runs out of paper.
- The birthday child judges which mummy is best wrapped.
Cheap thin paper tears with every pull. Buy the thicker kind for this game.
10. Donut on a string
Players: 2 or moreAges: 5 to 12You need: Ring donuts, string and a clothesline or broomstick
- Tie a donut to each string and hang them from the line, each one at mouth height for its player.
- Players stand under their donut with their hands behind their back.
- On "go", everyone eats their donut without using their hands.
- The first to finish without the donut falling off the string wins.
Ask parents about allergies beforehand. Firm cake donuts stay on the string longer than soft glazed ones.
11. The chocolate game
Players: 4 to 10Ages: 6 to 12You need: A wrapped chocolate bar, a die, a hat, a scarf, gloves, and a knife and fork
- Sit in a circle with the chocolate bar on a plate in the middle, next to the clothes and the cutlery.
- Take turns rolling the die. Whoever rolls a six puts on the hat, scarf and gloves, then tries to unwrap the bar and eat it one square at a time with the knife and fork.
- The others keep rolling. As soon as someone else rolls a six, the eater stops and hands over the clothes and the cutlery.
- The game ends when the chocolate is gone.
Use a blunt table knife and a large bar, so the game lasts and nobody goes without a square.
12. Cake walk
Players: 6 or moreAges: 3 to 10You need: Numbered paper squares, the same numbers on slips in a bowl, music and cupcakes
- Tape the numbered squares to the floor in a big circle, one for each player.
- Players walk around the circle from square to square while the music plays.
- When the music stops, everyone stands on the nearest free square. Draw a number from the bowl.
- The player standing on that number wins a cupcake and steps out. Take that square away and play on until everyone has a cupcake.
Every child wins in the end, so this suits parties with 3 and 4-year-olds who find musical chairs upsetting.
13. Mafia
Players: 7 or moreAges: 10 and up, best with teens and adultsYou need: A deck of cards or slips of paper to deal secret roles
- One person is the narrator and deals a secret role to everyone else: two mafia, one detective, and the rest townspeople.
- Night: everyone shuts their eyes. The narrator tells the mafia to open theirs and point silently at one player to put out of the game.
- The mafia shut their eyes. The detective opens theirs and points at one player, and the narrator nods if that player is mafia.
- Day: everyone opens their eyes and the narrator says who is out. The group argues over who the mafia are and votes one suspect out.
- Repeat night and day. The town wins when both mafia are voted out. The mafia win when they equal the townspeople in number.
With 12 or more players, add a third mafia member. The birthday person can narrate the first game, since the narrator never gets voted out.
14. Guess how many in the jar
Players: Any numberAges: All ages, including teens and adultsYou need: A clear jar of small candies, slips of paper and a pen
- Count the candies as you fill the jar and write the number somewhere safe.
- Put the jar on a table where guests will pass it, with the slips and the pen beside it.
- Each guest writes their name and a guess on a slip and drops it in a bowl.
- Before the party ends, read out the closest guess. That guest takes the jar home.
Break a tie with a second question, such as how many candles were on the cake.
Open one, pick who's playing, and pass the phone around.
Updated November 2026.