Are you looking for something fun to do with your family and friends? A great night with friends and family doesn’t have to mean going out or spending a lot of money. Sometimes, it can be as simple as staying home and playing minute to win it games. Below, we’ll be learning more about these types of games, why they are great, and some of the best games for you to try.
What Are Minute to Win It Games?
The games are essentially like other party games. However, as the name suggests, there is typically a time limit with them. You have just one minute to play the game and win or get as close to winning as possible.
Of course, if you want, you can extend the time limit or remove it entirely. It’s up to you but adding that minute time limit can really amp up the excitement, especially in those last 10 seconds or so. Depending on the number of people who are playing, you can have each person play individually, or you could have everyone play in groups.
If the game task is completed within a minute, the person will receive a point. If they don’t complete the task in that amount of time, they don’t get a point. Simple as that. Everyone plays through as many games as you have prepared, and then the points are all tallied at the end.
Why Are They Popular?
Minute to win it games are popular because they do just what a game should do—they allow people to have a great time together. They are simple, fun, and exciting. You will also find that you can use the parties for just about any type of event. They can work well for:
- Game night with family and friends
- Birthday parties
- Housewarming
- Bridal showers
- Baby showers
- Holiday parties
You Can Use Items Around the House
One of the other great things about these games is that you can use items that you have around the house for many of them. Other items used for the games are typically affordable and some could be reused for the next game night. You don’t have to spend much money at all to set up a bunch of fun games.
Before the game begins, double-check to make sure you have everything that will be needed. You don’t want to be in the middle of the game night only to find out that someone’s eaten all the cookies that you need for one of your games.
Consider Having a Prize
While the thrill of competition is enough for some people to get into the games and compete, you might want to offer a prize to the winner. This bumps up the excitement level for everyone.
The prize that you choose can vary based on who you will have playing the game, of course. If you are having a family night with the kids, you might want to get a trophy. The winner of one night of games can hold onto the trophy until the next game night and it’s up for grabs again.
Other types of prizes include cash, gift cards, etc. Think about the audience for the games when you come up with the prizes. You don’t have to spend a lot. You just want to be sure that people want the prize, so they will work hard toward getting it. This increases the level of competitiveness, which can make the games a lot more fun.
Great Minute to Win It Games to Play
Below are some of the best and most popular minute to win it games. Of course, this is just the start. There are plenty of other games out there that you can play, as well. Once you start to play these games, it will also ignite your creative spark, and you’ll probably start to come up with some original games to add to the rotation.
Cookie Face
This is a simple game that’s both fun and potentially tasty. Each of the players will place a cookie on their forehead, so it is balanced and doesn’t fall off.
Then, they will have just a minute to get the cookie into their mouth without using their hands. They can only use their facial muscles, the angle of their face, etc. to maneuver the cookie into their mouth. It’s harder than it looks, but it’s possible.
If the cookie falls off, they can either catch it or get another if it falls to the floor and try again, as long as they have time left on the clock.
Stacks and Stacks
For this game, you’ll need to have some pennies. The more the better. You will want to have at least $5 worth, or more, if you have a lot of players and people going at the same time.
For this game, the goal is to stack as many towers of 25 pennies as possible in a minute. If a stack has more or fewer than 25 pennies, it doesn’t count. If the stack falls over, it doesn’t count. At the end of the minute, count up the stacks of pennies the person has.
At the end of the round, the person who has the most stacks of exactly 25 pennies will be the winner. If it’s a tie, both people are awarded points.
Copper Tower
This game also uses pennies, but the goal is slightly different. The goal is to stack as many pennies as possible into a tower that doesn’t fall over. The higher the tower gets the harder it will be to keep from falling. If the stack falls, the player needs to start again.
At the end of a minute, the stack of pennies is counted, and that’s the score to beat. Again, in the event of a tie, both people will receive a point.
Colorful Psychic
This game will require a deck of playing cards. Shuffle the deck and place the cards face-down in front of the player. They have a minute to guess the color of each card—red or black—as they go through the deck. They will announce their guess and then flip the card. Put the correctly guessed cards into a pile and discard the others.
At the end of a minute, tally up the cards to see how many they got right. If they don’t get through all of the cards in a minute, it doesn’t matter.
After everyone has gone, the person who is the most “psychic” is the winner. Ties mean both people get a point. This game is best played one at a time, so everyone can watch each player.
Card Thrower
Here’s another easy game that uses cards, but it does require a little cleanup between rounds. You will also need a laundry basket or a new, small trash can without a lid. The goal is simple.
The player will stand across the room and will throw as many cards as possible toward the basket. The goal is to get as many cards as possible into the basket within a minute. Both speed and accuracy are important for this game. The person who has the most cards land in their basket will receive the point.
Suck It Up
You will need to have either M&Ms, Skittles, or Reese’s Pieces for this game. Choose the candy that you feel most of the players will enjoy. You also need to have a standard drinking straw that has a small enough diameter that the candies won’t be sucked into the straw. You can opt for reusable straws if you like, as these are better for the environment.
Put 25 of the candies onto a small plate. Have a second empty plate next to the player, as well. The goal is to use the straw to create suction and move the candies from one plate to the other in a minute or less. Anyone who completes the task gets a point. Everyone gets to eat their candy at the end, so everyone should be happy even if they didn’t get a point.
Cup Stack
Those red party cups that seem to be available in just about any store are great tools to use with minute to win it games. The game is simple. Each person will have the same number of cups that they have to stack into a pyramid in one minute. If the pyramid falls, they will have to start over, as long as they have time on the clock. Everyone who can use all of the cups to create their pyramid will get a point.
A Mighty Wind
For this, you will need some balloons and red cups. Set up 20 of the red cups on a table. The player will blow up their balloon and then use the air from the balloon to knock over as many cups as possible in a minute. If they can knock over all 20 of the cups, they can set them up again and continue until time runs out.
Count the total number of cups each player knocks down. The players with the most will receive a point.
Target Practice
You’ll need the red cups for this game, along with some ping pong balls. You will place several cups at the far end of a table, on a counter, or on the floor depending on how much space you have available. The players will be between five and 10 feet, or more, away from the cups.
Depending on the age of the players, you will want to adjust the distance and the number of cups. Closer with more cups will be easier and tends to be a better option for younger players. Otherwise, they might get too frustrated.
The players then have to get as many of the ping pong balls into the cups by throwing them. The balls can only bounce once before going into the cup to count. At the end of the minute, count up the number of ping pong balls in the cups. The person with the most balls in the cups gets the point. Again, if there is a tie, all of those who are tied will get a point.
Egg Carton Madness
For this, you’ll use an empty egg carton and ping pong balls. The goal is to get the balls into each section of the egg carton within a minute by tossing or bouncing them into it.
Because these balls tend to bounce around, it’s more difficult than you might think, so you will want to keep the distance closer than you would with the Target Practice game. Just a few feet away will still be a challenge for most.
At the end of a minute, count the number of balls in the carton. The person who has the most balls in the carton receives the point. Everyone who ties the top number gets points, as well.
Prepare for Your Games
The minute to win it games above are a great place to start. As you can see, you don’t need to have too much in the way of materials and items for the games. You’ll need to have some:
- Cookies
- Red cups
- Ping pong balls
- Decks of cards
- Empty egg carton
- Balloons
- Straws
- Little candies (Skittles, M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, Smarties, etc.)
- Pennies
- Plates
You may have some of these around the house already. The rest are easily found through grocery stores, party stores, or online. Once you have your materials, make sure you have a good location where you can play each of these games.
Start Creating Your Own Games
The games above are a great start for any game night, and you can find plenty of other examples online. However, after you start playing these games and get a better understanding of how they work, you’ll likely have some ideas of your own. Create your own games that you know will be a lot of fun for your family and friends.
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