Top 10 Youth Group Games That Need No Equipment
Anything that needs a trip to the shops is a game you will not run. These ten need nothing at all, which means you can decide on one while you are walking into the room.
The real filter here is not equipment though, it is age. Plenty of no-equipment games are technically playable by a sixteen year old and will still get you the look. These are the ones chosen because they land with a teenage group specifically, either because the humour is theirs or because there is enough going on to hold their attention.
Looking for the full list?
This is a personal ten. If you want every game in the library that qualifies, see Youth Group Games With No Equipment.
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Murder Winks
The one that survives the "this is for little kids" test, because the fun is in the performance rather than the mechanic. A teenage group will escalate the deaths until somebody dies from behind the couch. Let them.
A circle game where a secret murderer winks people to death while a detective tries to identify them before everyone is eliminated.
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Cheese or Font
Works on any group over about eleven and needs literally nothing but a list you made on the bus. It is also the easiest one to run badly, so commit to the bit and read the names with a completely straight face.
The leader reads out a name and the group decides whether it is a cheese or a font. Hands on head for cheese, hands on hips for font.
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2 Truths, 1 Lie
The get-to-know-you game that does not feel like one. Keeps working with a group that already knows each other because the interesting part shifts from the facts to how well people can read each other. Cap it at fifteen or it drags.
Everyone shares two truths and one lie about themselves, and the group tries to guess which statement is the lie.
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Space Jump
The best improv game for a group that thinks it cannot do improv, because nobody is on their own for more than about thirty seconds. Set the rule that you never block the person already in the scene and it will not go off the rails.
An improv game where actors are added one at a time, each creating a new scenario based on the frozen pose of the previous actor.
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Human Knot
Old, obvious, and still works. Worth knowing that a group of about eight is the sweet spot: much larger and it becomes unsolvable, much smaller and it is over in a minute. Split a big group into several knots and race.
Everyone grabs hands across a circle to form a giant knot, then the group must untangle without letting go.
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The Question Game
Two people, everyone else watching, and it is funny within about four exchanges. Good as an up front game when you need something quick between two other things. Thirteen and up, because younger groups tend to freeze.
Two players must have an entire conversation using only questions. Answer with a statement and you're out.
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Bang
Fast, physical enough to wake a group up, and over quickly. The group polices itself once the first couple of eliminations happen. Use it to reset the energy in the middle of a long night rather than to open.
A Western-themed reflex game where players must duck when pointed at, and the two people beside them shoot each other. Last to call bang is out.
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Silent Line Up
Teams, no talking, and a result you can check. Line up by birthday first because it is easy, then by something harder like height from the back of the room. The arguing afterwards is most of the value.
Without speaking, teams race to line themselves up in order of height, birthday or alphabetical first name.
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Spaceship Tip
The one for when the group is too big for anything clever. Thirty people minimum and it only gets better as it grows. Needs a decent amount of space and a hard floor is a bad idea.
Teams of four form human spaceships, three players holding hands around a captain, and try to tip other captains without breaking formation.
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The Game
Not really a game so much as a running joke you install in your group and never uninstall. Introduce it on the first night of camp and it will still be going a year later. Nobody wins, which is the point.
An ongoing game where the sole rule is: if you think about The Game, you lose.
More from the library
Browse all games- 1 Games to Play with No Resources
Murder Winks
A circle game where a secret murderer winks people to death while a detective tries to identify them before everyone is eliminated.
- 2 Up Front Games
Cheese or Font
The leader reads out a name and the group decides whether it is a cheese or a font. Hands on head for cheese, hands on hips for font.
- 3 Get to Know You
2 Truths, 1 Lie
Everyone shares two truths and one lie about themselves, and the group tries to guess which statement is the lie.