Sick of hearing “I’m bored!” from your older kids? Entertaining tweens indoors can be challenging, as they tend to turn their noses up at all suggestions that don’t involve technology! So if you’re looking for alternatives to plugged in activities, here are 25 of the best indoor games for kids aged 8-12 yrs, that will be sure to keep everyone happy!
The kids will be driving you and each other crazy in no time if they’re feeling cooped up, so get them started with one of these indoor games for kids and then listen for the laughter!
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Best Indoor Games for Kids
#1. What Am I Eating?
My tween loves playing this game with his friends. They blindfold one person and raid the cupboards to find items for them to taste. Things like honey, soy sauce, mustard, frozen pea, marshmallow etc. all work well.
The blindfolded person must try and guess what they have been given to taste. Make sure you check for food allergies before playing this game. And it is probably best to supervise the food choices!
#2. He Said She Said
A fun way to get the kids’ imaginations going.
Each person gets a piece of paper and a pen/pencil. They write the first few lines of a story, fold the page until the last line or last few words of the previous person’s story is only visible, and pass the paper over the to next person, who writes the next few lines, and so on until the page comes back to the original author.
Since each child cannot see all of the previous person’s story, they must write their lines based on one sentence/word. The resulting mixed-up stories will invariably bring much laughter.
#3. Play Alphabet Chat
Challenge each other to talk for a minute each without using words beginning with an agreed letter of the alphabet.
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#4. Create a Secret Code
#16. Beetle
Beetle is a drawing game which you play with dice. Each beetle body part has a number associated with it, and that number must be rolled before can draw that particular body part.
- 6 – Head – one needed
- 5 – Body – one needed
- 4 – Tail – one needed
- 3 – Leg – four needed
- 2 – antenna – two needed
- 1 – eye – two needed
Winner is person who gets their beetle drawn first.
#17. Twenty Questions
One person thinks of a thing or a person and the others have to guess what it is but are only allowed to ask questions that get a Yes or a No. The others must guess by the 20th question. First one to guess gets to pick the next item to be guessed.
#18. Sardines
Sardines gives a twist to the classic game of hide and seek. Instead of one person seeking and everyone else hiding, one person hides and everyone else seeks.
Once one of the seekers finds the person hiding, they must hide with that person. This continues until there is only one person left seeking, and everyone else is crammed together like sardines in the hiding place. The last person to find everyone else now becomes the new hider for the next round.
#19. Make Up Limericks
Have a go at making up limericks, a limerick has five lines; the first, second, and fifth rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth rhyme with each other. Give the kids a theme, or first line to get them going.
Here’s one by Edward Lear:
There was an Old Man with a beard
Who said, ‘It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!’
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#20. Build it High
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Published On: March 10th, 2020 / Categories: Things To Do / Last Updated: January 31st, 2022 / Tags: Free Things to Do, Games, Indoor Activities for Kids, Kids Activities at Home, Party Games & Ideas, Rainy Day Activities, Tweens (9-12 years) /
About the Author: jenniferb
Jennifer, has 1 son and admits to munching a Cadbury’s Turkish Delight now and again.
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