31 One Minute Party Games for Family

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Family, friends gathering, and dinner party can be turned into a fun time by playing some games together. And my go-to games for any gathering at home are one-minute party games. These are quick and high-energy games that can be played with minimal to no preparation beforehand. Some of these are so fun and minimal effort that we even ended up playing them at night on our recent 1-day family gathering at a resort. Let’s have a look at these games and turn free boring time into fun-filled laughter.

Solo Challenges

Suck It Up

You use a straw to suck up small candies (like M&Ms) and move them to another plate. You can only release them once they’re directly over the target. Sounds simple, but after a few rounds, your cheeks will be burning. I once accidentally dropped the M&M while moving it, right at the spot I picked, only to find out when I reached the drop plate. Everyone was laughing, and it was so fun.

Pro tip: Go for a thinner straw; it helps with control. And take deep breaths before you start, so you don’t run out of air too quickly.

Penny Tower

Stack as many pennies as you can in one minute using just one hand. It sounds easy, but once you get to 15 or 20, your tower gets super wobbly. And everyone around is super curious.

Team Challenges

Junk in the Trunk

This game gets everyone moving and laughing. You strap an empty tissue box filled with ping pong balls to a player’s waist. They have to shake out all the balls in under a minute, without using their hands. My cousin took the challenge way too seriously and ended up looking like dancing at a concert.

Pro tip: Use a tight belt or ribbon to keep the box secure. You can hint to the players to bend and shake their hips side to side, but most of the time, they just keep jumping up and down.

Cup Stack Relay

Make a stack of cups as a tower or pyramid at the starting point. Each player will unstack the cups and stack again, then run to tag the next player to repeat it. The first team to finish wins. To make it more challenging, try to blindfold the player and let teammates verbally guide each other.

Pro tip: Keep the cups stacked neatly before passing them. If they fall, it wastes time. A light touch is better than rushing and knocking them over.

M&M Sort

Each player gets a bowl of mixed M&Ms and must sort them by color into separate cups using one hand. The person with the most sorted candies in a minute wins. We played this at night out coz we always have M&M when we travel with kids.

Pro tip: Instead of grabbing one M&M at a time, use your fingers to slide them into groups first; it’s faster.

Land at Target

Players make a paper airplane and try to land it in a target area (like a laundry basket) from a set distance. Whoever gets the most wins. Make it more challenging by having different-sized targets worth different points for extra strategy.

Pro tip: Simple designs fly best. A plane with sharp folds and a pointed tip usually glides further.

Water Bottle Flip

A classic challenge where players try to flip a half-full water bottle and land it upright. Whoever lands the most flips in a minute wins. This is such an easy game, and you can actually play it anywhere. My daughter and I played this game numerous times this summer vacation. It really gets these when someone gets super close, but the bottle wobbles and falls right at the last second.

Pro tip: Fill the bottle one-third full for the best balance. A soft flick works better than a hard throw.

Competitive Head-to-Head Games

Movin’ On Up

Starts the game with a stack of 39 red cups and 1 blue cup at the bottom. The goal is to move the blue cup to the top by taking the top red cup and placing it at the bottom, one at a time, as fast as possible. You must keep a steady rhythm and not rush too much, or the stack will wobble and fall. You can make it more challenging by doing it with one hand.

Chopstick Pickup

Using chopsticks, players must transfer small objects like marshmallows, beads, or gummy bears from one bowl to another in under a minute. The person who moves the most wins. My cousin can eat with chopsticks, so for her it was very easy. We were impressed with her speed and grip. Of course, she won.

Pro tip: Hold the chopsticks closer to the tip for better control. If you’re not great with chopsticks, try squeezing them like tweezers instead

Noodling Around

Players hold a piece of uncooked spaghetti in their mouth and try to pick up dry penne pasta using only the spaghetti, no hands allowed. My husband and his brother said it’s too easy. Only to find that it’s not, and the spaghetti snaps right when they are close to getting the penne pasta.

Pro tip: Move slow and steady so the spaghetti doesn’t break. Keep your head level and don’t bite down too hard.

Stack It High

Players must stack 10 dice on top of a popsicle stick held in their mouth before the timer runs out. Start stacking on a flat surface first, then carefully lift the popsicle stick to your mouth to keep it steady. Unexpected challenge: Someone laughs too hard, and their whole stack falls over.

Speed Challenges

Spoon Frog

This game always gets everyone cheering. You take a spoon, place it on the edge of a table with the handle sticking out, and use another spoon to press down on the handle. The goal is to catapult the first spoon into a cup placed a few feet away. It gets crazy funny when the spoon completely misses the cup and lands in some other place instead.

Pro tip: Don’t smack the spoon too hard, or it will go flying across the room. A quick, controlled press works best.

Puddle Jumper

This one is simple but trickier than it looks. Players blow a ping pong ball across a row of water cups to get it from one end to the other without it falling off. The funniest part is watching someone get lightheaded from blowing too hard and still missing the last cup.

Pro tip: Short, quick puffs of air work better than one long blow. If you go too hard, the ball will skip too fast and fall off.

Tweeze Me

Use tweezers to pick up tiny objects like Tic Tacs or small beads and move them into another container before time runs out. It sounds easy, but the pressure makes hands shaky; steady hands win this game. It gets really frustrating when you drop one last piece, and time’s up.

Pro tip: Hold the tweezers closer to the tip for better control.

Egg Roll

Players must blow an egg across the floor to a finish line, using only their breath. No hands allowed. The funny thing is that the egg never rolls in a straight line, so half the time, players are chasing it all over the room.

Pro tip: Keep your head low and blow gently so the egg doesn’t roll sideways. If it starts to wobble, move to the side to adjust.

Nose Dive

Each player dips their nose into a little bit of petroleum jelly, then tries to pick up a cotton ball using only their nose and move it to another plate. It was so funny watching our strict uncle wiggle his nose like a bunny trying to make the cotton ball stick when we played this game at New Year’s dinner gathering.

Pro tip: A light touch works better than smashing your face into the cotton ball.

Balance Challenges

Cereal Box Puzzle

This one seems simple, but it can get difficult. You can cut the front of a cereal box into six to ten pieces and mix them up. Players must arrange the pieces into the original picture before time runs out. To make it difficult, you can cut it into smaller pieces.

Stack ‘Em Up

Players must stack 25 pennies into a single tower using only one hand. Sounds easy, right? But as the stack grows, your fingers start to shake under pressure. To make it difficult, you can increase the pennies to 30 or more. Trying to do it in 1 minute makes it more challenging. I have seen so many times the whole stack tips over when someone places their final penny, or is just a few pennies away.

Balloon Blow

Each player gets a balloon and must blow it up and push a cup across the table to the finish line using the air inside. I saw this game on YouTube. We made everyone play together to see who reaches the finish line first or gets nearest in 1 minute. The cup was going in wild directions, making it look like everyone’s playing a different game. It was so hilarious to watch 2 of my cousins arguing, “That’s my cup”. The chaos made it more fun.

Pro tip: Short bursts of air give better control. If you blow too hard, the cup might fly off the table.

Soda Can Balance

A half-full soda can must be tilted at an angle and balanced on its bottom edge without tipping over. Whoever keeps it up the longest wins. If you drink exactly half the soda, it gives the best weight distribution. Too much or too little liquid makes balancing nearly impossible.

Penny Bridge

Using only 30 pennies, players must build a bridge between two stacks of books that can hold at least one additional penny on top without collapsing. My friend lost it when he placed the final penny.

Pro tip: Layer the pennies like bricks instead of stacking them straight up. A wide base makes it sturdier.

Funny & Wacky Challenges

Jelly Donut on a String

Nothing gets a crowd laughing like watching people try to eat a swinging donut with no hands. Tie a jelly donut to a string and hang it from a doorway or have someone hold it. Players must eat the entire donut before time runs out. It gets funny when someone bites too hard, and half the donut smacks them in the face.

Wrap It Up

Players must wrap their partner like a mummy using a full roll of toilet paper before the timer runs out. The first team to use the whole roll wins. We always play this game at Halloween. It’s fun watching people try to waddle around like mummies without their wrapping falling apart.

Marshmallow Mouth

Each player stuffs one marshmallow at a time into their mouth while clearly saying a funny phrase like “chubby bunny” after each one. The person who fits the most before mumbling too much wins. It gets funny when someone tries to say the phrase with a completely stuffed mouth, and everyone bursts into laughter.

Pro tip: Push the marshmallows into the sides of your mouth instead of straight back, which gives you extra space.

Gummy Bear Toss

One player tosses gummy bears into their teammate’s mouth from a few feet away. The team with the most catches in one minute wins. It gets really funny when someone goes for a crazy dive to catch a gummy or the gummy hits their face. You can even play it with popcorn. Avoid doing this with Skittles or M&M. They can choke. Avoid with younger kids.

Pro tip: Use underhand throws for better aim and tell the catcher to keep their mouth wide open and eyes locked on the gummy bear.

Balloon Pop Relay

Each team must run to a chair, sit on a balloon, and pop it before running back to tag their next teammate. The first team to pop all their balloons wins. It is a simple game, but it gets really funny to see people bouncing on a balloon or losing balance when the balloon bursts.

Skill Challenges

Card Ninja

To play this game, players must flick playing cards one by one at a foam board like the one used for flower arrangement, trying to get them to stick. It is not easy to land the card such that its edge hits the foam and gets stuck on it.

Pro tip: Hold the card by the short edge and flick it with a quick snap of your wrist for the best spin.

Match Maker

Make a big pile of multi-colored candies or buttons, or random small objects. Those tiny buttons really make the game difficult. Players must sort and match them by color using only one hand on the table before the timer runs out. It gets really challenging for boys with their big fingers to find and paint tiny objects, and the pressure of time makes the game very exciting. The one who does the fastest or the most is the winner. Whenever we play these games, it’s always a girl who wins, because of their slim and flexible fingers.

Word Scramble

Before the game, prepare random scrambled words on index cards. Players must unscramble as many words as possible before time runs out. It gets fun and loud when people shout out wild guesses when they’re completely stumped. You can get some printable word scrambles. We used this at one of the Christmas parties.

Dice Stack on a Spoon

Each player must balance a spoon in their mouth and stack dice on it one by one without dropping them. The tallest stack wins. It gets hilarious when someone’s stack is almost done, and then one tiny shake makes the whole thing fall, or when they are trying to keep the spoon still and have funny expressions.

Fast Fingers

Place a cup filled with small things like paper clips or beads of different colors on the table. Players need to sort as many as possible into other cups for respective colors with only one hand. It looks simple, and too lame for grown-ups to play, but when you try to do it at speed, the small items keep slipping out of your fingers.

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