Fun Indoor Teen Games

These fun indoor teen games will get the kids up and moving, and they’ll have a great time in the process.

It can be hard to entertain a large group of teens inside if you don’t want to rely on planting them in front of electronics. That’s why knowing lots of different indoor games and ideas is super helpful.

When my son was in high school he wanted to throw an end-of-season party for his wrestling team. I was all for it but was a little nervous about how I was going to keep over a dozen high school boys occupied so they wouldn’t get bored and turn my house into a giant wrestling mat.

Since the weather at the end of February is typically pretty miserable here, I wanted to come up with several games for teens that would give them a chance to be active even though we’d be inside, since outdoor games for teens were out of the question.

Indoor Action Games

If you have a large, open space in your home you can help the teens expend some energy with these totally indoor-safe games. Even better, all of these games are played with items you already have on hand.

Sock Wrestling

Clear a large space in the center of a carpeted room. Two players face off wearing socks but no shoes. The first person to remove both of his opponent’s socks wins.

Since we had a bunch of wrestlers, we used wrestling rules to determine legal moves. For the most part, you’ll want to establish rules that prevent serious injury or property damage.

Blindfold Obstacle Course

Have everyone pair off. Each team has one person wear a blindfold while the other person navigates him or her across a room filled with obstacles (a coffee table, chairs, a vacuum cleaner).

The team that accomplishes the task the fastest, wins. When played indoors, you want to have one team go at a time and use a timer to track how long it takes each team.

Paper Bag Relocation

Get 5 paper grocery bags (paper lunch bags or gift bags will work too) and cut each one to a different height. Line up the bags on one end of a room or hallway.

Each player must move all 5 bags from one end of the room or hallway to the opposite end. The trick is they can only use their mouths to pick up the bags and their hands cannot touch the ground to help them maintain balance when they bend over to retrieve the bags.

The player that accomplishes the task the fastest, wins.

Candy Games

The best thing about candy games is that the supplies you purchase for the games double as snack food when the games are over.

Taste the Rainbow

Players race to pick up as many Skittles as they can using only a straw and moving them from the cup they’re in to an empty cup. If you prefer, you can use M&M’s instead of Skittles.

Set a timer for 30 seconds and the player that moved the most candy wins.

Gummy Bear Contest

Fill a plate with whipped cream and hide a bunch of gummy bears in it. Players have to hold their hands behind their back and retrieve all of the gummy bears by using just their mouths.

You can also play a different version of the game where you fill a pie plate with whipped cream, top it with chocolate syrup and sprinkles and hide just one gummy bear in the whipped cream. The teen that finds their gummy bear first, wins.

Balloon Games

Balloons are great for indoor games because unlike balls, they don't fly through the air at high rates of speed with a ton of force behind them. Their unpredictable movement makes balloon games especially fun to watch.

Balloon Juggling

Blow up 3 balloons. Each person takes turns trying to keep the 3 balloons in the air as long as possible.

The juggler cannot hold any of the balloons for more than a split second but can use any body part to tap the balloons to keep them off the ground.

The player that keeps the 3 balloons in the air the longest, is the winner.

Balloon Blow

Have players pair off. Each pair gets one balloon and must keep it in the air by only blowing on it.

Players are not allowed to make physical content with the balloons at all. The team that keeps their balloon in the air the longest, wins.

Plastic Cup Games

I always have a supply of plastic cups on hand for impromptu parties so these are some of our favorite go-to games. The only thing you need other than the cups is a table to play them on (e.g. the kitchen table).

Pyramid Stack Race

Each player gets 36 cups. When time starts (declare "go" or blow a whistle) each player must construct a pyramid with the cups with a base of 8 cups, each row containing one less cup until the top row completes the pyramid with a single cup.

The first player to complete his or her pyramid wins. If you don't have enough table space or cups, have just 2-4 people compete at a time in heats and then have winners of each heat compete against one another.

Knockdown

Line up 20 cups along the edge of a table. Each player must knock down all of the cups using only their breath (variation: give the players an uninflated balloon and have them blow up the balloon and use the air as it releases from the balloon to knock down the cups).

The player that accomplishes the task the fastest wins.

Speed Stacker

Give each player a stack of 25 cups. The cup on the bottom of the stack should either be a different color than the other cups in the stack or should be marked so that it is visibly different than the other cups.

Players must remove the top cup from the stack and place it on the bottom and continue doing so until the unique cup is once again on the bottom of the stack. For added difficulty, require that the players alternate which hand they use to grab each cup as they move the cups from the top of the stack to the bottom.

The player that does this task the fastest wins.

Prizes for Indoor Teen Games

If you have a super competitive group of kids, winning the games will be its own prize. However, my son insisted that we reward each winner with something so I opted for candy.

I bought an assortment of the movie-theater style boxes at Walmart (M&Ms, Skittles, Junior Mints, Swedish Fish, etc.) and let the winners choose their prize.

Every teen I know (both boys and girls) always have some sort of lip balm and a pack of gum on them (apparently they're ready to kiss at a moment's notice) so these would be good prizes as well.

For girls, little bottles of nail polish or travel size bottles of lotion or hand sanitizer are a good choice.

If you're willing to spend a little more on prizes, you can offer gift cards to places teens like to hang out or shop. These can vary from $5 to $50 depending on your budget (e.g. movies vs bowling alley, Chick-fil-A vs Outback Steakhouse, Walmart vs Buckle).

For boys, gift cards for iTunes or online video games would be great prizes too.

More Indoor Games for Teens

Haven’t found the right activity yet? Don’t worry! We’re just getting started. Here’s 10 more ideas:

Printable Teen Party Games

Make Your Own Forehead Game – This is a great icebreaker.

What’s In Your Phone Game – This printable What’s In Your Phone Game is perfect for your daughter’s teen sleepovers & slumber parties.

Would You Rather Questions for Teens – An exciting game that is sure to break the ice and get teens talking.

Never Have I Ever Teenage Questions – A fun and wholesome icebreaker to get your teenagers talking.

Printable Kit – I recreated some of our favorite games in a printable kit. The kit includes instructions and cards for over 50 different games.

Minute to Win It Games

The video below includes 16 great Minute to Win It Games t