12 Weird (But Fun!) Game Ideas for When You’re Stuck Indoors

Is being stuck inside starting to get you down?

When we are stuck at home, most of us find ourselves at a loss and become bored. Without an escape, it can turn into days of drudgery that blend into one. But just because you’re stuck indoors doesn’t mean you can’t have an adventure!

Read on for these 12 weird (but fun) game ideas to pass to the time indoors.

1. Post-It Note Game

The only equipment you need is a Post-It Note stack and a pen. You write the name of a well-known person or character on each sticky note.

Each person playing picks a note at random and sticks it to their forehead without reading it. Sit everyone in a circle and take turns asking a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question.

A good start is “Am I living?” Or “Am I male/female?” The object of the game is for each person to work out and say who they have written on their forehead. You can keep playing until everyone has guessed, and offer a prize to the person who guessed first.

2. Tabletop Roleplay (D&D)

For those looking for something more adventurous then tabletop roleplay is for you. This is one of the most fun games to play with friends, as far as game night ideas go, it’s right up there at the top. You can step into your favorite fantasy or sci-fi world with a character of your own making.

While there, you embark on epic quests and shape the world around you. Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is by far the most immersive tabletop roleplay.

Journey with a group of friends, you’ll grow in power, skill, and wealth. You’ll become invested in your character, and want them to succeed. Watch them grow and become part of the adventure.

All you need is an imaginative dungeon master, a pen & paper, and a set of roleplaying dice. Anodized aluminum dice sets are the best choice, and will serve you well in all your adventures.

3. Betrayal at House on the Hill

This game is for all those people who ever wondered how long they’d last in a horror story. Betrayal at House on the Hill lets you cast each group member as a typical horror trope character.

You’re then let loose in a mansion that will open up room by room as you go through the playthrough. Inside, something is waiting, and it’s not going to be a pleasant experience. With tension and slow burn reveal, it keeps all players on edge and no playthrough is ever the same.

You will trigger disasters, weird/creepy events, and dark omens. Find enough of these omens, you’ve got yourself a fully-fledged horror movie situation.

Whatever happens, you need to work together to make it out alive. Or most of the time anyway, as one player in your team could be a traitor ready to sacrifice you all. It’s a great board game but it’s adult only.

4. Spirit Island

This is a game you can play alone, where you become a defender of nature and need to fight off invaders. Spirit Island flips the classic colonial conquest themes of games like risk.

Instead, the player needs to control the forces of nature and use them to scare off European invasion. It’s got a high complexity level, but that doesn’t mean it’ll consume hours. It’s a game that can scale to both long group play sessions and faster pace solo sessions.

You’ll need high concentration to figure out the puzzles each turn gives you. As your burgeoning deck of powers grows, you’ll need to work out how best to use them. All before the invaders ravage and overwhelm your homeland.

5. Jig-Saw Puzzles

Puzzles are a great way to keep your cognitive functions in-tune. And they’ll keep your problem-solving up to scratch too. There are plenty of store-bought puzzles on the market but for extra family fun why not make your own.

Get the kids to draw a picture on a sturdy piece of cardboard. You can then draw puzzle outlines, which you then cut around to make your pieces.

All you need is a piece of cardboard, drawing pens and a pair of good cardboard scissors. Once you have the pieces, muddle them up and then solve the puzzle. You could make one for each member of the family and race to see who solves them first.

6. Indoor Bowling

This is a great use for any water bottles you have laying around, or you can buy an indoor bowling set. Line up around 6-10 water bottles (or skittles) at the end of the hall or living room.

With a bit of duct tape, mark the line on the floor where you bowl from. With an indoor medium-sized ball, you’re ready to start bowling. You can do it in teams, or compete as individuals.

To add a little more difficulty you can add a little water to the bottles to give them more weight. You could even have a prize or trophy for the winner.

Don’t forget, if you’re using water in the bottles make sure to screw the lid on tight. And make sure there isn’t anything valuable or breakable nearby!

7. Would You Rather?

If you’re living with housemates, or family, it’s a good way to get to know each other better. You might find things out about each other you never would have guessed. For an adult-only situation, it can also be one of the best drinking game ideas.

Everyone sits in a circle, and you ask the person to your left “who you rather…?” You should give them a choice between two challenging situations.

For example, “would you rather not shower for a year or not change your underwear for a year?” Or “would you rather give up chocolate or crisps if you had to?”

Once the person has answered, it’s their turn to then ask a question to the person on their left. You continued going around until you can’t think of any more questions.

8. Two Truths and a Lie

This is another game to play if you want to get to know the people you’re stuck with better. You select 3 statements about yourself. For example:

1. “I have [x number] of siblings
2. “I’ve never been on a boat”
3. “I am allergic to seafood”

Two of the statements you choose must be facts about yourself. The third must be a lie. Everyone guesses which statement is the lie and the person who gets it right first go next.

If you’re playing with friends or family, try to pick more obscure facts. It’ll be fun discovering the small things you never knew about each other.

9. Telephone Pictionary

For those of you who are more creative, put your drawing skills to the test with Telephone Pictionary. As far as games go, it’s one of the most fun games you can play. Make a list of words, and then get a piece of paper and a pencil at the ready.

Sit everyone in a line and whisper the first word into the first person’s ear. They have to draw that word, and then pass it on to the next person.

Without having the word said aloud, they need to guess from the drawing what it is. They need to draw what they think it is and pass it on again, following this same pattern until the last person.

The last person then has to guess what the word is from the drawings. It’s great, hilarious fun for all the family and your friends to play. Especially when the drawings end up nothing like the word at the start!

10. Indoor Scavenger Hunt

This is another family game, but it can suit any age group. In your yard or home, hide little treats or trinkets for the other members to find. It takes a bit of planning, but it’s well worth it.

Come up with clues on how to find each treasure. For younger members of the family, picture-based clues are better. For teens and adults, you can make them riddle based. It’s one of the most entertaining game ideas for kids and adults alike.

11. Dots & Boxes

This is another great game that only needs a pen and paper to play. Dots & Boxes starts with an empty sheet of dotted paper (or you can make your own on plain paper).

Each player takes it in turns to add 1 horizontal or verticle line to join two un-joined dots. The dots must be next to each other. The goal is to make a box, putting your initial inside it to claim a point.

You can make the board any size, so games can be as short or as long as you want them to be. The game is over when there aren’t anymore lines to complete and the winner is the one with the most boxes.

12. Hangman

This is a game we’ve all played as children. One player thinks of a word or phrase and writes lines for the number of letters it contains.

The remaining players then take turns in guessing the letters that are in it. For each incorrect letter, the first player draws a piece of the gallows. Or you can start with the gallows already drawn for a shorter, more challenging game.

Game Ideas to Keep you Occupied

So, there you have it! Now you know these 12 awesome but weird game ideas, you’ll be sure to stave off the boredom.

Being stuck indoors doesn’t have to bore you to tears. There are plenty of fun things you can do alone, or together as a family or as housemates. Think outside the box, and make the most of the time to get to know each other and reaffirm bonds.

If you enjoyed this article, check out our other blog posts for more.

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