Looking for fun games to play at home when bored? With these games, you can enjoy an entire afternoon of fun and laughter with your friends and family, with adults or kids, or even on your own!

Today we’re going to share some fun games that will keep boredom at bay while keeping your brain sharp. There are traditional games to play with your friends and family, but there are also online games to play for single players which can provide a lot of fun, which is why the online casino is popular. 

Whatever you choose, these are perfect for rainy days and days with nothing to do other than sit inside and relax. So grab some food and drink and get ready for a good time! 

DIY your own challenging game at home when bored, like Toilet Roll Toss

Strapped for cash?  This is a fun game that anyone can play despite their physical ability or level of coordination and without needing to buy anything, providing you have some craft materials and clean recycling in your home already. All you need is an empty roll and some tape! Place the toilet roll on a flat surface, such as a table or floor. 

Next, take your tape and hold it about 10cm from one end, sticky side up. Stick the other end to the toilet roll, so it sticks vertically in the air. You have just made your very own target! The goal of Toilet Roll Toss is to toss things at the rolls, so they land inside them! 

If items aren’t cylindrical, try using small plastic plates instead for less accurate aiming attempts.

Grab any number of things you have around the house, such as crumpled-up paper, pencils, or even balls of blue-tac, and give this game a try! 

You can set goals for yourself, such as landing three items inside the roll without any falling out. To increase difficulty, you can move further away from your target.

Even without any internet or purchased games, it’s easy to craft your own DIY game and challenge using items you have around the house and clean recycling!

Board Game Nights 

Board games are a fun activity that will require some preparation ahead of time but can be well worth it! You may need to borrow board games from friends and family members before engaging in this activity- trust me, it is worth it!

If you don’t have many board games yourself and can’t borrow from family and friends then check out your local charity shops.  You’ll be sure to find some classics at bargain prices!

If you don't have a partner or anyone to play with at home, why not go online and play scrabble or chess against another online player or a computer?  There are lots of free games you can play online challenging yourself or playing against others.  If you have a smartphone or a tablet then you’ll find lots of free game apps.

Some cool online games that you can try out include Hearts or even online jigsaw puzzles. If you’re playing Hearts online, you can excel at the trick-based game by playing against the computer or even playing against friends and family in multiplayer mode. 

For the online jigsaw puzzles, you can choose from thousands of different options and customize the settings so it fits your preferences. It’s also possible to upload an image and create your own online jigsaw puzzle to share with others.

Dance Battle 

How often do we remember the dance battles from movies such as Step Up or Billy Elliot? If you’re not familiar with those movies, then don’t worry! All you need is some tunes and a flair for the imagination to engage in this fun game at home alone. 

Whether it’s imagining that you are dancing on stage with an incredible partner or suspecting that your opponent is your worst enemy and your goal is to destroy them on the dance floor, there are many ways to make this game your own!

Check out Just Dance Now if you have a smartphone and internet screen on your TV as you can play this dance video game from home without even owning a games console!

The Name Game

The Name Game is a fun game to play with family and friends and you don’t need anything aside from yourself.  You may even have played it before as a drinking game!

One person starts by saying the name of a famous person and the next person must say the name of a famous person whose name begins with the first letter of the surname of the person said before.  For example, if someone says Bruce Willis, the next person must think of a famous person beginning with the letter W.

You can make it harder by saying actors only or cartoon characters only.

Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt 

HPSH is an excellent activity for people who love Harry Potter and board games. It’s a great game for kids if they love Harry Potter and you can DIY this game at home yourself.

You can create scrolls for clues and hide objects around the house that relate to Harry Potter.  You can even print off pictures of the characters and hide those.

Check out this blog post for inspiration of how a Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt can be done: https://www.jobsinchildcare.com/blog/how-to-create-an-epic-treasure-hunt-your-kids-will-love/ 

Harry Potter Film Quotes

This is another fun Harry Potter-themed game perfect for fans who know the dialogue off by heart! 

First, print off images online or cut them out of magazines that represent each character in the Harry Potter film series and make some Harry Potter character cards.

Then place this pile of cards upside down, you may wish to print out more than one of each character to make the game longer.  Or you can simply write down the characters names on some card and turn upside down.

Then take it in turns to pick a card and say a quote from the film for the character you have drawn.  Whoever first guesses the correct character scores a point!  Or you can write them down and total up the winner at the end.

I went to the supermarket and bought… 

We all know this one!  Great for kids and funny for adults too.  You can choose to keep it family-friendly or you can change the name of the shop you are visiting from a supermarket to something more hilarious (if adult only) like Ann Summers or similar!!

The first person says ‘I went to the supermarket and bought…’ and they state an item.  The next person has to say ‘I went to the supermarket and bought…’ listing the first person’s item and adding on an item of their own.  It keeps going around the circle as the list of items gets bigger and bigger.  The loser is the first person who can’t remember all the items in order!

Hot Potato

So you've probably played hot potato before, and if you haven't, I'll give a quick rundown of how it works. Hot Potatoes are thrown between players, and every time a potato is caught, it heats up. When the hot potato gets passed to you, you have to find someone else to hand it to before it burns your fingers, and you get eliminated. The last player to catch the potato wins.

Of course, you don’t have to really use an actual hot potato and risk burning yourself and I wouldn’t advise it!  Instead, you can throw a potato, or family-friendly bean bag, around in a circle and someone can play and stop some music.  Whoever has the beanbag ‘potato’ on the stopped music is out.  Or if you drop the ‘potato’ then you are also out.

There are even Hot Potato kids games you can buy.

 

For more boredom-busting ideas, check out these articles: 

Fun ways to beat boredom on a long flight

Activities for boring commutes 

Fun things to do when you’re bored at home with the kids 

3 Interesting things to do when you’re bored