Do you have children aged 3 to 12 and want to find small indoor or outdoor games to keep them busy? This article is for you, as most of these small games have very simple rules that can be easily learned by children.
These games are an excellent way to promote social relationships, improve spirit and intellect, stay active, and, in general, develop positively.
Discover 17 small games for children aged 3 to 12 to have fun with the family. Teach them to your children and enjoy them together.
1. The Gabaky
It is a precision game suitable for both children and adults. The goal of the game is to aim at the target while pointing or shooting the opponent's ball.
The team with the better-placed balls that reaches 13 points first wins the game
The game rules are really easy to understand and children over 6 years old have no difficulty playing this game.
2. The seated ball
You need a fairly large field to play this game. The best thing about this game is that there are no teams and everyone can play. You simply pass the ball to a player and they try to hit another player using the ball without making any movement with the ball in their hand.
If a player is hit, they sit on the ground where they were hit and try to catch a ball passing within their reach without moving.
3. The snowball
This is one of the most interesting small games to exercise children's memory. The children sit in a circle.
The first child says their name out loud, the child to their right repeats this name, then follows with their own name. The third child tries to repeat the name of the first and second child and adds their own name, and so on.
4. Chance and knowledge
Children need a die to play this game. They roll the die and give a quick presentation based on the number that comes up. Each number corresponds to a certain group: their name, their age, their favorite song, their favorite book, their favorite animal, what they hate the most.
5. The caterpillar race
Ideal when you need to organize a large number of children, for example during a birthday party in the park.
The team that arrives first without dropping any balls wins.
6. Line up! A game for disciplined children
This game is ideal for camping trips or family outings. It involves asking the children to line up according to the alphabetical order of their first names, shoe size, or shoe number.
This is one of the most effective small games to test children's execution speed.
7. Hide and seek, the quintessential children's game
Who doesn't know the game of hide and seek? An unusual indoor game, but it doesn't require many players, as 3 or 4 players are enough. You just need a place with enough hiding spots to get into the mood.
8. Photo game for young and old
This game is one of the favorite outdoor games for children aged 3 to 12 because it allows them to play and learn how to handle the camera.
Moreover, they never lack things to photograph: the landscape, the fruits and the trees, not to mention the insects and animals around them.
9. The tic-tac detective game
It's one of those little games that remind us of childhood, because we like the idea of being detectives. If you have enough time to play, try this game which consists of finding pairs with the same tic.
You just need to gather more than 7 players aged 6 to 12 to play this game.
10. Three-legged race
This is a game where children's coordination is more important than speed. Divide the participants into pairs or groups of three, and they must stand side by side. Then, tie one leg of each member together with a scarf or jacket. The first couple to reach the finish line is the winner.
11. The Intruder
This is an activity for children aged 3 to 5 that allows them to compare, differentiate, and recognize the objects around them.
To play this game, simply gather a few objects of the same category and introduce an intruder. It is up to the child to find the intruder and point it out. More than 2 players are enough to play this game.
12. The king of silence
If you are looking for a calm game, this is the one to choose. All the children are sitting in a circle around the king, who is sitting on a chair.
A player tries to fetch a sound object on the leader's command and quietly returns to their place while making sure the king does not hear them. This game encourages the child to listen and concentrate.
13. Morse code alphabet
Here is a little game for children that will liven up your family evening, as it is very easy to do. You just need to find the name of an object using a Morse code card.
The first player who manages to decipher the object brings it back to the facilitator. You need more than 2 players aged 9 to 12 to make this game more fun.
14. The handkerchief game
Form two teams of at least 4 players each. Each member of a team must be identified by a number: 1,2,3... Thus, when the one holding the handkerchief in the middle line says the number, the child from each team must run to retrieve the handkerchief and return to the starting point.
15. The hidden whistle
It is an ideal game to entertain children over 6 years old at the end of the day. You can ask your children to play it in a quiet environment.
When everyone is lying down, it means they have found the whistle and we can ask them to point to it with their arm. This game is much more fun with more than 4 players.
16. The marble game
Everyone loves playing marbles because there are no specific rules to follow. You just need to choose the game that best suits your children aged 6 to 12, as there are many ways to play this outdoor or indoor game.
17. One, two, three, Sun
One of the children is in charge of turning around and saying aloud "One, two, three, sun." When he/she finishes the sentence, he/she will turn around to look, and the rest of the classmates must remain still. The others must move forward as quickly as possible, but if they do not freeze when the player turns around, they must return to the starting point.
What little game to offer to children?
Despite the rise of video games, smartphones, and new technologies, there are still fun games that current generations can play together and with their parents. You have already seen some of them in this non-exhaustive list of small games for children aged 3 to 12.
All that's left is to choose the right one, taking into account your child's age and the number of players you have.
