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There’s really no better way to break the ice at a party than by playing a few hilarious “minute to win it” games, and the more ridiculous the game, the better! Some of our family’s fondest memories revolve around a fun game we played at a family gathering.
For party games to be truly memorable, you need enthusiastic participation from your players. (We’re somewhat lucky in that regard, because our family is full of shameless competitors!) Bribery can go a long way here — offering a prize is an easy way to pique people’s interest in participating, even if it’s just for a change at snagging a $10 gift card.
The best party games are also easy and relatively quick to play, and that’s why minute to win it games are ideal for parties. These simple games would be a great way to liven up any family gathering, whether an at-home New Year’s Eve celebration or as an addition to your Christmas Eve traditions.
Scroll to the bottom of the post for a few tips about adapting these easy minute to win it games to better suit the ages and abilities of your guests.
What Is The Most Popular Minute To Win It Game?
The most popular Minute to Win It game is probably Cookie Face. In this game, each player attempts to move a cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands at all. Its simple premise, challenging nature, and sheer absurdity make this one of the most fun games to play (and even more fun to watch!)
Ready to dive in? Here are the 25 best minute to win it games that promise to make your next family game night one to remember.
25 Fun Minute To Win It Games For Adults And Kids
1. Cereal Scramble Game
The goal of Cereal Scramble is to reassemble the front panel of a cereal box that has been cut into pieces.
- Remove the front panel from several empty cereal boxes, then cut the panels into simple puzzles with equal numbers of pieces.
- Stack the pieces and set a timer for one minute.
- The first player to correctly assemble their puzzle wins! (If no one finishes in under a minute, the player with the most complete puzzle wins.)
2. Movin’ On Up Game
The goal of the Movin’ On Up Game is to take one blue cup from the top of a stack of red plastic cups and move it to the bottom with one hand, continuing until the blue cup returns to the top of the stack.
- Each player starts with a stack of 40 plastic cups – 39 red cups and one blue one at the top.
- If you have trouble finding colored cups, use 40 clear or white cups and decorate one with markers or stickers to make it stand out.
- Get through the stack of drinking cups before the timer runs out! First one to reveal the blue (or decorated) cup wins!
3. Thread It Game
The goal of the Thread It Game is to thread as many needles as you can in one minute.
- Ten needles are placed on a table and when the clock starts players may lick or bend thread as needed to get it through the eye of the needle.
- With a time of just 60 seconds to complete the task, contestants need to thread each needle in less than 10 seconds to win the game.
- Not a great kids’ game, for obvious reasons!
4. Scoop It Up Game
The goal of Scoop it Up is to use a spoon to move six ping pong balls from one bowl to another within a minute, and without using your hands.
- If a ball is dropped, players may use their hands to pick it up and return it to the original bowl.
- The first one to successfully move six ping pong balls wins.
Beware… this is a more challenging game than it may appear!
The goal of Cookie Face is to get a cookie that is resting on your forehead into your mouth in under 1 minute — without using your hands.
- Have players stand in a line with their hands behind their backs, then place a cookie on each player’s forehead and start a one minute timer.
- If a player’s cookie falls off their face or they use their hands, they have to replace the cookie on their forehead and start again.
- The first player to get the cookie into their mouth wins.
6. Mr. President
The goal of the Mr. President Game is to name as many of the 45 U.S. presidents as possible in 60 seconds.
- It sounds easy—until you’re the one attempting to do it!
7. Defy Gravity Game
The goal of this game is to successfully keep three balloons in the air for one minute.
More Ideas You'll Love
- If a balloon strays outside the play area, pops or touches the floor, the game is over.
- You may use any part of your body to keep the balloons in play, but they can’t rest on your body or be held.
8. Rice Bowl
The goal of the Rice Bowl Game is to transfer rice from one bowl to another armed with only a pair of chopsticks!
- The one who moves the most rice in one minute wins!
- Extra challenge: Even seasoned chopstick users will struggle with this one if the rice is uncooked!
9. Name Dropper
The goal of this game is to name as many celebrities as you possibly can before the one minute buzzer.
- If the players are pop culture savvy, make it tougher by limiting them to a specific segment of celebrities, like female rock stars, talk show hosts, or olympic athletes.
10. Apple Stacks Game
The goal is to create a vertical stack of 5 apples in under 1 minute — fun for younger kids and older kids alike!
- Give each player 5 apples and have them sit at a table.
- The apples must stay stacked for 3 seconds in order for it to count.
- The first team or player to successfully stack all five apples wins!
11. Find The Worm Game
The goal of the Find The Worm Game is to find gummy worms hidden inside a pile of whipped cream — but no hands allowed!
- Each player is given large pile of whipped cream on a plate with several gummy worms hidden inside.
- Using only their mouths, players have one minute to retrieve as many worms as they can. Most worms wins!
12. Blown Away Game
The goal of the Blown Away Game is to knock over a tower of plastic cups by inflating a balloon, aiming the open end towards the tower, and then letting it go.
- Each player stands in front of a pyramid of 36 stacked plastic cups.
- Players have one minute to knock over as many of the cups as they can with the blown-up balloon.
- The first one to knock down all of their cups (or the person with the least cups left standing after one minute) wins.
13. Bubble Battle Game
In Bubble Battle, players have one minute to blow a bubble through a hoop that is set up 10-15 feet away.
- Give each player a bottle of children’s bubbles and position them 10-15 feet away from a hoop or large ring (a hula hoop works well).
- Players can only use their breath to move their bubble toward the hoop.
- The first player to get one bubble through the hoop wins.
14. Junk In The Trunk Game
The goal of Junk in the Trunk is to empty a tissue box filled with ping pong balls that is tied around your waist in under one minute without using your hands.
- Each player receives an empty tissue box filled with eight ping pong balls attached to a belt, length of rope, or pair of pantyhose. Players tie the boxes around their waist with the opening facing outward.
- Set a timer for one minute.
- The players must attempt to dislodge the ping pong balls from their box without touching any part of the box with their hands or arms.
(If you could use a belly laugh, check out this video of my family playing this game at our annual Christmas party!)
15. Yank It Game
The goal of the Yank It Game is to nest a tower of plastic cups into each other by removing the index cards placed in between them.
- Each player stands in front of tower made of five plastic cups and five index cards in alternating order, starting with a cup as the base.
- The players have one minute to nest the cups together by yanking the index cards out from top to bottom.
- If no one can get all five cups nested together, the player with the most nested cups wins.
16. Penny Stack Game
The goal of the Penny Stack Game is to move 25 pennies into a single stack in under a minute using only one hand. This game works well with three players competing in each round.
More Ideas You'll Love
- One fall and you are out!
- Whoever has the highest tower after one minute wins!
17. Suck It Up
The goal of Suck It Up is to use a straw to move as many M&M’s from one plate to another as possible in one minute. This game also works well with three players competing in each round.
- Players are given two plates, 25 M&M’s, and a plastic straw.
- Holding the straw in one hand, players must suck up and move the M&M’s one at a time.
- Whoever has the most candy on their second plate after one minute wins.
18. Stuff It Game
The goal of the Stuff It Game is to see how many marshmallows you can stuff into your mouth in a minute. To avoid a choking hazard, this game is best played with adults only.
- Provide each player with a bag of puffy marshmallows and start a 1 minute timer.
- The players will attempt to fit as many of those marshmallows into their mouth as possible, and the one with the most mallows wins!
19. State Of Affairs Game
The goal of the State of Affairs Game is simple: name as many U.S. state capitals as you can in one minute.
- You can have players write their answers or speak them aloud (though written answers are much easier!)
20. Who’s Your Lucky Charm? Game
The goal of the Lucky Charm Game is to separate and sort the mini marshmallow pieces from a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal. The most correctly sorted pieces after one minute wins!
- Each player receives 2 cups of Lucky Charms cereal, then has one minute to separate the marshmallow pieces and sort them by shape/color.
- The player who has accurately sorted the most “charms” after 60 seconds wins!
- This is an especially fun game for kids (but don’t be surprised if some of the “charms” go missing!)
21. Name That Tune Game
The goal of the Name That Tune Game is to correctly identify as many songs as you can from a one minute collection of snippets.
- Players are given a piece of paper and something to write with and then listen to five-second snippets of 12 different songs (for a total of one minute).
- Players will attempt to correctly identify as many of the songs as they can, and the person with the most correct guesses wins! Good for larger groups.
22. Toothpick Words Game
The goal of Toothpick Words is to use toothpicks to spell out as many three-letter words as possible in under a minute.
- Each player receives a pile of toothpicks, and must spell out three-letter words without breaking or bending any of them.
- The player who has spelled out the most words at the end of the minute wins!
23. Puddle Jumper Game
The goal of the Puddle Jumper Game is to skip as many ping pong balls from one “puddle” to another simply by blowing on them.
- Each player receives several ping pong balls and sits in front of two plastic cups full of water, with one cup positioned in front of the other.
- The players have one minute to “puddle jump” the ping pong balls from the first cup to the second one by blowing on them,
- The player who manages to successfully puddle jump the most balls wins.
24. Mummify Me Game
The goal of the Mummify Me Game is to “mummify” your partner by wrapping them up in toilet paper.
- Working in teams of two, players have one minute to wrap up their partner as snuggly as possible with a roll of toilet paper.
- The team with the most thoroughly wrapped mummy (judged by amount of visible skin and clothing) wins!
25. Donut Eating Game
The goal of the Donut Eating Game is to consume an entire donut in less than a minute as it hangs in midair.
- Tie a length of string around several donuts, then attach the strings to a suspended length of rope.
- Players stand (or kneel) under one of the hanging donuts and have one minute to eat it without it falling to the floor.
- This game is always a hit with kids and adults alike, and can be played one player at a time or in groups!
5 Additional Minute To Win It Game Ideas & Tips
One of the best things about Minute to Win It Games is how easy they are to adapt. You can make them easier for kids to play and harder for adults, or adapt single player games for couples or small teams.
Here are a few tips for adapting minute to win it games for adults (or adapting minute to win it games for kids) and ensuring that your games run smoothly:
- Play the game yourself to figure out whether the rules need to be tweaked to suit your party guests.
- To make a game more challenging, either make the game’s requirements more demanding (ex. assemble more pieces, stack more items) or impose a penalty that makes it harder for players to meet the requirements (ex. use one hand, wear a blindfold).
- To make a game easier, do the opposite — simplify the action or make the requirements less demanding.
- Make sure to offer a prize! Individual game prizes don’t have to be large or expensive, and you can save money buying small gifts in bulk — even a single candy bar can fuel your players’ competitive spirit. You could even make some fun homemade trophies to give out!
- Have a time keeper or score keeper. If you’re organizing the games, do yourself a favor and recruit a timekeeper and/or scorekeeper to help you. For time-based games, give your timekeeper a whistle or loud timer, and for score-based games, make sure they have paper and something to write with. (It’s much easier to keep things running smoothly when you don’t have to worry about times and scores!)
3 Ways To Play Minute To Win It Party Games
1. Player Against Timer
If you have a smaller group of people of a variety of ages, try having each person play individually against a timer. To make things fair, you can give kids a little more time than adults, or keep it at a minute and make the kids’ task a bit easier. This way, everyone gets to play!
2. Player Against Player
Another way to play fun and easy minute to win it games with a small group is by having two players compete head-to-head — whoever finishes the task first wins! This will make it easy to match people of similar ages, and you can change the pairings between games. Player against player games are fun to watch, too!
3. Team Against Team
If you have a large group of people, you can organize them into teams with people of similar ages and do things tournament-style. For each game, the teams could pick a representative who will compete against the player(s) from the other team(s). The winners of each game score points for their team — first place gets 5 points, second place gets 3 points, and the team with the most points at the end wins!
Looking For More Party Ideas?
Looking for more activities for your next family fun night, or party games for kids of all ages? Check out 21 hilarious Christmas party games or the “Flour Game” — a Nystul family favorite!
Do you have a favorite party game?
