Mini game ideas for parties and short breaks

The three-second test

If you have to explain a mini-game, it is too big. The goal should be obvious from the first frame: a button, a ledge, a target. Pick one input (tap, hold, swipe, tilt) and one way to lose. Mix types in a set so the same player does not win every round.

20 mini-game ideas

• Reflex: Quick draw. Tap the moment the light turns green.
• Reflex: Catch the toast. Toast pops at random heights. Catch it before it lands.
• Reflex: Don't blink. Hold the button while things try to scare you off it.
• Reflex: Fly swat. Swat flies, never the cake.
• Race: Tube rapids. Paddle a rubber ring down a river, bump others into rocks.
• Race: Stair sprint. Tap left and right to climb stairs fastest.
• Race: Pancake flip. Flip ten pancakes before your rival.
• Race: Shopping cart. Push a cart through an aisle without knocking shelves.
• Knockout: Rubber chicken. Knock everyone off a platform with a chicken.
• Knockout: Shrinking ice. The ice cracks under you. Last one standing wins.
• Knockout: Pillow fight. One hit pushes, three hits and you are out.
• Knockout: Slime floor. Slime spreads, so jump between clean tiles.
• Silly: Goat call. Copy a sound with your finger. Closest wins.
• Silly: Balance the waiter. Tilt to carry a tower of plates.
• Silly: Feed the baby. Spoon food in, the baby dodges.
• Silly: Sneeze hold. Hold in a sneeze while the pepper flies.
• Social: Vote them out. Everyone votes. Most votes is out.
• Social: Copy me. One player makes a move, others repeat it.
• Social: Hot potato. Pass the bomb before it blows.
• Social: Who is lying. One player has a different word. Find them.

Party games on Roam

Knockout Party Online is 16 players in and one left standing, like Fall Guys. Slime Scramble is a party royale race, eight in and one crowned. Rubber Chicken Duel is a party knockout. Vote Them Out is an election party game. Sound Like a Goat is the sound-copy game where your finger is your voice. Toot Rapids is four animals in one rubber ring.

Questions people ask

What is a mini-game?

A very short game, often under a minute, with one goal and one control, usually part of a bigger set.

How long should a mini-game be?

Ten to sixty seconds works for most party rounds. WarioWare's microgames are usually under five seconds.

What are good mini-games for a party?

Knockout rounds, races and silly copy games work best, because everyone can play them at once.