Indoor games for rainy days are a great alternative to screen time, and a fun way to keep kids occupied, instead of tearing the house apart! We’ve listed a few of our faves to keep you calm and happy when everyone’s stuck indoors! Prefer to get out and about? Use our guide to fun indoor attractions to visit with kids.
Indoor games for rainy days: Five fun faves
1. Sardines
This games is the version of Hide and Seek! Just one person hides, while everyone else closes their eyes and counts, before they start searching for the hidden person. Whenever a player discovers the hidden person, they quietly join them in their hiding spot. Soon, the hidden group starts to look like a bunch of sardines!
Join the first person in their hiding spot until you’re crammed in like sardines!
2. Indoor Camping (or pillow fort!)
Rainy days call for indoor play, so try at-home camping! For some inspo, try the Camp at Home page, but really all you need to do is pitch a tent, dim the lights and crack on with reading a few spooky stories to set the mood. You could also add some white noise of a babbling brook of crickets chirping in the night, using an app on your phone or a YouTube white noise loop (we have Calm and use the soundscapes!).
Of course, a tent is lovely to have but if you aren’t a camping family, you can have the same fun with a cubby made from sheets draped over a table, or a pillow-and-blanket fort.
Camping at home could mean an indoor tent or even a home-made cubby for playing camping in the living room!
3. Indoor Treasure Hunt
With a little effort, a treasure hunt can be the perfect option when you’re after long-running and engaging indoor games for rainy days! A perfect game for when you’re trying to entertain just one person, designing a hunt is easy and quick, but takes a while to play.
- The treasure hunt should be written as a series of clues that require some thinking (rhyming clues are popular).
- Set some ground rules for one-person or group hunts (eg, no running, and whether the prizes are shared or not).
- If you’re not crafty, simply print clues from an online source or template. We designed this spooky Halloween-themed hunt for October, but there are plenty of other templates like this fun one from The Spruce.
A colour-coded hunt (like this one from iheartcraftythings) is easy for small kids and bigger kids can have harder versions
4. Science Fair
Put together a table of fun and experimental everyday items and make some magic!
- 15 Fun Science Experiments
- How to Make Slime
- Everyday Items to Use in Experiments
- How to Make a Volcano
A homemade volcano can be an indoor or outdoor activity, as seen here with North Shore Mum Editor Lucy’s kids
5. Movie Premiere
When you’re truly fed up with the wet weather, a Movie Premiere is a way to add a sense of occasion to a rainy day. You’ll need to:
- Choose a movie the kids haven’t seen before, and announce the time of the premiere.
- Grab some paper and pens and draw some movie posters and design tickets for the show plus a menu for snacks.
- Put together simple ‘movie snacks’ (if you’re in an Uber Eats area, you can order microwave popcorn or treats from a servo).
- Hang up your posters in the ‘movie room’ and set out your snacks in a different area, with your menu hanging up too.
- If you like (and if you have some) string some Christmas lights or fairy lights around the ‘movie room’ for atmosphere.
- Encourage your kids to dress up, as refined or as wild as they like, with costumes or ballgowns for the event.
- When the stage is set, the movie can begin! Ask the children to knock on the door and ‘usher them’ in (and collect tickets!).
- Escort them to the snack bar, then usher them to their seats and ensure they are comfortable. Make a little welcome speech.
- Start the movie with a flourish and encourage them to enjoy the show!
- After the movie, you can encourage them to write a review to publish or interview them about their take on the film.
Setting up a movie can be special if you add some imagination!
