The best party games for 6 year olds
Charlotte Thomas
Social EditorPlanning a birthday party for your six year old and looking for fun party games? We've got loads of ideas to keep kids entertained. From indoor games to outdoor activities, these simple games will keep children happy and make sure they have lots of party fun!
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If you're planning a six-year-old's birthday party, you're going to want some fun games to keep the kids occupied.
At six, children are used to following rules at school and will happily get involved with lots of games and activities. These ideas are perfect for younger kids and will keep them happily entertained – just make sure you have plenty of small prizes such as sweets and stickers to hand out to all your guests so no one feels left out.
If you don't want to play too many games at your party, you could also set up a craft table to give kids another activity to enjoy.
1. Duck, duck, goose
A classic party game, you can easily adapt duck, duck goose to fit in with any party theme you have by changing the words from 'duck' and 'goose'. So you might have 'sparkle' and 'rainbow' for a unicorn party for example, or 'sailor' and 'shark' for a pirate party.
Get all the kids sitting in a circle, then pick out one child or ask for a volunteer (shyer kids might not want to go first).
The chosen child walks around the outside of the circle, tapping all the kids on the head as they pass and calling out 'duck'.
After a while, when they tap a child on the head they call out 'goose'. They then need to run around the circle to get back to the place they were sitting. The child who was ‘goose’ has to chase them and try and catch them.
If the first child gets back round the circle before being caught, they sit down, and the chaser has their turn. If not, the same child goes again.
2. Eat the jelly
This one can get a bit messy so it's best left till the end of the party!
Make individual bowls of jelly with a small plastic animal in each. The animals should be small enough to fit in a bowl, but not so small that they pose a choking hazard.
With their hands behind their backs, the kids have to get the animal out of the jelly using only their mouths.
The first one to get their animal is the winner.
This is super easy to set up using jelly cubes, but if you fancy making real fruit jelly from scratch, try our strawberry jelly recipe.
3. What time is it Mr Wolf?
Pick a confident child – or maybe the birthday boy or girl – to be Mr Wolf. The kids line up together on one side of the room, while Mr Wolf stands on the other side of the room with their back to everyone.
The children then ask, 'What time is it Mr Wolf?'
The wolf says a time, like 'four o'clock'. The children have to take that many steps towards the wolf and then ask the time again.
At any time when the kids ask the time, the wolf can say 'dinnertime!'. The wolf then turns around and chases the other kids round the room. If the wolf tags someone before they get back to the start line, they become the wolf.
4. Charades
Film titles and TV shows are a bit complicated for six year olds so stick to fun and easy actions for them to act out.
Write down a number of actions, such as 'brushing your teeth', 'riding a horse', 'licking an ice cream', 'scoring a goal' on pieces of paper and place them in a basket or hat.
Each child draws one out of the hat and has to act it out to their friends without talking or making any sounds. Their friends have to guess the action.
If you want to give out prizes you can award them for the funniest mime, biggest drama king/queen etc.
5. Sardines
Sardines is basically hide and seek turned upside down. One person hides and everyone else looks for them. It's best played in a large space like a whole house or big garden.
Seekers count to a number – between 50 and 100 will allow plenty of time to hide – and one person goes and hides.
When the group finishes counting, they spread out and look for the person hiding. When each child finds the hiding child they join them, until everyone is squashed up together like sardines.
The last person to join the group is the next person to hide.
6. Balloon relay
It's a noisy one but balloon relays are always good fun.
Split kids into two teams – or more if you have a lot of children. Each team has a basket or bucket with one balloon per child in it.
When you say go, the first child in each team runs to their basket and grabs a balloon. They then have to sit on it until it pops! As soon as it's popped, they run back to their team and tag the next player in line. If you're playing outside in the summer, and people aren't wearing their best party clothes, you could even play with water balloons.
The first team to pop all their balloons wins.
7. Limbo
How low can you go?
Using a bamboo pole or broom handle, get two adults to hold the pole at a kid-friendly height. The children then take it in turns to pass under the pole bending backwards.
Each round, the pole gets lower. If anyone touches the pole with any part of their body, they're out. The last child remaining is the winner.
You could even let the kids have fun decorating the limbo pole with paint, ribbons or biodegradable glitter before you start.
You can buy ready-made limbo sets. See more details here at Amazon.
8. Balloon forfeits
Another great balloon game. Write simple and funny forfeits on thin slips of paper, things like tell your best joke, say a tongue twister five times, hop on one leg 10 times while patting your head and rubbing your tummy, make your best fart noise …
Place the slips inside balloons then blow them up.
The kids dance around and each round you throw them a balloon. They have to bop this in the air between them. When the music stops, the person holding the balloon has to pop it and everyone in the group has to perform the forfeit that's inside.
9. Simon says
You probably remember the rules of Simon says from your own childhood. One child calls out instructions such as 'Simon says put your hands on your head' or 'Simon says walk like a zombie'. The other kids have to follow the instructions, but only if the caller says 'Simon says' first.
If they don't say 'Simon says', and the child follows the instruction, then they're out. Or if you prefer, they can be the next one to call out instructions.
With Simon says, the sillier the action, the better. Here are some ideas:
- act like a monkey
- jump up and down on one leg
- pull a silly face
- play air guitar
- curl into a tiny ball
- quack like a duck
10. Obstacle race
If you're hosting a party in a large space like a garden or big hall then an obstacle race is a great idea.
Place hula hoops to step in and out of, cushions to run across without touching the floor, blankets to crawl under and any other obstacles you have available. It's like your own mini soft play!
A fun variation is the classic 'the floor is lava'. Put a load of cushions on the floor, and get the kids to cross the room or garden by jumping from cushion to cushion, without touching the floor.
11. Pirate treasure hunt
Treasure hunts always go down well with kids and are easily adapted to suit the age range at your party.
At six, kids should be able to read a basic map, so a pirate-themed hunt is a great idea. Hide small gifts or 'treasure' – such as chocolate coins or small toys – around your garden or party space.
Create treasure maps showing where treasure is hidden by placing an X on the map to mark the spot.
Split kids into teams of 3-4 depending how many children you have at the party and set them off to find the treasure. You might want to create a different map for each team to prevent scuffles and stop one team stealing all the treasure.
The first team back are the winners.
You can buy ready-made treasure hunt kits. See more details here at Amazon.
12. Musical chairs
It's a classic! Put out a row of chairs with alternate chairs facing in opposite directions. Play some funky music and get the kids to walk around the chairs. When the music stops, each child needs to find a seat and sit down as quick as they can.
Each round, take away a chair while the music plays. The child left without a chair when the music stops is out. The last child with a chair is the winner.
If you have a particularly boisterous group you might want to use cushions instead of chairs for a softer landing!
13. Pin the tail on the donkey
Who doesn't love a good old-fashioned party game? Pin the tail on the donkey can be enjoyed by all ages and is easily adapted to your party theme. You could have pin the wand in Harry Potter's hand for example, or pin the horn on the unicorn.
Draw a large donkey on a piece of card and pin it to the wall. Cut out a tail from another piece of card or use wool. Attach Blu Tack to the tail and give it to the child.
Blindfold each child, spin them round three times and see who can pin the tail closest to where it should be. You can ask each child to write their name where they pinned the tail to keep track of who's closest.
You can buy ready-made kits to make playing this game much easier. See more details here at Amazon.
14. The chocolate game
Don't expect much chocolate to actually get eaten in this game – it's more about the fun.
Place a large bar of chocolate on a plate with a knife and fork. Put a hat, scarf and gloves nearby.
Get the kids to sit around the chocolate in a circle and throw a dice, passing it round to each player in turn. Every time someone throws six they have to go into the centre, put on the hat, scarf and gloves and start trying to eat the chocolate with a knife and fork.
Meanwhile, the other kids continue throwing the dice in turn. The next time someone throws a six, they have to go into the circle, take the hat, gloves and scarf off the person there already and start eating the chocolate.
15. Blind man's buff
In a large space, such as a church hall or garden, choose who s going to be 'it'.
This person is blindfolded and has to try and tag the other kids. Have the other kids call out the tagger's name every so often, then quickly dodge out of their way. When someone is caught, they then become 'it'.
If you want to make things trickier, the blindfolded child has has to guess who they've caught before the new child becomes 'it'.
Are you planning a child's birthday party? Have you got any great kids' party games to recommend? From tug of war to charades, red rover to blind man's buff, share your faves on the forum thread below.
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