Whether you have a house filled with older children, or a few middle-aged kids who want to have friends over, it can be hard sometimes to find games for them to play. Most kids may want to stay on their phones the entire time or just binge Netflix and eat popcorn. But if your kids are looking for different or more engaging games for their parties, then look no further than this list of fun and exciting games!
Two Truths and a Lie
Although we all played Truth or Dare growing up, we may not want our kids taking that game to heart either. Many “Dares” can push the envelope, and to ensure everyone does not get sick of board game after board game, they can play Two Truths and a Lie instead. They can pick a kid to start, and they will tell two truths about themselves, along with one lie. It’s up to the rest of the kids to figure out which of the three things they were told are a lie about that individual. Whoever guesses the lie correctly will be the next kid to tell the two truths and a lie about themselves, and the game can continue for as long as your group of kids wants to play. It’s a great way for your kid and their friends to engage with each other in a fun and goofy way while also learning more about them than what is on their social media page.
Puzzle Games
If your kid is a fan of puzzle games, then bring it to the table instead of their tablet! Buy a few smaller sized puzzle games to have your kids and their friends compete against. They can do two teams or one team if it is a smaller group. Shake the puzzle box and scatter the pieces, then have each middle schooler get a set amount of time to try to put the puzzle together. If you have two teams, make it a competition! Set the timer for say, five minutes, and once the time is up, have the kids swap out and continue trying to put the puzzle together and beat the other team!
Chain Reaction
This game is not for the faint of heart parents, and may end up taking over your entire house! But a big hit on social media are chain reaction videos. It is basically (and also quite literally) a domino effect game where people find different objects around the house to create the domino effect through an entire room, and sometimes through the entire house. You can have your kids only work with certain objects and items in the house, or even just have them use only dominoes to create their chain reaction. This game is fun and will also challenge your middle schoolers to put something together cohesively.
Katie Kyzivat