35 Active Indoor Games to Burn Off Kid Energy

Small apartment friendly

Works in a living room with a coffee table pushed aside.

1. 01Floor is lava. Cushions only. Lasts until snack time.
2. 02Balloon keep-up. Don't let it touch the ground.
3. 03Simon says. Add jumping jacks, animal walks, and silly faces.
4. 04Statues. Music plays, dance; music stops, freeze. Wiggle and you're out.
5. 05Animal charades. Act it out — no talking, lots of crawling.
6. 06Indoor yoga. Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube is the gold standard.
7. 07Plank challenge. Time how long each kid can hold a plank.
8. 08Wall sit competition. Same idea, more giggling.
9. 09Pillowcase race. Hop down the hallway in a pillowcase.
10. 10Sock skating. Hardwood floors + socks = a kid speedway.

Hallway & medium-room games

1. 01Indoor bowling. Plastic cups as pins, soft ball as the bowling ball.
2. 02Sock basketball. Roll socks, aim at a laundry basket at increasing distance.
3. 03Ring toss. Pool noodles cut into rings, paper-towel tubes taped to a base.
4. 04Beanbag toss. Aim into a bucket, score by distance.
5. 05Hopscotch. Painter's tape grid on the floor.
6. 06Long jump. Tape a line, see who jumps furthest from a standing start.
7. 07Crab-walk relay. Down the hall and back. Time it.
8. 08Hot potato. Pass a small ball or stuffed animal around a circle; music stops, you're out.
9. 09Mother may I. Classic across generations.
10. 10Red light, green light. Indoor version, hallway as the field.

Big basement or gym

1. 01Capture the flag. Two teams, two flags, the basement is the field.
2. 02Dodgeball. Use soft foam balls only. Set up a court with painter's tape.
3. 03Obstacle course. Crawl-under, jump-over, balance-beam stations. Time each kid.
4. 04Mini Olympics. Stations: long jump, sock-basketball, balloon volley, hula-hoop endurance.
5. 05Tag variants. Freeze tag, shadow tag, hospital tag, blob tag.
6. 06Sharks and minnows. One shark in the middle, minnows try to cross.
7. 07Indoor soccer. Mini-goals, soft ball, no kicking above the knees.
8. 08Scooter-board races. If you have those plastic scooters from school PE.

Group games (4+ kids)

1. 01Musical chairs. Eternal classic.
2. 02Duck, duck, goose. Sit in a circle. Tag the goose. Chase begins.
3. 03Telephone with motion. Whisper a dance move; pass it down; compare to the original.
4. 04Limbo. Broom handle, two helpers, music.
5. 05Heads up, seven up. Quiet but secretly thrilling.
6. 06Sleeping lions. Everyone lies still; the spotter calls out anyone who moves.
7. 07Parachute games. If your school has one — Cat and Mouse, Popcorn.