‘One Minute to Win It’ Quick Party Games for Kids

Little girl playing Memory Match by Skillmatics on the game board. Tiles of the game are lying around her.

It’s a 60 second countdown to fun with “one minute to win it” games! 

Download this free printable to start playing with your friends and family. These games are easy to set up and are best played with people of all ages. 

Some of our favorite picks 60 second games include:

1. Stack Attack

Little boy in blue t-shirt stacking blue plastic cups

All you need is paper cups and a timer for this friendly competition. Start the clock and see how high each player can stack their cups in 60 seconds. If the stack falls, you have to start again. If playing in teams, you can add a challenge by incorporating colored cups. Mix two or three colors of cups in a pile and ask the players to sort and stack the cups in one minute to win it!

2. Memory Match

You can extend the fun of Memory Match by attempting the game with a new set of rules. This game can be played in teams or by a single player. Each player can take a board with the Memory Match tiles placed face down. The person to find the most cards to complete their board the fastest, within a minute, is declared the winner.

3. Backward ABCs

Little boy writing on Skillmatics Write and Wipe Activity Mats

This simple game is more challenging than it sounds! Grab some paper and pens. Ask everyone to write the alphabet beginning at Z and working up to A in this fun twist to the alphabet. The first person to successfully write the alphabet backward wins!

4. Anagrams

Mother and child learning the alphabets on a table.

With countless phrases to choose from, anagrams are a great brain teaser. Pick a word, for example “Listen.” You can set a limit of making 4-6 letter words and players can share worlds like “silent,” “list,” and “tinsel.” Give everyone one minute to complete this activity and see the words flow. Whoever crafts the most words at the end of the minute, wins; you can also use an anagram generator to find new words for the game.


5. Cookie Face

Mother and child playing with choco-chip cookies. Glass of milk in transparent glass in front of them.

If you’re ready for some laughs and not taking yourself too seriously, the “cookie face” game is sure to bring some fun! Place a cookie on everyone’s foreheads and start the timer. In one minute, their goal will be to get the cookie into their mouths without using their hands. The winner, of course, gets a bite of this delicious snack first - along with bragging rights!

6. Chopstick Pick-Up

Image of a pair of chopsticks kept on a plate of candy

Picture credits: happymomhacks.com

If you have some chopsticks, paper plates and candy - you have the “recipe” for the perfect challenge. Put 15 pieces of candy onto a plate for each player, setting empty plates nearby - and start the timer. The goal is to pick up the candy using chopsticks and transfer them to the other plate in under one minute. If you have younger kids, use marshmallows as they are easier to pick up, and keep the M&M’s for the older ones.

7. Hold the Dice

Grab some dice and popsicle sticks to offer up a hilarious challenge. Ask each player to hold a popsicle stick in their mouth. Once the timer starts, they’ll be challenged to stack a set number of dice on the end of the stick. If the dice tumble - they start over. The player who finishes the tower the fastest, wins the round!

8. Defy Gravity

Little boy in blue t-shirt playing with 1 red and 1 blue balloon in front of a foosball table.

Picture credits: happymomhacks.com

Give two balloons to each player and ask them to “keep them in the air.” There are two variations to this game. In option one, make a rule that they can only use one hand to keep the balloons in the air. In option two increase the challenge by telling them no hands allowed!  

9. Guess in 10

two little girls playing Guess in 10 Jr. by Skillmatics on a beige table

You can adapt game play with Guess in 10 by creating a “minute to win it” challenge. Divide the players into two teams and select one person from each team to give their team clues about what’s on each card. The players can use phrases or old fashioned charades to describe the card. The team that guesses the most correctly - wins!

Remember these games for your next family game night! And with Skillmatics, you can choose a whole range of educational activities for kids to make every minute, worth your while! 

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