Classic Conversation Games to Play With Kids
Conversation games are a classic way to pass time. They can turn the most mundane tasks into treasured time together whether you are waiting in line at the bank, driving in the car or sharing a meal. If you’re looking for some inspiration, try these classics:
5 Classic Conversation Games
Name Ten
Name 10 is a classic conversation game in which one person declares a category such as Fruit and the other players must come up with 10 examples of that category. The person who came up with the category gets to determine whether the examples fit.
This is similar to the game Scattergories – where teams or individuals come up with answers that fit the letter rolled on a die and the categories listed on their card. Scattergories was a hit in our household when I was growing up – great game for any family who loves word play.
A my name is Alice
In this conversation game each person takes turns adding a name and a thing in alphabetical order. The first person might say: A my name is Alice and I like apples, and the next person could say A my name is Alice and I like Apples, B my name is Bobby and I like bears and so the game goes with each person reciting and adding to the chain.
- If you have young kids you can drop the recitation of what others have said and just have them do the next letter so it could be the first person says A my name is Ann and I like airplanes and the next person says B my name is Ben and I like balls.
- If you have older kids try having each person add to each letter as they recite. the first person could say A my name is Abigail and I like aliens, the next person must not only do their own letter but add to the previous letters A my name is Abigail and I like aliens and atoms, B my name is Betty and I like bananas.
Fact or Fiction
In this game each person takes turns telling two things that are true about themselves and one thing that is not, the other players must then guess what is fact and what is fiction. Younger kids may not quite ‘get’ this conversation game, but often their additions to the conversation are hilarious anyhow.
For a science based version of this game, check out Educational Insights Sci or Fi game – your family can try to determine science fact from fiction, while learning interesting facts along the way.
I Spy
This game traditionally starts with the phrase I spy with my little eye something… and then one descriptor is added such as red, smaller than a mouse, made out of wood. The other people take turns trying to guess what the item is. The person who guesses then gets to be the “spy”. Perfect conversation game for a car trip. You can find more road trip games ideas here.
- With younger kids, it goes well to be totally obvious like, “I spy a big yellow M.” The fun for them is in the spotting, and this makes it easier for them to be the “spyer” too. It may be more fun if you use a simple card deck made for young kids on road trips too so that tey have a visual of what they’re supposed to be looking for. We like this I spy card game pack a lot.
Questions Only
Everything anyone says must be stated in the form of a question. This conversation game is incredibly simple, has no real winner or concrete ending, it will keep you giggling and like it or not it may just crop back up hours after you thought it was finished.
And speaking of questions – the simple conversation game of asking interesting questions to answer never gets old. A couple recommended resources: Table Topics cards have a great selection of question packs from family dinners to questions for teens.
Another popular set of questions comes from The Kids Book of Questions – great way to keep the conversation flowing.
What are some of your favorite Conversational Games?
For more fun ways to get conversations going in your family, take a look at our Conversation Starters Page for printable conversation starters, games and more.
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it is true alot of ppl do that
Hi all, my family travel a lot and we found out that we need something to do during the trip and we created WittyDicie talking games. It heps us a lot. The same old principle you are mentioning, but only in new box 🙂 enjoy all.
Adams
I can only play games involving looking out of the car as I unfortunately have always got motion sick. Here are a few of the games we played growing up and my children enjoy playing.
We play an alphabet game where we find the letters of the alphabet on a sign along the road. It is a who can find the letter first game. And as soon as someone finds a letter move on to looking for the next.
Also we count the living animals in the fields or sky on our respective side of the car and when we pass a cemetery if it is on the passenger side of the car only the players on that side “lose” their animals or if it is on the drivers side only the driver side players “lose” all their animals. The person with the most animals at the end of the travel or by the time you stop somewhere (meal, rest stop, etc) is the winner.
We would keep a tally of all the state license plates to see how many different ones we could find.
Samantha Gomes
Love this ideas Amanda Morgan
Thanks for this post, Chelsea. My boys are older and it seems like in this ever-evolving technical world, it’s difficult to pull them away from cell phones and computers to really engage in meaningful conversations and quality family time. I think it’s wonderful to establish a routine to really connect with one another on a regular basis, especially before the teenage years come along!
I remember we had different categories written down like: an animal, a plant/tree, a country, a superstar, a girl´s name, a boy´s name, a car model etc. And then we picked a letter and everyone had to write down or name an example of a word that suits to these categories, starting with this letter. (“A”: alligator, apple tree, Austria, Angelina Jolie…) 🙂
We played the Minister’s Cat. The first person would start off with describing the minister’s cat with an adjective beginning with A. “The minister’s cat is an agile cat.” The next person would use a different A adjective, and it would keep going until someone couldn’t think of an A. No worries…that person just went on to B. “The minister’s cat is a bombastic cat.” And so on through the alphabet. I adored this game.
Depending on the age and temperament of the player, that minister would find himself saddled with Evil, Ferocious and Farting cats, or Angelic, Beautiful and Charming cats. Poor guy never knew what he was gonna get!
I’ve been playing this with my 6 yr old nephew over the phone. He loves it and asks to play it! Thanks so much for recommendation. I had never heard of the game before! 🙂
We play “Would you rather?”. Would you rather pet a snake or a spider? Would you rather sing or dance in front of a crowd? Would you rather go to school in pajamas or a swimsuit? Eat a bug or a … Etc. even my teens will play along!
@keeslermon how to play that would you rather
@charity Same story 🙂
@michael. No, I don’t remember that. I remember us making fun of mom for something she said about a bean.. Different story?
@Charity When I go out west, I’m going to bring a living bean…. Remember that too?
@Charity Wow, we played that too! I now play it with my kids, and even our 5 year old loves it!
When I was a kid we played a game called, “When I go out West”. In this game, the first person says, “When I go out west, I’m going to bring ______.” (let’s say a toothbrush for example). Then everyone else goes in turn and says what they will bring out west. For example, the next person might say: “When I go out west, I will bring my dog.” Once everyone has “brought” something out west, the first person tells everyone what they will “do” with their item. Ex. “When I go out west I’m going to brush my teeth with my toothbrush.” Then everyone else follows in turn, and must “do” the same thing with their item, so in our example, the next person would say, “When I go out west, I’m going to brush my teeth with my dog.” This game can get quite hilarious real quick, and have everyone in stitches!!!
Charity, this sounds hysterical; I can’t wait to play it with my kids. I vaguely remember playing a game like this as a kid but I had forgotten all about it. Thanks for sharing it!
@charity hello we can use bring and do only