10 Awesome Minute to Win It Games

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Minute to Win It Games & Birthday Party Ideas

We recently celebrated my son’s 9th birthday with a Minute to Win It birthday party, and it was a TON of silly fun! These 10 fun games were perfect for all ages (we had guests from ages 4-60 playing these Minute to Win It games, and everyone had a blast!) – challenging enough for the older kids and adults, but still simple enough games that the younger children could play as well. Great family fun!

The fun game ideas below incorporate plastic cups, empty tissue boxes, and other household items to create a memorable and entertaining experience for everyone involved. From competitive challenges to cooperative activities, there’s something for everyone regardless of their skill level.

These games make for a fun night that will be remembered long after the last round has been played!

How to Throw a Minute to Win It Party

Minute to Win It Party Invitations

Before you dive into the depths of party planning, you’ll need to get started with party invitations! We found some great invitation choices on Etsy that cater to the fun way Minute to Win It games bring people together (clockwise from top left): 

• Minute to Win It Party Invitations by Candles and Favors
• Minute to Win It Party Invitations by Cherry Digital Design – customize with any colors!
• Minute to Win It Party Invitation Collection by Babadoo Stationery – 5 different styles to choose from!
• Minute to Win It Invitations by Cherry Digital Design – customize with any colors!

There are actually a LOT of great choices if none of these suit your style – check out ALL of the Minute to Win It party invitations here!

How Do You Play Minute to Win it Games? 

Minute to Win It games can be played and scored in several different ways and can be adjusted depending on the size of your party group. Typically, games are played individually at smaller parties (around 6-8 guests) and in groups or teams at larger parties. In individual games, the first player will try to race the clock, and points will be awarded based on whether or not the challenge is completed before time runs out.

In individual games, the first player will try to race the clock (set at one or two minutes, depending on the age of the party guests and the difficulty level of the challenge), and points will be awarded based on whether or not the challenge is completed before time runs out. For these individual games, we usually opt to have players score 5 points if they complete the task on time, 0 if they do not.

For larger parties, challenges are completed head-to-head in smaller groups with 3-5 players at a time competing to beat the clock. The timer is set, and points are awarded based upon whether or not the player is able to complete the task before the time runs out. We like to add extra bonus points for the player who finishes first, so we typically score as follows: 5 points if you finish first (or collect the most, etc.), 3 points if you complete the challenge, and 0 points if you do not. 

In the end, the points are tallied, and prizes are awarded to the top finishers.

BEST MINUTE TO WIN IT PARTY GAME SUPPLIES:

With just a few supplies, you can play all ten of these entertaining games and more! Check out the bottom of this post for additional Minute to Win It games that you can play with these same supplies!

• Stopwatch or a phone with a stopwatch function
• Oreo Cookies or other sandwich cookies (1 per person)
• Pennies (25 per player; 2-3 players compete at a time)
• Plain M&Ms Candies (25 per player)
• Plastic Drinking Straws
• Small Paper Plates (6)
• Bounce Off Party Game
• Multi-Colored Ping-Pong Balls (lots!)
• Red and Blue Plastic Party Cups (number needed will vary depending on if players play individually or head-to-head)
• Plastic Spoons (1 per player)
• Small Plastic Bowls (6)
• Bamboo Skewers (1 per player), snip off any sharp ends
• 5/8″ Hex Nuts (5-8 per player; 2 players compete at a time)
• Empty Tissue Box (2-3)
• Fully Adjustable Belt or long length of wide ribbon (2-3)
• 9″ – 12″ Balloons (at least 6+ a few extra in case of accidental popping!)

10 Fun Minute to Win It Game Ideas

COOKIE FACE:

This is a great game to kick off the party because all of the players can compete simultaneously, making it a fun way for everyone to join in! (Or, if desired, you could also break it down into several smaller groups or several rounds of game play). The first person to successfully complete the challenge sets the bar for the next player!

Each player places a cookie on their forehead, and the goal is to get the cookie into your mouth using only your facial muscles in under 1 minute. No hands allowed! This game is definitely more challenging than it first appears!

STACK IT UP:

Players must stack 25 pennies into a single stack in under a minute using only one hand (increase the number of pennies for older children and adults as desired). This game works well with 3 players competing in each round of play.

SUCK IT UP:

Players place a straw in their mouth and use gentle suction to transfer a pile of 25 M&M’s from one plate to another in under one minute. Only one hand may be used to hold the straw. Everyone gets to eat their candy when the round is finished! This game also works well with 3 players competing in each round.

PONG TAC TOE:

Pong Tac Toe was a favorite among our guests – some adults even asked to play it twice! We used three trays from the Bounce-Off Party game and assigned one to each of the three players. Each player had one minute to bounce ping pong balls down the length of the table and into their tray – 3 in a row (in any direction) wins! We recommend assigning one color of ping pong balls to each player for easy identification.

STACK ATTACK:

Players must stack up a pile of plastic cups and then place them back into a single stack in under a minute. This is a fun idea for younger players as well as older ones!

The original Minute to Win It version of this game calls for 36 cups to be stacked, but we reduced the number of cups for the younger players. Each child stacked 21 cups, and we discovered that this was the perfect number that resulted in exactly half of the kids being successful. Challenging, but not too challenging!

Two players competing in each round works well and allows enough space so that any falling cups won’t accidentally knock over your competitor’s stack, too!

SCOOP IT UP:

Using nothing but a spoon in your mouth, transfer six ping pong balls from one bowl to another in less than one minute. No hands allowed! Hands are only permitted if you drop the ping pong ball, and then they can be used to place the ball back into the original bowl for another transfer attempt. 2-3 players compete for each round of play.

MOVIN’ ON UP: 

This game provides a great way for players to showcase their dexterity and speed!

Each player starts with a stack of 25 red cups with one blue cup (or other different color) at the top of the stack. Start by moving the top blue cup to the bottom of the stack, and continue moving cups from the top to the bottom until the blue cup is back at the top of the stack again.

Again, we modified this from the original adult version of the game that calls for 40 cups, and found that 26 cups was a great amount for the kids to work with. Of course, you can adjust this number accordingly depending on the age of the players and number of players in your groups. We found that 2-3 children per round of competition worked well.

NUTSTACKER:

Thread 5-8 hex nuts onto a wooden skewer. Using only one hand on the skewer, stack up all of the nuts in under one minute. Since this game requires the table to stay as still as possible, only two players compete per round.

JUNK IN THE TRUNK:

This game involves an empty tissue box and is perfect for family game nights, as it’s equal parts challenging and entertaining! Definitely another crowd favorite at our party!

To prepare for this game, empty a tissue box, and use an X-Acto knife to make two slits into the bottom of the box. Thread an adjustable belt or wide ribbon through the two slits to create a tissue-box-on-a-belt. Removing the thin plastic barrier from the tissue box opening will make game play easier (for younger children) or keep it intact for more challenging play.

To play the game, strap the tissue box onto the player’s back (around the player’s waist), and fill it with 6-8 ping pong balls (we used 6, but 8 would be appropriate for older children and adults). Shake, shimmy, jump, and dance around until all of the balls have fallen out of the tissue box or you hit the one minute time limit. No using your hands and no laying down – it’s more challenging than you might expect! This game is hilarious to watch in action!

DEFY GRAVITY:

Using only one hand, players must keep two balloons from touching the ground for one minute. This is a perfect game for younger players to develop their coordination skills while having fun!

For a more challenging game, increase the amount to three balloons per player (and use different colored balloons for each player to make it easy to differentiate!). No holding the balloons!  2 players per round of competition works well to give the players ample space to move their balloons around.

MINUTE TO WIN IT GAME PRIZES

At the end of the games, total each player’s points. Depending on the size of your group, you may opt to award a prize to only the highest scoring player, or you may choose to award prizes to several top players.

I designed and created these fun “gold medal” and “silver medal” champion prize shirts for our top two winners. These prizes were a great way to reward players for their efforts!

I used heat transfer vinyl from Expressions Vinyl in white, bright red, sky blue, metallic gold and metallic silver to create our grand champion prizes, and they were a huge hit with everyone – if they didn’t win one this time around, they’re all certainly hoping to win one at the next party!

If you’d like to create your own Minute to Win It shirts, you can get the MTWI SVG File in our shop!

The birthday boy was super happy to be one of the grand prize winners, and they both loved their shirts!

Aside from the two grand prize winners receiving their special “Champion” shirts, each player also received a blue prize ribbon and a goofy “prize money” necklace.SO much fun!

Everyone had a blast playing these fun Minute to Win It Games – they really were some of the best games for kids ever! All ten games took twelve kids about an hour and a half to complete, and it felt like the perfect amount of time to hold everyone’s attention and interest. This was an incredibly fun party, and it was actually quite inexpensive to host, too!

Get the Minute to Win It Party Games Score Card Here

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Check Out These Other Fun MTWI Party Games!

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