Defy Gravity
Give each player two balloons. Each player’s goal is to keep their balloons from touching the ground, but they can only use one hand and not hold the balloons. Increase the challenge level by adding three balloons per player.
Thread It
Give each player a spool of thread and several needles. Have them thread as many needles as they can in the time allotted. Whoever threads the most needles wins!
Cookie Monster
Have each player place a cookie on their forehead. In one minute, each player’s goal is to get the cookie into their mouth using only their facial muscles—no hands.
Penny For Your Thoughts
Players must make a stack of 25 pennies in under a minute. They can only use one hand, and the quickest player to stack their pennies wins. This game works well with three players per round.
Oreo Stack
Give each contestant at least two boxes of Oreos. Whoever can stack the most Oreos without collapse wins!
Suck It Up
Give each player two paper plates. Put 25 M&Ms on one of the plates and leave the other empty. Each player puts a straw in their mouth and uses suction to transfer all 25 M&Ms to the other plate. Players can hold the straw still while it’s in their mouth, but they can only use one hand.
Wanna Spoon?
Place two bowls in front of each player, one empty and one filled with ping pong balls. Using nothing but a spoon in their mouth, each player must transfer as many ping pong balls as possible to their empty bowl. Hands are only allowed if a player drops a ping-pong ball. In this case, they can use their hands to place the ball back in its original bowl.
Egg-Cellence
Each player holds a spoon in their hand. They must use (only!) the spoon to carry as many eggs as possible from one end of the room to the other.
Water Pong
Clear off a long table and fill plastic cups with water. Set the cups on the table, placing at least six cups in a pyramid shape at each end of the table. Standing at opposite ends of the table, players attempt to throw ping-pong balls into the opposite player’s cups. The winner is the one who lands the most ping-pong balls in the cups within one minute.
Chubby Bunny
Give each player a bag of puffy marshmallows. Each contestant attempts to stuff their mouth with as many marshmallows as possible. Whoever uses the most marshmallows is the winner. You can make the losers recite “chubby bunny” or another funny phrase!
State of Affairs
Ask players to name as many state capitals as possible during the one minute. Contestants can recite the state capitals orally or write them down on paper.
Volcanic Eruption
Give each player a liter of Coca-Cola and a Mentos candy. At the same time, contestants drop their Mento into the soda bottle. Whoever’s “volcano” erupts first is the winner! It may be helpful to film this Minute to Win It game in case it’s difficult to determine whose soda erupted the fastest. You could also give contestants chairs or step ladders to drop their Mentos from, which may give them a bigger explosion.
The Pyramid Game
Give each contestant a stack of 10 red Solo cups. Each player must stack their cups into a pyramid and then undo the stack without it collapsing. For a greater challenge, only allow contestants to use one hand.
Paper Scraper
Before the game, fold 20 index cards in half to make a crease down the center. Place these folded index cards and 10 additional unbent ones next to the player. When the time starts, the player builds a tower using two bent cards and one flat card for each story. To win, the player must build a 10-story tower before the minute is up.
Soda Shoot-out
On a table or chair about 6–8 feet (1.8–2.4 m) from the players, set up 6 empty soda cans in a pyramid. The players flick rubber bands at the cans in an attempt to knock over the entire pyramid before the time is up.
Rice Bowl
Give each player two bowls: one empty and one filled with rice. Using only a pair of chopsticks in one hand, each player must move as much rice as possible from the full bowl to the empty one. Whoever moves the most rice after one minute is the winner! Use uncooked rice for an added challenge.
Nose Dive
Smear petroleum jelly (or Vaseline) onto a paper plate. Place a bowl of cotton balls right next to it, with an empty bowl placed 2–3 feet (0.61–0.91 m) away. Each player must dip their nose into the jelly and then attempt to pick up a cotton ball using only their nose. Once a cotton ball is secure, the player tries to move it to the empty bowl and dislodge it, all without using their hands. A player must successfully transfer 5 cotton balls within one minute to win.
Name Dropper
Players must name as many celebrities as possible in 60 seconds. Try different rounds where the celebrities must belong to specific categories, like female musicians, talk show hosts, or pro athletes.
Mr. President
Players must name as many U.S. presidents as they can in 60 seconds. To raise the difficulty level, require players to name the presidents first AND last names, instead of only the surname. If you live in or with a group of people who aren’t from the United States, you can also do this game with former presidents or leaders of your country!
Brand New
Players must name as many brands as they can in 60 seconds. Choose a new category for each round of the game, like athletic brands, fast food chains, or luxury clothing brands.
Who’s Your Lucky Charm?
Give each player a box of Lucky Charms cereal that they can dump out on the table in front of them. Each player must separate the charms into their individual categories. Whoever has the most sorted marshmallows at the end of a minute wins. You can also buy a carton of Lucky Charms marshmallows without the cereal part!
That’s a Wrap!
Have contestants wrap as many “gifts” as possible in under 60 seconds. You can use random objects or empty cardboard boxes for the gifts. For a more challenging game, have other players judge whether each gift is wrapped well enough to count toward the win!
High Roller
Give each contestant a pair of dice and an assistant. Each contestant rolls the dice as many times as possible in one minute, and their assistant keeps track of the total for each roll. Whoever has the highest combined total at the end wins!
Pieces of the Puzzle
Cut any cardboard cereal box into square pieces as if you were making a puzzle. Challenge the contestants to reassemble the box in under a minute. Whoever completes the task first or is closest to completing the task after a minute is the winner!
Unstack It
Give each contestant a fully built Jenga tower. Whoever can remove the most Jenga blocks from their tower in one minute—without toppling the stack—is the Jenga champion!
A Proper Obstacle
Use furniture and other large objects to create a short obstacle course. When designing the course, remember that everyone should be able to get through it in less than a minute. Every player must complete the course while balancing a book on their head, which requires “proper” posture. If someone loses their book, they must start from the beginning of the race. Have players go one at a time, with 60 seconds allotted for each. This game is great if you have a space with a lot of room to move around, like an open-concept office.
Swish, Swish
If you have access to a basketball court, test who in your group can hit the most baskets in one minute. Set a timer and let one player sink as many shots as they can. However, they have to take one step back for every shot they successfully make.
Office Tennis
Play as two teams of two and give each player a clipboard. Use the clipboards as “tennis rackets” and a crumpled-up piece of paper as the “tennis ball.” Each team is trying to hit the paper into a trash can. Whoever achieves this goal first is the champion team!
Balance the Budget
Give each player a word problem that describes a person’s income and expenses. Their expenses should include both essential bills and discretionary spending. See who is the first to determine if this person is following their budget or overspending, and challenge them to figure out the margin! An example of such a word problem may look something like: Hazel works as a staff writer in New York City. She makes $36,000 annually after taxes and is paid on the first of every month. Her rent, including utilities, is $950 per month. Each month, she spends about $200 on groceries, $80 on her phone bill, $20 on her gym membership, $200 on restaurants and going out with friends, and $400 on other expenses like toiletries and shopping. Hazel also wants to put 10% of every paycheck into her savings. She flies home to California every three months, for which a round-trip plane ticket costs about $350. Does Hazel have a balanced budget, or is she spending too much?
Name That Tune
Make a playlist of twelve well-known songs. Put the playlist on shuffle and play a five-second snippet of each song, which totals one minute. Ask participants to write down the name of each song on a piece of paper. Whoever has the most correct song titles wins! For an added challenge, require players to write the artist name for each song or even the album name for bonus points!
Backward ABCs
Each player must try to recite the alphabet in reverse. Whoever can say the backward alphabet correctly and in the shortest amount of time is the victor!
Pile of Kisses
Give each player a large pile of Hershey’s Kisses. Whoever can unwrap the most candies from their foil in one minute is the winner! Make sure contestants wash their hands first so you can eat the chocolates later and not let them go to waste.
Time Tables
Print out multiplication or division worksheets from the internet. Choose worksheets that include more than 100 problems. Whoever can answer the most math problems correctly in one minute is the champion!
Lego Builders
Buy a basic set of Legos and print out instructions for a simple Lego project, like building a Lego house or making a Lego car. See which player can complete their project—or get the closest—in under 60 seconds.
Get to Know Me
Split your group into pairs and allow each player to interview their partner for one minute. The interviewers can take notes on the interviewee’s responses. Each player should have been both the interviewer and interviewee before being given a chance to share about their partner. The winner is the one who can recite the most facts about their partner from memory after the interview. Sample things to ask partners about during the interview may include their job title, hometown, favorite food, middle name, etc.
Dizzy Mummy
Divide players into groups of two. Assign one person in each pair to be the dizzy mummy while their partner acts as an assistant. The assistant holds a roll of toilet paper in their hands and gives the end to the dizzy mummy. When the one-minute timer starts, the dizzy mummy spins in circles, trying to completely wrap themselves in toilet paper (like a mummy!). Whoever makes the most convincingly-covered mummy at the end of the game is the winner.
How’s It Hanging
Tie one end of the string to a banana and tie the other end to the front of the player’s waistband or belt. The banana should hang just above the ground but not touch the floor. Place a hula hoop on the ground with two oranges placed 2–3 feet (0.61–0.91 m) away from the hoop. The player must move both oranges inside the hula hoop using only the banana. Use sturdy string like twine or clothesline. While you could play this game with older kids and teens, depending on the environment, this game is probably best left to the adults.
Mad Dog
Tape two TicTac boxes to the opposite end of a ruler. Open the TicTac boxes and place the ruler in the player’s mouth. The ruler should be centered with the player’s mouth in the middle. The player’s goal is to empty both TicTac boxes by moving their head back and forth, up and down, or however they can to empty the TicTac boxes before the time is up.
Card Ninja
Cut a watermelon in half and place one half in a bowl with the cut side facing the player. Give the player a full deck of cards. When the timer starts, the player must throw the cards one at a time toward the watermelon. Their goal is to get at least one card to stick in the watermelon by the time the timer goes off.
Matchmaker
Place 18 plastic cups upside down on a table, with a piece of colored candy underneath each one. There should only be three candy colors, e.g., red, green, and yellow. Take three additional cups and write one of the candy colors on each cup. Somewhere nearby, place three more cups right-side-up to collect the candies. The player turns over the first cup, takes the candy, and then delivers it to the corresponding labeled cup. Play continues like this until all the candies have been sorted, and whichever player can do it in the least amount of time is the winner!
Junk in the Trunk
Use rubber bands to secure an empty tissue box to the player’s belt. The box should be centered on the belt to sit right on the player’s behind. Place six ping pong balls into tissue boxes. The player must move their hips however possible to make the ping pong balls fall out of the tissue box in under a minute.
Hanky Panky
Place two full boxes of tissues before each player. Have each player stand between their two boxes, with one hand assigned to each box. When the timer starts, the contestants begin removing tissues from the boxes using both hands. The player who is first to empty both their boxes of tissues is the winner.
Ka Broom
Place three paper plates on the edge of a table, with half of each one hanging off the edge. Place marshmallows on the sides of the plates furthest from the table edge. The player holds a broom (handle-side up) in one hand and an empty cup in the other. When the timer starts, the player lets go of the broom so it falls and hits the part of the plate hanging over the edge. Their goal is to hit the plate so that the marshmallow is catapulted into the air, and they can attempt to catch it in their cup. To win, the player must catch 3 marshmallows before the 60 seconds is up.
Sticky Situation
Cover a piece of bread with peanut butter and place it on a table. The player holds a ping pong ball and, when the timer starts, throws it at the ground. Their goal is to bounce the ping pong ball off the ground and then into the peanut butter-covered bread. Have the player stand about 5–6 feet (1.5–1.8 m) from the table. Make sure no one has any peanut allergies before playing this game at the office or in school!
Bucket Head
Each player balances a bucket on their head and stands about 5–6 feet (1.5–1.8 m) from an empty wall. Place a bowl of ping pong balls somewhere within reach of the players. When the timer starts, each player will bounce their ping pong ball on the floor and try to have it rebound off the wall in front of them. The player's ultimate goal is to catch the ping pong ball in the bucket that’s balanced on their head. For a winning round, the player must catch 3 ping pong balls in the 60 seconds allotted.
Mouth to Mouth
Set up one bottle right-side up with the top off. Place a dollar bill over the mouth of the bottom bottle, then place another open bottle directly on top, with its mouth touching the dollar bill. The player must remove the dollar bill from between the two bottles, but they have to start again if the bottles fall over. The two bottles must be the exact same size and shape.
Don’t Burst My Bubble
Place a hula hoop about 5 feet (1.5 m) away from the players. At the start of the game, each player blows a bubble and must use only their breath to get it through the hula hoop. They have one minute to blow their bubble toward and through the hula hoop to win! You can lean the standing hula hoop against something or have a non-competing player hold it upright.
Noodling Around
Place 6 pieces of dry penne or rigatoni pasta around a table or in a line. Give the contestant a spaghetti noodle and have them place it in their mouth. The player must use only the spaghetti noodle to pick up all six pieces of tubular pasta before their time is up.
On the Hook
Make a “fishing pole” by attaching a piece of string to a chopstick with a paperclip at the other end of the string. Bend the paperclip out on one side to create an upward-facing hook. Place four keys on the edge of a table with their handles hanging over the edge. The contestant places the chopstick, or “fishing pole,” in their mouth and tries to catch all four keys on the paperclip “hook.”
Boxes and Bells
Randomly divide 15 small round jingle bells between 5 boxes. Ask the player to pick up and shake each box and guess the number of bells. Then, they must reorganize the boxes based on the number of bells inside. The player who can correctly accomplish the task in the shortest amount of time is the winner. Due to the bell theme, this is a great Minute to Win It game for Christmas or holiday events.
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