Family game night
Story games for families, no box, no board, just you lot.
A story game needs nothing but the people in the room. You take turns adding to one story, and nobody knows where it will end up. That is the fun of it.
Here are ten that work with a mix of ages, from about six to grandparent. Each one has a first line you can read out right now.
Ten story games to play together
Story chain
One person says the first sentence. The next person adds one sentence, and so on round the room. The only rule: your sentence has to follow on from the last one.
Start with The fridge started talking on a Tuesday.
Only the last line
Write a story on paper, one line each, and fold the paper so the next person sees only the line before theirs. Read the whole thing out at the end. It is always stranger than anyone planned.
Start with Note found on the kitchen table: “Gone to the moon. Back by dinner. Do NOT feed the toaster.”
Fortunately, unfortunately
Take turns. One line starts with “Fortunately…”, the next with “Unfortunately…”. Good luck and bad luck swap back and forth until someone finds an ending. Full rules and starters.
Start with The wishing well had a sign on it: “Closed for repairs. Wishes may come true backwards.”
One word at a time
Build a story one word each, going round fast. It falls apart in the best way. Younger children love it because nobody has to think of a whole sentence. How to play.
Start with Once… upon… a…
Secret word
Before your turn, someone whispers a secret word to you. You have to sneak it into your sentence without anyone guessing which word it was. Everyone guesses at the end.
Start with Try these words: toaster, umbrella, sock, kettle, pigeon, trampoline.
Genre switch
Halfway through, someone calls out a new style. Your next line must sound like a nature documentary, a weather forecast or a pirate’s diary. Then keep going.
Start with Our cat has been sneaking out every night, and today she came home wearing a tiny hat.
Three things
Pick three random things, for example a goose, a crown and a key. The story has to use all three before it ends. Take turns adding a sentence each.
Start with In the kingdom of Fuddleby, the king had lost his crown again, and this time a goose was wearing it.
Add a villain
Play a story chain, but at any point someone may shout “Villain!”. The next player has to bring one in, with a very silly name. The others have to defeat them before the end.
Start with The penguins at the city zoo have been planning something, and this morning the zookeeper found their map.
Consequences
The classic folded-paper game. Everyone writes a name, folds, passes, then a second name, then what they said, then the consequence. Read them all out. Rules and a template.
Start with A clumsy dragon met a very polite troll at the bus stop…
Bedtime story relay
A calm one to end the day. A grown-up starts, each child adds one gentle sentence, and the grown-up finishes it with everyone asleep (in the story, at least).
Start with Once upon a time, a dragon who was afraid of the dark knocked on a candle-maker’s door.
Tips that make it work
- Keep turns short. One or two sentences each keeps everyone listening.
- Agree one rule first: lines are kind, and nobody in the room is the joke.
- Let small children say their line out loud while a grown-up writes it down.
- Save the best bit for the end. Read the whole story out in your most dramatic voice.
- Vote for the funniest line. Ask why it was funny. Children get surprisingly good at this.
More first lines to try
All of these come from Taletoss’s free decks. Read one out, then pass it on.
- A hamster called Captain Fluff escaped from Classroom 4B, leaving a trail of seeds to the head teacher’s office.
- Deep in the jungle, the monkeys had started a newspaper, and today’s headline was all about the tiger.
- The snail challenged the cheetah to a race, and for some reason, the cheetah was very nervous.
- Ravi’s goldfish has been blowing bubbles in the shape of letters all week, and today they spelled “HELP.”
- The giant at the top of the beanstalk had waited years for a visitor, and he had baked far too many scones.
- The magic mirror cleared its throat and said, “Before I answer, can we talk about your hat?”
- Every night at midnight, the suits of armour in the castle climbed off their stands to practise dancing.
- Ravi found a tiny door at the bottom of an oak tree, with a sign: “Knock three times. Bring cheese.”
Questions
What is a good story game for a family with young children?
Story chain and one word at a time work from about age four, because nobody has to write. A grown-up can write the story down as you go and read it back at the end.
Do story games need any equipment?
No. Most need only your voices. Paper and a pencil help for folded-paper games like Consequences, and one phone is enough for Taletoss.
How many people do you need?
Two is enough for a story chain. Most games are best with three to eight players. Taletoss works with 2 to 12.
How long does a round take?
A story chain of two rounds round a table of five takes about five to ten minutes. Play one before dinner, or three in a row on a rainy afternoon.