Are you looking for some low-prep, fun, interactive, and engaging games for your classroom? I have got you covered. Here is a list I compiled of simple, minute to win it games you can play with your students (of any age group). Below you will find 21 games and a brief description of how to play each one.
I also included some classroom games music in the form of a Spotify playlist. These songs are a variety of popular TikTok songs, as well as other "trendy" music. I tried to keep these appropriate for grades 7-12. So you may want to do a quick sweep for your younger students. I am sure you could easily find other playlists to use.
I also included a link to access some one-minute timers. You will want these for the games. You can project these on your screen while you play the games. I think these games would be fun to play at any point in the school year, but I know the end of the school year is a time when I am often looking for some creative ways to fill the time. These also would be fun for the beginning of the school year as you start back-to-school activities.
If you are not familiar with the concept of these games, you put a timer on and give a minute for the task to be done. You could make this an individual game or a group activity too.
Hold two balloons in the air This one is so simple to do and fun to watch. You can add additional balloons to this, but the person has to keep the balloons in the air for the full minute.
Move marshmallows to bowl with a spoon Using two bowls, fill the one bowl with marshmallows (the amount does not matter, just make it fairly full). The person takes a spoon and places the handle in their mouth. Using only the spoon, they must move the marshmallows to the bowl. You could see how many they could move in a minute or make it a requirement to move all of them.
Cooke on face Placing a cookie (any type) on your forehead, you must move the cookie in your mouth without moving your hands. You will want to tilt your head back to try to avoid dropping it. If you do drop it, you may place it back on your face and continue (if you choose to play that way).
Tissue box on the waist You will need an empty tissue box for this activity. Take the plastic off of the hole in the tissue box. Next, use yarn or rope to make a "belt" with the tissue box (large enough to be tied around the waist). The person will be strapping the box around their waist and placing the tissue box above their hips. Next, place some ping pong balls inside the box. The person must then shake, dance, and move around to get the balls out without touching the box.
Post-it notes on the face Give the person some post-it notes and see how many they can get on their face in a period of time. You may also have the person work with a partner on this one. If you do not want to use the face, you could also use the person's back.
Cup pyramid The person must make a pyramid with their cups (however many you provide) within the time frame. The pyramid must be able to stand on its own and hold its form without falling over.
Pull cup from paper Taking at least four cups, place a piece of paper between them to create layers. The person must pull the paper out quick enough that the cup falls on the one below it. Once the cup falls, the person tries to pull the next piece of paper out until all of the cups are stacked on top of each other.
Toilet paper mummy Using a roll of toilet paper, you must try to cover someone as much as possible. You only have one roll to use. This one would need to be with a partner.
Pantyhose knock over With any type of pantyhose, place a tennis ball in one of the legs (at the bottom where your foot would go). The waist portion will go on top of the person's head, like a hat. Using only your head and the leg with the tennis ball, you must knock over a row of cups. You could also make it a row of water bottles for a greater challenge.
Skittle straw race Using two plates, place some skittles on one of the plates. The person must move the skittles to the other plate by sucking through the end of a straw. You could make it so all the skittles must be moved or just see how many they can move in the time frame.
Ballon air knock over Using balloon air, the person attempts to knock over cups or move ping pong balls. You could adjust the number of cups and ping pong balls to fit your audience. If using ping pon balls, you could put tape on the ground for the person to "push" the ball to. The trick is they can only use the air from the balloon to knock the cup over or move the ball. You could even be really specific and allow them to blow the balloon up once to limit the amount of air they can use.
Fruitloop race Using a pipe cleaner, the person must add fruit loops onto the pipe cleaner. The catch is that they can only use one hand. You could make the person move a certain amount or simply see how many the person can add to the pipe cleaner in one minute.
Rubber band shooting With rubber bands, the person must stand behind a certain spot and shoot rubber bands into a container. Again, this is a game you could make a goal for and say the person must shoot 10 into the container to "win."
Ice cream cone stack For this activity, you must use the ice cream cones often referred to as "cake cones." I made the words clickable so you can see what I am referring to. The person must try to stack these cones on top of each other to see how far they can reach before falling. The cones must be placed facing opposite directions for them to count and gain height.
Tissue box race Using any type of tissue, you have one minute to empty the entire box. You could make it a requirement to only use one hand if you want to make it even more challenging. If you do not want to waste these, I like to use them for cleaning the whiteboard after.
Party hat on head With a ping pong ball, the person must bounce the ball off of a surface to land in a cup they hold on the top of their head. The person must have a certain number of catches in the cup to win the game.
Pasta transfer You will need two types of pasta for this game. First, spaghetti pasta and the second is penne pasta. Using the spaghetti pasta, the person will place a piece of it in their mouth. Using only the pasta, they must then try to add penne pasta pieces to the spaghetti piece.
Chair drop While standing on a chair, the person must drop items into the box below them. I like to use cotton balls, pom poms, or something lightweight for this. The person must drop the item from the chest or head height. You could set a requirement on how many they must drop in order to win this game or see who can drop in the most in total.
Fruit roll-up race I love to watch this one. The person will receive a fruit roll-up and must eat it using only their mouth. This is a fun one to do with more than one person, so they can race each other and the clock.
Pudding cup suck This is another entertaining one to watch. With any type of pudding cup, the person must suck the pudding out of the cup using only straws. You can give the person as many straws as you like. This is a challenge and delicious. ;)
Water bottle flip This is a classic game among many age groups. Using a water bottle, you must see how many times you can flip it and have it land standing up. Have the person flipping count to see how many they can do total or even in a row.
I hope these games bring your classroom joy and laughter. I love doing activities like this with students because it always creates memories and builds relationships.