Sleepover Games: 30 Games for Kids and Teens (Loud Ones, Quiet Ones and a Plan for the Whole Night)

Every sleepover has the same shape. At 7 pm there are five kids bouncing off the walls, at 9 pm somebody is bored and on their phone, at 11 pm everybody is wide awake and very loud in a house where other people are trying to sleep. The games are not the problem. The order is.

So this list is built around the night, not around the games. You get 30 sleepover games for kids and teens, each with the number of players and how long it takes, grouped by when they fit: loud games to burn off the first hour, a competitive block for the middle of the evening, flashlight games for when the lights go off, and quiet games for after 10 pm. There is also an hour-by-hour plan, a printable trivia sheet with answers and a set of would-you-rather cards you can cut out.

How to pick sleepover games by age

An eight-year-old and a fourteen-year-old both call it a sleepover, but they want completely different nights. Younger kids want a grown-up to set things up, clear rules and a winner. Teens want the adults gone, games that feel like their own idea and a little bit of risk: a question they might not want to answer, a dare that is slightly embarrassing.

The group size matters just as much. With three or four kids, turn-based games are fine because your turn comes back fast. With six or more, pick games where everyone plays at the same time, or split into two teams. A queue of five kids watching one kid is how phones come out.

• Ages 7-9: movement games, hide and seek, simple crafts, a movie with snacks. Lights out around 9:30 pm is realistic, even if nobody admits it.
• Ages 10-12: trivia, charades, scavenger hunts, would you rather, flashlight games. They will try to stay up until midnight.
• Teen party games (13 and up): truth or dare with rules everyone agrees on, two truths and a lie, karaoke, games on the TV, late-night talk games.

Loud games for the first hour

The first hour is for burning energy. Kids arrive wired, so give them something physical before you ask them to sit still.

• Sardines (4-10 players, 15 min): one person hides, everyone looks, and whoever finds them squeezes into the hiding spot too. The last seeker loses. Better than hide and seek for small houses.
• Freeze dance (4-12 players, 10 min): music on, everyone dances; music off, everyone freezes. Whoever moves becomes a judge.
• Balloon keep-up (3-10 players, 10 min): the balloon cannot touch the floor. Add a second balloon when it gets easy.
• Pillow sumo (2 at a time, 10 min): two players on their knees on a mattress, holding pillows, trying to push each other off. Clear the area first.
• Scavenger hunt (4-10 players, 20 min): a list of 15 things to find in the house (something older than you, something that smells good, a sock without a pair). Teams, a time limit, points.
• Charades (4-12 players, 15 min): movies, songs, animals. Two teams, 60 seconds per turn.
• Mummy wrap (6-12 players, 10 min): teams wrap one player in toilet paper against the clock. The cleanup is part of the game.

Competitive games for the middle of the evening

After pizza, the energy drops but the kids are not ready to sleep. This is the best time for games with points and a winner, because everyone is sitting down and paying attention.

• Trivia on the TV (4-8 players, 20-30 min): questions on the big screen, answers from phones, the score keeps itself. More on this below.
• Two truths and a lie (4-10 players, 15 min): everyone says three facts about themselves, the group votes on the fake one. Great with kids who do not know each other well.
• Would you rather (3-12 players, 15 min): "would you rather be able to fly or be invisible". Everyone answers at once by pointing to one side of the room. Printable cards are further down.
• Heads up style guessing (3-10 players, 15 min): a word on a card against your forehead, the others give clues, 60 seconds per round.
• Card games: Spoons, Slapjack or Uno (3-8 players, 20 min): fast, loud, and everybody already knows the rules.
• Blind drawing (4-10 players, 15 min): one player describes a simple picture, the others draw it without seeing it. Compare at the end.

The best sleepover game is the one they are still talking about at breakfast.

Flashlight games for when the lights go off

Turning off the lights changes everything. The same kids who were bored ten minutes ago are suddenly whispering and giggling. All you need is one or two flashlights, or phones with the light on.

• Flashlight tag (4-10 players, 15 min): the seeker has the flashlight, anyone caught in the beam is out. Best in a basement or a big living room.
• Shadow puppets (3-8 players, 10 min): a flashlight on a blank wall, and each player makes an animal with their hands for the others to guess.
• Campfire stories in a blanket fort (3-8 players, 20 min): one flashlight under the chin, one story each. Keep it spooky, not scary, for younger kids.
• Glow in the dark hunt (4-10 players, 15 min): hide glow sticks around a dark room, the team that finds the most wins.
• Murder in the dark, kid version (6-12 players, 15 min): one secret "detective" and one secret "sneaker" who taps players on the shoulder. Lights on to guess who it was.
• Flashlight Morse code (2-6 players, 10 min): short and long flashes, one letter at a time. Surprisingly addictive at age ten.

Quiet sleepover games for after 10 pm

At some point a parent will say the words "keep it down". These games work in sleeping bags, in the dark and at a whisper, and none of them need a winner.

• Would you rather, whisper edition: same game, but everyone answers in a whisper and the loudest person loses a point.
• Story chain: each person adds one sentence to a story. It gets weird by the fifth round.
• Twenty questions: one player thinks of anything, the others ask yes or no questions.
• Guess the song by humming: one person hums, the others guess. It works best at 11 pm when everyone is a bit silly.
• Truth or dare, truth only: no running around, just questions. Agree on the "pass" rule from the start.
• Alphabet game: pick a category (animals, foods, countries) and go around the circle from A to Z.
• High and low: everyone shares the best and the worst thing about their week. Teens open up more than you would expect.
• Last one awake: whoever stays silent the longest wins. The oldest trick in the book, and it still works.

Sleepover plan hour by hour

Here is a plan for five or six kids aged 10-13, from arrival at 6 pm to breakfast. For younger kids, move lights-out forward by an hour and drop the flashlight block.

1. 16:00 pm. Arrival, bags in one room, a quick tour of the house. A drop-in game like balloon keep-up for whoever arrives first.
2. 26:30 pm. Loud block: sardines, freeze dance, a scavenger hunt. Get the energy out now.
3. 37:30 pm. Pizza or make-your-own tacos. Eating together counts as an activity.
4. 48:15 pm. Competitive block: trivia on the TV, then two truths and a lie or a card game.
5. 59:30 pm. Pyjamas, face masks or a movie. Build the blanket fort now, before everyone is tired.
6. 610:15 pm. Flashlight games and stories, then the quiet games in sleeping bags.
7. 7Morning. Pancakes and one short game while parents arrive, like twenty questions or would you rather.

Printable sleepover trivia with answers

Fourteen trivia questions for kids 9-13. Print the sheet, play in two teams, one point per correct answer. The answers print on a separate page.

Print this sheetShow answersFree to print at home. Answers print on a separate page.

Sleepover Trivia

14 questions, 1 point each

1. 1.How many planets are in our solar system?
2. 2.What is the largest ocean on Earth?
3. 3.Which planet is known as the Red Planet?
4. 4.What is the capital of Japan?
5. 5.How many sides does a hexagon have?
6. 6.What is the tallest animal in the world?
7. 7.What gas do plants take in from the air to make food?
8. 8.How many strings does a standard guitar have?
9. 9.What is the largest planet in our solar system?
10. 10.How many hearts does an octopus have?
11. 11.In which country are the pyramids of Giza?
12. 12.What is the hardest natural material on Earth?
13. 13.How many continents are there?
14. 14.How many legs does an insect have?

playbuzzin.com · Start it on the TV, the rest is in your pocket

Answers: Sleepover Trivia

1. 1. 8
2. 2. The Pacific Ocean
3. 3. Mars
4. 4. Tokyo
5. 5. 6
6. 6. The giraffe
7. 7. Carbon dioxide
8. 8. 6
9. 9. Jupiter
10. 10. 3
11. 11. Egypt
12. 12. Diamond
13. 13. 7
14. 14. 6

Would you rather cards to cut out

Twelve would-you-rather questions that work for kids and teens. Print, cut, put them in a bowl and draw one at a time.

Print this sheetFree to print at home.

Would You Rather

Draw a card, everyone picks a side

Cut along the dashed lines.

1. Superpowersplaybuzzin.com

   Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?

2. Homeplaybuzzin.com

   Would you rather live on a boat or in a treehouse?

3. Schoolplaybuzzin.com

   Would you rather never do homework again or never wait in line again?

4. Superpowersplaybuzzin.com

   Would you rather talk to animals or speak every language?

5. Foodplaybuzzin.com

   Would you rather eat only pizza or only ice cream for a week?

6. Youplaybuzzin.com

   Would you rather be the funniest person in the room or the smartest?

7. Adventureplaybuzzin.com

   Would you rather explore space or the deep ocean?

8. Petsplaybuzzin.com

   Would you rather have a pet dragon or a pet unicorn?

9. Tough oneplaybuzzin.com

   Would you rather always be too hot or always be too cold?

10. Youplaybuzzin.com

    Would you rather be famous or be really rich?

11. Adventureplaybuzzin.com

    Would you rather time travel to the past or to the future?

12. Tough oneplaybuzzin.com

    Would you rather have no phone for a month or no TV for a month?

playbuzzin.com · Start it on the TV, the rest is in your pocket

Truth or dare generator for sleepovers

Thirty kid-safe truths and dares, drawn at random with no repeats, so nobody has to invent a question at midnight. Remember the pass rule.

On the TV: how to run this

Paper trivia needs somebody to read, keep time and add up points, and at a sleepover that somebody is you. Start it on the TV, the rest is in your pocket: Buzzin runs a party game on the screen you already have, and every kid's phone becomes a buzzer. TV Show is a quiz with a voiced host, the question and four answers on the TV, and the fastest correct tap scores. The game starts in the smart TV's browser, on a Chromecast or a laptop over HDMI, or through the BuzzinTV app on LG TVs with webOS 22 or newer, Philips TVs with Titan OS, Android TV, Google TV and Amazon Fire TV. How to connect it step by step is in our guide to smart TV party games with phones.

A room has eight seats. Nobody installs anything or makes an account, and kids without their own phone can team up on a parent's phone. For older teens who stay up late, Werewolves - Prime time moon puts the narrator on the TV and each player's secret role on their phone; our guide on how to play Werewolf explains the rules.

1. 1Open tv.playbuzzin.com on the TV or launch the BuzzinTV app.
2. 2A QR code and a room code appear on the screen.
3. 3Everyone scans the code with a phone, picks a character, and the game starts.

More ideas for bigger groups

If the sleepover turns into a birthday party with a dozen kids, the games that work change. Our guide to party games for large groups covers what actually works at 8 and 12 players, and best party games for TV lists more games you can play on the big screen with phones. For questions the kids can argue about, try our funny trivia questions.

If you try Buzzin at a sleepover, we would love to hear what the kids liked and what is worth improving. The conversation happens on our Discord: https://discord.gg/nbVVeWNXFm.