Turn lackluster gatherings into lively and memorable events with fun minute to win it games for adults!
Play them at dinner parties, birthday parties, or holiday celebrations.
These minute to win it games are great for the workplace, too, when you want to have a bit of fun over the coffee or lunch break.
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How to Play Minute to Win It Games
The gist of a minute to win it game is simple: complete a specified task in a minute or less. The games can be played in different ways. Individual vs. the clock, player vs. player, or team vs. team.
Individual vs. clock. A single player races against the clock to complete the task. You could even play alone because the clock is the only thing you’re competing against. Of course, it’s not half as much fun as playing with other people cheering for your success.
Player vs. player. Instead of racing against the clock, players attempt to beat the other player by being the first to finish the task.
Team vs. team. This version is perfectly suited for relay-type games. You can keep the one-minute timer or have the teams compete to see who finishes first. Alternatively, you can have one player from each team go against the other until everyone from both teams has a chance to compete against another player.
Most minute to win it games can be modified to suit the number of players participating, so any of the games listed below can be altered as you see fit.
How to Score Minute to Win It Games
One way is to create a points system based on how many games an individual player can win.
- Perhaps the one who wins a certain number of games gets a certain amount of points. For example, win 5 games, earn 10 points. 4 games, 7 points. Etc…
- Or each game won counts as one point.
At the end of the event, hand out prizes to the players with the most wins.
And without further ado, let’s play some minute to win it games!
1. Penny Stack
Simple minute to win it games for adults are the best. And what could be more simple than stacking some pennies?
What You Need
- pennies
How to Play
Stack as many pennies as you can in one minute. You can race against time or compete against other players for the tallest penny tower.
2. Cup Stack
What You Need
- 10 plastic cups
How to Play
Using only one hand, stack plastic cups in a triangular-shaped tower (four at the bottom, then three on top of those, then two cups, and one cup on top) and take it apart before one minute is up.
The player must let the last cup stay on top for at least one second before dismantling the stack.
3. Flying Feather
What You Need
- feather(s)
How to Play
Blow a feather from one end of the room to the other.
Race against other players or teams. Alternatively, you could line up players and have them pass the feather from the first player to the last before time’s up.
4. Toss Candy in the Bottle
What You Need
- M&M’s® or Skittles® in cups
- 2-liter bottle
How to Play
Place the bottle 3-5 feet away from the toss line.
Toss a piece of candy (m&m or skittles) into the bottle. Whoever gets the most in during the one-minute wins.
Alternatively, players race to be the first to get their candy into the bottle. Give each player different colored candies if tossing them into the same bottle.
5. Face the Cookie
What You Need
- cookies
How to Play
Place a cookie on your forehead and try to get it to your mouth using only your facial muscles. Race against other players or simply try to beat the clock.
6. Defying Gravity
What You Need
- three balloons
How to Play
Keep three balloons in the air for a whole minute using only one hand. Another fun version is using your head instead of your hands to keep them up.
7. Candy Toss
What You Need
- candy
- cup (one for each team)
How to Play
Players pair up and stand several feet away from each other. One holds the cup, and the other tosses candies into the cup.
Whichever team gets the most candies in the cup before time runs out wins!
8. Flip the Cups
Thirsty, anyone?
What You Need
- plastic cups (a few for each player)
- water
How to Play
Line plastic cups at the edge of the table and put a little bit of water in each cup.
Race against another player (or the clock) to drink the water and flip the cup so that it lands upside down on the edge of the table. Move on to the next cup once you get it to land upside down.
9. Straw and Tissue Race
This like most of the games mentioned here are great for large groups.
What You Need
- straws
- tissue
How to Play
Players stand in a line and use straws to pass a piece of tissue from one end of the line to the other. It can be a race against another team or simply a race against the clock.
10. Toilet Paper Mummy
What You Need
- toilet paper
How to Play
Beat the clock and the opposing team by wrapping up your teammate in toilet paper before time runs out. Whichever team used up the most toilet paper wins.
11. Penny Drop
Dig through the drawers and find some pennies for this game.
What You Need
- clear vase (large cylinder vase)
- shot glass (heavy base)
- water
- pennies
How to Play
Place a shot glass in a large vase. Fill the vase with water.
Drop as many pennies as you possibly can into the glass.
12. Cookie Stack
Be like a kid and play with food.
This minute to win it games for adults involves delicious treats, cookies.
What You Need
- cookies
How to Play
Be the player with the most cookies stacked on your forehead before time runs out. This could be a fun transition game to Face the Cookie I mentioned before.
And what’s your prize for winning the game? A stack of cookies!
13. Don’t Blow the Joker
What You Need
- a deck of cards
How to Play
Place the joker card at the bottom of the deck.
Blow away the entire deck of cards except for the joker card. Participants can have as many attempts as necessary before one minute is up.
14. Feed Your Friend
What You Need
- blindfold
- spoon
- apple sauce, berries, cake…
- trash bags to keep the clothes clean
How to Play
One player is blindfolded and must spoon-feed the second player. The player being fed is allowed to give directions but can’t guide the spoon with their hands.
15. Penny Hurl
What You Need
- pennies
- cup
How to Play
Place a cup three feet away from the toss line.
While blindfolded, throw as many pennies as you can into a cup before time runs out.
16. Suck It Up
What You Need
- straws (some taped to the table the others for moving candy)
- tape
- candy
How to Play
Tape 3 or 4 straws to the table so that they’re upright.
Players use straws to suck pieces of candy and balance them on each standing straws.
17. Oreo® Stack
What You Need
- Oreos®
How to Play
Compete against other players to stack as many Oreos® as you possibly can before time’s up.
18. Wet Balloon
What You Need
- spray bottle filled with water
- balloon
- basket or a bucket
How to Play
Use a spray bottle of water to push a balloon through the air into a container.
19. M&M’s® Bowl
What You Need
- m&m’s®
- chopsticks
- two bowls
How to Play
Using chopsticks, transfer as many m&m’s from one bowl to another in one minute.
20. Balloon Cups
What You Need
- balloons
- plastic cups
How to Play
Place the cups on the table, the opening facing up.
Hold an empty balloon with your mouth. Place the balloon inside the cup and start inflating it. Once it gets big enough to touch the sides, lift the cup with the balloon. Move the cup to the other end of the table.
Continue moving the cups with a balloon.
21. Nose Dive
What You Need
- petroleum jelly
- cotton balls or marshmallows
- two bowls
How to Play
Fill a bowl with cotton balls.
Put some petroleum jelly on the tip of your nose. Dive into a bowl full of cotton balls and transfer the cotton ball into another bowl. Alternatively, you could use marshmallows instead of cotton balls.
22. Unstack It
What You Need
How to Play
Build a Jenga® tower.
Remove the most Jenga blocks without knocking the tower over in one minute.
23. This Blows
What You Need
- balloons
- plastic cups
How to Play
Inflate a balloon. Blow over the plastic cups using the air from a balloon. Race against another player to knock over all the cups.
24. Proper Posture
What You Need
- book
- obstacle course
How to Play
Balance a book on your head while attempting to complete an obstacle course in one minute. Players can start over if there’s still time left.
25. Scoop It Up
What You Need
- spoon
- ping pong balls (various colors so each player can have a different color)
- two bowls
How to Play
Put a spoon in your mouth to move ping pong balls from one bowl to another.
26. Jenga® Tower
What You Need
Jenga® blocks
How to Play
Build the tallest tower in one minute using only one hand. You are not allowed to do anything to keep it from falling.
27. Yank Me Around
What You Need
- 4 plastic cups
- 3 pieces of paper
How to Play
Stack plastic cups upside down and put sheets of paper in between each cup. The goal is to yank the paper out so the cup can fall and stack neatly onto the next one. Get all the cups stacked before time runs out.
28. Fork it Over
Have some fun at the dinner table and play this party game for adults.
What You Need
- fork
- quarter
How to Play
Attempt to roll a quarter between the prongs of an upside-down fork.
29. A Little Dicey
What You Need
- dice (standard size dice in a handy storage container)
- craft stick
How to Play
Put a craft stick in your mouth and stack as many dice on it as you can in one minute.
30. Ping Pong Pyramid
What You Need
- 6 cups
- ping pong balls
How to Play
Set up 6 cups in a triangular shape on the table and try to toss a ping pong ball into each of the cups before time runs out.
Play and Laugh with Your Friends
These minute to win it games for adults are easy to set up and fun to play. Which one is your favorite?
Save party game ideas for you next get-together, and enjoy friendly competition and learn some new things about each other:
- play luau party games and let the tropical warmth surround you
- Friendsgiving games celebrate the special people in your life