5 Activities to Distract Kids on a Rainy Day
When the kids are full of energy, but it’s too wet to go outside, here are five activities they can simulate via board games. The kids can play most of these games by themselves, though you may need to give the young ones a little help to begin with.
Defend the Castle
The peace of your castle has been destroyed by a horde of monsters attacking from the surrounding forest. Rally your knights, call out the archers, send forth your swordsmen and send those monsters back from whence they came in Castle Panic! If you can defeat all the monsters and survive the onslaught with at least one castle tower standing, you win!
Castle Panic is a cooperative game in which all players work together to achieve victory – or share defeat if all of your castle towers are destroyed. 1 to 6 players ages 10 and up can play this in about 60 minutes.
Go on a Monstrous Rampage
There’s nothing like a good fight to distract you from the nasty weather. So imagine what would happen if a dragon, giant lizard, space penguin, huge ape, weird cat and aliens decided to throw down in the midst of Tokyo? Who would become King of the Hill? Or in this case, King of Tokyo? It’s a roll of the dice to see who will be the last monster standing or the first monster to score 20 points and win this monstrous rampage!
King of Tokyo is a competitive game for 2 to 6 players, ages 8 and up that plays in about 30 minutes.
Rescue Four Ancient Artifacts
You’ve finally tracked them down. The Crystal of Fire, Ocean’s Chalice, Earth Stone and Statue of the Wind are on an island in the middle of the Pacific. The only problem is, the island is sinking! Helicopter in, find the artifacts and escape the Forbidden Island before it sinks. Easy peasy. Better wear galoshes just in case.
Forbidden Island is a cooperative game for 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up. Playtime is about 30 minutes.
Mix Up Some Wacky Potions
The Quacks of Quedlinburg, a bunch of charlatans and miracle doctors, are mixing up some wacky potions to impress the folks at the fair. They’re competing to see who can build the biggest potion using weird ingredients like rats, pumpkins, garden spiders, crow skulls, toadstools, mandrake, ghost’s breath, moths, and cherry bombs! They have to be careful, though. Too many cherry bombs and their potions will blow up in their faces!
The Quacks of Quedlinburg is a light-hearted, push-your-luck game for 2 to 4 players ages 10 and up. Playtime is about 45 minutes.
Save Hogwarts
The evil forces of He Who Shall Not Be Named are threatening to overrun Hogwarts castle and it’s up to you, playing Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville, to save the wizarding school. Start with your own personal decks, then acquire more Allies, Spells and Magical Items to protect yourselves from the villians’ Dark Arts and attacks and fight back to defeat them. Only by working together can you defeat the forces of evil and save Hogwarts!
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle is a light cooperative deckbuilding game for 2 to 4 players ages 11 and up. Playtime is 30 to 60 minutes.
BONUS: Choose Your Own Adventure
Everyone needs a good adventure – once they’ve got their chores done. So as soon as the building and harvesting is done above, it’s adventure time in the caverns below! Who knows what interesting creatures and treasures you might discover. It’s up to you how you respond to each encounter.
Above and Below is a choose your own adventure type game for 2 to 4 players ages 13 and up. It plays in about 45 minutes.
Copyright © 2020 by Tina G. McDuffie. All rights reserved.
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