Try these never-fail stand-bys for spur-of-the-moment fun.
Linking Game
The Adamses of San Antonio, Texas, "do a lot of waiting -- at the doctor, at the pharmacy, in the car on long trips," says mom Starsha. One of their favorite pastimes is a simple linking game. "We think of a subject and take turns naming things in the category, with each new word beginning with the last letter in the previous word," she says. "Sometimes we get specific: zoo animals, farm animals, girls' names or boys' names -- those were really popular when I was pregnant!" When they run out of ideas, they just change categories.
Connect the Dots
Erin Rismiller of Versailles, Ohio, likes to play dots (also called boxes, or dots and boxes) with her daughter, Megan, age 5. "It's a game that I remember playing with my grandparents and my parents," says Erin. "I draw a bunch of dots in parallel rows and columns, and we take turns connecting pairs of dots with straight lines." Each time a player completes a box, she puts her initials inside. The one with the most initialed boxes at the end wins. "All you need is something to write with and a piece of scrap paper," says Erin. "It's even easier than tic-tac-toe."
Would You Rather?
Kooky choices are the name of the game for the Sonkas of Myrtle Creek, Oregon, who take turns selecting between pairs of unusual options. "Would you rather eat a caterpillar or a slug?" someone might ask. "Would you rather bungee jump or climb to the top of the Empire State Building?" Questions usually involve things to eat, do, or wear, or places to visit, and answers can run the gamut. "I'd rather eat a caterpillar because it wouldn't be slimy," for example. Her kids love that they can be totally silly, says mom Susan. "It doesn't have to make any sense, and there are no wrong answers."
