Ten sleepover games that need little or no setup, with a rough age guide for each. The ages are a starting point; you know the kids. The questions above are for the talking games, grouped by game and age.
House rules first
Before the first game, the host or a parent sets three rules. Anyone can pass on any question or dare. Dares stay in the room and use only safe, ordinary things: no phones, no posting, no texting anyone, nothing near the stairs or the stove. Anyone who wants to sleep can stop playing, and nobody gets woken up, drawn on or filmed while they sleep.
The games
Would you rather
Ages: 5 and up. Players: 2 or more. You need: nothing.
One person reads a choice and everyone answers, with one sentence on why. For younger kids, point to two corners of the room and let them run to their answer. More choices are on the would you rather questions page.
Truth or dare
Ages: 8 and up. Players: 3 or more. You need: nothing.
Take turns asking “truth or dare?” The player answers a truth question or does a dare from the lists above, or passes. For a mixed group, play “truth or truth”: no dares, just questions. The truth or dare page has more of both.
Telephone
Ages: 5 and up. Players: 5 or more. You need: nothing.
Sit in a line or circle. The first person whispers a sentence to the next, who whispers what they heard to the next, all the way around. The last person says it out loud and the first says the original. Longer, sillier sentences come out more mixed up.
Charades
Ages: 6 and up. Players: 4 or more, in two teams. You need: slips of paper with movie, book or animal names.
A player draws a slip and acts it out without talking while their team guesses. For younger kids, use animals and give the actor a minute or two instead of a strict timer.
Pictionary on paper
Ages: 6 and up. Players: 4 or more, in two teams. You need: paper, pens and slips with simple words.
Like charades, but the player draws instead of acting. No letters or numbers in the drawing.
Story chain
Ages: 6 and up. Players: 3 or more. You need: nothing.
One person starts a story with a sentence. Each person adds the next sentence. For older kids, try one word each instead of a sentence. It’s a good last game with the lights low.
Two truths and a lie
Ages: 8 and up. Players: 3 or more. You need: nothing.
Each player says three things about themselves: two true and one made up. Everyone guesses the lie. See two truths and a lie for ideas.
Celebrity
Ages: 9 and up. Players: 6 or more, in two teams. You need: slips of paper, pens and a bowl.
Everyone writes three names of famous people or characters on slips. Each team has one minute per turn to guess as many as they can. Round one: describe the name without saying it. Round two: one word only. Round three: act it out.
Never have I ever
Ages: 10 and up. Players: 4 or more. You need: nothing.
Everyone holds up five fingers. One person reads a “never have I ever” line. Anyone who has done it puts a finger down. Keep the lines from the list above or the clean section of the never have I ever page. The last person with fingers up wins.
Mafia
Ages: 10 and up. Players: 7 or more, plus one person to run it. You need: cards for secret roles.
The person running it deals secret roles: two mafia, one doctor, one detective and the rest townspeople. At “night,” everyone closes their eyes; the mafia silently pick a player to put “out,” the doctor picks one player to save and the detective points at one player and is told yes or no. In the “day,” everyone discusses and votes one player out. Town wins by finding the mafia; the mafia win when they equal the town. If anyone gets scared by the story, call the mafia something else, like sneaky cats.
If you’d rather just talk
Some groups would rather lie in sleeping bags and talk. The sleepover questions are written for that, from silly openers to quieter questions for later in the night.