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manymini

Youth group games with no supplies needed

A room full of teens, a few volunteers and twenty minutes to fill. These free youth group games run on one phone or a projector, every deck is clean, and nobody signs up for anything, students or leaders.

  1. The phone is the narratorMafiaThe phone narrates every night out loud, so the leader who usually runs the game gets a role like everyone else. It takes 5 to 16 players, and players are only ever “out,” with nothing gory or scary. With a bigger group, run two circles, each on its own phone.
  2. Would You RatherWould You Rather Questions for TeensWritten for teens: school, phones, friends, the future and weekends. Read a card, send everyone to one side of the room or the other, and ask one person from each side to explain. It works the same with eight teens or eighty.For example: Would you rather have a locker that always jams or have a locker next to the loudest group in school? · Would you rather present first in every class or present last, right after the best project?
  3. Say it out loud until it clicksGuess the GibberishEach card is nonsense, like “Ham burg her,” until someone says it fast enough to hear the real word. Put it on the projector with Big screen and play Solo with the whole room, or split into 2 to 4 teams. Nobody needs to know any facts, so newcomers start even.
  4. Questions worth answeringGet to Know YouFor a first meeting. The What if category asks about made-up situations, like pausing the whole world for an hour, so nobody has to share anything personal. In a big group, one person answers and hands the next question to someone new.In the deck: If you could instantly play any instrument, which would you pick and what would you play first?, If you could live in any decade for one year, which would you choose and why?, If you could pause the whole world for one hour, what would you do with it?, If you could be the world's best at one very small, oddly specific thing, what would it be?, If you opened a small shop or café, what would it sell and what would you call it?, If you could speak any language fluently overnight, which would you choose and where would you go first?…
  5. Spot the lieTwo Truths and a LieEvery turn starts with a topic card, like your hidden talents or a hobby you started and quit, so nobody freezes. Each player tells three facts, the group hunts for the lie, and the phone keeps score for 3 to 12 players or for teams.In the deck: Two truths and a lie about your hidden talents, Two truths and a lie about sports you've played, Two truths and a lie about instruments you've tried to learn, Two truths and a lie about a hobby you started and quit, Two truths and a lie about something you can do with your eyes closed, Two truths and a lie about a skill you taught yourself…
  6. Secret word, one liarImposterA small-group game for 3 to 12. Pass the phone: everyone sees the same food except one player, who has to bluff through a one-word clue. Food is a good first category, because everyone knows what tacos are, and with 7 or more you can add a second imposter.In the deck: Pizza, Hamburger, Spaghetti, Tacos, Sushi, Pancakes…
  7. Phone-on-your-forehead guessingForehead GuessPlug in a laptop, stand one player with their back to the screen and let their team shout clues. You score with the arrow keys: down for got it, up to pass. It takes up to 20 players in 2 to 4 teams, and every deck is family-friendly.
  8. Act it outCharadesNo player limit, up to four teams and a timer on the phone. The Actions category is everyday moments, like opening a stuck jar or carrying too many grocery bags, so even teens who don't like performing can manage one. The actor holds the phone so nobody else sees the prompt.In the deck: Walking a dog in the rain, Stepping on a Lego, Carrying too many grocery bags, Opening a stuck jar, Getting stung by a bee, Blowing up a balloon…
  9. Secret vote, loud debateRed Flag or Green FlagFriend habits, like replying to every message with a thumbs-up. Everyone votes in secret on the passed phone before hearing a single opinion, so nobody just follows the loudest person. Then the minority explains, and one sentence is plenty.In the deck: Replies to every text with just a thumbs-up., Sends voice messages instead of texting., Plans every hangout weeks in advance., Cancels plans last minute but always reschedules., Shows up 20 minutes early to everything., Keeps the group chat on mute forever.…
  10. Never Have I EverNever Have I Ever Questions for TeensNo drinking and no explaining: everyone holds up fingers and lowers one for each thing they've done, like studying for the wrong test. The teens list sticks to school, phones, friends, food, music and harmless cringe moments, and the whole room can play at once.For example: Never have I ever been called on right after I zoned out. · Never have I ever studied for the wrong test.
  11. Truth or DareTruth or Dare Questions for TeensStart with the School or The future groups. Every dare can be done in the room you're in, like acting out your reaction to a pop quiz, and the Skip button draws a new card, so anyone can pass without a scene. Best in a circle of up to 10.For example: What's the best sleepover snack combo you've ever had? · What's the scariest movie you've ever watched, and did you sleep that night?
  12. Three rounds, one bowl of wordsFishbowlThe longest game here, and a good one for a whole evening: up to 20 players in 2 to 4 teams, and three rounds with the same words. Use Our words for a ready-made bowl, or Write your own and let each player add 3 to 5.

Running games for a big youth group on one phone or projector

You don't need a phone for every teen. Every game here works indoors on one screen, and it can be yours. In a small circle, hold the phone up or pass it around. In a room of forty, connect a laptop to the projector or TV and run the game from the front.

  • On a laptop, press Big screen on the game page, and the game fills the projector, big enough for the back row to read. It works for every game that stays on one screen, like Would You Rather and Guess the Gibberish.
  • Pass-the-phone games, like Mafia, Imposter and Red Flag or Green Flag, show secret roles or votes, so they don't go on the projector. Play them in circles, with a phone in each one.
  • Charades shows the prompt to the actor only. Keep it on a phone the actor holds, not on the big screen.
  • Mafia reads every step out loud, so turn the sound up. If the browser can't speak, one person reads the screen instead.
  • Open the game before the meeting. The site has ads, so check what's on screen before forty teens see it.
  • For points across the night, use the free scoreboard, and let the random team generator split the room so the same friends don't always end up together.

Games for the first meeting and for newcomers

A newcomer's first night can decide whether they come back. Pick games with one-sentence rules, where nobody shares anything personal and a first-timer does as well as a regular.

  • Get to Know You with the What if category. Made-up situations give everyone something to say without telling their life story.
  • Two Truths and a Lie with Hobbies & talents. The topic card does the hard part, and the group learns one real thing about everybody.
  • Would You Rather for teens, with everyone moving to a side of the room. Walking across the room is the easiest way to join in without talking.
  • Guess the Gibberish in teams. It needs no facts and no inside jokes, so the regulars have no head start.

Save Most Likely To and Who Knows Me Best? for later in the year. Both reward knowing each other, so a newcomer either sits out or becomes everyone's answer. For more ideas, see our icebreaker games, or print Find Someone Who bingo so students learn names.

Helping quiet teens join in without putting them on the spot

Every youth group has teens who will act out anything in front of forty people and teens who would rather disappear. Pick games where joining in can be small, and keep the big moments voluntary.

  • Start with games where everyone answers at once: a finger down in Never Have I Ever, a side of the room in Would You Rather, a shouted guess in Guess the Gibberish.
  • Use secret votes. In Red Flag or Green Flag, everyone votes on the phone before hearing an opinion, so quiet teens have their say before the loud ones speak.
  • Hand out jobs. Holding the phone, reading cards, running the timer or keeping score is part of the game, and it's often how a shy teen joins in the first time.
  • Play in teams. In Forehead Guess and Charades, the team carries the guessing, so one shouted answer is enough to be part of the win.
  • Go around the circle instead of calling on people by name, and let anyone pass with no reason given.

If a student watches the whole night, that's fine. The teen who watches this week often plays next week.

A 10-minute and a 45-minute plan

Most meetings have a slot for games before or after the main part of the night. Here are two plans that fit it.

The 10-minute plan: three cards from Would You Rather for teens, with everyone moving to a side of the room (about 3 minutes), then 10 cards of Guess the Gibberish in two teams with the 30-second timer (about 5 minutes). Stop while they still want one more.

The 45-minute plan:

  1. 1Arrival, 10 minutes: Get to Know You or Would You Rather on the projector while people come in. Latecomers join mid-card with no rules to learn.
  2. 2Warm-up, 10 minutes: Forehead Guess in 2 to 4 teams, scored from the laptop.
  3. 3Main game, 20 minutes: Imposter in circles of 4 to 10, with a leader and a phone in each. Rounds are short, so each circle can play several.
  4. 4Wind-down, 5 minutes: a few cards of Never Have I Ever for teens with the whole room, or one Get to Know You question everyone answers on the way out.

Have the whole evening? A full game of Mafia takes about 40 minutes for 5 to 16 players, and the three rounds of Fishbowl fill about 45 minutes with up to 20.

Keeping it clean and kind

Every deck on ManyMini is clean: no alcohol, nothing 18+, and the teens lists stick to school, phones, friends, food, music and harmless awkward moments. The tone of the room is still yours to set, so agree on a few rules before the first game.

  • Anyone can pass, with no reason needed. Say it out loud at the start, every week.
  • Skip freely. In Truth or Dare, Skip draws a new card, and in Would You Rather or Never Have I Ever you just tap Next. Nobody needs to know why you skipped.
  • Keep dares to the list. The truth or dare questions for teens are written so every dare happens in the room. Invented dares are where things go wrong: nothing that embarrasses someone, involves touching or sends anyone out of the room.
  • Keep the joke on the card. In Most Likely To and Red Flag or Green Flag, talk about the habit, not about someone in the room.
  • No photos or videos of anyone without a yes, and nothing shared online afterward.
  • Skim a category before the meeting. Movie decks include some PG-13 titles, and the For couples categories in Get to Know You and This or That are written for couples, not a youth room.

Small groups or the whole room

Some games need everyone together, and some fall apart past a dozen players. Here's how the games on this page split.

  • Whole room, any size: Would You Rather, Never Have I Ever and Guess the Gibberish. One screen at the front, and everyone answers at once.
  • Teams of up to 20: Forehead Guess and Fishbowl, with 2 to 4 teams. Charades has no player limit, so it's the one to pick when the room is bigger than that.
  • Circles of 3 to 12: Imposter, Two Truths and a Lie and Red Flag or Green Flag. Send the link to every small-group leader, so each circle plays on its own phone.
  • Circles of 5 to 16: Mafia. With 30 teens, run two games side by side, each with its own phone.

For crowds bigger than that, see our party games for large groups. If you also teach, our classroom games run on a projector with no student devices.

Questions

Are these games clean enough for a church youth group?

Yes. Every deck is clean, with no alcohol and nothing 18+, and the teens lists stay on school, phones, friends, food, music and harmless awkward moments. If your church has its own guidelines, skim a category before the meeting and skip the For couples categories.

Do teens need their own phones?

No. Every game runs on one phone, or on a laptop and projector for a bigger room. Teens don't need accounts, and they don't download anything.

What games work for 30 or more teens?

Would You Rather, Never Have I Ever and Guess the Gibberish work with the whole room on a projector. Charades has no player limit and takes up to four teams. For Mafia or Imposter, split into circles with a phone in each.

What can we play with no supplies?

Everything on this page. You need one phone, or a laptop and a projector for a big room. There are no cards to print, no paper and no props.

What are good icebreakers for a youth group?

Get to Know You with the What if category, Two Truths and a Lie with a topic on every card, and Would You Rather for teens. None of them ask anyone to share something personal. For more, see our icebreaker games.

What are good youth group games for small groups?

Imposter, Two Truths and a Lie and Red Flag or Green Flag take 3 to 12 players each, and Mafia takes 5 to 16. Send the link to each small-group leader so every circle plays on its own phone.

Can the leader play too?

Yes. In Mafia, the phone narrates every night, so nobody has to sit out as the moderator. In the other games, the phone holds the cards, the timer and the score, so whoever holds it plays along.

Is it free? Is there a sign-up?

It's free and runs in the browser on any phone, tablet or laptop. There are no accounts for leaders or students, and nothing to install. The site is supported by ads.

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