Hi there!
Two weeks into September and the rhythm has changed, hasn't it? The calendar that looked so open in August is now wall-to-wall practices, meetings, and pickups, and Friday nights have that game-day feel again. Somewhere between the homework and the sideline chairs, there's still a room full of people who want to laugh together, and that's what this email is for.
This week's nine games lean into that energy. Three brand-new ones from the channel, three of the most-played games we've ever posted, and three picks that borrow a little from football, basketball, and hockey so your group feels like it's game day, too.
New This Week
Blow Out the Candle (Without Blowing). Run it as a relay: each player holds a paper plate in their teeth and has to put out a candle flame by waving or puffing with the plate, no hands allowed. If you'd rather skip the open flame, set a feather on the table and push it off the edge with the plate instead.
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Rock, Paper, RUN! Split into two teams and send one player from each to the middle for a rock-paper-scissors showdown. The losing team has to sprint for their safe zone while the winners chase them down, and anyone tagged switches to the winning side for the next round. Play five or six rounds and count who has the most players.
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Watch the Game →
Run the Circle, Grab the Marker. Everyone stands in a circle with a marker at their feet. On go, players run a full lap around the outside, grab their marker when they get back to their spot, and race to drop it in the middle. First marker in the center wins.
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Most Played
Three more of the games our viewers keep coming back to, all built on a bag of Solo cups.
Up or Down. Scatter a pile of cups across the floor. One team flips cups right side up, the other flips them upside down, and whichever way the majority is facing when time runs out wins the round. Add a third team whose job is to slow everyone else down.
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Water Cup & Toilet Paper Challenge. Unroll two long strips of toilet paper, set a full cup of water on the far end of each, and have two players reel the paper toward themselves without spilling or tearing it. A spill or a tear means you're out; first cup to the finish line wins.
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Cup Tower Challenge. Give each player ten cups and see who can stack them into a tower the fastest without it toppling. If it falls, they start over and try to catch up.
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This Week's Picks: Game-Day Season
Football is back on Friday nights and the gym is open again, so these three bring a little sports flavor to your next group night.
4-Way Dodgeball. Split the room into four corners with a team in each, then play regular dodgeball rules: get hit and you're out, catch a throw in the air and the thrower is out. Every so often the leader calls "everyone move left" so the teams rotate squares, or "free for all" for ten seconds of chaos.
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Musical Chairs x Basketball. Circle the chairs near a hoop and give every player a ball. When the music stops, you have to make a basket before you're allowed to sit, and no basket means no seat.
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Noodle Hockey. Two rows of chairs face each other with a goal at each end, teammates sitting every other seat. Toss in a wiffle ball and let everyone swing pool noodles at it from their chairs. This one has been a hit for years.
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Watch the Game →
Know someone who needs a game this week? A coach, a teacher, a youth leader, a parent hosting the team dinner. Forward this email or share your personal invite link. When they sign up they get our free book of 52 games, and you get the credit for making their week easier.
Every game we've ever posted, with full rules, lives on the Dig the Games website.
Happy Wednesday!
–Jonathan with Dig the Games