Fun Games to Play with Three People

Charades

There isn’t any reason why you shouldn’t play this classic game in a group of just three people. You just need to modify the rules a bit. Instead of splitting into teams, you can just compete against each other and make an adequate point system.

One player should “act out” a word or a phrase. He/she can use hand gestures and pantomime but shouldn’t make any sound. The other two are guessing and whoever wins the round gets the points. You can even include negative points if someone fails to explain the word properly. Try to set short timers for more excitement!

Some common clues can point the people in the right direction. You can use fingers to indicate the number of words. Pretending to read or sing indicates the phrase is from a book or a song. When you play charades multiple times with the same people you tend to understand each other easily. That’s why you should choose “harder” words and phrases for more fun.

There are a lot of modifications to this game. Choose words from movies or play animal charades. You can print the pictures you need to explain too. Charades are a simple but fun game that can be easily modified for any age group, so be sure to play the “version” you think it’s best.

Dice games

A set of dice can give you all kinds of games to play in the house. These mini-games are very easy to learn and all you need are dice, paper, and pen. You can play kids’ games like beetles or more serious ones like Farkle or Yahtzee. If you don’t know the rules for Farkle, check out this video:

Yahtzee is a classic dice game that most people know how to play. All you need to do is roll the dice and achieve certain combinations that give you the highest total score at the end of the game.

Card games

Everybody chooses card games when they’re deciding what to do in their free time at home. Whether you play complex games or simple ones to pass the times, online or in person, you can always find something fun for you and your friends.

Playing kid-friendly card games is an easy way to keep your children busy at home. You can try to occupy them with Go-fish, Crazy eights, Uno, and many other games that can easily be played in groups of three.

Board Games

If you need cool games to play when you’re bored at home, be sure to have Scrabble, Monopoly, Risk, Settlers of Catan, and other amazing board games ready. Get as many as you can, so you can simply pull them out when your friends come. The number of players tends to vary from game to game, but usually, three people are just enough.

Outdoorsy games

The sun’s shining, the birds are singing and you want to spend the day outside with your friends. Naturally, you need some activities for more enjoyment.

Relay races

Organize relay races, no matter how old you are. They offer friendly competition and are super fun when you add “challenges”. You can even make an obstacle course with anything you can find in your backyard. Throw in some exercise in the middle of the race. You can race without dropping eggs or spilling the water. There are so many variations to try and adjust according to your age and needs.

Frisbee tossing

Playing with a frisbee is not just a beach activity. You can spend hours in the park catching this thing, we assure you. Try to play Frisbee tag, Frisbee race, Frisbee baseball, or compete who can throw it the furthest. These are just some examples of the Frisbee games you can play with 3 people and we’re sure you can think of more.

Sports

Sports games offer you a lot of possibilities to have fun outside. Volleyball can be easily adapted to the light version for three players. Just spread in the circle and try not to drop the ball. You can also play basketball on one side of the course. Then you can all be up against each other.

You can even try three-way soccer. Just add a third goal and make a circular playing field. This can be easily done with rocks you can find around the park. Be creative and we’re sure you can adapt any sport for your small group.

Games for kids

You’re probably wondering what are the best three-player games for kids. Luckily, we have a lot of ideas because kids like to play anything! We’ll give you some examples and you can surely think of more games!

Hide and seek

We haven’t met a kid who doesn’t like to play hide and seek. It’s one of the oldest kids’ games and probably one of the best. Everyone can play it from toddlers to grandparents. You can play it indoors if you have lots of rooms, or you can take it outside.

I spy

Guessing games are always fun. I spy is the classic: just think of one object (within sight) and others need to guess what it is. You can give only one clue. Usually, that’s the first letter or the color of the object. The player who guesses right can be the next spy. The difficulty of the game depends on the chosen objects and clues you give, so you can adjust it according to the age of the players.

Balloon games

With the simplest “don’t drop the balloons” game or something more silly like “balloon tennis” kids can have fun for hours. Blow up some balloons and get the party started! You can also play with balloons outdoors if it’s not too windy. Three players or ten, ballons can keep everyone entertained.

Musical chairs

If you’re bored at home with your 12-year-olds, why don’t you play a game of musical chairs? You can be the judge and the one that turns the music on and off and your kids (and their friends) can play. Musical chairs are one of those fun games to play in your room that can include a lot of people, not just three. If you don’t have enough chairs you can just mark the places on the ground, for example, with duck tape.

Classic games

Rock, paper, Scissors

You probably heard about this classic game. It’s just like “flip a coin” but for three people. You can play it anywhere, even in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. Adjust it as you see fit, make a point system or even play a mini tournament.

For those who don’t know this game, it’s really simple. Players shake the fists three times then choose either rock (fist), paper (flat hand), or scissors (pointer and middle fingers like scissors). Rock breaks scissors, scissors cut paper, and paper covers rock. When you play a few turns you’ll see that the fun is guessing what other players will choose, so you can beat them.

Dominoes

For fun 2 player games played at home that you can adjust to 3 people, check out this classic game. The game is played with a set of rectangular tiles. Each one has a line dividing its face into two square ends marked with spots. The backs of the dominoes are blank, so they are indistinguishable from one another. You don’t need to buy dominos to play. Just print them out!

The rules of the game are simple, as you can see in the video below:

Darts

Score point by throwing darts and hitting the best number on the board or the bullseye. This game is nearly perfect for three players because there’s a balance between turns of throwing darts and time off when other people are playing. You’re not just waiting for the other player to finish like in two-person games and you also don’t have to wait long for your turn. It’s a simple and balanced game, above everything, very fun.

Would you rather

This is a classic game mostly played at parties. One person makes up equally weighty scenarios and others need to choose the one that suits them better. This is actually a rhetorical exercise and to have the most fun you need to be creative. The more weird, crazy, or even gross the options are, the better! Everyone answering must explain why they choose a particular option.

You can encourage funny answers by asking silly questions. For example:

• Would you rather live in a cave or live in a treehouse?
• Would you rather be able to control fire or water?
• Would you rather live without the internet or live without AC and heating? 
• Would you rather be forced to dance every time you heard music or be forced to sing along to any song you heard?
• Would you rather live in a hunter-gatherer society or 12,000 years in the future?

Ghost

This is a word game that requires a minimum of three people to play. The first player says a letter, then the second one must add another letter to spell a word. Other players continue the chain, always adding one letter without wanting to finish the word because the player who adds the final letter loses the round and earns a G (from “ghost”). You can make the game a bit harder by adding the different rules. For example, you can say that words should have more than 10 letters.

Conclusion

We’re sure that you like some of these fun games to play with three people. Try them the next time you get together with your friends and feel free to play your own variations. You’ll have more fun if you approach things with enthusiasm, so don’t let anything stop you!

If you need more home activities, check out our articles on Fun things to do at home.