***Kids’ Games***
For the kiddies under 12, there are a bunch of contests that will keep them busy and hopefully away from
your expensive equipment. A few of these are:
Coke and Pepsi
Practically anyone who’s been to a mitzvah has seen or played the game “Coke and Pepsi”, so they’ll
often expect to play it. You’ll set up two lines of an equal amount of people on each side of the dance
floor. You’ll label one side “Coke”, and the other side “Pepsi”. You’ll play some fun music in the
background—I actually made a remix of Coke and Pepsi jingles from old TV commercials. When you call
“Coke” or “Pepsi”, that side must run to the other side and sits on the knee of their partner. The last
person to successfully sit on someone else’s knee is “out”, and is removed from play. The object is to find
the fastest couple through elimination and award them a prize. In his book “DJ Games”, Marc Pears
suggests mixing things up by using other names and other things to do, like saying “Doctor Pepper” or
“Seven Up”, and assigning various tasks with those names. For instance, you would explain that if you

call“ROOT BEER” both sides would have to run to the middle and give a “high 5” to their partner and quickly
return to their spot, with the last couple to return being disqualified. Or, perhaps saying “Seven Up”
means both sides must exchange places, again, with the last straggler disqualified. It’s a silly but fun game
that kids seem to enjoy.
Huggy Bear
“Huggy Bear” is another silly elimination game. All players are invited to the dance floor. You’ll play a
song and tell everyone to dance. Most people won’t really dance, they’ll all kind of stand in a position
because they know exactly what they’re supposed to do. You’ll then stop the music and say a random
number like “Five!”, and your contestants must get into groups of that number. Whoever is not in a group
with five people is “out”. You keep doing this, obviously with numbers that work for the amount of
contestants you have left. Obviously, you can’t call “TEN!” if you’ve only got nine people left.
The Balloon Relay
Blow up some small balloons. Get three or four groups of two or more to play. Line up the couples at one
end of the dance floor. Directly across from each couple, place one of the balloons on the floor. Once
you say go, the contestants run one at a time to sit on the balloon until it pops. The first group to pop all
their balloons wins.
Mummy Wrap
Divide kids into pairs, with one the Mummy and the other the Mummy Wrapper. Give each wrapper a roll
of toilet paper or crepe paper streamer. On the word “Go!” have the wrappers race to see who can wrap
up their mummy first. The game is tricky because the faster they try to wrap, the more the tissue will
tear, causing them to keep restarting!

***Teen Games***
Teenagers are a little more difficult because they’re in that weird “cool” stage and it’s hard to get them
involved in anything. Boys are much worse than girls. The following few games seem to get teens to crawl
out of their shells and get into the action.
Basketball Shoot
Every party should have a regulation basketball hoop somewhere in your arsenal. It takes up the least
amount of physical space of all the popular professional sports, and it just opens your gig up to so many
cool things you can do. If you don’t have the space or ceiling clearance for a regulation hoop, you can
adjust the games and prizes to fit a shorter, adjustable hoop, or even a cheap, smaller kid-sized hoop.
These promotions are based on a combination of skill and luck. Hand out numbered tickets to each guest
who wants to be involved. Once an hour, call out a random ticket number. The person with that ticket
gets to take one shot for a big prize. Chances are the person you selected probably won’t make the shot,
but you never know, so be ready! Make sure the person who actually got the ticket is the person who
takes the shot by writing their first name on the back of the ticket and the receipt ticket. Do this to avoid
“pass-along”; where the person with the ticket passes it along to the budding college star player who
happens to be sitting next to him or her.
Prizes for this promotion should be fairly generous to create a big buzz.

Here are just a few of the things you can do with that hoop. Alternate them throughout the night for a
better variety! Feel free to mix them up or come up with your own based on these:
Slam dunk for big bucks.
Choose a contestant from the numbered tickets. Tell this person that if he or she can slam
dunk a regulation ball in a regulation hoop, he or she will win some obscene dollar
amount. Since you’ve got to be at least 6 feet tall with an amazing vertical jump to slam,
chances are very slim that you’ll randomly choose someone will actually be able to do
this, but you never know! Coax them on anyway for the chance at the big dollar amount.
If you’ve got an adjustable hoop, you can bring it down a foot for really short people or
women if you’d like for some extra excitement to get your crowd going. Be ready to pay
if you have to.

Air Hamilton.
Your contestant must make one basket from a spot you’ve pre-designated in the room to
win a ten dollar bill. Don’t make the shot too tough; you’ll want someone to win because
winning creates excitement.
Three points for a prize.
Measure out a regulation three point radius (about 19 feet from the center of the basket)
and mark it off with masking tape. If you’re faking it in a smaller room with a toy basket,
wing it. In a bar or club situation, if the person with the chosen raffle ticket makes the
three pointer, he or she gets to buy up to X-amount of people beers or well drinks on the
house.  Have some specially printed drink tickets available for the shot maker to give out
to the people he or she chooses if the three-pointer was successful. In a party situation,
you can offer some other free gift, such as a gift certificate or something, to the shooter
— or all your guests. It makes the shooter a hero, and gets the whole room cheering
together collectively.
Reverse basket.
Here’s an unexpected twist; the person with the correct numbered ticket must make a
reverse basket using a small helium-filled balloon! Have the person stand directly
underneath the basket and release a balloon that will obviously fit through the hoop.
If the balloon goes through or gets stuck in the hoop, he or she gets a nice prize.
It’s pretty tough to do, especially if you’ve got a strong ventilation system blowing
around in your room.

Half court challenge.
Here’s your home run, if there was such a thing in basketball! You’ll need a big room with
a pretty high ceiling to pull this off effectively. Find a spot in the room that’s about at
regulation half-court distance (about 43 feet from the backboard), and randomly choose a
contestant from the numbered tickets. This person gets one chance to sink a basket from
that point in the room. If he or she makes the shot, they win a big prize. Half court shots
are nearly impossible for non-basketball types, but as we’ve seen on TV,

they can happen.If he or she makes the shot, you can supplement this promotion with the “betcha can’t do
it again clause”—if he or she chooses to do this, it’s a double or nothing situation. This is
when things really get interesting—your crowd will go absolutely nuts. Offer a pretty big
prize like a portable TV or CD player or something, and be ready to double it in the rare
instance where you may have to. You can also scale this down for smaller rooms using toy
basketball hoops, but try not to make it too easy.
Backwards basket.
When I was eight years old, I didn’t have the arm strength to make a traditional basket.
So I figured out that if I turned my butt to the basket and launched the ball over my head
like a catapult, I could actually make a basket! Choose a spot in your room and
demonstrate if you have to. Warning #1: the ball could end up flying anywhere, so make
sure there’s nothing breakable in its path. Warning #2: this type of basket is pretty easy
to do, so don’t give away the house!
Minimum number of free throws (consecutive or timed).
There are two ways to do this. You can choose a minimum number of consecutive baskets
your contestant must make from the free-throw line. Obviously, if they miss the first one,
the game is over. Depending on how generous you’re feeling, a good number to start with
is three.
Or you can choose to let your contestant keep shooting to make as many shots as he or
she can make in 30 seconds. If they meet your minimum number of baskets, they win a
prize.
Or, you can choose as many people as you like, and have them each shoot for 30 seconds
one at a time, and the person who makes the most baskets in that time wins.
Have people on either side of the basket return the ball to the contestant as quickly as
possible for the fairest chance to win. In a nightclub or bar situation, this contest is a good
spot for you to give out a bunch of small prizes to add more pressure on the contestant.
Select free throw.
This contest allows the person with the selected numbered ticket to pass it on to anyone
they choose to. If they make a basket with the free throw, both the person who had the
ticket and the person selected to make the shot both win a prize. To make this more
difficult, combine it with number seven above.
Bounce basket.
Selected contestant must make a basket by bouncing the basketball off the floor first.
Contestants are limited to one bounce only.
Sit down basket.
Selected contestant must make a basket while sitting in a chair at a point you’ve pre-
selected. It’s difficult to do, since you don’t get the benefit of using your back and legs!
We used to call this “Wheelchair Basketball” until we were yelled at by some
oversensitive knuckleheads. People who are actually using wheelchairs love this variation,
and are pretty darn good at it!  

***Games for All Ages***
Here are some tried-and-true contests that everyone knows, and almost anyone can do.
Limbo Contest
Get a long bamboo pole at your local hardware superstore or gardening supply center. It should be
bamboo to represent the islandy character of this game. You could use a long wooden dowl or even a
broomstick in a pinch, but get yourself some bamboo for authenticity.

Yell out to your crowd that you’re about to have a Limbo Contest. Have folks line up on the far side of
the dance floor. Enlist one or two people to help hold the Limbo stick. The correct way to hold a limbo
stick is to simply let it rest on that spot of flesh located right between your thumb and fore finger. You
don’t want to handle the stick tightly because you want someone to eventually win.
You’ll then announce you’re going to begin. At first, the limbo stick will be very high, tall enough for most
people to walk under. Remember who the first person is. When that person comes around for the second
round, you and your trusty partners will lower the bar roughly six inches.  Eventually, you’ll work your way
down to less than 12” off the floor, and only boneless snake people (and small children) can pass under.
The only rules are that you can’t touch the bar at anytime. If you nick it, scrape it, whatever… you’re
supposed to be disqualified.
Hula Hoop Contest
Toss out two to four hula hoops to anyone who wants to participate in your hula hoop contest! Men,
women and kids all love to hula hoop for money. Here’s how it works.
All contestants must stay within their box drawn on the floor until the music stops. When the music starts
all contestants must start to hula and cannot touch the hoop with their hands again until the music stops.
When a hula hoop touches the floor the contest is over for that participant, but they must remain in the
box until the music stops and not disturb the remaining contestants.
The difficulty factor could increase from Double Hula Hooping, to Double Hula Hooping on one foot, to
hopping on one foot while Double Hula Hooping, if necessary, to determine a winner. Additional
difficulty factors may be added if three medalists cannot be determined.
Twist Contest
The Twist is more like a fun group participation event than a contest. But some folks will still ask for it,
so be ready. Find up to four contestants who would like to play. Have groups, couples come to the dance
floor, and give them a minute or two to freshen up. Have your couples get on the dance floor one at a
time. Play Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” song, and give each couple about a minute to do their routine.
Whoever you or your audience decides to be the best couple is wins the contest. Optionally, for a quicker
contest, just have all the couples dance at once, and hand select your favorite couple as the winner.

Thumb Wrestling Championships
So mud wrestling, arm wrestling and sumo wrestling might be a little much for your crowd. Here’s
something you can get the average Joe to do! You can even put men against women in this contest.
The object is to find the ultimate thumb wrestler in your room.
Start with two, four or eight groups of two contestants to keep things simple. Just like most of us did
when we were kids, have your contestants interlock their right hands with their thumbs exposed and
ready to go. They touch thumbs to the opposite sides of the other person’s hand three times, then come
out wrestling! The object is to manage to hold the other person’s thumb down for a count of three, using
only your thumb. The only rule is that they must all keep their hands flat on the table. Separate each
semifinal by about 20-30 minutes to build up the excitement of your final competition.
At the finals, stop the music and incite all kinds of fanfare. Mention that you have a really cool prize for
the official thumb wrestling champion. If you’ve got the budget or a hot looking lady available, have her
act as a model or “ring girl” to present the winner with a printed winner banner and a small trophy. Silly
over-indulgence in ceremony is what makes this contest really fun.
The Couch Potato Olympics
Many typical men spend most of their time off with their butts in a recliner or on a couch, so here’s an
opportunity to let them show you that they haven’t been wasting time! The Couch Potato Olympics lets big
burly men (or women) show you just how talented they’ve become with a series of interesting events,
including:
-The Remote Control Relay. Contestants are asked to search a typical VCR tape or DVD and
pause on a predetermined randomly located scene from a movie, such as someone
smiling, someone crying, an explosion, or a favorite scene from your favorite movie or
chick flick. The tapes are rewound to the beginning before each contestant begins. We
liked to use the fake orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally, but you can use anything
your little heart desires.
-Trail Mix Masher. Each contestant must completely finish a typical bag of trail mix, down
to the last crumbs in the bag before advancing to the next event. You can substitute chips,
pretzels, or even peanut butter sandwiches if you’re the cruel type. Make sure your
contestant is not allergic to peanuts!
-Beer Guzzler. After downing the salty trail mix, the contestant must completely drink a
large bottle of beer (if of legal drinking age, otherwise you can substitute non-alcoholic
beer or seltzer). We used the “oil can” version of Fosters beer, or a 45-ounce Colt 45
for fun.

Stupid Trivia
We hate traditional trivia because it’s so darn overplayed and boring. So we came up with a twist that
works extremely well, similar to what Jay Leno now does on the Tonight Show (although we did this long
before Jay tried it). Stupid trivia consists of normally obvious questions and answers that sometimes just
aren’t all that obvious! This game is a complete hoot because it makes everyone look equally silly. Sample
questions include the following:
How long did the Hundred Years War last? (116 years)
Which country makes Panama hats? (Ecuador)
From which animal do we get catgut? (Sheep or Horses)
In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? (November)
What is a camel’s hair brush made of? (Squirrel Fur)
What was King George VI’s first name? (Albert)
What country created French Fries? (The U.S.)
What color is a purple finch? (Crimson)
Where are Chinese gooseberries from? (New Zealand)
What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane? (Orange)

Balloon Stuffer
Another easy contest that’s lots of fun. Have four or five people stuff small 4” balloons under their shirts.
Whoever can stuff the most unbroken balloons under their shirt in a certain period of time, usually 30 to
60 seconds, wins.