15 Terrific Tween Party Games Suitable for 9 To 12-Year-Olds

How do you entertain your tweens at a birthday party? Do they think they’re “too old” for party games or do you just need to change your approach?

We know it can be hard to find party game ideas for tweens that are perfect. You need to find the ideal balance when planning a party for your tween between letting them go buck wild when you are not around and letting them sit quietly staring at each other (weird, right?)

That is why we have made a list of fun party games that are age-appropriate and cool for tweens to play. This list includes fun tween games that won’t break your budget, guessing games that will work their brains, and games that can be played indoors and out.

So, if you throw a birthday party for the teenager-to-be in your life, these fun birthday party ideas will hold it down. These games are all suitable for the 9 to 12 year old age group, and most won’t cost you a thing!

15 Tween Party Games for Your Tween’s Party

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1. Medusa

Medusa is an entertaining game that works well with a big group (10 or more) and enough space.

Have everyone sit or stand in a circle with their arms around their neighbor’s shoulders as they look down at the ground.
At the count of three, or “go” or any other indicator, the players have to look up.
Suppose two people make eye contact; they have to scream and make a dramatic dead play.
This continues until there are only two players left. The two are considered winners, but the actual “winners” are all who get to see their friends dropping dead.

2. Spin A Dare

It is a fun fusion of spin the bottle and truth and dare cool game for pre-teens.

Fill a bowl with loads of dares and funny things to do that are written on little pieces of paper and inserted in the bottle.
Spin the bottle in your circle of friends and whoever the bottle lands on must collect and read out a wacky or funny dare and entertain the group.

It is a hilarious tween party idea with your tweens setting the ground rules for how far each dare can go.

3. Wink Assassin

Wink assassin, also known as “wink murder” or “killer,” is a fantastic tween party game that will fulfill your teens. It is a stealth game that needs less than five minutes to set up. This game needs four players or more where everyone sits in a wide circle.

To decide who gets to be the killer, you need to draw a hat with folded pieces of paper, and no one should reveal who they are. The assassin or murderer gets to kill the others by winking at them secretly.
Everyone must make eye contact with the other players when the game starts to identify the killer. The killer will randomly wink at a person or two, and the person has to wait five seconds before feigning their sudden death.
A discussion is held, and if a player guesses who the murderer is, they have to shout, “I accuse.”
Here, the accuser can ask other players if they suspect anyone.
A second person has to call “I accuse,” and at the count of three, the two accusers have to point at the suspect simultaneously. If they point at the same person who happens to be the murderer, the game ends.
If the accusers point to a person who is not the murderer, the game continues until the assassin is identified or all players are eliminated.

4. Would You Rather?

Are you looking for a fun way to ask tweens some exciting and thought-provoking questions?

This birthday party game for tweens needs at least three players as the more, the merrier. All you need for this game to get rolling is a set of exciting and appropriate questions for tweens.
Let the tweens arrange themselves in a circle and choose one player who will start the game. The player asks a question starting with “would you rather”… and gives two options or scenarios to the players opposite them.
The options can be downright gross, silly, stupid, but not serious. The players can continue with the game until the set of questions is complete.

You can make up your own questions, or there are some great pre-written Would You Rather question games that take out the thinking work!

5. Pass The Peanut

Do you need a game of concentration and balance as a party idea for tweens? Pass the peanut will do just that. You do not need to use peanuts but anything light that can be held at the base of the spoon.

Have the gang stand or sit in a circle or two lines with each player holding a plastic spoon in their mouth with the spoon part sticking out.
The peanut/M&M/cotton ball or something light is placed on one player’s spoon-ideally the one at the start of the line- and the game starts.
Players have to balance the peanut on their spoon and pass it on to the next person’s spoon.
Players who make the pass without dropping the peanut get to stay, and if you drop the peanut, you are out.
The one rule is that you can not use your hands, and the last two players who are left standing are the winners.

NB – check their are no nut allergies in your group – use an alternative object if this is the case!

6. Sock Wrestling

Are you on the hunt for a fun girl/boy game for tween parties? This ridiculous and exciting game will ensure your tween’s party is fun. Sock wrestling needs six or more players for maximum fun and two pairs of socks.

It’s a fun wrestling match of two people with a silly goal of getting off their socks without using their hands all the while as they lie down on the floor.
Sock wrestling can also be flipped to putting on the socks without using their hands or removing the opponent’s socks. Fun right?

There needs to be a referee for this game; undoubtedly there will be disputes!

7. Wacky Duck

Wacky duck is a fun party game for 12-year-olds who have begun emotional growth. It’s a game that brings out the silliness in teens while allowing them to get close to each other( well, even their crushes! ). Wacky duck requires proximity between players and plays eight or more.

The Players sit in a circle with enough room for one person to be in the center. The person in the center is blindfolded and spun around a few times as everyone swaps seats.
Once everyone has their new spot, the blindfolded player feels the other players in the circle with a rolled-up newspaper or a wooden spoon. If they stop at a person, they have to sit on their laps, and the person seated on has to quack like a duck in a silly or wacky voice.
The blindfolded player has to guess who the quaker is, and if they get it right, they get to take a seat, and the one who made a quack voice is blindfolded. If the blindfolded guesses wrongly, the game continues until they guess right.

8. Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping beauty is a no-touching game similar to “Honey if you love me.” It is a tween game that guarantees some silly fun at a slumber party.

Sleeping beauty is all about being resilient and not giving up where each player takes turns playing sleeping beauty. One has to lie down as if in deep slumber and must not move, talk or even flinch.
The other players must try to wake them by making them laugh or smile. Players can say all sorts of silly things to make the sleeping beauty smile or laugh, making it fun.

9. Yard Twister

Do you have great weather and limited space? But you want your tween to scrum for a bit, then this spin on the classic family game twister will deliver.

Take the fun to the backyard or the park as you get some yard paint and paint a giant twister board out on the grass.
Tweens always love the chance to be close to one another, and this game allows them this opportunity but in a pretty harmless way.

10. Never Have I Ever

Never Have I ever is a favorite tween slumber party game as it plays well in a small group of friends where everyone knows each other quite well – or thinks they do!

Players sit in a circle and are handed 20 pieces of candy each.
Taking turns, everyone names something they have never done.
Every time a player makes a “never have I ever” statement, a player in the group who has done that thing mentioned takes a candy.
The first one to finish eating their candy is the winner.

11. Speed Stacker

Speed stacker is a simple staking game that allows your tween to use their grey cells while having fun. It is a game that needs six or more players and can use anything (including the zillion soda cups used at the party ); cans can also work and a table.

Each player has exactly one minute to stack as many cups as possible.
The player with the highest number of cups or cans wins.

12. Balloon Stomp

Think this one is just for little kids? Think again! Balloon stomp is an outdoor party game that your tween can play in the backyard.

It is a group game (10 or more players) that needs lots of balloons and strings and can get a little noisy with the balloons bursting and players shouting with joy.
It has a simple aim-you must burst your opponent’s balloon without losing yours. You need to split the groups into teams and tie the balloons to their legs with a long string. The strings can be in two different colors to quickly identify the teams.
Players have to move around quickly and step the other team’s balloon only with their feet as soon as the referee says “go.”
The team to successfully burst all other teams’ balloon wins.

13. Taste the Rainbow

Taste the rainbow game involves dumping skittles in a bowl in the middle of the table and arming each player with a straw and a cap.

The competition aims to pick up as many skittles as you can using only a straw.
The one rule is that players can not touch the skittles with their hands as they transfer them using the straws in their hands from the bowl to their cups without dropping them.
The first to collect each color of skittles to form a rainbow in their cup is the winner.

14. Selfie Scavenger Hunt

The selfie scavenger hunt is a scavenger option coupled with the activity tweens love most taking selfies.

Split them into even groups depending on the number of teens in the party. Having created a list of things, places, or objects they need to find in the neighborhood and have them take a selfie of themselves with these items.
Finding the things should be completed within 30 minutes to one hour, and the person with the most completed selfies wins.

15. Knees And Elbows

This party game can double up as an indoor/outdoor tween party game. You can either use water balloons, air-filled balloons, or balls to play. A group of six or more players will make this game merry.

Split the players into two teams and let one player hold the ball with their knees
The first team to pass the ball around their group with only knees and elbows, no hands allowed is the winner.

We hope your tweens will love some of these game suggestions and see that the party fun doesn’t have to end just because their growing up.

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