10 CREATIVITY GAMES AND ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS - JOB - 2025

The games and activities for creativity that I will explain below will help you to encourage the creation of ideas in the groups and to improve the capacity for innovation, something that is increasingly important today.

Creativity is a fundamental tool for many activities of daily life. According to JL Moreno, the creator of psychodrama, it is the ability to resolve a known situation in a novel way, and to resolve a novel situation in an appropriate way.

From this point of view, creativity does not directly imply creating something new, much less innovative or paradigm-shifting. That is just one facet of creativity. Being creative, from Moreno's vision, is more of a stance towards life. A position that is also innate, but is lost as we grow.

This is why being creative becomes a problem for many adults. Society imposes a set of norms and prejudices that, misunderstandings, lead people to deny their spontaneity and creativity. But fortunately, there are ways to reconnect with that creativity that we all carry within.

The objective of doing so is not to go out into the streets to make the new discoveries of the 21st century, but to know how to give more adaptive responses to day-to-day situations. Group techniques, dynamics and games are often very useful to learn creativity in a pleasant and meaningful way.

In the following article, a series of games and group dynamics will be presented, which can promote a considerable improvement in the creative development of each one. The idea is to take from them what works and modify the rest according to your own needs. That is, take advantage of these tools with the creativity that is sought.

Game 1: salable absurdities

Inspired by the game "realizable absurdities"

It consists of offering pencils and a blank sheet to each participant and asking them to write on it the most absurd and nonsensical idea that they can think of. As if from one second to another a severe madness had attacked them. They should be invited to write without rationalizing the ideas, or censoring or evaluating them. Just get carried away.

Once everyone has written their ideas, the sheets are distributed randomly throughout the group. Each one will be left with the idea of ​​another in their hands and now they will have to write, on the back of the page, one or more arguments that defend that idea as the most sensible idea in the world and sell it as if it were a great product.

Once everyone has completed the second part of the activity, everyone's contributions are read and the opportunity is taken to discuss and reflect on the results. This is a great activity to notice in a meaningful way that allowing the absurd in collective creations or works can bring so many benefits and good ideas.

Game 2: Infinite Prayer

Inspired by the "chance of the extraordinary" game

It is about collectively creating a sentence, to which each participant will add, in their turn, a new element, until it becomes unrecognizable on its starting point. Participants can be asked to offer some opening sentence ideas and the one they like best is chosen by vote to use.

Assume that the phrase chosen was "The country horse runs and grazes all day." Then, in each turn, each person can add, either an adjective, an adverb or enrich the subject, the verb or the predicate. Here is an example of how it could look (in parentheses a number that refers to the contribution of each supposed participant).

The electronic horse (4) blue (2), named Jerry (1) McDarwin (7), from the minefield (3) in Baghdad (6), Australia (9), runs a horse racing bookmaker (5) (11) and earns a lot (8) Neapolitan pasta (10), which is eaten (12) all on Independence Day (13), the Will Smith movie (14).

Each participant adds their contribution in a new line, so that at the end you can read how the sentence evolved. In addition to being fun and demanding in creative terms, it is a game that helps to assess the efforts and contributions of each person to a collective work. In the end, you can talk about those aspects.

Game 3: "I'm like because" on chain

Inspired by the game "looking for objects and metaphors"

Writing metaphors helps make thinking more flexible. But it is not always easy to write them. The "I am as because" technique facilitates this work. It consists of someone defining themselves by completing the sentence "I am like ______ because ______". You could choose an abstract animal, object, or concept and then explain why.

An example might be "I'm like a monkey because I jump from one idea to the other." That is what each participant would do in the first phase. Then you would have to find a metaphor for the first object, animal, or concept. In the case of the example, the participant should now complete the sentence “The monkey is like ______ because ______”.

Next, you should find a metaphor for the third word involved, and then for a fourth or fifth, as a string. You can be given 5 to 7 minutes to create as many “I am as because” elements as you can. And then you would be asked to try to unite all those metaphors into a single definition of yourself.

This game is an excellent activator of lateral thinking, very necessary to find solutions in moments where there seem to be none. But it also has the added value of being very suitable as a self-knowledge technique.

Game 4: Reinventing the world

Inspired by the game "let's change the world"

In this game, the idea is to motivate the participants to find alternative solutions to everyday objects that seem irreplaceable. They will be told that they are inventors and that they must create a substitute for an object, which in the imaginary world where they live no one ever created or invented.

The list of objects to replace could include items such as: toilet, ice cream, sunglasses, money, sidewalk, light bulb, door, horseshoe, paintbrush, web browsers, batteries, etc. They must be encouraged not to censor their ideas no matter how absurd they may seem. Each participant will elaborate their inventions separately and then they will be integrated as a group.

This is an ideal activity to use before a work session where seemingly impossible ideas need to come to life, or when workgroups are stuck. After the activity, you can reflect on the creative act and invite you to find a solution to a real problem in that group.

Game 5: Rewriting fairy tales

Inspired by the game "change of fables"

The idea behind this game is simple. Participants are invited to join in groups of 3 to 5 people, choose a fairy tale, and write a different version of it. They are given a limited time of about 10 to 15 minutes and at the end they may be asked to represent it in a small play.

A variant would be to place in a bowl several folded papers, each with the name of a fairy tale, and in another bowl various conditions on how they should rewrite it. Examples of rewriting conditions would be: "write it as a detective story", "incorporate a baboon in love" or "that promotes an anti-value".

The first version is useful with groups that show willingness and drive to do the activities. The second, for groups that are more inhibited or that are in a more initial phase. In either version, the objective of the activity is to note that even the most traditional things can be given a creative twist.

Game 6: Synaesthetic News

Inspired by the game "songs"

Participants will be asked to write a false story, but they must do so following a synaesthetic guideline. That means, they must play to mix their senses and imagine what it can be like to be able to write their news. An example would be writing a story that tastes like raspberry gum.

Other synaesthetic ideas for the news would be: “that it smells like blue”, “written with a lava keyboard”, “that it sings like a constipated nightingale”, “that you sweat with fear when you read the news next door”, “written in the second before the bomb explodes "," that tastes like a child's onomatopoeia "," that feels like Sunday grass. "

The stranger you miss synaesthetic patterns, the better. And, if you wanted to turn it around, you could offer them a real newspaper and ask them to choose one of the stories and rewrite it based on the pattern received. At the end, the contributions are read and the experience that each one had (if they managed to mix their senses in their imagination) is explored.

Synesthesia is a gift that very few people have, so the goal of this activity is not to train in synesthesia or anything similar. The idea is to take the person to sensory settings very different from the usual ones and get them out of their comfort zone, because, after all, that is what creativity is about.

Game 7: Creating a game

Inspired by the game "toothbrush"

Participants are given the pattern of an apparent game, but they are given in a vague, imprecise and incomplete way. This, because the objective of the game is that, based on these guidelines, the participants design the rest of the game, including its rules and other elements. The idea is that the original guidelines are somewhat absurd.

For example, the participants could be divided into groups of 5, indicating that one of them would be a toothbrush, the other toothpaste, the third the teeth, the fourth the tongue and the fifth the tooth decay. Without saying anything else, each team will meet for 5 to 10 minutes and design the rules of their own game.

The next phase would involve each group explaining the rules of their game, which the other groups must follow. When all the groups have had the leading role or, what is the same, when all the aspects of the game have been played, you can talk about the experience and reflect on it.

In all creative work there are always some people who play the role of leader and organize the rest of the team. This can lead non-leader members to take a passive position on creativity: they are only creative when asked and according to the guidelines they are given. This game helps to reverse those roles.

Game 8: The joke marathon

Inspired by the game "highs"

Here the participants will join in groups of 3 or 5 people and will have to fill in a list of incomplete jokes. These jokes to complete cannot be taken from existing jokes and the idea is that they are not so obvious. The jokes can be taken from question-and-answer models, such as “what's the last straw”, “what did he say to you” or “knock-knock”.

Some examples of highs would be: the height of a router, a Dalmatian, Windows 10, Hitler, a remote control, etc. Examples of "what he said" would be: what a gift bag said to another, a trash can to a diaper, a dog to a bone, a carnivore to a vegan, and so on. Examples of “Knock-knock. Who?" They would be: Santa, Olga, the grinder, not me, who's what, etc.

Incomplete jokes are submitted on a sheet and given about 10 minutes to complete as many as possible. Then each group tells the jokes they created to the rest. To make the activity funnier, the ideal is to work joke by joke and not group by group. At the end of all versions of a joke, it is passed to the other.

The experience of most people is that it is the others who create the jokes, it is the others who write the sayings, the famous phrases, the books, the movies… In other words: “I am not a creator”. This activity comes to combat that idea. Everyone can be a creator if they set their mind to it.

Game 9: Alien Noah's Ark

Inspired by the game "let's complete the animals"

Participants are told that they are the Noah from a planet other than Earth, and that they must fill an ark with all the animal species from that place. Gathered in small groups, your job would be to come up with the different animals on that planet. They are invited to break all possible schemes and to let themselves be carried away by the absurd.

If you wanted to give help or inspiration to the creativity of the participants, you could create a description of the planet in question. The description must be bizarre, absurd and break schemes to achieve the same effect in the game with the participants. They can be allowed to draw the animals if the group wishes.

At the end, each group explains the animals they created, their names, how they behave, what they eat, etc., and it is assumed that the animals of all the participants will travel on the ark. A last phase of the game could be to imagine, through free participation, what those 40 days would be like with all those animals together. What would happen?

This activity helps the person to separate from their experience of reality as the basis for creation, and notice that anything serves as a stimulus to create. In addition, it is an activity that can unleash the inner child of the participants, a value always invited when it comes to creativity.

Game 10: Mimic pairs

Inspired by the game "where is my partner?"

In a bowl, folded papers with the names of animals (for a simple version) or objects (for a more complex version) will be placed. There will be two for each animal or object. Once everyone has their role, they should begin to represent their animal or object through mimics, while looking for the partner who has the same animal or object.

The idea is to place animals or objects that are not so obvious mimics, to make it difficult for couples to recognize each other. When couples think they have recognized, they should sit quietly and wait without saying their animal or object. If in the process they believe that another member of the group is their real partner, they will stand up and bond with that person.

When all the pairs have been formed, each one will reveal its true animal or object, for now to verify if they were put together correctly. This, in addition to making the mind more flexible, is ideal to break the ice and achieve group cohesion, not to mention that it is a fun activity, with enough laughs guaranteed.