“Play is often talked about as relief from serious learning. But Play is serious learning”

-adapted from Fred Rogers

Why PLAY? Play can reduce stress. Play can increase joy. Play can help you learn. According to psychiatrist Stuart Brown “Play is a basic human need as essential to our well-being as sleep, so when we’re low on play, our minds and bodies notice.” Lynn Barnett, a professor of recreation, sports and tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign notes that “At work, play has been found to speed up learning, enhance productivity and increase job satisfaction; and at home, playing together, like going to a movie or a concert, can enhance bonding and communication.”

How To Play Stuff was created to enable play.

Learn how to play a new game or re-discover a game you played with your grandma. Whether you want to learn how to play hearts, soccer, team building games, or board games, we’ve got something for everyone!

Check our our Top 10 Team Building Games. Whether you have a small group, large group, or limited supplies we’ve got a game for you that will increase communication and engage even the most stubborn team members.

Hidden Pathway

Challenge the team to find the hidden pathway through a grid without talking Ideal for building: teamwork, Problem solving, teamwork, attention to detail Paper, rubber spots, or carpet squares to create a 4x4 or 5x5 grid on the floor for each team Mastercopy/map of the grid 5+ people Set Up: On a...

How to Play Soccer

Soccer Basics The object of soccer is to score on the opposing team's goal while preventing  them from scoring on your own team's goal. Soccer is played with 2 teams of 11 players.  The team that has scored the most goals after time expires, wins the game. The game is 90 minutes, split into 2...

How to play Basketball

Basketball Basics -The object of basketball is to score on your opponent's team by putting the ball through their hoop while preventing them from scoring on your own team's hoop. This is the basic premise if you're learning how to play basketball. -2 teams of 5 players will play against each other...

Flip the Tarp

Get your whole team to work together to flip over a tarp that they all happen to be standing on. The trick is you cannot touch the ground or use any other object to help. Ideal for building: Teamwork, communication, trust and problem solving 1 Tarp (should be just big enough to hold the whole...

Noodle Dual

Get your group moving around and working on communication while trying to whack the other team with a pool noodle. Ideal for building: Communication, trust, and group energy 4+ people 2 standard pool noodles 2 Blindfolds Whistle if possible Boundary markers (cones, rope, circle of people, etc.) At...

How to Play Solitaire

Klondike solitaire is a basic patience game that is simple to set up, simple to play, but difficult to win. It requires a standard 52-card deck of cards (no jokers). How to Set Up Solitaire (Refer to the diagram) Place a single card face up on the left hand side of the field. Place six more cards...

How to play Clue

Background Info: Clue is a board game that has been around since 1948.  The style of the game is murder mystery, deduction, and bluffing.  Clue is considered best when playing with 4 or 5 players, but can be played with 3-6.  If you want to learn how to play clue, know that the object of the game...

How to Play Tennis

Tennis is one of the world's most beloved and popular sports.  This is probably due to it being really fun and exciting, but also because of how quickly and easy it is to learn how to play tennis. Requiring only a usable court, a tennis racquet, a few tennis balls and a willing friend, it's...

Matching Relay

Teams race to set up objects to perfectly match a pre-set arrangement of objects. Ideal for building: Attention to detail, focus, and communication Multiples of many different objects (such as pencils, balls, paper, cones, pretty much anything you can find as long as you have a few of that same...

Puzzle Challenge

Work with your team to think outside of the box to solve multiple riddles, word problems, and other challenges. Ideal for building: Thinking outside of the box, teamwork, patience Puzzle questions for each team Answer sheet Match sticks Pencil for each team 2+ people 10 minutes Set Up: Print the...