“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.

How to Play War

War is an easy card game involving 2 or more players.  It is generally played with a standard deck of 52 cards with Jokers, but any number of decks or types of decks can be used.  The object is to win all of the cards.  Continue reading to learn exactly how to play war.The rank of card values for...

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...

More than a Pencil

Encourage your team’s creativity and challenge them to work together to come up with a brand new use for an old tool. The pencil. Ideal for building: teamwork, communication, innovation, creativity 4-30 people Pencils Set Up: Gather enough pencils for all groups. Group sizes should be 3-4 people....

How to play Minesweeper

https://youtu.be/A3_uSqz3AWY Object of the game: Clear the minefield (by clicking on spaces) as fast as you can without detonating any mines. Scoring: Your score is the amount of time it takes you in seconds.  Finish in the least amount of time possible. How to play: Starting Out:  Begin...

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...

Fox Walk – A Game About Behavioral Adaptation

Summary Fox walk teaches about the stalking technique of foxes, a behavioral adaptation, and the physical adaption of rabbit ears.  Predator prey relationships are explored and this is a great game to practice focus and center a groups attention.Activity Stats Group Size: 6-20 participants Ages:...

How to Play Spoons

Learn how to play Spoons, a simple card game with an active twist.  It's simple to learn and can be played by children or adults. There's even a version of spoons that has become popular as a drinking game at parties.  It's a sneaky, fast-paced and involves bluffing, so if you have a good face for...

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...

How to Play Football

Football Basics: • Football is played on a marked field measuring 100 yards, an end zone at each end of the field. The field is marked with hash marks, each being a yard apart. The fifty yard line marks the center of the field with each yard line counting down until a team reaches its end zone on...

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...