“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 Spades

Looking to learn how to play Spades? Great! It is a fun 4-player card game that involves two teams trying to win tricks in order to gain points. In most games of Spades, you are playing to a certain point amount, usually 500. The team that first gets to the set point amount wins. Spades is a game...

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....

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 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...

How to play 13

13 is a glorious card game that was invented in Vietnam and Southern China. It is also known as Tien len, Vietnamese cards, and American Killer. It is considered a "climbing" card game and is meant for 4 players.  The object of 13 is to be the first player to discard all of your cards. What you...

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...

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...

How to Play Rugby

The Basics of Ruby Despite its riotous appearance, rugby is actually a very organized, well-governed sport that is played all over the world. The rules of the game are rather basic and can be learned fairly quickly. If you know how to play American football, then you will learn the sport of rugby...

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...