“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 Hearts

Hearts is a 4-player trick-taking card game.  It has Spanish origins from around the mid 1700s and is said to have evolved from a game called Reverse.  Hearts has gained increasing popularity due to Microsoft adding the computer-game-version of Hearts to its Windows operating systems.  The object...

How to Play Backgammon

Backgammon is a very prestigious board game and has been around for a long time. It is highly enjoyable but most people are unaware of the rules. The general aim of the game is to clear the board of all your checkers. The first player to complete this task wins the game of Backgammon. Backgammon...

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...

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 BS

B.S. is a simple bluffing card game.  It is known by many names including Cheat, I Doubt It, Bullshit, Bologna Sandwich, Bluff, and many others.  BS is best played with 3+ players and the object of the game is to be the first to get rid of all your cards. What you need to play BS: Standard 52-card...

How to Play Go

Originating in China, Go is an ancient game of strategy. An Introduction The game of Go is played on a flat board divided up in to a 19 by 19 grid of evenly spaced lines. That's 19 horizontal lines by 19 vertical lines. The board looks like a grid of squares, but it's the lines that are the focus...

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...

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....

Human Machine

Work together with a team to choose and act out a machine using only the people in your group Ideal for building: Teamwork, communication, creativity At least 10 people How to Play Human Machine Divide the group into teams of 5-7 people Tell the group that they are going to choose a machine for...

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...