Category: Dad Games & Activities

Some days the kids do not need another toy. They need somewhere to put all that energy.

That is usually when I need a game I can start with whatever is already in the house. No elaborate setup. No hour of preparation for ten minutes of play. Just something that gets us moving together.

These are indoor active games we have actually played in our house. Some started with a plan. Most did not. A pool noodle, a crash pad, a few soft balls, or an imaginary fishing pole was usually enough.

1. Turn the Room Into the Home Games

Our Home Games started with a pool noodle and a crash pad and eventually became six events: hurdles, laundry-basket shot put, discus, long jump, high jump, and a torch obstacle course.

The rule I like most is simple: beat your record, not each other. It keeps the kids moving without making every round about who won.

2. Play Pool Noodle Hockey

If you have pool noodles, a soft ball, and something that can act as a goal, you have most of what you need. In Pool Noodle Hockey, the kids team up against Dad while Dad becomes a wildly overdramatic goalie.

The equipment helps, but the ridiculous saves and celebrations are what keep the game going.

3. Try Dad Dunk Tank

Dad Dunk Tank uses a staircase and soft foam or plush balls. Dad sits securely partway up the stairs while the kids throw from the bottom and aim below the shoulders. Every hit gets a ridiculous reaction.

This one needs clear safety rules: soft balls only, no climbing during the game, and no throwing down the stairs.

4. Go Fishing Without Leaving the House

A crash pad became our boat. Pool noodles became fishing poles. The carpet became water. That was enough to start Dad’s Fishing Trip.

Then the imaginary pond developed meowing catfish, snapping turtles, a shark, and the occasional alligator. This game is less about running laps and more about active imaginative play, but it still gets everybody moving.

How I Choose a Game

I have learned not to make this more complicated than it needs to be. I look at how much room we have, how much energy the kids seem to have, and what is already sitting around the house.

• Lots of energy? Home Games or Pool Noodle Hockey.
• Need something quick? Dad Dunk Tank.
• Want imaginative play? Dad’s Fishing Trip.
• Nothing is working? Change the rules and let the kids help invent the game.

The goal is not to create the perfect activity. It is to give us an easy way to stop standing around wondering what to do and start playing.

Start With What You Have

Most of our favorite games did not begin because I bought something new. They began because we looked at something we already owned and decided it could become something else.

A pool noodle can be a hockey stick, hurdle, or fishing pole. A crash pad can be a landing mat or a boat. A laundry basket can suddenly become sporting equipment.

You do not need all four games. Pick the one that fits your house and your kids today, change whatever does not work, and make it yours.

Dads, let’s go.

Sometimes the best games do not need a complicated setup. Dad Dunk Tank turns a staircase, a handful of soft balls, and an over-the-top Dad reaction into an easy indoor game.

How to Play

1. Dad sits safely partway up the stairs.
2. The kids stay at the bottom with several soft balls each.
3. They throw up the stairs, aiming below Dad’s shoulders.
4. Every hit gets a ridiculous Dad reaction.
5. Three solid hits means Dad is defeated.

Dad Move: Commit to the Bit

The game is simple. Your reaction makes it awesome. Talk a little playful trash, act way too confident after a miss, and sell every hit like the kids just won the championship.

Keep It Safe

Use only soft foam or plush balls. Dad stays seated securely on a step, kids stay at the bottom, and everyone aims below the shoulders. No climbing or throwing down the stairs.

One soccer net, two pool noodles, and absolutely no plan.

Dad Game #2

We have a giant playroom in our basement. The boys have plenty of toys down there—probably more than enough—but sometimes we don’t have a focused game that all three of us can jump into together.

One day we had some extra pool noodles lying around, and I was trying to figure out something for the boys to do.

My wife likes hockey and actually played growing up. I didn’t. But for whatever reason, I looked at the pool noodles, looked at the soccer net, and thought: we could probably make hockey out of this.

So that’s what we did.

It Barely Started as a Game

There wasn’t some great plan behind Pool Noodle Hockey. We grabbed a ball, cut the pool noodles down to a better size, and started whacking the ball around the basement.

That was pretty much the entire game. The boys would hit it toward me. I’d hit it back. We’d chase it across the room and start again. Sometimes it went toward the net. Sometimes it didn’t.

But they were having fun, so we kept doing it. After playing a few times, it started turning into an actual game on its own. The boys ended up on one team, I became the goalie, and the goal became pretty simple:

Get the ball past Dad.

Boys vs. Dad

I’m obviously not going full competition mode against a three- and five-year-old. I’ll stop a few shots. I’ll let a few get through. Sometimes I’ll make a completely unnecessary diving save. Other times a ball I could easily stop somehow slips right past me.

Then I act like they’ve just scored the winning goal of the Stanley Cup.

That’s when the game is at its best. They’re trying to beat Dad, I’m trying to make it just difficult enough to keep them going, and everybody gets way more invested than anyone should be in a game involving half a pool noodle.

Sometimes I’ll put on upbeat music while we play, too. I’ve found that music can sometimes help keep the energy focused on the game. Add the music, a little play-by-play announcing, and Dad dramatically protecting the net, and suddenly the basement gets pretty loud.

My wife probably regrets ever telling me she played hockey.

The Game Just Kept Growing

We didn’t sit down and create Pool Noodle Hockey. It started as three of us basically smacking a ball around the basement.

Then we added a net. Then it became boys versus Dad. Then came the ridiculous saves, music, celebrations, and little challenges.

The boys helped turn it into the game it is now just by playing it. Now it’s one of those games we can pull out whenever the boys need to burn some energy and Dad needs something better than, “Go find something to play with.”

Steal Our Game

We turned our version into a Pool Noodle Hockey: Kids vs. Dad Toolkit card so another dad can get the game going in about two minutes.

Use our rules. Change them. Ignore them completely.

Sometimes all you need is a couple pool noodles, a ball, and Dad willing to look ridiculous.

Dads, let’s go.