Want to get everyone at the table talking again?
Storytelling games are perhaps the easiest method. No board to assemble, no app to download and no lengthy explanation of rules as the youngest one slowly checks out.
Even better, they silently instill what many schools simply don’t have time to address: character building.
And the best part? You can start tonight with nothing but a kitchen table.
Here’s how…
What’s inside:
- Why Storytelling Games Are Worth Your Time
- The 10 Best Family Storytelling Games
- How To Keep Game Night Going
For more on this topic, check out the full Family Home collection
Why Storytelling Games Are Worth Your Time
Family time is under pressure, and the numbers back that up.
According to the CDC, 50.4% of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 years old spend at least four hours/day watching screens outside of school. Crazy how much of the day gets spent where nobody collaborates to create.
Storytelling games hand that time back. They also do something sneaky-good for kids’ brains.
Characterisation begins with baby steps. Characters require a want and a flaw, plus a handful of character traits that dictate how they act when everything falls apart. When a kid can confidently identify those traits by rote — obstinate, loyal, afraid of the dark — they graduate from describing people to creating them. That literacy is what helps kids become better writers, better readers, and just all-around better people.
Children intuitively understand this concept. According to Scholastic, 74% of children say reading fiction and nonfiction allows them to better understand the world around them.
Storytelling games raise the stakes even higher. Rather than observing a character choose, your child actually chooses.
That’s the whole trick.
The 10 Best Family Storytelling Games
Choose two or three depending on the ages of your family members. Mix them up. You won’t need all 10.
One Word At A Time
The simplest game on this list and still the funniest.
All of the players sit in a circle. Each person constructs one story together, by saying only one word at a time. “The.” “Dragon.” “Ate.” “Grandma’s.” “Sandwich.”
It makes everyone pay attention to what’s being said. No one knows what’s going to happen next, so the plot can truly go anywhere. Great for little kids who can’t keep an entire plot in their heads yet.
Fortunately, Unfortunately
Players alternate between good news and bad news.
“Fortunately Maya stumbled across a key.” “Unfortunately the key was made of ice.” “Fortunately she had a coat pocket…”
This series never uses the words story structure. Children learn story structure by realizing a story is simply a character trying to solve problems and making new ones.
The Character Interview
One person invents a character. Everyone else asks questions.
What do they do for a living? What are they afraid of? What did they have for breakfast? The responder must remain in character throughout all questions, even the ridiculous ones.
One reason it works so well for character development is that it demands consistency. If your character mentioned they hated water on question three, they better not be happily swimming by question eleven.
Roll A Story
Grab any set of dice, or write numbers on paper scraps.
Create three lists – one of characters, one of settings and one of problems. Roll once on each category and then freestyle a two-minute story based on whatever elements you roll. Example: An irritable librarian. Setting: On top of an active volcano. Problem: They have lost their shoes.
Random combinations kill the “I don’t know what to write about” excuse instantly.
Two Truths And A Tall Tale
A family favorite because it works with any age group.
Everyone shares three anecdotes about themselves. Two are real and one is made up. Players vote on who they think lied.
It’s excellent practice for adding realistic details. You have to make the fabricated tale sound like truth, so you have to throw in little realistic details.
The Picture Prompt Pass
Pull out an old photo album or a random photo on your phone.
The person holding the picture recounts the first 30 seconds worth of the story of the picture. They then pass it to another person who does the same.
Antique family photos are preferred. Children enjoy making up outrageous stories about ancestors they never knew.
Rewrite The Ending
Pick a story everyone already knows. A bedtime book, a film, a fairy tale.
Alright, now change one thing. What if the wolf was allergic to pigs? What if Cinderella didn’t want to go to the ball?
Alter one little aspect of life and follow through with it and you learn cause and effect better than just about anything.
Would They Do It?
This one is quietly the best game for building believable people.
Create a fictional person with your family. Give them a name, age, and three descriptors. Then have family members pitch them scenarios.
- Would they lie to get out of trouble?
- Would they keep money they found on the pavement?
- Would they tell a friend a difficult truth?
The whole group has to agree on what the answer is. Everyone also has to provide reasoning for their answer based on the characters personality. Debate is encouraged.
The Family Saga
A slow-burn game for families who like a routine.
Begin one lengthy story. Every week at dinner, add another chapter. Same characters, same universe, continuing storyline. Keep general notes (jotted down in a notebook).
After several months you will have created something truly awesome, and children learn how characters evolve over an extended period of time. This is character development at its finest.
Dinner Table Radio Drama
The loudest game on the list. You’ve been warned.
Give everyone a part, then perform a scene with VOICES ONLY. No gesturing, no props. Someone should be the sound effects guy. That’s always the hottest job in the house.
Reading dialogue aloud helps children learn something writing alone cannot teach them: that different people SOUND different.
How To Keep Game Night Going
Most family game nights die for the same reason — they get too ambitious.
Keep your sessions brief. 15-20 minutes is enough, particularly with young children. Quit while everyone still wants more. Avoid dragging on until someone is bored.
A few other things worth knowing:
- Never correct a story mid-round. Nothing shuts a shy kid down faster.
- Let the adults be silly first. Kids match the energy in the room.
- Rotate who goes first. It stops the loudest child from running every game.
- Write down the good ones. A story worth repeating is worth keeping.
What happens if a game bombs? Throw it away and pick a different title next week. Families have different preferences.
Bringing It All Together
Storytelling games are cheap, portable and require almost nothing but attention.
They also learn a lot of heavy lifting stuff. Children acquire vocabulary, work on listening skills, figure out how stories are built and get some honest-to-goodness practice at creating characters — all while believing they’re just goofing off at the dinner table.
Choose two games from the list above. Play them this week. Keep the ones that entertain and chuck the ones that don’t.
That’s really all there is to it.
For more on this topic, check out the full Family Home collection
