Kids' Easter Egg Games

The Traditional Egg Hunt

Who can resist a good old-fashioned egg hunt? There are some tips, tricks, and useful variations that can make your Easter egg hunt a success for participating kids of all ages.

• Let the youngest children have a head start of a few minutes if you're having one hunt for kids of various ages.
• Set up separate hunts for the older and younger kids.
• Pair each young child with an adult who knows where the eggs are hidden. Otherwise, the school-age kids will wipe the area clean of eggs before a toddler can even begin.
• Level the playing field by assigning each child a specific egg color to hunt. The winner can be the child who finds all of the assigned colored eggs first.
• Hide a few golden eggs with money or gift certificates as special prizes that older kids will especially appreciate.
• If you are entertaining many kids, divide a large number of them into teams and let each team take turns hiding and finding the eggs.

Egg in Spoon Relay Race

This outdoor game is great fun for adults and kids. Use hard-boiled eggs for this game unless you are willing to clean up the mess of a couple of dozen broken raw eggs.

• The players are divided into two teams.
• Each team is divided into two groups, one at Point A, one at Point B.
• The first player is given an egg to carry in a regular tablespoon from Point A to Point B.
• At that point, the egg and spoon are handed off to the next competitor, who carries it back to Point A to the next competitor.
• A dropped egg means that the person carrying the egg must go back to the starting point.
• The first team to complete the relay wins.

Egg Roll

Maybe you can't be at the famous annual egg roll at the White House, but you can start the same Easter tradition at your house. The egg roll can be held outside in nice weather, or inside during inclement weather. You'll need eggs and spoons (optional) for this game. The object of this activity is to get the egg from the starting line to the finish line using a spoon.

• Give each participant a hard-boiled Easter egg.
• Kids can roll the egg while keeping it on the ground either with spoons, feet, or on hands and knees pushing the egg with their noses.
• Whoever gets their egg to the finish line first without cracking the shell wins.

The Wolf and the Eggs

Here's an unusual egg game for kids of all ages. It's really a never-ending game of tag but with an Easter egg theme. The best part? No supplies needed!

• Choose one player to be the wolf.
• The other players are the Easter eggs. Each child/Easter egg decides what color they are going to be. The longer and more complicated the color name (chartreuse, magenta, for example), the better.
• The eggs then turn to face the wolf, who begins to guess each egg's color.
• If the wolf guesses a player's color, that player must step forward one step, spell the color, and then run a predetermined route while being chased by the wolf.
• If the egg makes it back to the basket where the other players are located without being tagged by the wolf, the child gets to choose a new color and has another turn.
• If the wolf tags the egg before it gets back to the basket, then the player becomes the wolf and the wolf becomes an egg.

Egg Toss

Egg tosses are best played with raw eggs. That's because the breaking of the eggs is half the fun! You may want to do this outdoors on a plastic tarp and supply aprons or plastic trash bags with holes cut out for arms and heads to protect Easter outfits. Here's how to play:

• Each player has a partner. (It may be a good idea to pair a young child with an older child or adult).
• The partners stand a few feet apart from one another.
• One partner tosses the egg to the other person.
• Partners who catch the eggs without breaking them continue playing while pairs that drop the egg are out of the game.
• After each successful catch, each partner must take one step backward so that the tosses are longer and more challenging.
• The last team left with an unbroken egg wins the game.

Treasure Hunt

A treasure hunt is a great activity that engages kids of all ages and keeps them busy for a while.

To prepare for the treasure hunt, the person in charge of the hunt creates a series of hints that will lead the children from one site to another until the final prize is found. If you need ideas for hiding places and clues, check out clues for an indoor treasure hunt and clues for an outdoor treasure hunt. Here's how to structure the hunt:

• Place hints in a plastic Easter egg; Kids are given the first one to start off the hunt.
• Write the clues in rhymes or make the clues a little bit hard to figure out, depending on the age of the participants. An example for older kids: Hide an egg in a grandfather clock with the clue that says "Tick-tock, hurry up and find me!" For younger children, you might say, "I'm a clock, taller than wide. Find the next clue, by looking inside."
• Put the final prize inside of a golden egg, or a fancier, larger egg. A little cache of toys or candy can become the treasure trove.

Steal the Egg

This game may be ideal for older kids. It requires two teams and a referee. You can even create a team of adults and another team of kids. It's a spirited game, so fun is the goal:

• Each member of a team gets a number (one, two, three, etc.). Both teams will have members with the same numbers.
• The two teams line up opposite each other.
• A plastic Easter egg is placed in the middle of the two teams.
• The referee calls out a number, and the two players with the same number approach the middle of the field near where the egg is located.
• The object is for one team member to pick up the egg (but not kick it) and get it back to their line without being tagged by the other team's player. Tip: A player can only be tagged after picking up the egg, so the strategy is important. Is it best to go for the egg, or wait for the other person to pick it up?
• If a player succeeds in getting the egg back to their team without being tagged, the team gets a point.
• If the player is tagged, the other team gets the point.
• Ten points win the game.

Hot Boiled Egg

This Easter egg game is a variation of hot potato and musical chairs. Fill a plastic egg with something, such as a rock or sand, to give it a little weight. Tape the egg closed so it is securely closed.

• Players sit or stand in a circle.
• When the music starts, the players pass the "hot boiled egg" around the circle.
• When the music stops, the person left holding the egg is out.
• The playing continues until only the winner is left.

Candy Egg Toss

This egg game is fun if there are any candy eggs left to toss! The game can go on for several rounds depending on how many points you decide should be the goal. Here's how to play:

• Put three hula hoops on the ground in a triangle pattern. If you have six hoops, you can place them in a pyramid pattern.
• Tell the players the point value for each hoop. The one farthest away is worth the most points, for example.
• Give each participant five candy eggs to throw from behind a designated line. (Younger players can be allowed to stand closer to the hoops to make their tosses.)
• Each time a player throws a piece of candy that lands in a hoop, the child gets that point value.
• The player who reaches the goal amount of points wins.

Egg Bowling

This game is played similarly to bocce or lawn bowling and it can be played indoors or outside. The game requires a long, smooth surface for the eggs to be able to roll, so playing on tall grass may be difficult. This game is challenging because eggs tend to wiggle and wobble when rolled.

• Choose a target, such as a plain white boiled egg, a wrapped chocolate, or a stuffed Easter Bunny.
• Give each player a colored boiled egg. (Each participant either gets a different color or they can add their name on the egg).
• Players will stand a few feet away from the target.
• Players then compete to see who can roll their colored egg closest to the white egg or rabbit without the egg touching the target. One player rolls their egg at a time.
• A player wins a round if their egg is closest, but not touching, the target.
• The first person to win a certain number of rounds—usually five or 10 rounds will suffice—without touching the target, will win the game. 
• The winner of the game gets the chocolate bunny.