Plenty of ways to stay entertained while staying in

REESE PLACE

Staff Writer

Indoor activities to play with your roommates

Feeling cooped up with your roommate(s) is common, especially during a pandemic. It can get boring sometimes, but fun games or activities to help entertain and stay connected to your roommates during these trying times can make a big difference. 

Protect the President

Need: at least three players, healthy boundaries

How to play:

The game starts (at any point, the key here is surprise) by someone saying “the eagle has landed.” From there, the goal is to put your finger to your ear, as if you’re a member of the Secret Service. The last person to touch their ear is the president, making them the target. The “agents” announce “eyes on the eagle!” or “I have sight of the president!” The game ends when the guards tackle or tag the president. Remember that boundaries need to be set up before the game ever starts to clarify what each person is comfortable with.

Hockey

Need: at least three players, a table, a quarter and a plastic cup or can

(Do not need: hockey sticks, pucks, ice)

How to play:

Hockey begins with everyone sitting around the table with their cup in front of them.  Someone then starts the round by spinning the quarter in the middle of the table, and they then call out a name of a player. The person who gets called hits the quarter with their hand, aiming as best as they can to hit another roommate’s cup. The opponents can block their cup with two fingers, but if it is hit by the quarter, then the opponent receives a point. However, if the cup falls to the floor, the opponent receives two points.  The goal is to end up with the least amount of points. It’s a fun way to pass time, stay in the moment, and forget about the endless list of things that need to be done. 

*Note: this game can be played with beer if students are of age. Remember to drink responsibly!

What Are the Odds? 

Need: at least two players, a sense of adventure

How to play:

This game is basically truth or dare, minus the truth and adding a bit of chance to it. For example, if you wanted to dare your roommate to do something, you would say, “What are the odds you eat that hot pepper?” They could reply by saying, “1 through 5” or “1 through 200.” Players agree on a range such as “1 through 5.” Then, count down from three, and say a number within the range at the same time. If you land on the same number, then the person who accepted the “what are the odds” challenge must eat the hot pepper (do the dare,) but if you do not land on the same number, nothing happens. This is also a fun technique to see who has to do some chores.

Presentation night 

Need: roommates, Google Slides or Powerpoint.

This entails everyone making a presentation and presenting it, no matter the topic. A topic could be the funniest David Dobrik videos, or the worst places to play hide and go seek, or pillows that look really neat; the topics are endless and fun to present to roommates. 

Hide the object

Need: at least one roommate, small item of your choosing

Take turns hiding the small object on the other person’s side of the room. Be creative! When one person finds it, it’s their turn to find a new hiding spot. When I played this with my roommate,  I enjoyed it a lot because I would end up finding it in my rain boot or hood of my jacket as I was getting ready for the day and it would remind me of how fun and lucky I am to share a room.

Making a game board is super simple and a fun activity to connect you and your roommates. All that’s needed is poster paper, a marker, dice, and small things, such as a ring, Hershey kisses that are different colors or anything to use as game pieces. You can get crafty if you want, but the bare minimum is those supplies. Make rows and cut them evenly so the poster looks similar to a checkerboard, but make sure you’re able to write clearly in the boxes. Things that can be written could be something like “Do 5 pushups,” “Tell a small secret,” “Who is most likely to sleep through a fire alarm?” “Tell where your favorite spot is on campus,” etc. This helps learn more about who you are living with while keeping it fun!

Last year my roommate and I began an informal game of Hide the Object. This entailed us having a cheap plastic ornament (in reality, it could be anything you and your roommate agree on,) and we would take turns hiding it on the other person’s side of the room. Once I would find it, I would try my best to find a new hiding spot for the ornament, then it would be her turn to do so once she found it. I enjoyed this game a lot because I would end up finding it in my rain boot or hood of my jacket as I was getting ready for the day and it would remind me of how fun and lucky I am to share a room.  The semester will be fun as long as you stay safe, communicate with your roommates, and try a few of these games and activities.

Kate Seltzer contributed to reporting.