Sometimes it is too hot or too cold to play outside. Additionally, most activities that take place away from home require spending money. Games played at home provide an alternative source of entertainment. Our list of cool games to play at home includes suggestions for every age and level of capability. Most require simple materials easily found around your home. We also provide easy to follow directions for each game.

• The 4 best iPhone and iPad games for kids.

Top cool games to play at home:

Pencil and Paper Games

The great thing about pencil and paper games is their simplicity. They can be played anywhere and at any time. When kids get bored at home, simply give them a piece of paper and pencils or pens, and they can entertain themselves for at least an hour. Our selection of pencil and paper games includes several old favorites

Tic-Tac-Toe

Tic-Tac-Toe is one of the first pencil and paper games a child learns. To begin playing, draw a grid of two horizontal lines dissecting two vertical lines. Players take turns choosing a box and placing either the letter 0 or the letter X to mark their box. The goal of the game is to fill in three marks in a row or block your opponent from doing so.

Dots and Boxes

A pencil and paper game for two players, Dots and Boxes begins with an empty grid of dots. Players take turns adding a single horizontal or vertical line between two un-joined adjacent dots. The player who completes the fourth side of a 1×1 box earns one point and gets another turn. Players write their initials in the boxes to indicate who completed each. The drawn “board” can be of any size. If you have little time to play or are just learning how to play, try a 2×2 box. A 5×5 box works well for experts. Dots and Boxes ends when there are not more lines that can be placed. The winner is the player with the most boxes completed.

Hangman

A challenging two-player word game, Hangman challenges players to complete the spelling of a word before a drawing of a hangman is finished. The first player thinks of a word or phrase and writes a blank for every letter below a drawing of a gallows with an empty rope. The second player attempts to spell the word by guessing letters. Each wrong guess gives the guessing player a body part added to the swinging rope – a head, torso, two arms, and two legs. If the hangman is completed before guesses provide the correct word or phrase, the player who chose the word wins. To stump an opponent, use short words or words with repeated letters.

Cootie

The object of this game is to draw a completed cootie bug before the other players. Provide each player with a piece of paper and a pencil. Players roll a die to complete their bug. Every time, the number of dots on the die represents a different body part:

1 = body
2 = head
3 = antennae, hat, or bow
4 = eye,
5 = tongue, teeth, or lips
6 = a leg
Have each player roll the die and the player with the highest roll goes first. A player must start by throwing a one for the body and then a two for the head. If a player cannot roll the required numbers, they lose their turn and must try again on their next turn. After a player gets the body and head, cootie parts can be added in any order a player desires. However, if a player rolls a number of a cootie body part they already have, their turn is over. When a player successfully rolls a needed number, they get a free roll to attempt to get another body part. The winner of the game is the first to finish their cootie.

The 5 best cool games to play at home.

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