A handful of bean bags is one of the best value things you can own for entertaining children. They are soft enough for indoors, heavy enough to throw outdoors, and they work for a three-year-old and a thirteen-year-old in the same afternoon.
Below are twelve games, sorted roughly from youngest to oldest, with what you need and where to play each one.
Why bean bag games work so well for kids
Throwing underarm at a target is one of the first coordinated movements children develop, somewhere around three. The Raising Children Network puts throwing, hitting and catching a ball at around four to five years. That is why bean bags land so well with this age group: a child can succeed on their very first attempt, which almost no other equipment allows.
They are also quietly doing a lot of work. Aiming builds hand-eye coordination. Judging how hard to throw builds a sense of force and distance. Balancing a bag on your head builds core control. And because a bean bag does not roll or bounce away, a small child spends their time playing rather than chasing.
The practical bit matters too. Bean bags do not break windows, do not hurt when they hit someone, and can be used inside on a rainy afternoon without anyone having to negotiate.
There is a decent reason to have a few games like this on hand. Australian guidelines, set out by the Raising Children Network, ask for at least three hours of physical activity a day for children aged one to five, including an hour of energetic play. A bucket and four bean bags covers a surprising amount of that without anyone leaving the backyard.
What you need
Most of these games need four to eight bean bags and something to aim at. Buckets, laundry baskets, hula hoops, chalk squares or a cornhole board all work. Nothing on this list needs anything you cannot improvise.
| Game | Best age | Where | You need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bucket points ladder | 3+ | Either | 3 buckets, 4 bags |
| Head balance race | 3+ | Either | 1 bag each |
| Hot bean bag | 3+ | Either | 1 bag, music |
| Colour and number call | 4+ | Either | Chalk, 4 bags |
| Hoop hopscotch toss | 4+ | Outdoors | Hoops or chalk |
| Bean bag bowling | 4+ | Either | Bottles, 3 bags |
| Over and under relay | 5+ | Either | 1 bag per team |
| Giant tic tac toe toss | 5+ | Outdoors | Chalk, 6 bags |
| Shuttle relay | 5+ | Outdoors | 4 bags, 2 hoops |
| Cornhole | 5+ | Outdoors | A cornhole set |
| Call your shot | 8+ | Outdoors | A cornhole set |
| Round the clock | 8+ | Outdoors | A cornhole set |
1. Bucket points ladder
Line up three buckets at increasing distances and give each one a value: one point for the near bucket, three for the middle, five for the far one. Each player throws four bags and adds up their score.
It is the simplest game here and the most adaptable. Move the buckets closer for a toddler and further for an older sibling, and the two can genuinely compete against each other. Playing to 25 keeps a round to about five minutes.
2. Head balance race
Everybody balances a bean bag on their head and walks to a marker and back. Drop it and you go back to the start. Simple, and reliably funnier than it sounds.
Progress it by changing the body part: shoulder, back of the hand, forearm, top of the foot. For older kids, add an obstacle to step over or a chair to walk around. This one is a genuine balance and posture workout dressed up as a silly race.
3. Hot bean bag
Hot potato, with something that will not roll under the couch. Sit in a circle and pass the bag while music plays. Whoever is holding it when the music stops sits out, or collects a letter if you would rather nobody is out.
Passing in one direction is the standard version. Calling out a direction change mid-round makes it considerably harder and much better.
4. Colour and number call
Chalk a grid of squares on the driveway, each with a colour, number or letter in it. Call one out and everyone throws a bag at it. A point for landing in the right square.
For a four-year-old learning letters, this is the best kind of practice, because nobody involved thinks it is practice. Preschools and kindergartens use exactly this setup.
5. Hoop hopscotch toss
Lay hula hoops in a hopscotch pattern, or chalk one. Throw your bag into a hoop, then hop your way to it, pick it up and hop back. Miss the hoop and you lose your turn.
Combining a throw with a hop is harder than either on its own, and it burns a lot of energy in a small space, which is sometimes the entire point.
6. Bean bag bowling
Stand six empty plastic bottles in a triangle and knock them over by throwing rather than rolling. Part-fill the bottles with water to make it harder.
Two throws each, count what you knock down, reset. Chalking numbers on the bottles turns it into addition practice without any complaint.
7. Over and under relay
Two teams in lines. The bag goes over the first person's head, then between the next person's legs, alternating down the line. Last player runs to the front and starts again until the whole team has rotated through.
Good for a party where you have eight children and twenty minutes to fill. Works indoors along a hallway.
8. Giant tic tac toe toss
Chalk a three by three grid on concrete. Two players, three bags each in different colours, and you take turns throwing to claim squares. Three in a row wins.
The strategy sneaks up on people. Landing a bag in the square you want is one problem, and stopping your opponent is a different one. Adults get competitive at this quickly.
9. Shuttle relay
Put four bags in a hoop at one end and an empty hoop at the other. On go, each player runs one bag at a time between hoops. First team to move all four wins.
Add a rule that the bag has to be thrown into the far hoop from a marked line rather than placed, and suddenly it needs accuracy as well as speed.
10. Cornhole
The proper version, and the one that holds a family's attention longest, though most Australians have no idea what it is called. We went into that in what the bean bag toss game is actually called. Two slanted boards face each other, you throw four bags a side, and a bag through the hole is three points while one resting on the board is one.
Standard distance is 8.23 metres, but for kids you bring the boards in to 3.5 or 4.5 metres and stretch it out as their throwing improves. The scoring does not change, which matters more than it sounds: a seven-year-old is playing the same game as the adults, not a watered-down version of it.
It is also the rare backyard game where accuracy beats strength, so a child can beat an adult without anyone quietly letting them. If you want the full rules, we have written them up in how to play cornhole, and there is a printable score sheet with it.
11. Call your shot
The bean bag version of HORSE. Name what you are going to do before you throw, and if you pull it off, everyone else has to match it. Fail to match and you collect a letter.
Shots can be as inventive as you like: through the hole off the front edge, left handed, eyes closed, standing backwards. Best for eight and up, and it is the game that keeps teenagers at a barbecue for another hour.
12. Round the clock
Play cornhole, but you have to land a bag on the board from six different marked positions in order, working around an arc, before you can attempt the hole.
It teaches something real, which is that the throw changes as your angle to the board changes. Players who practise this way improve much faster than players who only ever throw from dead centre.
Cornhole Pro, ACA regulation set
Two regulation 122cm x 61cm boards, eight bags, a rules card and a padded carry bag. Rounded hand-sanded corners, a splinter-free surface and folding legs, with a 5-year warranty and free delivery Australia-wide.
See the Cornhole Pro setMaking your own bean bags
If you want to try a few of these before buying anything, bean bags are about the easiest thing there is to sew. Two 15cm squares of sturdy cotton or canvas, right sides together, stitch around three and a half sides, turn it out, fill it two thirds full and close the gap.
Dried rice or lentils are the easiest filling to find and are fine indoors. Do not overfill: a bag needs to slump slightly when it lands, and a tight one bounces straight off whatever you were aiming at.
If you would rather buy than sew, be aware that Australian sets vary hugely in size despite sharing a name. We set out what to compare before you buy.
One caution for younger children. Homemade bags with small fillings need strong double-stitched seams, and a split bag around a toddler is a choking risk. Check them regularly, and for under-threes buy bags made to a toy safety standard instead.
Keeping it fun for mixed ages
The trick with a five-year-old and a twelve-year-old in the same game is to change the distance rather than the rules. Everybody plays the same game, scores the same way and can win, but the younger player stands closer.
Two other things that help. Play in short rounds so nobody is stuck spectating, and pair children with adults rather than running kids against adults. A team of two, one of each, is the setup that keeps everybody at it longest.
Frequently asked questions
What bean bag games can you play indoors?
Hot bean bag, head balance races, over and under relays and bean bag bowling all work inside. Bucket points works indoors too if you use laundry baskets and shorten the distances. Save cornhole and anything involving chalk grids for outside.
What age can kids start playing bean bag games?
Around three for simple bucket and balance games, since underarm throwing at a target develops about then. Cornhole works from about five with the boards moved closer together. Bean bags with small fillings are not suitable for under-threes because of the choking risk if a seam splits.
How many bean bags do you need?
Four is enough for most of these games and eight opens up nearly all of them, including cornhole, which needs four per side in two colours so you can tell whose is whose.
How heavy should bean bags be?
For simple kids' games anything comfortable to throw works. For cornhole, regulation bags are 15cm square and weigh between roughly 400 and 460 grams, which is heavy enough to hold a line outdoors without being hard for a child to throw.
Are bean bag games good for kids' development?
They build hand-eye coordination, throwing accuracy, and a sense of how much force a distance needs. Balance games work core stability. Because a bean bag does not roll away, young children spend their time playing rather than fetching, which keeps them engaged for longer.
Sources: Child movement milestones and physical activity guidelines from the Raising Children Network, published by Raising Children Network (Australia) Limited with support from the Australian Government. Cornhole rules and dimensions from the American Cornhole Association.