It’s time to pump up the jam with school spirit and support at a pep rally! So grab your energy and enthusiasm as the games are about to begin. Minute-to-win-it activities are a quick and super fun way to engage the crowd. They’re mini-challenges that can stir up the crowd with excitement perfect for school assemblies and pre-game hype ups!
Minute to Win It pep rally games are perfect for bringing students together and boosting school pride.
Teens love these activities because they are fast, fun, and easy to play. I’ve gathered some of the best Minute to Win It games for middle and high school students that will get the assembly involved.
Table of Contents
Minute to Win It Game Ideas for School Pep Rallies
Get the whole school involved at the pep rally with these Minute To Win It games that can be played literally anywhere!
1. Tic Tac Tweezer
Place 2 bowls on the table in front of the participants, 1 empty and 1 that has 2 boxes worth of Tic Tacs. Using only tweezers, whoever transfers the most Tic Tacs into the other bowl wins!
2. Defying Gravity
Give each participant 3 balloons. The players must keep all 3 in the air for the longest amount of time. If a balloon hits the ground, they’re out.
3. Wrap It Up
Break into pairs and using streamers or toilet paper, wrap your partner the fastest using most of the supply.
4. Obstacle Course
Build an obstacle course throughout the gym. The only way each participant can get from one obstacle to the next is by strictly using a bath towel.
Insider Tip: Use cones, hula hoops, yarn, water bottles, and anything else you can think of to build the obstacle course. It’s easier than it sounds, and a lot of fun!
5. Face The Cookie
Each player places a cookie on their forehead. Whoever can get the cookie into their mouth by only using their facial muscles wins!
6. Thread It
Have a strand of thread and 10 sewing needles. Once the timer begins, see if you can get all of your needles threaded.
7. Peep Face
How many peeps can you get to stay stuck on your face in one minute?
8. Bubble Battle
Place a hula hoop on the ground about 10 feet in front of the teams. Whichever team can blow a bubble and get it over to the hula hoop before popping, only using their breath, will be the winner!
Spirit Week Minute Games For High School
Here are some Minute To Win It pep rally games to level up the school spirit for spirit week or any game day!
9. Tug Of War
You know the deal, you’ve got 1 minute to see which team muscles up as the buzzer goes off.
10. Slap Happy
Break up into partners with each one having a book. Have a crumpled-up paper ball and using the books, slap the paper ball back and forth until you transfer the paper ball to the opposite end of the room/gym. Each player can only hit the paper ball one time in a row until their partner hits it back.
11. Balloon Pop Relay
One team member races to the other side of the gym to sit and pop the balloon. Once the balloon pops, only then can the next player run over and sit on the balloon to pop. How many balloons can a team pop in one minute?
12. Spin Doctor
For Career Day, try the Spin Doctor. One player spins a coin on the table and the opposing player must try and stop it on its edge… yep, staying upright for 3 seconds. This is more challenging than it sounds.
13. Ring Around The Classmate
Grab a partner and either a bunch of hula hoops or inflatable pool floaties. Stand about 5 feet apart. Once the timer begins, the team that successfully throws the most hula hoops or floaties around their classmate wins!
14. Suck It Up
You’ll need a straw, a paper cutout (something related to Spirit Day), and candy. Using only the straw, each player must suck up the candy and place it on the cutout until it’s covered with candy.
Insider Tip: You can also use small pieces of paper, or really any light object (as long as it’s not small enough to get sucked up through the straw) instead of candy.
15. Hulk
On Superhero Day, here’s a fun Minute To Win It game. Divide into pairs and give each team a bag of balloons. The players must blow up a balloon and use only 1 hand each to pop the balloon together. Repeat and get the most balloons popped to win!
16. Spirit Stick Relay
With the entire team sitting or standing next to each other, try and pass the spirit stick down to the opposing side. Every person must individually pass the spirit stick.
Minute to Win It Games for School Assembly
You’ll surely get the entire assembly roaring with these Minute To Win It games!
17. Hula Hoop
Grab a hula hoop and see who can keep it twirling around their hips for the full minute.
18. Plunger Race
This game is quite amusing. Each participant lays down on their stomach and gets 2 plungers, one for each hand. Whoever gets farthest and/or quickest to the other side of the gym first wins the game.
19. Runny Nose
Pair up teams and give each a box of tissues. The winner is the team that removes all the tissues from the box first.
20. Build A Unicorn
Grab a bunch of stackable snacks like cookies, cupcakes, and donuts. Break teams into pairs where 1 player stacks the snacks onto the other’s head as they tilt their head back for balance. The pair that gets the most snacks stacked onto their partner’s head like a unicorn, wins!
Insider Tip: Oreos work great for this game, but you can also use small, flat objects instead of food.
21. Penny Stack
Each player has 25 pennies in front of them. Only using one hand you must stack as many pennies as possible.
22. Balloon Blower
Place a bunch of solo cups in front of each participant and provide them with a balloon. Each player must blow up the balloon and use the air to blow as many cups off the table before the minute ends.
23. State Of Fun
How many state capitals can your team write down before the timer runs out?
24. Pom Pom Shake
To boost the energy, everyone shakes pom poms for an entire minute without stopping!
Game Day Minute to Win It Pep Rally Games
Need some game day Minute To Win It games? Kick it off with these game-day activities!
25. Gearing Up
Each participant gets a basket full of clothes and gear. The winner is the first to put on all the layers of clothing and gear from their basket.
26. Water Bottle Flip
Everyone gets an unopened water bottle placed in front of them. Once the timer begins, whoever can successfully flip their water bottle over, landing upright, the most times wins.
27. Iron Man
Players have to stack as many iron nuts as possible, only using a chopstick held with their mouth.
28. Human Knot
Stand in a circle and each team member grabs hands with two different players across from them. Now, untangle yourselves without anyone letting go of one another’s hands.
29. Cheerleader Pose
Try to hold a cheerleader pose for the entire minute! It’s a lot harder than it looks.
Insider Tip: Let the school cheerleaders decide which poses should be used – they know which ones will be the toughest to hold!
30. Moving On Up
You’ll need 40 solo cups, 39 of the same color, and the other one a different color. With the 1 colored cup starting at the top, start taking 1 cup at a time from the bottom and stacking it onto the top. The first one to get the different colored cup to the top of the stack again wins.
31. Dance-Off
Have a dance-off given only one minute to show off your best moves!
32. Penny Hose
Place a penny into the bottom of each leg of the pantyhose. See how fast you can retrieve both pennies by sticking your hands and arms into the pantyhose.
Ball-Focused Games
Try out these ball-focused Minute To Win It games!
33. Ping Pong Drop
Place a sturdy chair directly behind a solo cup. Participants must stand on the chair and drop as many ping pong balls into the solo cup, without tipping it over, until the minute is over. At any point where the ping pong ball tips the cup, all ping pong balls in the cup must be removed before resuming the game.
34. Caddy Stack
Using steady hands, stack 3 golf balls on top of one another. It must stand alone for 3 seconds without toppling over.
35. Shamrock Shake
Take an empty tissue box and fill it with pink pongs. Attach it around the waist using pantyhose and affix it with tape. Now shake it up until all of the ping pong balls fall out of the Kleenex box.
Insider Tip: Blast some fun music for the shaking part of this quick game!
36. Don’t Drop The Ball
With 2 teams of 4, have each team assigned to a basketball hoop and given 1 basketball. The team that can make the most baskets without letting the ball ever touch the ground wins.
37. Sticky Situation
How many ping pong balls can you bounce off a piece of bread layered in peanut butter and bounce it into a solo cup?
38. Bouncy Ball Challenge
Give each contestant a plastic spoon. There are 2 bowls in front of each participant, one full of bouncy balls and the other bowl is empty. Whoever can transfer the most bouncy balls from one bowl to the other with only using the spoon in their mouth to do so, wins.
39. Ping Pong Bounce
Place 8 solo cups in front of each participant. See how many ping pong balls you can bounce into each cup before moving on to the next.
40. Ball Spin
Players must spin a ball as many times as possible in one minute.
Minute Pep Rally Games for Large Teams
Get large teams together and excited with these games at the pep rally!
41. Human Pyramid
Which team can build the tallest human pyramid within a minute?
42. Hula Hoop Pass
With your team physically connected, you must pass the hula hoop down the entire line of participants without disconnecting.
43. Marshmallow Windstorm
Break the large group into 2 teams. Place a piece of masking tape down the center of a long table, with the teams on opposing sides of the table. Stack a bunch of marshmallows on the tape and give each teammate a straw. Whichever team can blow through the straws and blow more marshmallows onto the opposing team’s side of the tape wins
44. Cup Race
Teams pass cups to each one in line until it reaches the last player on your team. Oh yeah, and you can only pass the cup using elbows.
45. Mr. President
How many presidents can your team name collectively in a minute?
Insider Team: Designate one person from each team to write all the names down. Then, compare the lists at the end.
46. Beach Ball Bounce
Each team must pass the ball amongst themselves without allowing the beach ball to bounce off the ground.
47. Name That Tune
You’ll have 5-second snippets of 12 different songs play. Be the group that can name the most amount of tunes!
48. Limbo
One minute to limbo and see how low you can go!
49. Pom Pom Toss
How many pom poms can your team toss into the designated basket within one minute?
Coaches vs. Athletes Minute to Win It Games
Alright athletes, it’s time to show off your skills and talents by playing against none other than your coaches!
50. Blown Away
With a pyramid of 36 solo cups stacked, how many cups can the opposing team knock over using only a balloon with their air?
51. Keep It Up
Place a bowl or bucket at the far end of the room/gymnasium. Starting on the opposite end, see if the coaches or athletes can blow a feather to the other side and get it into the bowl or bucket first! I have faith in you athletes!
52. Yank Me
Stack 5 solo cups rim side down, with an index card separating each cup. Who will strategically be able to yank out each index card starting from the top without the cups toppling over?
53. Mascot Relay
Each team must dress up in their mascot costume and race to the other side of the gym and back before the minute ends!
Insider Tip: Have the crowd cheer for who they think will win the race before it starts!
54. Basketball Hoop Relay
Both teams stand at designated spots evenly spaced from the hoop. Each player lined up gets to try and make a basket and then passes the ball to the next player in line. The team that makes the most shots wins.
55. Save The Joker
Sit at a table with an empty cup in front of both teams and place the joker card on top of the cup and then the remainder of the deck on top of the joker card. You have one minute to blow off all the cards or as many cards as you can without blowing off the joker card. If the joker card accidentally gets blown off the cup, reset the game and start over. Whoever has the least amount of cards on the cup, that team saved the joker.
56. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Cone
The announcer has up to a minute to shout out the different commands before giving their final one, cone. Whoever grabs the cone first wins.
57. Chant Contest
The 2 teams must create a spirit chant to perform in front of the crowd. Which team gets the loudest response?
Pep Rally Unite
It’s time to fire up the unity of the teams, organizations, and the school pride as a whole. So let the Minute To Win It games take you one step closer to making that support happen!
Did you find the perfect Minute to Win It pep rally game for your school assembly? Let me know in the comments which ones you like best, and if you have any other suggestions for fun and fast activities for teens!
