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“Play is often talked about as relief from serious learning. But Play is serious learning”

-adapted from Fred Rogers

Why PLAY? Play can reduce stress. Play can increase joy. Play can help you learn. According to psychiatrist Stuart Brown “Play is a basic human need as essential to our well-being as sleep, so when we’re low on play, our minds and bodies notice.” Lynn Barnett, a professor of recreation, sports and tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign notes that “At work, play has been found to speed up learning, enhance productivity and increase job satisfaction; and at home, playing together, like going to a movie or a concert, can enhance bonding and communication.”

How To Play Stuff was created to enable play.

Learn how to play a new game or re-discover a game you played with your grandma. Whether you want to learn how to play hearts, soccer, team building games, or board games, we’ve got something for everyone!

Check our our Top 10 Team Building Games. Whether you have a small group, large group, or limited supplies we’ve got a game for you that will increase communication and engage even the most stubborn team members.

Best Team Building Games

How to play Clue

Background Info: Clue is a board game that has been around since 1948. The style of the game is murder mystery, deduction, and bluffing. Clue is considered best when playing with 4 or 5 players, but can be played with 3-6. If you want to learn how to play clue, know that the object of the game...

How to Play Spades

Looking to learn how to play Spades? Great! It is a fun 4-player card game that involves two teams trying to win tricks in order to gain points. In most games of Spades, you are playing to a certain point amount, usually 500. The team that first gets to the set point amount wins. Spades is a game...

Puzzle Challenge

Work with your team to think outside of the box to solve multiple riddles, word problems, and other challenges. Ideal for building: Thinking outside of the box, teamwork, patience Puzzle questions for each team Answer sheet Match sticks Pencil for each team 2+ people 10 minutes Set Up: Print the...

How to Play Soccer

Soccer Basics The object of soccer is to score on the opposing team's goal while preventing them from scoring on your own team's goal. Soccer is played with 2 teams of 11 players. The team that has scored the most goals after time expires, wins the game. The game is 90 minutes, split into 2...

How to Play Go Fish

Go Fish is a great game for 2 to 6 people. This is how you set up the game: 5 cards (7 cards if only 2 people are playing) are dealt to each player from a standard 52-card deck. The balance of the deck is splayed out in the middle of the group. The object of Go Fish is to collect the most books...

How to Play Go

Originating in China, Go is an ancient game of strategy. An Introduction The game of Go is played on a flat board divided up in to a 19 by 19 grid of evenly spaced lines. That's 19 horizontal lines by 19 vertical lines. The board looks like a grid of squares, but it's the lines that are the focus...

I Talk You Draw

Describe an object while your partner attempts to draw. The catch is you cannot tell your partner what the object is used for or what it is. Ideal for building: Communication, attention to detail Random objects (1 for each team) Paper Pencils or pens 2+ people 15 minutes Set Up: Collect as many...

How to Play Backgammon

Backgammon is a very prestigious board game and has been around for a long time. It is highly enjoyable but most people are unaware of the rules. The general aim of the game is to clear the board of all your checkers. The first player to complete this task wins the game of Backgammon. Backgammon...

How to Play Rugby

The Basics of Ruby Despite its riotous appearance, rugby is actually a very organized, well-governed sport that is played all over the world. The rules of the game are rather basic and can be learned fairly quickly. If you know how to play American football, then you will learn the sport of rugby...

How to Play War

War is an easy card game involving 2 or more players. It is generally played with a standard deck of 52 cards with Jokers, but any number of decks or types of decks can be used. The object is to win all of the cards. Continue reading to learn exactly how to play war.The rank of card values for...