When it is family night, a fun and hilarious game like The Flour Game, is the perfect idea for creating hilarious and fun memories for years to come.
You can easily do this with just a pile of flour, and it’s fun for holiday traditions or even a family reunion as well. Make sure to get the camera ready so that you can take lots of pictures because it’s going to be great fun!
The Flour Game – Creative Family Game Idea
The Flour Game is a game requiring skill, strategy, and a sprinkle of luck where the stakes are high should you lose. It is challenging, gross, yet extremely funny. Its playing encapsulates all the characteristics of a fantastic family game night.
Growing up my family had quite a few favorite games to play, some of which were passed down through the generations, many of which we adapted our own house rules to, and even a few games I’m pretty sure we just made up ourselves.
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I know we were not the only ones to play The Flour Game as I’ve seen videos and other tutorials for it online. But, it is certainly one of the most memorable games I have ever played.
The family and friends who I have played it with through the year have never forgotten it either, especially because we almost always made sure to pull out the camera before we started so as not to miss the awesomeness that is losing.
A benefit of playing The Flour Game is that the set up is easy and you are practically guaranteed to have everything you need to play already in your home. The Flour Game is frugal, quick, memorable, and hilarious. Now here’s how to play!
The Flour Game – How to Set It up
What you’ll need to play:
- cup/container
- plate or flat dish
- butter knife
- flour
- penny (or another small flat object – some play with lifesavers)
To play the Flour Game, you need to grab a short dished cup or bowl with a flat bottom. A teacup works well, or maybe a small Tupperware dish.
You want it to be fairly shallow, but not too shallow. Width doesn’t really matter, but the base should be wide and flat enough to hold a penny and then some.
How to Play the Flour Game
How to Set-Up and Play the Flour Game
- Place penny at bottom of the dish.
Take a clean penny and place it at the bottom of your small, flat-bottomed, shallow dish, centered right in the middle.
- Pack the dish full of flour.
Take pantry flour and pack it on top of the penny, tight. Then level it off.
- Cover dish with flat plate and flip over.
Place a plate upside down on top of the flour-filled penny-holding dish, then carefully flip the dish and plate over together in one movement.
- Remove the dish.
With the plate now flat on your tabletop, and your flour-packed dish upside down, slowly and carefully remove the dish off the packed stack of flour, leaving the packed flour with penny on top exposed.
- Start playing the game!
Your game is now set and now you can begin to play!
- Take turns cutting flour with a butter knife.
Grab a butter knife. Everyone will take turns cutting away parts of the flour tower with the butter knife, slicing straight down, and gently pulling flour away from the center where the penny lies.
You do not want the penny to fall into the flour on your turn, so cut the flour carefully!
- Pass the knife until penny falls.
After you’ve made your slice in the flour, you pass the knife to the next person, and they cut, and so on, until the penny falls into the flour (kinda like Jenga).
- The loser retrieves the penny with their mouth!
Whoever makes the penny fall into the flour is the loser and has to retrieve the penny from the flour. However, they cannot use their hands to pick it up. Nope! The loser has to retrieve the fallen penny from the flour with their mouth only.
*LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Caution: You can choke on flour (and a penny) and you must be careful when playing this game not to inhale the flour as it could cause respiratory issues. You can also get flour in your eyes so safety glasses should be worn. Eating dry flour is also gross (unless you are my kids – weirdos), especially as it gets caked onto the back of your teeth. Play game at your own risk.
- Loser cleans themselves.
After the loser has successfully retrieved the penny, they will take a minute to go to the restroom and clean out their nose, mouth, teeth, and possibly eyes and hair as they now may be covered in flour.
- Reset and play another round!
The game is reset with the (washed and dried) penny being placed at the bottom of the dish, packed with flour, flipped over, dish removed, and the game started again.
My best advice is to not breathe when diving in the flour, in or out. When you breathe out, chances are flour may go everywhere.
PRO TIP: You may use your nose to help you dig in the flour if you cannot find the penny.
If you are not the loser of a round, it is highly recommended to take pictures and/or video of the loser attempting to procure the fallen penny from the flour. You know, for posterity.
Enjoy the Flour Game – the funny, gross, challenging game where you definitely don’t want to be the loser…. or do you?
Tips for Making the Flour Game Even Better
- The Flour Game is a great family game for the outdoors! If played outdoors, you don’t have to worry so much about making a mess or cleaning up.
- When cleaning up, flour is best swept while dry. Don’t use a wet cloth to wipe down the table, use a dry one, at least until the majority is swept away.
- Make sure all the ladies have hair ties so that their hair will stay out of the flour.
- Use fresh flour and clean off the penny every time if you are worried about germs.
- Bring some cheap toothbrushes for everyone playing.
- Tell kids that if they want to play, they have to be willing to actually retrieve the penny from the flour. (No backing down later.)
This game is sure to provide lots of laughter and create great family stories. The funniest part is that as you slice the flour, everyone is going to be holding their breath! If you want to make funny family moments, you can’t go wrong with this flour pile game!
Just buy some white flour or whole-wheat flour at the store, and don’t forget a butter knife or a plastic knife! This is going to be so much fun!
Enjoy the Flour Game – the funny, gross, challenging, fun family game night idea where you definitely don’t want to be the loser…. or do you?
For more family fun, check out the following posts:
- Best List of Classic Backyard Games for Kids
- Big List of Classic Toys for Kids They’ll Play with for Years
- Adventure Gifts for Couples and Adults
- Experience Gifts for Kids
- 35 Memorable and Unique Beach Games for Kids
- How to Do a Long Family Road Trip with Kids and Not Go Insane
- How to Make Family Movie Night Extra Special
kim says
that game sounds very dangerous to me. aspirated flour could cause serious pneumonia. I would definitely not do this with children who might be likely to inhale while their face is buried in flour!!!!!!!
Katelyn Fagan says
It’s not for everybody, no, and certainly use discretion with young kids. That said, I’ve yet to know anyone who’s caught pneumonia from playing this game, and I have played it multiple times over the years.
Jenny @ Unremarkable Files says
This is also how my kids look after any time we bake ANYTHING together.
Katelyn Fagan says
Ha. It’s like they don’t even know they aren’t playing this game!
Chelsea @ Life With My Littles says
This looks so funny! I have never heard of this game, but I would definitely love to see my family members play it!
Julie says
We used to play this when I was a kid and in turn we’ve played it with ours. It’s loads of fun. The main thing we always did different was it was a sweet instead of a penny and we balance it on after the flour is turned out rather than putting it in the bottom. I’m in the Uk so when I say sweet I mean candy – something like a malteaser or m&m, smarties that sort of thing, (do you have malteasers and smarties?) Then at least after the flouring you get to eat something good!
We’ve never choked on the flour but none of us have any respiratory problems either. Just don’t breath in or out and maybe don’t let really little kids play (or dad’s as they cut huge slices off the flour cake to hurry the game along!!)
Great clearing up tips – wish I read them years ago!
Katelyn Fagan says
Yes, we have smarties, though I don’t know what malteasers are! And I am glad you had (safe) fun playing this game too. It is a classic.
Sandra says
Naw..raw flour is not , never , safe to breath in, let alone eat it. Do not fool around with safety issues. Find another alternative game please