Heads or Tails
Heads or Tails
A Fun Youth Group Game
Watch the Tutorial Video
Heads or Tails is an incredibly simple game that requires almost no preparation and can be played with just a coin.
Overview
Ideal # of Participants: Any!
Where to Play: Indoor / Outdoor
Age of Participants: Elementary School / Middle School / High School
Approximate Time to Play: 5 to 15 Minutes
Materials Needed: Coin or Phone
How to Play Heads or Tails
For this game you just need a quarter, or in a pinch you can get some help from Siri.
Everyone has three lives, and their goal is to guess whether the coin you flip will be heads or tails.
This game is 100% luck-based, but that has made every time I’ve played this exciting and unpredictable.
Make Your Prediction
Before each flip, everyone will either place their hands on their head, indicating that they think the coin flip will be heads, or they’ll place their hands on their tail to predict tails.
Once everyone has made their prediction, flip the coin.
Lose Lives When You're Wrong
Once you flip the coin, anyone who was correct remains at three lives, while anyone that was wrong loses a life.
From there, everyone makes a new prediction, and again, anyone who is incorrect loses a life.
Keep repeating this process as the group gets smaller.
Once you run out of lives, you’ve been eliminated.
Just have a seat where you are, and continue playing until only one person remains.
Last person remaining wins!
Why Heads or Tails Works So Well
When I first heard about this game I thought it would be too simple to be fun, but I think that’s what has made my group enjoy it so much.
There are no complicated rules, elaborate materials, or difficult skills to learn.
Anyone can win.
That’s what makes the game so exciting. A student doesn’t have to be the fastest, strongest, smartest, or most athletic person in the room. Every round is another opportunity for someone to get lucky and stay alive.
And as superstitions arise, your youth will start to get really competitive.
Students may start convincing themselves that heads is coming because it has been tails several times in a row, or that they have some kind of strategy for predicting the next flip.
Of course, none of that actually changes the odds—but it can make a very simple game surprisingly exciting.
Tips for Playing Heads or Tails
- Play it fast. The game works best when you don’t spend a lot of time between coin flips.
- Build up the suspense. Give students a second to make their prediction before dramatically revealing the result.
- Use Siri if needed. If you don’t have a coin, you can use your phone to generate a coin flip.
- Let the superstitions happen. Students trying to figure out a “pattern” is part of what makes this simple game fun.
- Play multiple rounds. Since each game only takes a few minutes, you can easily play again if students enjoy it.
- Use it as a quick filler game. Heads or Tails requires almost no setup, making it useful when you have a few extra minutes in your youth group meeting.
Lesson Handout
Want to make this easy to share with your volunteers or students? Download the “Heads or Tails” Lesson Handout (PDF) below!
Where Games Meet God's Word...
Most leaders just look for games to play, but miss their true value. When used well, games help teach your lesson, because experiential learning is by far the most effective way to teach a lesson that sticks.
If you want to see this principle in action, check out Uplift, our FREE youth group lesson that is built for engagement. It contains a fun game, but then your students’ experience from the game ties into the Christ-centered message you’ll teach.
So simple, yet so fun!