Lights Out! 6 Totally Fun Flashlight Games to Play After Dark

The days are getting shorter, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t fun games to play in the dark! These six easy-to-learn flashlight games keep the fun going and the light shining long after the sun goes down.

1. Flashlight Freeze Tag

Think of this as a flashlight version of freeze tag: One person is “It” and holds a flashlight while everyone else in the family starts a dance party! (We recommend popping on your go-to Spotify station to inspire some smooth moves.) When the light hits a dancer, they must freeze. If the flashlight-holder catches someone still moving in the light, that dancer is now “It.”

2. Hide and Seek in the Dark

Grab a favorite stuffed animal or toy, turn off all the lights, and “hide” it somewhere on a shelf, in a plant, atop the refrigerator—you get the idea. Then, together with your little detectives, take a flashlight or headlamp and go looking for it. Take turns doing the hiding and seeking to keep things fresh. Warning: Young children will want to play this with you again and again…and again.

3. Flashlight Limbo

You don’t need a broomstick or a hose to play limbo—all you need is the beam of a flashlight! Point the flashlight so it shines parallel to the ground just above your kids’ heads, and have them walk, crawl, or bend under it so that the light doesn’t touch any part of their bodies. When everyone has passed under the light, lower the beam a few inches. A player is “out” when the light illuminates a part of his body.

4. Shape Tracing

If your child is working on learning shapes, numbers, or letters, a small flashlight can turn a wall (indoors or out) into a powerful learning tool. Call out a shape to your child, and have them use the flashlight’s beam like a pencil to trace it against the wall.

5. Flashlight Photography

For this one, you’ll need a digital camera with the ability to take a long exposure shot, but trust us, the results are worth it. Set your camera to take a long shot (for example, 20 seconds), and then place it on a tripod or a table. Have someone hit the shutter and shine your flashlights in a design (like a circle, a zigzag, a star, or a heart) in front of the camera. See what kind of artistic images the whole family can create together. Best of all, it’s art with no mess to clean up afterward!

6. DIY Starry Night

Live around a city with lots of lights that make the stars hard to see? A flashlight, a piece of black paper, and a pencil or pen are all you need to bring the constellations to you. We love this tutorial on how to turn a simple flashlight into a real star maker—check it out!