What is in the Box Game Ideas: A Complete Sensory Guessing Game Guide
The "what‘s in the box" game is a fun sensory guessing game where players attempt to identify mysterious objects hidden inside a box using only their sense of touch. One player reaches inside the box and explores the items by feel alone. They describe how the mystery objects feel while the other players ask questions and guess what the items are.
This exciting guessing game has been played for generations in various forms as an imaginative tactile experience that activates the brain and sensory pathways. It taps into the power of sensory science – stimulating development, building neural connections, and sparking creativity across all ages.
As a passionate gamer and children‘s content creator, I‘ve witnessed firsthand how popular sensory play has become – and for good reason! In this complete guide, we‘ll delve into the science and benefits of tactile guessing games, explore creative ways to DIY your own "what‘s in the box" variant, and reveal some of my all-time favorite ideas for mystery box objects to take the fun and challenge to the next level!
The Science Behind Sensory Guessing Games
Sensory activities like the "what‘s in the box" game provide crucial neural stimulation and support healthy development in children. But guesswork through touch alone also delivers benefits for grown-ups too!
According to occupational therapist Dr. Teresa May-Benson, sensory integration training games engage the prefrontal cortex and executive functioning skills by simultaneously activating multiple areas of the brain as we interpret touch sensory signals and draw on memory to predict possibilities.
This guessing facet in particular makes sensory games powerful brain-building play. One study by neuroscientists at Baycrest‘s Rotman Research Institute backs this up – finding that stimulating guesswork and prediction forces extra activity in the reward pathway, boosting motivation, attention, and memory encoding.
Plus, who doesn‘t love a creative challenge? When we step away from visual cues, we activate imagination and tap into resourcefulness in new ways.
Craft Your Own "What‘s In the Box" Game
Part of the magic is customizing the mystery box with unexpected textures and shapes specifically chosen to baffle tactile guessers. This adaptability makes the "what‘s in the box" game a perfect DIY project for both kids and adult game nights!
You can use any empty box or container – just cut a hole on one side large enough to fit a hand through. Decorate it with construction paper or gift wrap to build suspense and make it less visually identifiable.
As for mystery objects, everyday household items, craft supplies, outdoor finds, and toys make great additions, along with the specific ideas ahead. Wrap items individually with tissue paper or bag them to further disguise shapes. Just be sure every object inside is safe to touch!
Some handy supplies to have for DIY sensory box assembly or mystery object wrapping:
- Tissue paper
- Gift bags or small paper bags
- String or ribbon
- Glue gun
- Hole punch
- Scissors
- Craft supplies – felt, pom poms, wiggly eyes etc.
Pro tip: Start your own "what‘s in the box" notebook listing tested items that worked well or were tricky to identify. Rate them on a scale of 1-5 for difficulty level so you can steadily upgrade the game.
Top Ideas for Mystery Box Contents
While almost anything goes for sensory box contents, some of the best objects have unique or even contradictory textures that can‘t easily be distinguished by touch alone without activating cognitive reasoning too.
Based on sensory stimulation principles – and my experience crafting imaginative guessing games for young minds to 82-year-old Grandma Betty – here are some all-star ideas to mix and match:
Food Items
Foods make fun additions thanks to their distinctive shapes, weights, and squish factors. Just be conscientious of allergies!
- Grapes, blueberries, mango, pineapple, kiwi
- Babybel or Laughing Cow cheese, string cheese
- Bananas, strawberries, raisins
- Spaghetti noodles, cooked and dry
- Mini marshmallows, gummy bears
- Rice cakes
- Pretzels, peanuts in shell
- Cucumber, potato, onion, mushroom
- Hard boiled eggs, egg whites and yolks separated
- Dough – bread, pizza, cookie
Household Objects
- Egg beaters, small kitchen tools
- New toothbrushes, hairbrushes
- Sponges – new and used
- Loofahs
- Cotton balls
- Aluminum foil
- Bubble wrap
- Pine cones
- Feathers
- Seashells
Craft Supplies
- Pom poms
- Wiggly eyes, googly eyes
- Pipe cleaners
- Felt, sequins
- Chenille stems
- Washi tape
- Wiki Stix
- Pompoms
- Stickers
Outdoor Finds
- Acorns
- Pinecones
- Rocks, crystals
- Flowers
- Seed pods
- Small pumpkins
Toys
- Mini plush toys
- Rubber ducks
- Mini figurines, animals
- Ball pit balls
- Rainbow Loom or Sculpey clay
- Slinkys, springs
- Fidget spinners and cubes
Check your toy boxes, kitchen drawers, craft cabinets or backyards for more one-of-a-kind textures kids and adults wouldn‘t expect!
Being able to recognize everyday objects simply by touch comes in handy more than we realize. According to a study published in Cognitive Processing, tactile training boosted visual recognition accuracy significantly. So free sensory play also prepares little brains for critical future life skills even as it delights.
More Exciting Ways to Play
While simply feeling unknown items and guessing is entertainment enough for many, plenty of lively variants with different rules keep the mystery alive.
Some of my favorite "what‘s in the box" game upgrades my readers and members absolutely love include:
Category Guessing
- Separate mystery objects into piles by category (food, toys, etc).
- Players guess which category an item belongs to first before guessing the specific object.
This fun development arose organically when my 4-year-old niece Clara started grouping mystery items herself, designating areas of the box for food and another for "weird things". It was a blast and narrowed down guesses faster!
Flash Detectives
- For more competitive play, set a timer for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Players must identify as many mystery objects as they can strictly by touch in the allotted time.
- Crown the Flash Detective with the highest tally!
- As kids‘ sense of touch improves, shorten the time for greater challenge.
Truthfully, some of my most giggling game nights ended with our fingers still stuck fishing around in the box as the last 5 seconds counted down! Talk about thrilling.
Team Showdown
Split players into teams for sensory box challenges:
- Each member takes just 1-2 turns guessing per round
- The team with the most correct guesses after all players have gone wins the round
Keep score between as many rounds as you‘d like – it‘s silly, suspenseful fun! Award prizes like baking together or family movie night.
For more team ideas or sensory games like Hot & Cold, check out my in-depth guide on developing sensory intelligence through multiplayer challenges here.
Mystery Mime
For a lively twist, forbid any speaking during guessing! Hand gestures and acting are A-OK though, so players can:
- Mime actions related to the mystery item
- Gesture its size, shape, texture
- Act out scenarios where it‘s used
Laughter is guaranteed with this acting experiment, where a bag of rice suddenly transforms into a snowball fight!
Sensory Speed Round
Need to wait for dinner? Kids restless on a road trip? Hold an exhilarating 90-second sensory speed round anywhere to redirect focus.
Simply time 90 seconds total as players take rapid turns sticking their hand in and quickly guessing a mystery object by touch before passing to the next person. It feels like an energizing (and giggle-filled) reset for little minds and bodies!
Level Up the Mystery
Has your family mastered the basics? Up the ante to keep senses sharp!
- Hide mystery items inside opaque bags tied shut inside the box
- Bind objects with string, ribbon or wrapping paper
- Choose less distinguishable textures from similar categories (all dried beans, all fluffy pom poms)
- Allow only 5-10 seconds of initial exploration before guessing
DIY Mystery Box Sets
Rotate mystery sensory bins seasonally or by holiday for fresh guessing with minimum effort.
Simply compile coordinated items into readymade gift boxes, baskets or reusable shopping bags:
- Sock Box (cotton, wool, textured socks)
- Fruit & Veggie Garden (various natural finds)
- Craft Cabinet (pom poms, pipe cleaners and wiggle eyes galore)
- Stuffie Zoo (mini plush toys)
- Backyard Bug Hunt (pine cones, seed pods and the best craft imitations)
You can also match mystery boxes to current curriculum kids are studying in school, like history or science, for an educational twist. Feeling those smooth crystals or squashy faux frog eggs makes abstract concepts more visceral and sticks better!
Final Takeaways: The Benefits of Tactile Guessing Play
As both a fan and creator of kids games designed to engage the senses in clever ways, the simple DIY fun of "what‘s in the box" remains one of my utmost favorites I constantly return to.
It activates critical thinking skills yet requires zero prep, seamlessly flexes cognitive development and gross motor skills for tiny tots to wise elders, and most importantly – conjures serious fun.
We don‘t realize just how much vision dominates most playtime. Blindfold activities change the neural pathways formed, exercising the mind‘s flexibility in different ways. And that sensory surprise factor elicits the best giggles!
So gather an odd assortment of toys and household items, mask them inside a decorated box, and get the family guessing tonight! Just heeding the sensory call through play pays dividends for growing minds and souls.
What hidden treasures did your little detectives uncover on their latest "what‘s in the box" expedition? Share the results of your mystery box and any special guessing game rules in the comments below!
