What to Do with Friends When It Rains – 15 Indoor Ideas to Beat Boredom
What to Do with Friends When It Rains – 15 Indoor Ideas to Beat Boredom
The weather isn't cooperating, your outdoor plans are washed out – now what? Instead of sitting frustratedly on the sofa, a rainy day with friends can turn into a brilliant time. Let's be honest: some of the best memories happen exactly when you have to improvise. We've put together 15 indoor ideas that turn any rainy day into a highlight.
Games and Competitions
1. QuizPoker Tournament on Your Smartphones
The ultimate rainy day secret weapon: QuizPoker combines estimation questions with real poker mechanics – no board or cards needed. Everyone pulls out their phone, a lobby is created in seconds, and the bluffing begins. An estimation question appears, everyone enters their answer, then you bet across four rounds – with fold, call and raise. Whoever is closest to the answer or bluffs everyone else into folding wins the round.
The beauty: even if you haven't got a clue, you can win through clever bluffing. With over 400 estimation questions across 18 categories, boredom is impossible even during hours of rain. Make a tournament of it – whoever has the most chips after 10 rounds wins the golden umbrella (or the last slice of cake).
For 2–10 players | No setup needed | Start playing now →
2. Classic Board Game Marathon
A rainy day is the perfect excuse for an extended board game marathon. Everyone brings their favourite game and you play through the afternoon. From strategy games like Catan to relaxed party games like Codenames – the right mix makes it. Need inspiration? Check out our Top 10 Board Games for Adults.
Tip: Start with a quick warm-up game, build to a main game and wind down the evening with QuizPoker. That keeps the excitement high all day.
3. Poker Night (Classic or Digital)
Rainy days and poker go together like thunder and lightning. Whether with real chips and cards at the table or digitally via QuizPoker – a poker night always has style. For beginners, QuizPoker is the perfect entry point because poker mechanics are combined with quiz questions: you don't need to know Texas Hold'em rules, you estimate and bluff intuitively.
4. Darts, Table Tennis or Pool
If you've got a table tennis table, dartboard or pool table (or know someone who does), you've got the perfect rainy day programme. Organise a small tournament with brackets and crown the champion of the day.
5. Video Game Tournament
Whether it's Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, FIFA or a retro console evening – video games in a group are most fun when you're in the same room cheering (or winding up) each other. Set up a tournament with group and knockout stages.
Creative and Culinary
6. Cook Together: Challenge Edition
Turn cooking into a competition: everyone gets the same budget and basic ingredients, then teams cook against each other. A jury rates the results. Alternatively: pick a cuisine nobody knows – Thai or Korean, for instance – and try a new recipe together.
7. Home Cocktail Workshop
Instead of going to a bar, become your own bartender. Get some spirits, juices and syrups, look up recipes and mix your way through the afternoon. Everyone creates their signature cocktail, and the group votes on the best one.
8. Art Session: Painting, Drawing or Pottery
Sounds unusual for a friend group but is surprisingly fun: organise a little painting or drawing session. Buy canvases and acrylics and paint the same subject – each in their own style. The results are compared, displayed and guaranteed to produce laughs.
9. Wine Tasting or Craft Beer Tasting
Get 5 to 8 different wines (or craft beers) and do a blind tasting. Rate appearance, aroma, taste and award points. This also works with cheese, chocolate or olive oil.
Cosy and Entertaining
10. Themed Film Marathon
Not just any movie night, but a curated marathon: choose a theme – "90s films", "Oscar winners nobody knows" or "Worst rated movies" – and watch three to four films in a row.
11. Karaoke Afternoon
With YouTube, a karaoke app and a bit of courage, any living room becomes a stage. Form teams, choose songs and rate the performances. Bonus points for particularly dramatic acts.
12. Home Escape Room
There are numerous DIY escape room kits and online escape games you can play at home. Alternatively, one of you prepares a puzzle for the others in advance.
13. Listen to a Podcast or Audiobook Together
Find a gripping true-crime podcast or audiobook, get comfortable and listen together. Then discuss: who was the culprit? What would you do differently? Surprisingly entertaining in a group.
14. Create a Photo Book or Memory Album
Perfect if you've already experienced a lot together: finally do something with those hundreds of shared photos. Create a digital photo book together or sort through pictures on a laptop.
15. Home Spa Afternoon
Face masks, foot baths, relaxing music and tea. Sounds cliché? But it's surprisingly rejuvenating and increasingly popular in mixed groups too. Check who's up for it – and who'd rather play a round of QuizPoker on the sofa instead.
The Perfect Rainy Day Combo
Our suggestion for the ultimate rainy day with friends:
- 2pm – Cook together (Challenge Edition)
- 4pm – Board game or QuizPoker tournament
- 6pm – Cocktail workshop
- 8pm – Film marathon or karaoke
The beauty: zero entrance fees, no reservation needed, half an hour of prep at most. And with QuizPoker you always have a digital gap-filler – on your smartphone, no setup, instantly playable.
Bottom line: Rain is no reason to cancel plans. Quite the opposite – with the right ideas, indoor days can be even better than sunny ones. So: invite friends, bake a cake, open QuizPoker and let the rain be rain.
