Who hasn’t played this game guaranteed to leave kids in a pile of giggles? It’s been passed down from generation to generation, and who knows where it even started? The Floor Is Lava!, or Hot Lava, is a perfect kids’ game that doesn’t require a screen of any type and is totally free to play. Are you looking for a game to play on a rainy or snowy day? Look no further.

Location, Location, Location

The best rooms to play this game in are those with lots of surfaces to jump to and from, especially rooms with soft surfaces, such as living rooms and bedrooms. The rules are flexible in that there is one main rule: You can’t touch the floor. One concession is that if there are pillows on the floor, it’s okay to land on the pillows. This is often up to Mom’s discretion and which pillows she will allow on the floor. Playing Hot Lava in the kitchen or bathroom is not such a good idea because of the hard surfaces and sharp edges.

Ages for Playing

It’s more a matter of how well the kids can balance as opposed to their chronological age when it comes to determining who is old enough to play. The ones who probably get the biggest charge out of this game are usually between 3 and 9 years old, but there are no age limitations. Older brothers and sisters and even moms and dads have been known to try their best to stay out of the hot lava.

Stable Surfaces

Tables and benches can be good surfaces to leap to and from, even though they aren’t soft. As long as they are stable and you can’t shake them, they should be fine for jumping around on. Chairs that spin are not good for this game, no matter how nimble the kid doing the jumping is. You don’t want to use any type of indoor or outdoor furniture that’s wobbly enough that it could topple over. Falling furniture injures someone every 17 minutes. Playing outside on a concrete patio could make a parent gasp at the thought of a pending concussion, but old or already dirty blankets and pillows can be put around for a softer landing.

May the tradition continue as kids use their endless energy to leap from one surface to another, staying out of the hot lava at any cost. Someday, their children will carry on the same tradition.

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