How to Play Mother May I

Here’s a classic rainy-day game that leaves us hoping our kids will adopt the phrase at the very least. Mother, may I? It might just stick!

How to Play “Mother May I?”

Play this game with at least three players and choose a leader to be the ‘mother’.

Line players up facing the ‘mother’ at least 10 feet away—further works well and makes the game last longer.

Give commands to the players one at a time. Say, for example, “Anna, you may take one step forward.”

Wait for the player to respond. If she says, “Mother, may I?” answer either, “Yes, you may” or “No, you may not.”

Make sure the player asks the question and follows instructions. A player who fails to respond to the mother is out of the game (see why we like this one).

Continue giving commands to the players in any order that you choose. Make them more fun by including crab walks, twirls, doing a dance, etc.

Play until only Mother and one player are left. The last player left in the game is the winner.

Trip up players by calling out commands quickly and with authority. Mix them up with questions that aren’t commands to get them out…for example, they have to respond to requests such as “Jump up and down,” “Sit down” and “Tell me your name” are commands. Things like “How old are you?” and “Why are you looking at me?” are not commands.