7 Saran Wrap Ball Games, Rules and Ideas

Hysterical Saran Wrap Ball Party Game

Supplies: Saran wrap, prizes/gifts, dice

Entertaining, fun and unique the Saran Wrap Game is a blast to play at birthday and Christmas parties. This wild game is big hit because the Saran wrapped ball is heavy, clingy, awkward, and full of prizes! We are going to go over Saran Wrap Ball game rules, game prep, game variations, and Saran Wrap game prizes you can place in the ball. We offer Christmas and birthday party prize ideas.

The Simple Premise of the Saran Wrap Ball Game
A party guest is given a large Saran wrap ball filled with prizes and must quickly remove the cling wrap as fast as possibly to get the prizes. However there is a limited amount of time to unwrap the Saran wrap ball. In most games this is based on rolling a pair of doubles with a pair of dice. Once that happens, the Saran wrap ball and dice are passed to the next player. Any gifts that are unwrapped during the players turn is their the keep. Play until you reach the center of the Saran wrap ball and the last prize is claimed!

Party Game Ideas has the standard game play and rules for the Saran Wrap Game and variations you can use to add a spin to your Christmas or Birthday party.

Game Prep – Saran Wrap Game
a. Get at least 2 rolls of Saran Wrap or if you want it to be harder go with Press and Seal (for teens and adults – lol)
If you have a large group consider making two Saran wrap game balls. (Like 10 people per ball.)

b. Lay out the prizes that are going in your Saran wrap ball.
Group similar prizes together and then organize from most valuable or prized gifts to less prized items.
You’ll want to do this as you want the best Saran wrap gifts closer to the center this builds excitement for the game.
However, Some people against this because if you always pass to the Saran wrap ball to the Right (or Left) then the people at the Start of the game get average gifts and the people at the end get really good gifts. (See Saran Wrap Variations for ideas to mix things up.)

c. Start making your Saran Wrap Ball
Take the best or one of your best gifts, hold it and start wrapping cling wrap around the item. Vary the direction of the wrap and press down, pull around and stretch the Saran wrap so that it clings together. We recommend that you break off the Saran wrap every three to four wraps, as this makes the game more fun and challenging as guests must know find the start of the new cling wrap to unwrap.

The tighter the wrap, the harder and more fun your game will be. If the your big gift is a large or really flat, consider getting a small bottle and placing a note inside stating what the gift is another idea is to write on a piece of paper and crushing the piece of paper into a ball and use that to start the center. (Imagine their disappointment when the get to the end a see a wadded up piece of paper!)

Rules and How to Play the Saran Wrap Game
a. Gather everyone around and into a circle. A small group can be around a table, and groups can use a room.

b. Before you announce the party game you are going to play. Determine who will be going first.
We like the idea of selecting something random. Like the person who’s birthday closest to Christmas 12/25, or any random date. One fun way is to count make sure you count the number of prizes inside the cling wrap ball and then say pick a number from 1 – 100. The guest is is closest the number of prizes inside the ball starts the game.

c. Bring out the Saran Wrap Ball!
Now that everyone is ready to play go get the giant Saran Wrap Game Ball and the dice. Hand the ball to the first player and the dice go to the person to the right of the player with the ball. We recommend that the dice be rolled in a box, so they don’t end up all over the room during the excitement of the game.

Explain Rules
When the host says “Go,” the player with the Saran Wrap Ball starts to unwrap the cling wrapped ball of gifts and prizes. As they unwrap it any gifts/prizes that come unwrapped become theirs to keep.

While the player is unraveling the cling wrap party ball, the player hold the dice is rolling them to get doubles. Once a pair of doubles is rolled, the Saran wrap ball and the dice are passed to the right. So the player who rolled the dice is handed the saran wrap ball and the player who has the dice passes them to the player on their right.
– At kid’s parties it is helpful to have an adult confirm the doubles and say “Pass” when doubles are rolled. This removes any confusion during the game.

For the remainder of the Saran Wrap game player continue to unwrap prizes, roll dice and keep passing until the final prizes in the center is claimed.

Please see Saran Wrap Game Variations, Team Play and Challenges below.

Saran Wrap Ball Prize Ideas for Christmas and Birthday Parties
Need ideas as to what to place inside your Saran Wrap Party Game Ball?

The first thing you need to do is cater to your audience. Is this for kids, adults, teens or the office, and then come up fun, silly, lucky, and sought after items.

Be sure to avoid glass items, pointy items that might have sharp edges, fragile items, and anything large. Note – You can always include a large item in the ball via a gift tag and write the gift item on it. This way the item is a big surprise after all.

Kid’s Birthday Saran Wrap Game Prizes
Various party favors work well – Temporary tattoos, mini stuffed animals, candy, small toys and party favors, fidget spinners, punch balls, cards, whistles, small coloring books, chocolates, noisemakers, socks, a dollar coin, gum, bouncy balls, bubbles, beads, stickers, glow in the dark items, and so on. We found a mix of toy assortments for parties on Amazon.

For Kid’s Saran Wrap Christmas Games
You can use holiday party favors, but include ornaments, holiday socks, candy canes, beads, Pez, card games, reindeer, elf, and Santa themed items. We found this Christmas toy assortment on Amazon.

Adult Saran Wrap Game Prizes for Christmas Parties (when most adults play this game)
Gift cards, lottery tickets, little tiny bottles of alcohol, chocolates – truffles, scarf, colorful socks, lip balm, Altoids, movie tickets, hand sanitizer, bath bomb, small candles or fragrance items, 5-hour energy, and dollar bills are always welcomed.

Saran Wrap Party Game Variations

1. Options to make the game HARDER to Play
a. Contestants must wear mittens when unrolling the cling wrap prize ball.
b. Use Press and Seal and pressing and sealing it down every chance you get.
c. Use strips of Saran Wrap to create your ball. It is easy to follow one sheet, as you just keep unrolling. However the game changes guests must search for where the new layer of Saran wrap begins. So Evil, so fun, it’s diabolical!
d. Blindfold the person unwrapping the cling wrapped ball. Now the sense of touch is the key to their success.

2. Best for Young Kids – Everyone Gets a Saran Wrap Prize
a. Everyone wants to win a prize and with younger kids you want to avoid meltdowns, so we offer this party game variation. The ball should contain at least 2 gifts person guest and maybe a few extra prizes in case extra guests show up.

In this version, you may not always want the best gifts in the center of the ball. Mix it up and so good prizes are mixed in throughout the game.

During the game if the player unwrapping the Saran wrap party ball finds 2 prizes before the other player rolls doubles. Then the turn for that person is over and that person is out of the game (cannot unwrap the ball again) until every players has two gifts.

The ball and dice move on to the next person and only those people with 1 gift or no gifts remain active in the game. This continues until everyone has 2 prizes/gifts.

If there are still some prizes left in the ball, everyone joins back in the game and you play until all the prizes are unwrapped. During this final round you may want to limit them to one more additional prize.

b. This Saran Wrap game version does not include dice, instead you use a timer, numbers and you have one gift per player. (again maybe 2-3 extra gifts wrapped in the ball in case extra people show up.) Using small sheets of cling wrap is preferred in this game as players turns are based on time.

Identify the number of guests for this game. You’ll need 1 prize per guest, plus 2-3 extras prizes to be rolled up in the game. You will also need slips of paper with one number on each slip, numbers will be from 1 to (whatever the total number of guests are) so it could be 10 or 20 or more based on your event. Have each guest pick a piece of paper before player begins and ask them to hold  on to that number.

Then gather all the players around the room and then bring the Saran Wrap Party Ball out and place in the center of the room. Let each guest know that when there number is called they will have twenty seconds to unwrap the cling wrap ball and find various prizes hidden in the ball.

Optional – To make things more interesting let them know that there are 1-3 items (You would need to do this) in the Saran wrap ball that have bonus prizes, we can’t tell you until the end. So any prize could have a unknown bonus prize. If you do bonus prizes, pre-determine the items before the game, maybe a candy bar, or a gift with a star on it or maybe even a specific colored item that there was one of that wins a bonus prize. It should not be the big prize.

Player should also be told to hold onto their numbers.

Play begins by calling the first number #1, the player shows their number and then heads to the ball to start unwrapping it. They have 20 seconds to find a gift. FYI – The first or second gift should be a pretty good gift so that everyone is motivated to try and get a gift.

If no gift is found in 20 seconds their time is up and the player with #2 takes their turn. When players find a gift during their turn, they take it and their turn is over. They are then out of the game.

Play continues until all players have taken a turn, a second round occurs if their are players that have not found a gift, rounds and play continues until all players have a gift/prize.

If there are still gifts in the Saran Wrap Ball once everyone has a ball, use a random number app (make sure they still have their numbers) to choose which player can take a shot of winning another prize. Play until the ball is unwrapped and all the gifts have been taken.

3. Saran Wrap Team Games
a. Saran Wrap Relay Game – Winner Takes All
This is the competitive Saran Wrap Relay Game for Teens. It is competitive and the winner gets to keep all the items found in the other teams Saran Wrap Ball.

FYI – Game Tip – Use Press and Seal or Short Pieces of Cling Wrap to make this Christmas game more challenging. Important – You need to use basically the same amount of scan wrap and prizes for each ball. So it is helpful to have at least two people making the balls at the same time, and doing the same amount of wraps. (You can switch between who is wrapping which ball, so that there is no advantage if one person does not wrap the ball as tight as the other. This way it is balanced.)

Divide the guests into two teams. (or three is you have three balls.)
Set a start line at one end and 15 feet away place the Saran Wrap game balls.
When the party host says “Go!”
The first person from each team will have 20 seconds (you can add time if you want) to race down to the ball and start unwrapping the Saran wrap and pulling out the prizes.
At the end of 20 seconds, the game host says – “Next” and the player who is unwrapping the ball must stop, put the ball down, pick up any prizes, head back to the start line, drop prizes, tag the next person and now the next player goes down and starts unwrapping ball.

Each interval of time after the first 20 seconds is 25 seconds.

Play continues as team member work feverishly to get to the center of the Saran Wrap Ball. The first team to unwrap the entire ball wins all the prizes in their ball as well as the other teams prizes.

b. Saran Wrap Ball Team Rolloff
In this Saran Wrap Game you have one Saran Wrap Ball per team and a set of dice for each team. You’ll want each cling wrap ball to be the same amount of wraps and include the same numbers of prizes. Works best to have two people when making the balls.

Divide the group into Teams. Teams of 8 or less is recommended, we would not go higher than 10 players per team. Create a Saran Wrap Ball with 10 – 15 prizes in the ball. Set the Saran wrap ball on a chair or table and a box with a pair of dice 3 feet in front of each team. Note: Each Team has their own ball and set of dice.

When play is about to begin. Team 1 steps up to their Saran Wrap Ball and the 1st player prepares to start unwrapping the ball. The 1st player from Team 2, grabs the dice.

When the party host says, “Go,” Team 1’s player starts unwrapping the ball. Team 2’s player starts rolling the dice trying to get doubles. Once Team 2 gets a pair of doubles. That player yells “Doubles,” the game host confirms the doubles and says, “Stop.” Team 1’s player must stop unrolling the Saran wrap party ball, tags the next play in team 1’s line, and the player that had been unwrapping the ball goes to the end of the team’s line.

Then the dice roller on Team 2, now moves to start unwrapping Team 2’s Saran wrap ball, while the 2nd Team member (who was tagged) starts roll the dice to try and roll doubles. The unwrapping continues until Team 1’s player gets doubles and when they do. The roll is confirmed and Team 2 is told to “Stop.”

This process of each Team taking turns unwrapping and rolling dice continues until one team completely unwraps their Saran wrap roll and then the game is over. The winning team gets all the prizes or at least knowledge that they are the winners.

c. Saran Wrap Clue Game
This Saran wrap game involves solving a riddle or a clue to win. So instead of prizes you will include letters or puzzle pieces in order to solve a clue and win the game. This can be fun as a stand alone game or used as part of a scavenger hunt. With a clue ball we recommend team sizes of 4 – 6. So be sure to have enough Saran wrap party ball for everyone. If you want you can play more than one round of the game.

Here is how to play as stand alone Saran Wrap Clue Game.
Come up with a word (7 or more letters) or and image (You will cut into 9, 12 or 16 pieces so they can make a puzzle) and then make sure you have letters and image puzzle pieces. The word or image should have something to do with your Christmas, birthday party or special event.

Now mix up the up the letters or image pieces and place one in the center to start the Saran Wrap Clue Ball. Now wrap the cling wrap around (break off the cling wrap into pieces to make the game harder) and after a few layers add another layer and then continue the process until all the letters are wrapped inside the ball. FYI – It is helpful to have two people creating the balls at the same time so that no team has an advantage.

Game Play – Each team is given a Saran Wrap Clue Ball then is 5 feet in front of them. When the game host says go, the first player from each team will have 20 seconds to unwrap the Saran wrap ball as much as possible and find the hidden clues.

When the game host says, “Time.” The players turn is over, they grab any clues (letters or puzzle pieces) they have uncovered and take it back to the start line. Where they tag the next player to go, that player will have 20 seconds for their turn. (If you feel 20 seconds is not enough move to 25 seconds per turn.)

Each team should have a tv tray or place where they can place there clues once they have been retrieved. This way they can try to figure out what the hidden word or image is.

Once a Team thinks they have the answer they yell, “Freeze” and the any players in the process of unrolling the ball must stop. They team then has 5 seconds to answer what the think the mystery word or puzzle is. Note – They get 1 Guess.

If they get it Right they win the game and the team gets prizes. If they guess the Wrong word, the Team that guess wrong is frozen for 30 seconds, while the other team gets a 30 second bonus to unwrap the ball find more clues. Once the 30 seconds are up the game returns to normal as player take 20 second intervals unwrapping the Saran wrap ball.

The first team to sole the mystery word or puzzle image wins.

4. Saran Wrap Money Ball – Lottery Ball Games
Adults often want to raise the stakes and throw in some cash or lottery tickets. This version takes more prep time, unless the party host is rich and doesn’t mind giving their money away. Lol. You have to collect funds for this.

In this Saran Wrap game is played like many of the others but the prizes are money or lottery tickets. It gives the phrase “Money Ball,”
a new meaning.

One key difference with this game is that Guests have to put money ($5 or $10) into the pot. This covers the cost of all the money wrapped up in the money ball or if a lottery tickets lucky ball.

This often works well with groups of 10 – 20 people. Once you collect the fund say $5 per person. Take the total cash and get money for you ball. I you have 10 people at $5 a piece that is $50. get 30 $1, 2 $5, and one $10.

Now get your Saran wrap and start your ball. Use press and seal for this game to make it really hard and be sure to rip the Saran wrap often so the path is difficult to follow. The harder the better as you are playing for money or lottery tickets.

FYI – Place a $5 or $1 as the last dollar bill, this way no one will know when to expect the $10 bill. Once you have wrapped all the dollars in the game ball you are ready to play.

Saran Wrap Money Ball – Lucky Ball Rules – Game Play
Have a hat with pieces of paper with numbers on them, (1-10 if ten people) then have people pick a number to determine the order. Place the game ball in the center of the room on a tv tray and have the players gather around it. (There should be a least 5 feet of open space around the ball.

The person with the number 1 is first to go and when the Game Hosts says go, they start a 20 second timer. The 1 player has 20 seconds to unwrap and find a much money or lottery tickets as they can. Once 20 seconds is up the Game Host says stop and player one must stop, put the ball down, take any cash that is 100% out of the ball and return to their spot.

Once player 1 is clear of the ball, now it is Player #2’s turn. The Game Host say’s Go and they get their 20 seconds. Play contineus as each player takes their 20-second turn to unwrap the ball and find money. Once everyone has gone once, you start again with number 1. Play continues until the Saran wrap ball is completely unwrapped and all the money or lottery tickets found.

It is always fun to play. Some guests win a few dollars and other lose a few, but it is entertaining to watch and play.

The Saran Wrap Game is hysterical fun for Christmas, Birthday and Special Events. It can be played by family, friends and strangers. It is pretty simple to set up and can be frustrating yet extremely fun to play.

Party Game Ideas has added ideas to make the Saran Wrap Game harder and variations that make the game fun for kids and competitive for teens and adults. This is a popular Christmas party game, but it can be played at birthday parties, graduations and other holidays. The best put able the Saran Wrap Game is that it is easy to adapt to your event, change the prizes, color of the cling wrap and how complex and large the ball is based on your event.

Have fun playing the Saran Wrap Game and be sure to share our page on the social media and use the #partygameideas so we can find your posts.