Play at home
Taskmaster tasks you can set at home, with what you need and any changes to make them work. Most prize tasks make a good party game: everyone brings their best thing and one person judges.
Series 1
Most unusual item
- Ready to play
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors or garden
- 10 min
You need: anything from around the house
Eat as much watermelon as possible
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Garden
- 2 min
Prep: An adult cuts each watermelon into slices beforehand (or let players break it open on the grass).
You need: watermelon
Completely empty this bathtub
- Needs tweaks
- Great for 3–7
- Garden
- 10 min
Tweak: Use a paddling pool or big tub of water instead of a bath; no tipping it.
You need: paddling pool or big tub, water, cups, jugs and sponges
Pop on a onesie in the tent
- Ready to play
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors or garden
- 5 min
You need: pop-up tent, onesie or dressing gown
Find Alex
- Needs tweaks
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors or garden
- 5 min
Tweak: One person hides; each player is timed finding them.
You need: timer
Most impressive item
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- 10 min
You need: anything from around the house
High-five a 55 year-old
- Needs tweaks
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors or garden
- 5 min
Tweak: The host picks the exact age of someone at the gathering; players ask around to find and high-five them. No approaching strangers.
Identify the contents of these pies
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors
- 10 min
Prep: Buy or bake a few pies with different fillings and remove any labels.
You need: pies with different fillings
Do something that will look impressive in reverse
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- 20 min
You need: phone with a reverse-video app
Crack the code, unshackle yourself and sprint 1 metre
- Needs tweaks
- 8+
- Indoors
- 10 min
Tweak: Lock away a prize instead of shackling a person; first to open it and sprint a metre wins.
Prep: Lock a prize in a box or bag with a combination padlock and hide the code in a simple puzzle (a riddle or sum).
You need: combination padlock, box or bag, paper puzzle
Most meaningful item
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- 10 min
You need: anything from around the house
Throw a teabag into a mug from the farthest distance
- Needs tweaks
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors or garden
- 20 min
Tweak: Cut the hour to 20 minutes.
You need: tea bags, mug
Using this device to track your route, create the best image for the Taskmaster
- Needs tweaks
- 8+
- Park or street
- 30 min
Tweak: Walk a 30-minute route in a park with a phone app tracking it, then show the drawing; children go with an adult.
You need: phone with a running or GPS-tracking app
Buy a gift for the Taskmaster
- Needs tweaks
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- Takes days
Tweak: Give each player a small budget and a week to buy or make the best present for the judge.
You need: small budget, e.g. pocket money
Get this egg as high as possible
- Needs tweaks
- All ages
- Garden
- 20 min
Tweak: No climbing: the egg goes up by building or throwing, never by standing on things.
Prep: Lay out a table of random items: string, tape, boxes, cups, a broom.
You need: eggs, table of random items
Stand up after 100 seconds
- Ready to play
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors or garden
- 2 min
You need: timer
What is Frank Skinner's age in minutes?
- Needs tweaks
- 8+
- Indoors
- 2 min
Tweak: Use the age of someone in the room; no calculators.
You need: paper, pen
Most beautiful item
- Ready to play
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors or garden
- 10 min
You need: anything from around the house
Make this ice block disappear as fast as possible
- Needs tweaks
- Great for 3–7
- Garden
- 20 min
Tweak: Cut to 20 minutes; no fire, kettles or hot water, only warm tap water, salt and effort.
Prep: Freeze a tub of water overnight to make an ice block for each player.
You need: block of ice, warm water, salt
Get to 11 points as fast as possible
- Needs tweaks
- All ages
- Garden
- 15 min
Tweak: Play any bat-and-ball game; first team to reach 11 points by any interpretation of the rules wins.
You need: any bat or racket, ball
Count the beans in the baked bean tin
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors
- 20 min
Prep: An adult opens the tins.
You need: tin of baked beans, tin of spaghetti hoops, small bag of rice
Memorise the names of an Australian rules football team
- Ready to play
- 8+
- Indoors
- 5 min
Prep: Print or write out any sports team's squad list.
You need: team list
Most valuable item
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- 10 min
You need: anything from around the house
Get this boulder as far from this place as possible
- Needs tweaks
- All ages
- Garden
- 20 min
Tweak: Swap the boulder for something heavy but safe to push or roll, and cut to 20 minutes.
You need: something heavy but safe to push, like a full laundry basket or a car tyre
Grow the longest nail
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- Takes days
You need: ruler
Make this bed to a hotel standard whilst holding hands
- Ready to play
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors
- 10 min
You need: bed, sheets, duvet and pillows
Make this Swedish person blush
- Needs tweaks
- 12+
- Indoors
- 10 min
Tweak: A volunteer who isn't playing is the one to make blush; no touching.
Blow up the biggest balloon whilst blindfolded
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors
- 2 min
You need: balloons, blindfold
Most satisfying item
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- 10 min
You need: anything from around the house
Get the lowest golf score using eggs
- Ready to play
- Great for 3–7
- Garden
- 20 min
Prep: Set out five 'holes' (cups or hoops) around the garden.
You need: eggs, golf club, broom or stick, cups or hoops
Stage a realistic blooper from a home movie
- Needs tweaks
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- 30 min
Tweak: Cut to 30 minutes; any fake falls land on cushions.
You need: phone
Make the best meal for the Taskmaster using ingredients beginning with every letter of the alphabet
- Needs tweaks
- 8+
- Indoors
- 30 min
Tweak: No cooking: build a cold plate in 30 minutes using ingredients for as many letters as possible.
You need: food from the cupboards, plates
Wearing boxing gloves, put the blue sweets in the empty bowl
- Needs tweaks
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors
- 2 min
Tweak: Use oven gloves if you don't have boxing gloves.
You need: bowl of mixed-colour sweets, empty bowl, oven gloves
Series 2
Most important document
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- 10 min
You need: anything from around the house
Place these three exercise balls on the yoga mat on the top of that hill
- Needs tweaks
- Great for 3–7
- Park or street
- 10 min
Tweak: Use three beach balls and a towel at the top of a slope in a park.
You need: three beach balls or other big balls, towel or mat
Get this potato into the golf hole
- Ready to play
- Great for 3–7
- Garden
- 10 min
Prep: Sink a cup in the lawn (or use a bucket) and mark a no-go circle round it with string.
You need: potato, cup or bucket, string
Find out the following information from this Swedish person
- Needs tweaks
- 8+
- Indoors
- 10 min
Tweak: A volunteer who isn't playing answers only by mime and drawing, never in words.
Prep: Write the list of facts to find out.
You need: paper, pen
Pack for your holiday
- Ready to play
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors
- 5 min
Prep: Lay out a pile of holiday things beside a small bag; more than will fit.
You need: small bag, holiday clothes and items
Trendiest item of clothing
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- 10 min
You need: anything from around the house
Make the best music video for a nursery rhyme
- Needs tweaks
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors or garden
- 30 min
Tweak: Cut the hour to 30 minutes.
You need: phone, dressing-up clothes
Using this camera, take a picture of an inanimate object that looks like you
- Needs tweaks
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors or garden
- 30 min
Tweak: Hunt round the house and garden for 30 minutes instead of 20 weeks.
You need: phone camera
Order the following pizza for the Taskmaster
- Needs tweaks
- 8+
- Indoors
- 5 min
Tweak: Someone plays the pizza shop on the phone; no calls to real shops.
Prep: Write the order and the banned-word list on a card.
You need: two phones or a pretend phone
Using these big chopsticks, get these potatoes into your basket
- Needs tweaks
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors
- 2 min
Tweak: Use two long wooden spoons or rulers held at the ends as chopsticks.
You need: potatoes, basket, two long wooden spoons or rulers
Best dinner party guest
- Ready to play
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- 10 min
You need: anything from around the house
Impress this mayor
- Needs tweaks
- All ages
- Indoors
- 20 min
Tweak: A grown-up dresses up as the mayor; players have 20 minutes to impress them.
You need: dressing-up chain or medal
Make the most unexpected silhouette on this screen
- Ready to play
- Great for 3–7
- Indoors
- 30 min
Prep: Hang a white sheet in a doorway and shine a bright torch or LED lamp from behind.
You need: white sheet, torch or LED lamp, household objects
Buy a gift for the Taskmaster
- Needs tweaks
- All ages
- Indoors or garden
- Takes days
Tweak: Give each player a small budget and a week to buy or make the best present for the judge.
You need: small budget, e.g. pocket money
Get a potato
- Needs tweaks
- 8+
- Garden
- 15 min
Tweak: Use ear muffs or headphones instead of earplugs; mark a small area each player must stay in.
Prep: Write the three instruction cards and hide a potato nearby.
You need: blindfold, ear muffs or headphones, potato, instruction cards