40 Ways To Help Pass Time after Doomsday

The thought of not having Internet and a working cell-phone post disaster (whatever that may be), is scary to me. Even though we humans lived for millions of years without blogs, Facebook, and Google, it’s going to be tough for most of us to kill time when there won’t be anything else to do other than survive.

deck of cards, dice, pencil, and paper next to Altoids tin
deck of cards, dice, pencil, and paper next to Altoids tin

To help alleviate the pain, I decided to write an article with all the different ways you can have fun, enjoy yourself, entertain yourself post-SHTF, or whatever you wanna to call it.

The Best Survival Games to Play Post-SHTF

A simple deck of cards will open the gate to so many games I can’t even fit them all in this post. Plus, these cards are also a good source of tinder if need be. Here’s what you can play:

  • poker
  • hearts
  • solitaire
  • old maid
  • and many, many more

The only thing to worry about is the fact that the cards will eventually get worn out. You can make a lot of toys with limited resources but a new deck of 52 cards that look all alike when faced down is impossible.

That’s why it’s always best to get high-quality plastic cards. Be sure to protect them by putting them in a zipper bag and/or an Altoids tin.

P.S. Don’t forget to save the rules of all these games in paperback and/or on your Kindle or tablet. You don’t want the fun to be ruined by arguments because no one can remember the rules.

Or, you can get a card game booklet, which includes all of the rules, plus their variations.

Books!

A lot of people throw away or give away their books because they now have tablets and Kindles. Kindles are great, particularly since they don’t need a lot of energy. On the other hand, a good old fashioned book is irreplaceable, especially in an extended power outage.

Since the chances of an EMP aren’t extremely high, having a Kindle loaded with eBooks is great. Just to be safe, wrap it in aluminum and place it in one of those Faraday cages you can get from Amazon.

As far as book selection, you can never go wrong with the classics. Your kids will find them both entertaining and useful, particularly since there wont’ be any school for them to attend.

Survival Board Games

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I just don’t know where to begin with the board games. Perhaps, in addition to the ones that you’re probably playing right now (such as the Settlers of Catan), you’d be interested in some survival board games?

Of course, no board game collection is complete without chess or backgammon. One way to find out which board games to stockpile is to get your family to put down their iPads and actually try them with you!

I myself have been playing chess since I was 4 and I find it excellent for developing one’s logical thinking.

Activities that Involve the Entire Family

Again, I don’t know where to begin. I know, how about with playing an instrument? Unless there’s a danger of being heard by neighbors, looters, and anyone else you might be hiding from, playing an instrument can provide hours of entertainment for the whole group.

Making Puzzles

Puzzles are always fun but the best part is – you can always squeeze some of your other stuff in the puzzle box. Maybe copies of your IDs and other important papers, maybe a credit card knife, a small mirror,  a few napkins… whatever fits in there!

Beach Ball Playing

Yes, you can stockpile any ball you want, but a beach ball, when deflated, takes very little space. It’s also easy to inflate with just your mouth, no pump needed.

Badminton

I chose this sport for several reasons. One, the shuttlecocks and the racquets are lightweight and take very little space.

Secondly, your entire family can play at once (provided you have enough raquets). Third, you don’t really need a field, a goal, or a basket, so you can play it in even the smallest clearing in the woods.

Kite Flying

Here’s a video of how to make one. Of course, as any other survival skill, it has to be practiced before SHTF. 😉

Kite flying: How to make a homemade kite

Frisbee

Instead of just throwing away old frisbees, why not stockpile them? They’re lightweight and take very little space.

Singing Songs

Again, lots of choices. Popular songs that area easy to sing include:

  • Hotel California (The Eagles)
  • House of the Rising Sun (The Animals)
  • Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver)
  • Let It Be (The Beatles)
  • Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel)
  • Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd)

Camping Games

Although camping is definitely not survival, there’s no rule that says you can’t borrow the games. I’ll mention just a few of them, if you know any others, please add them as a comment to this article.

Oh, you might want to write down the rules  (or find them somewhere online and print them) because you might not have access to them post-SHTF.

  • Scavenger Hunt
  • Hide and Seek
  • Truth or Dare
  • The Name Game
  • The Winking Assassin
  • Shoe Kicking
  • Noah’s Ark
  • The Name Game
  • SPUD
  • Catch, Don’t Catch
  • and more.

Skills That are Uber-Fun to Practice

We know by now that there are dozens of survival skills yo can learn. But which of them are more fun than others? I have a few for you:

Throwing Darts, Knives and Shurikens

Darts make a pretty good alternative survival weapon, by the way. Shurikens as well, although not many people have them and they’re a little dangerous for kids. If you’re going to use knives or shurikens, I suggest you watch your children closely.

Knives are a great way to hunt animals that are at most 30 feet (or 10 meters away) from you. If you want to make it harder and more realistic, instead of throwing knives in the ground, why not hang something from a branch and try and hit it while it’s swinging? This will make you all better hunters.

Crossbows and Bows

Nothing more to say here, you know what to do. To make things harder, have someone throw a bottle or something into the air for you to hit.

Misc.

Here I’ve put all the ways to kill time that didn’t really fit into any other category.

Making Love

Well, I couldn’t leave this out, right? Of course, the more condoms you stockpile, the more you can enjoy this without having to worry about babies. Making love will always be one of the “reptilian brain pleasures” that we’ll never grow tired of.

Playing with Pets and Farm Animals

Right now we may be giving likes to funny cats on Facebook (well, I don’t but most people are) but a day will come when we’ll finally play with real-life animals like we used to every day when we were kids.

So, please, get “Max” a bug-out bag too so he can make it out of the coming disaster situation alive and provide joy for you and your family just like he is now.

Consider getting some chickens or ducks or even some cows. They’ll not only be a delight to your children but provide you with a continuous supply of eggs, milk, and meat.

Well, meat is going to be tough with all the kinds trying to stop you from hurting their favorite playmates (like I used to do to my grandpa when I was young).

You know how useful dogs are post-SHTF but don’t underestimate the importance of cats. With no doctor in sight, mice can quickly spread disease unless “Felix” is there to catch them.

Swings

When was the last time you were in a swing? Swings are easy to make and are fun for the whole family.

Skipping Rope

Making and Playing With Origami Boomerangs

Heck, you can go ahead and play with real boomerangs but then you would miss all the fun of making one from a simple sheet of paper. Yes, they do fly if you do everything according to these instructions:

How to Make an Origami Boomerang - Rob's World

Drawing

This is yet another fun activity we’ve all forgotten. You can draw anything, including maps of your bug out location and its surroundings, wildlife, or just portraits of your loved ones.

Your Phone and Tablet

I’m not putting them here because you wouldn’t have thought about them, but to remind you to take precautionary measures.

The first thing you need is to have means of charging your gadgets, such as a solar charger.

The second thing I wanted to tell you was to make sure you place them in a Faraday cage, if possible, to protect them from an EMP attack.

Last but not least, it’s a good idea to stockpile your gadgets instead of selling them. You never know which one will work and which will die post-disaster.

Also, you might want to look into a portable hard-drive where you can make a full back-up of all your music, movies, and survival information.

There’s no telling whether the Internet will work if the grid stays up. Better safe than sorry. I recommend a drive with a capacity of at least 1 TB (one terabyte).

Birdwatching

I realize this may not be for everyone but you never know when curiosity turns to hobby and then the hobby turns to passion.

And all you need is a pair of binoculars… (P.S. Binoculars will also give you a chance to better inspect your surroundings if you’ve bugged out.)

Keeping a Journal

Keeping a journal can not only be relaxing but it could also be an invaluable asset to future generations who’ll want to know and learn about your survival experience.

3 thoughts on “40 Ways To Help Pass Time after Doomsday”

  1. Everything I have read about prepping leads me to believe that if you are dependent on meds and are infirm you are dead. Not sure how prepping will help. My husband and I are a whisper away from 70 with a host of medical problems. We are both licensed to carry and are going to a shooting range to improve our skill but I couldn’t stop a kitten never mind a full grown man. I am feeling pretty hopeless.

    1. Hi, Sunny

      Don’t despair. My husband and I are in our early 70’s and I think we can understand how you feel, but remember the old saying “where there is a will there is a way.” You are probably like me, just plain do not want to shoot or hurt anyone. On the other hand my husband could and would hurt someone if he felt it was necessary. I think if we keep our wits about us and concentrate on how to store the necessities in life along with some set aside to share with others. and treat others with compassion and understanding we won’t need to shoot. It might help to have little stashes of essentials stored and hidden in multiple places, and keep a little extra to help others, even to help the desperados that are acting like thieves. Treat them like decent humans needing a little help and understanding instead of the scumbags they appear to be and maybe you can bring out some of the good in them.

      We (my husband and I) both are dependent on meds and past the prime time when we were physically strong and much more healthy than we are now, but if you remember to treat people of all kinds with respect and kindness even the bad ones tend to soften up (at least that has been our experience). Once they realize you can empathize with them and treat them like people to be respected rather than dangerous animals they probably will soften up somewhat.

      I do not know if you are a Christian, but I am, and I have faced dangerous and frightening situations on several occasions, but the Good Lord has always protected me. One time I used an unarmed rifle to hold a home intruder at bay during the middle of the night. Well, actually I just grabbed a rifle out of the closet, told my husband it was loaded (it wasn’t) and handed it to him. My husband jumped on the intruder and stuck the unarmed rifle in his mouth and kept the intruder scared to death that my husband was going to shoot him until the police arrived. The police later informed us that the intruder was well known to them, and had an arrest record about two pages long.

      So, what! My God and protector is able to do all things. One time in Oklahoma He sent total strangers that I did not even know were anywhere around, rushing to help when I got totally and seemingly hopelessly trapped in my car in a pile of snow. They quickly had me out of the snow and on my way.

      On another occasion I was on a dirt country road near El Paso, Texas a few blocks away from a major overhead highway. The car was dangerously close to falling into a bar ditch. I had my young child with me, and made him get out of the car so he would be safe. I hoped I could but I couldn’t safely get the car back onto the road. My God sent an angel seemingly from no where (at least that I did not see from anywhere) to rescue me. He quickly and easily got the car back on the road and safety. He told me he was going to San Diego. I gave him a ride to the highway and down aways and then let him out where he asked to be let out, and he vanished so fast I didn’t even get to see where he went.

      Angels are messengers. Sometimes they are spiritual beings and sometimes they are human.

      If by any chance you do not have a relationship with our creator God, may I suggest that you get one. Yes, we are people and we endure hardships and trials and temptations and sometimes sorrows and evil treatment, but remember that though we have trials and tribulations and sometimes are mistreated in this world, a better life and a better world awaits.Sometimes angels are just people that God sends to us.

      I look for ways to get off meds, and search for articles in various media that tell how to substitute herbs and spices to use in place of meds when needed. Whenever I have been in danger or need, God has always provided what I needed just when I needed it. There have been times when I was in danger and didn’t even know it until later, but nevertheless God provided for me and protected me when I needed it.

      If you are not a Christian and do not know our Creator and Redeemer, I would suggest that you get to know Him. He is a wonderful God and protector.

      No matter what the main thing is to have a relationship with our creator God. He really does exist and really does care about us. Trust Him, obey Him, and rejoice in the knowledge that He loves you and is able to provide you with everything you need. He loves us, He made us. Yes, there is the wicked element as well as the good element on earth, but the time is coming when the evil elements and beings will and must be destroyed. Just make sure you are on the right side, and trust and obey your creator.

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