Social Skills Games: Friendship Scenarios for Kids and Teens

Scenario cards for joining in, disagreeing, being left out and online drama. Choose a response or act it out, then think about how the other person might feel.

GroupsKidsRelationships & connectionSocial skillsGames
10–20 minutesIn person and on video
Free interactive tool
Designed by Michael Thompson, MSc

Link copied – paste it to your client

If someone is hurting you or you don’t feel safe, tell a teacher, a doctor or another grown-up you trust. Childhelp (US and Canada): call or text 1-800-422-4453. In danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Outside the US and Canada, a grown-up can help you find a helpline in your country. Violence, threats or fear of a partner: US National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 (text START to 88788); elsewhere, your local domestic abuse service. Teens and adults in crisis: call or text 988 (US and Canada) or your local crisis line.
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Use with care

If a scenario touches real bullying or online harassment, stop the game and talk about it: tell a trusted adult, save the evidence, block and report.

More

If a young person has been asked for or has sent images, it's not their fault: report to the NCMEC CyberTipline (report.cybertip.org, 1-800-843-5678), use Take It Down (takeitdown.ncmec.org) to help remove images (outside the US, use your country's reporting service or the police), and follow your mandated-reporting duty. Skills are tools, not rules, and some children (for example autistic children) may want different but equally valid ways to connect.

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How to play

  1. Draw a scenario card: joining in, disagreeing, left out or online.
  2. Choose what you would do, or act it out loud.
  3. Guess how the other person might feel after it.
  4. See what usually happens next, then try another way if you like.
  5. Each kind choice grows the friendship garden.

About the technique

Practicing social situations through scenarios, role play and perspective taking is a core part of social-emotional learning (SEL). CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, organizes SEL into five competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making (CASEL, n.d.). Working through moments such as joining a group, disagreeing, being left out or online conflict targets the last three directly: noticing how the other person may feel, choosing a response, and trying it out loud.

Understanding others’ emotions is part of what makes this matter. In a longitudinal study of children from economically disadvantaged families, emotion knowledge at age five predicted social behavior and academic competence at age nine (Izard et al., 2001). At the program level, a meta-analysis of 213 school-based SEL programs found improvements in social-emotional skills, attitudes, behavior and academic performance (Durlak et al., 2011). Acting a response out lets a child try the words and get feedback before the real moment. This game uses those ingredients, but it has not been tested itself.

It suits children and teens individually or in groups, including school counseling and social skills groups. Treat skills as options rather than rules: autistic children and others may connect in different but equally valid ways. If a scenario touches real bullying or online harassment, pause and attend to it. If a young person discloses being asked for or sending images, make clear it is not their fault, follow your mandated reporting duties, and use reporting routes such as the NCMEC CyberTipline.

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For therapists: how to run it

Goal

The child or teen practices joining in, disagreeing kindly, coping with being left out and handling online drama, and considers how others feel.

In session

  1. Pick Kids or Teens in Settings, and the scenario piles that fit the client's goals (for example only Joining in for a shy child). The Online safety pile (a stranger asking for photos) is off by default: turn it on only one-to-one, never in a group.
  2. Read the card together. Let the client choose first, then ask: how might they feel? Talk about why before showing what usually happens.
  3. Try the practice out loud mode: you play the other kid, the client says their response with a friendly voice and face. Swap roles.
  4. Finish to see the cards played and the skills practiced; copy it for your notes or send it home as practice.

As homework

  1. Play a few cards, then pick one skill to try for real this week (for example asking to join a game at recess).
  2. Afterwards, tell your therapist what happened and how the other person seemed to feel.
  3. Tap Copy for my therapist on the result card, then paste it into your therapist's secure messages (client portal), or bring it to your next session. Nothing is saved, so copy or print before you close the page.

With a group

  1. Press Play together. Each round, one player acts out the response while the others watch on their own devices.
  2. Everyone votes privately what they would do and how the other person might feel; the counts show on all screens. The Online safety pile is never used in group play.
  3. Watchers tap the skills they noticed (friendly voice, facing the person, kind words). Then the next player takes a card.
Mandated reporting

Exercises like this can lead to disclosures of abuse, neglect or risk. Know your reporting duties before you start, and pause if one comes up.

Good to know

Social skills practice with the steps used in social skills training and SEL: notice the situation, think about how others feel, choose a response, and practice it out loud. Responses are friendly and assertive, passive, or unkind, so the feedback is about what usually happens next, never about being a bad kid.

Worksheets that pair with this tool

Assertive Communication Worksheet

Assertive Communication Worksheet

A passive, aggressive and assertive styles comparison, and a five-step assertiveness skills-training exercise.Adults and teensBoundariesCommunicationRelationshipsBehavioralCBTDBTPsychoeducational+52 worksheets 1 page eachConflict Resolution Worksheet

Conflict Resolution Worksheet

Four pages taking one dispute from Describe the Conflict through both perspectives to an action plan.Adults and teensCommunicationRelationshipsGottman methodPsychoeducationalSystemic relational+3Free PDF 4 pages“I” Statements Worksheet

“I” Statements Worksheet

Two pages pairing blaming lines with owned ones, plus five everyday scenarios for clients to rewrite.Adults and teensBoundariesCommunicationRelationshipsBehavioralCBTDBTGottman method+5Free PDF 2 pages

Sources & credibility

Method
Social skills training with role play and perspective taking (social-emotional learning)
Developed by
Social-emotional learning framework: CASEL; meta-analysis: Joseph Durlak, Roger Weissberg and colleagues
First described
1970s (social skills training); 2011 (SEL meta-analysis)
Approach
Social-emotional learning, CBT-based social skills training
Evidence
Practice-based (limited trials)A meta-analysis of 213 school SEL programs found gains in social-emotional skills, behavior and academic performance. Practicing responses out loud and talking about how others feel are core parts of these programs; this game has not been tested itself.

References

  1. Durlak J. A., Weissberg R. P., Dymnicki A. B., Taylor R. D. & Schellinger K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: a meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. Source
  2. CASEL. Fundamentals of SEL: the five core competencies (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making). Source
  3. Izard C., Fine S., Schultz D., Mostow A., Ackerman B. & Youngstrom E. (2001). Emotion knowledge as a predictor of social behavior and academic competence in children at risk. Psychological Science, 12(1), 18–23. Source

How it was made

Built by the Mentalyc team from the original method and the published sources listed here. Nothing you enter is stored.

Questions people ask

How do you teach friendship skills to kids?

Use short, real situations: joining a game, disagreeing, being left out, a mean message online. The child chooses what to do, thinks about how the other person might feel, sees what usually happens next, and then practices the words out loud.

What are good social skills role play scenarios?

Everyday moments work best: asking to join a group, saying no to copying homework, telling a friend a joke hurt, or responding when a group chat turns mean. This game has separate kids and teen sets.

Can I use it with a social skills group?

Yes. Press Play together: everyone votes privately on what they would do and how the other person might feel, one player acts it out, and the others tap the skills they noticed.

What should a child do about online bullying?

Don't reply or pile on, save the messages, block or report, and tell a trusted adult. If a scenario reminds a child of something real, pause the game and talk about it.

What is social skills training?

Social skills training teaches specific skills, such as joining in, disagreeing kindly or handling teasing, through instruction, modeling, role play and feedback. It is used with children and teens, including autistic youth and those with ADHD, often in small groups.

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Your game designer
Michael Thompson

Michael Thompson, MSc

Michael's background combines doctoral training in clinical psychology with research on motivation, learning, and emotional regulation.

More about Michael Thompson, MSc →

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Table Of Contents
  1. About the technique
  2. For therapists: how to run it
  3. Worksheets that pair with this tool
  4. Sources & credibility
  5. Questions people ask
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Made for use in therapy: a licensed mental health professional decides whether a tool suits their client and guides its use.

Children should use this with a parent, therapist or teacher, not on their own.

Educational practice aid, not a medical device. Not a substitute for therapy, diagnosis or emergency care.