Indoor games that survive a New England winter
Indoor games that survive a New England winter
From late November to somewhere around April, a garden in eastern Massachusetts is a decorative feature rather than a play space. The sports gear that gets used in those months is a different set of products entirely, and it is worth knowing what genuinely works inside a house.
The constraints indoors
Three things limit indoor play: ceiling height, breakables, and the floor. Any product that ignores one of them ends badly. A hard ball in a room with a light fitting is a matter of time, and a heavy base on a wooden floor leaves marks.
Everything below is chosen against those three constraints rather than against how impressive it looks in a photograph.
Hover balls
A hover ball is a disc with a cushioned rim and a small fan that lets it glide a few millimetres above a hard floor. It behaves roughly like an air-hockey puck across a whole room, which makes it one of the few genuinely football-like indoor games.
They work on hard floors and not at all on thick carpet. The cushioned rim is what keeps them from marking skirting boards, so the ones with a full foam edge are worth preferring over a bare plastic rim. Most are lit, which children care about considerably more than adults expect.
Dart boards with sticky or magnetic balls
A large fabric dart board with velcro balls is one of the few target games that is completely safe indoors and still satisfying. There are no points, no steel tips and nothing that damages a wall.
The useful detail is board size. A small board is a novelty; a board of around two feet across gives enough separation between scoring rings that aiming actually matters. Because the balls stick rather than bounce, these can be hung on the back of a door in a hallway where nothing else would work.
Mini basketball hoops
Over-the-door hoops are the most-used indoor sports product in most households, for the simple reason that they are always there and take no setup. A short shot at a small rim is a five-second activity that happens twenty times a day.
Two things to check: whether the door bracket suits the thickness of your doors, and whether the ball supplied is foam or rubber. Foam is the indoor answer.
Table games
Table-top foosball and similar games occupy a different slot: they are a sit-down activity for two or more people rather than something that burns energy. That makes them the right thing for the end of a winter afternoon when running around indoors has already been tried and rejected by everyone.
The relevant specification is the playing surface size and whether the unit clamps or sits on a table. A small table game that slides while being played is frustrating in a way that has nothing to do with the game itself.
Toss and catch sets
Velcro paddle-and-ball sets work indoors in a way that a normal ball does not, because the ball is caught by the paddle rather than by hand and the throw can be gentle. A hallway is enough space for a rally.
Protecting the floor and the walls
Two small habits make indoor play sustainable. The first is a rug or mat under anything with a base — it stops sliding and it stops marks. The second is deciding where the game happens before it starts, rather than after a lamp has been hit.
None of this makes a house a sports hall. It does mean that four months of the year do not have to be a total break from the games that get played in the garden.
Practical checks before ordering
- Check floor type: hover balls need hard floors, not carpet.
- Measure the door thickness before ordering an over-the-door hoop.
- Prefer foam balls for anything played indoors.
- Check board or table dimensions rather than judging from a photograph.
- Check whether the item stores flat, since it will be packed away in spring.
Where this sits in the shop
Everything discussed above comes back to one part of the shop: Baseball and Toss Games, which currently holds 2 listings between $25.98 and $53.99. The whole of it is picked and packed at Ice House Sports, 473 Washington St, Wellesley, MA, during Mon–Fri 11am–5pm, Sat 10am–4pm, closed Sunday — so anything written here can be checked by phoning the counter on ((781) 237-6707.
From our shelves
- Toss and Catch Ball Game, Kids Toddler Baseball Glove & Catch Ball Toys, Outdoor Games for — $25.98
- 6x6FT Baseball Net, Baseball & Softball Training net with Batting Tee, Strike Zone & — $53.99
What we get asked about this
How fast are refunds?
We issue the refund within 5–7 business days of the return arriving. Your bank then takes its own one to five days to show it.
Can I cancel an order?
Yes, before it is picked — usually within about 12 hours on a business day. After dispatch it becomes a return.
Read next
- Choosing a pop-up soccer goal for a small garden
- Basketball hoop heights by age, and why adjustable matters
- Setting up a batting net in a suburban yard
Ordering from Ice House Sports
Orders of $49.00 or more ship free anywhere in the United States, and a flat $5.99 covers everything below that. Handling takes 1–2 business days and carrier transit is normally 3–7 business days. Unused items can go back within 30 days, and if the mistake was ours we pay the return postage.
Questions about anything above go to [email protected], answered within 1 business day, or call (781) 237-6707. Full detail is on the Shipping Policy and Refund and Returns pages.