What If Chores Were as Fun as a Video Game?

Using the simple tricks that make games so addictive, you can actually make helping around the house engaging, rewarding, and maybe even fun.

By The ManageScreenTime Team |

How to Gamify Your Chore Chart

  • Give Chores a Rebrand: Stop calling them chores. They are now "Quests" with clear goals.
  • Create a Points System: Every quest is worth points, which can be traded for rewards (like screen time!).
  • Team Up for a "Boss Battle": Make big weekly chores a family activity where everyone wins a bigger prize together.
  • Let Them "Level Up": As they get good at a task, give them a new, more challenging one to build real-life skills.

If you’ve ever been amazed at how your child can focus for hours on a video game but can’t seem to focus for five minutes on cleaning their room, you’re seeing the power of good game design. The great news is that you can borrow those principles—clear goals, instant rewards, and a feeling of progress—and use them to make chores less of a, well, chore. It's called gamification, and it works.

Step 1: Create Your Family's "Quest Board"

First, you need to design your game. You don’t need an app or anything fancy—a whiteboard on the fridge is perfect. This is your family’s official Quest Board.

  1. List the Day's Quests: Write down the daily and weekly tasks. Be specific. "Clean your room" is vague. "Make your bed (5 points)" and "Put your toys in the bin (10 points)" are clear quests.
  2. Set the Point Values: Harder quests are worth more points. This is a great way to show that more effort equals a bigger reward.
  3. Define the Loot: Decide what the points can be “spent” on. 100 points could be worth 30 minutes of Roblox, or it could be a later bedtime on Friday. Let your kids help decide the rewards to get them more invested.

Step 2: Launch the "Game"

Get excited about it! Introduce this as a fun new family challenge, not as a new set of rules. Say, "I have a fun idea to make our chores feel more like a game. Let’s see who can earn the most points this week!"

Pro-Tip: Introduce a Weekly "Boss Battle"

A "Boss Battle" is a big weekly goal that the whole family has to work on together. Maybe it’s cleaning the garage or washing the car. If the team “defeats the boss,” everyone gets a special reward, like ordering pizza for dinner or having a family movie night. It’s a fantastic way to build teamwork.

Step 3: Keep the Game Interesting

Just like any good game, you have to keep it fresh. You can add new "achievements" for things like consistency ("You did your quests 5 days in a row!"). You can have special "events" like a spring-cleaning quest. And as your child masters their current quests, you can "level them up" to new ones, which is a great way to teach them new life skills.

When you gamify chores, you change the entire dynamic. You go from being the nagging boss to being the game master of a fun, collaborative team. You’re not just getting a cleaner house; you’re teaching your kids about responsibility, hard work, and teamwork in a language they already speak fluently.