A Good Cry (not you though!)

Price: $2 for some paper

Location: Not near your house / apt

Put signs up that says free Beagle puppy...if not adopted soon, will be put to sleep. Then set up voicemail on your phone to say "if you're calling about the puppy, we already put it down. If not, leave a message." -all in a heartless tone.

You will have people crying and saying ridiculous things on your machine to laugh about later.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Punishments

1 - Upside down body shot (out of the plumber butt-crack...only show an inch or so please) We don't want to punish everyone. Only the loser.

2 - Right side up body shot (for women)

3 - 1 piece of clothing

4 - Blindfolded for the next #X rounds

5 - Loser goes on their hands and knees and is the chair for the winner for the next #X rounds.

Ask out a Random

Price: $0

Location: Coffee shop (preferred)

The key to asking out a random person is finding someone who is somewhat open-minded and will try new things. Here's the idea....Throw a party with some of your buddies or set this up when you are going to a party. Make a note / letter that says something like (Party at 1XXX West XXXX St, Bring ANYONE you want. We are thinking like 100 people or so. I will be on Peter's cell (555-XXX-XXXX...etc.) Go into a Coffee shop where you're likely to find someone a little more open-minded. If you are a guy, ask a girl and say "have you seen a guys, about 6' tall, really good looking, name is John etc.? Well I am supposed to meet him here, but I have to run and I don't have my phone on me. He will be here soon, can you give him this? After you give it to her (him) strike up menial conversation for a minute, and hopefully they will read the card and you can invite them to the party casually.

Cheap and fun things to do in Minneapolis and St Paul

Radio/TV Contests

I never thought of myself as a lucky man but boy do these radio/tv contests pay off. Over my contest playing career I have won:

Chance to participate in a Deadpool (KQRS)
4 tickets to the Trail of Terror (K102)
The Bourne Trilogy on Blue Ray (KDWB
Preshowing of 21.(KDWB)
A sweatshirt and a Nerf Ball (KDWB).

All of the contests a very simple. Most of them you just have to enter your name phone number and email address. Some you have to call in and others you have to submit entries online. Either way it is a good way to find free things to do. KDWB has by far the biggest variety of things from Taylor Swift tickets to Lil Waynes new CD. Just go to the website of your favorite radio station or TV channel and look for "interactive" or "contests" and click around until you find something interesting. I would suggest staying local because your odds of winning a trip to the Final Four from CBS Sportsline are slim.

River Walk

Walk along the river by the Minnesota Science Museum. If you go early enough you can grab a hot dog and soda from a street vendor.

Price: $0 ($4 if you grab some food)

Location: St Paul Downtown

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Hockey (Quarters)

Everyone sets a beer in front of them. One person spins a quarter on its side and calls out someone's name at the table. That person is now the shooter. They hit the quarter with the back of their hand at someone's beer. Everyone else guards thier beer with their index finger and pinky (using the whole hand is illegal). If you're beer is hit, you were scored on. If you are scored on, the scorer spins the quarter again and you drink until the quarter falls off the table or falls on its side. Everyone at the table tries to keep the quarter spinning as long as possible.

One other part of the game is if someone decides to "pull their goalie." To do so, someone at the table whos name is not called may decide to yell "empty net" and take thier hand away from playing goalie. If they decide to do this and the shooter aims for thier beer and misses...it is the equivalent of the shooter getting scored on and they are the loser of that shot. Of course if they hit the beer of the "pulled goalie," which is quite easier with no protection, the one who pulled their goalie is the loser.

Price: $4 (just beer)
Location: Anywhere

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Beer Tasting

Local Beer Stores
Everyone brings a different kind of local beer and does a blind taste test with each kind of beer. Pretty straight forward.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Bridge Jumping!

This might sound Crazy, but if you're safe and make sure to be careful it can be a very exciting event. Yes, there is a chance you can get hurt. And yes, there is a chance that you can get in trouble, but that is often requried if you are cheaper than $7.

When I speak of bridge jumping, I'm not speaking of jumping off bridges that are millions of feet high with a parachute to catch you. I'm speaking of finding a nice size bridge that isn't near a busy road where it's safe to jump off and land into a deep pool of water. You could get in trouble with the local police, but I'm not sure what the punishement is. Just go to a small enough town where this is commonplace.

Other ideas like this:
- cliff jumping, if you can find a cliff around.
- building a rope swing into the lake.
- building a zip line to the lake.






BE SAFE!!!

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Indoor Gardens

Price: $5

During the winter... you can take a quick vacation by visiting local indoor gardens. You can use your extra $3 to buy a plant.

Minneapolis Metro suggestions:

http://www.linders.com/gardencenter

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wagners/177563190391

Cheap and Fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Home Run Derby

America's pasttime doesn't have to mean "watching baseball."  Why not get a tennis ball out and pretend you are actually a good hitter.  Studies have shown that hitting a tennis ball with a bat correlates with reduced stress level....alongside dilusionary visions of athleticism.

Location: Parks

Price: $0

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Free Samples Lunch

Price: 0$ (kind of)

Location: Multiple

This idea is kind of a cheat for PoorMan's weekend because it requires a membership. However, if you become a regular, you end up paying for the membership. Costco always has free samples and tons of them. Just come in during lunch time and walk up and down a few times and you should be set. If you are still hungry you can alway hit up the $2 pizza or $1.50 enormous hotdog. To make it a little more fun, try and figure out who the "regulars" are.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

COMO ZOO

Hey now this is a cute idea for all you fellows out there that need a cheap date idea. It's called a ZOO and there's one in St. Paul, MN that you can go to for free!!! But if you're feeling a little to cheap they'll accept donations that keep the ZOO running. The Como Zoo offers many attractions such as Lions, Tigers and Bears and many other interesting animals. There is also tons of gardens to walk through and mini golf if you're looking for a little competition.

So take a drive out to the wonderful COMO PARK ZOO and enjoy yourself. The location of the zoo is show on this map.

And after your done witht he ZOO enjoy a Burrito and Drink at Burrito Loco which is only 5 miles away!

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Taco Eating Contest- Taco Tuesday

This is an all time favorite.... Of course I enjoy eating and I eat fairly fast so it makes perfect sense. Gather up some of your best friends and challenge them to an eating contest. I enjoy going to Taco John's on a Tuesday and hitting up their .59 cent tacos. Grab 8 or so Tacos and start up the race. Now, the couple times I've done this the young ladies working at the store actually gave the winning some free potato Oles and some dipping cheese so feel free to flirt it up with the ladies behind the counter to add in a prize.

The only thing that was hard about this contest was dealing with the taco shells that were a tad big to go down the throat. But everything goes in LOVE and EATING CONTESTS.

Enjoy the meal and enjoy the competition.

Cheap and fun things to do in Minneapolis/St.Paul

Wacko Bingo

Make a bingo card of typical weirdos you would see in public places like a mall, the state fair, valley fair etc.

Examples:
1 - someone over 40 wearing overalls
2 - white person with dreads past the shoulders
3 - Someone wearing nails (the ones you hammer)
4 - a male with makeup
etc.

You and a friend bet your $7 on who wins at bingo.

Price: $7 Wager
Location: numerous
Example:


Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul















Cheap and fun things to do in Minneapolis/St.Paul

Knee Hockey Tourney!

Grab the Guys, Grab the Girls and tear a part one room in the house to make a fantastic Knee hockey rink. Build two nets out of whatever you can get your hands ON! If you have to, put marker on the wall go for it because it will be worth it! Play ONE on ONE or TWO on Two.... It doesn't matter, you'll love it and get a great work out.

General Rules:

Play up to 5, first to 5 wins the game. You can play series(best of 3,5,7, etc...) or straight up win and move on, loser take a seat in the crowd. It all depends on the time frame you're looking to fill! Draw up a bracket and draw names out to make the seedings. Give the Champion the right to something, possibly a free meal or something exciting?

Materials needed:

-ball of some sort

-2-4 mini sticks

-make two nets out of whatever you can find.(blankets, boxes, tape, etc... BE CREATIVE)

It's really quite simple and you can use your imagination to spice up the game.

Just make sure you stay on YOUR KNEES!

Let's Play Hockey

Cheap and fun things to do in Minneapolis/St.Paul

Poor Man Fishing

Take $5, use clear tape to tape it to a fishing line. Hide behind the corner of a relatively busy walking intersection and see who goes for it.










Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Free Stuff

Price: $.40 (one stamp)

This is a little sketchy, but kind of funny nonetheless. When I was younger, I wrote a letter to 3M and told them I was doing a science experiment and wanted to know if they could send me different kinds of tape they had. They immediately sent me tons of different tape with an understanding that I would send them the science experiment after I used it. I think this would be a funny, although somewhat unethical, thing to do if you're bored. Yes, I am saying pose as a kindergartner. Hopefully you can come up with something better than 3M tape though.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Wikipedia Labyrinth

It's a rainy day or you just feel like being inside on the computer. Here's a game you which requires TWO of more computers and a few creative thinkers.

Here's the game: WIKIPEDIA LABYRINTH

Start at wikipedia.com

Each team starts out on the same web page. For example: POOP

The next step is to think of another site that is completely un-related to the starting site.

For example: Christopher Columbus

Now the object of the game is to get from the POOP page, to the Christopher Columbus page with out typing on the keyboard and using only the linked words on the wikipedia page. It's a race to see who can get there first! It's an easy fun game to play when you're stuck inside or partying with a group. Make teams and have a blast crawling through the web.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Punishments

Punishments that have worked:
-15 Pushups on the table in your underwear
-Snow angel or Mud Angel outside
-Everyone at the table beat boxes & the loser dances
-Play the next game in a straight jacket
-Winners ducktape the loser to something/ someone for a given time
-shave someone's neck / leg above someone's face laying on the ground

more to come....

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Movie Maker

Price: $0

Xtranormal.com

This site, you can make movies with animated characters by just typing in what you want them to say. They sound like robots, but that almost makes it funnier. The platform they have you create it in is very simple. You can create a free account, but you may have to pay to share it with others.

Presidents and Assholes

This game is played by any amount of people. The more the better. You deal out all of the cards. Every man and woman for themselves. The only special card is the 2. The 2 is seen as a block or a "clear." To start the game, the player with the 3 of clubs starts. The next person must play the same number or higher. The next person will then play something the same or higher than that card. Some special rules:

1. Ace is high
2. Two cards of the same number counts as one card (higher than a King or Ace). Ie. two 3's is higher than one Ace
3. Playing the same card as the previous person skips the next person.
4. If, at any time, you have the remaining cards that will complete a set of 4, you can play them out of turn. Ie. if there are two 4's on the table and you have the other two 4's, you can play them out of turn. Once you play them, the cards are cleared and that person starts the game up again by playing any card they wish.
5. a "clear" or "2" clears any pile of cards and that player starts the game up again by playing any card they wish.

Game is best played this way, with no other rules. All of the other rules that I have played with only give advantage to the winner or loser. If you are playing with punishments, you DON'T WANT ADVANTAGES!

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Team Trivia

There are a lot of bars and restaurants around the metro area that offer free team trivia. Beer and apps are typically heavily discounted and prizes for the winners are a big bonus. Here is a running list of the options:

Burrito Loco- Dinkytown (Weds. @ 8 and 11) (.29 wings, $2 drinks)


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McCoy's- St. Louis Park (Tues. @ 9)

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Old Chicago- Eden Prairie (Tues. @ 9)
http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=old+chicago+eden+prairie&fb=1&gl=us&hq=old+chicago&hnear=eden+prairie&cid=0,0,12165390026755528090&ei=d4SGS6SJOY-Ytgf9iYytDw&ved=0CAkQnwIwAA&ll=44.858226,-93.432519&spn=0.008959,0.022724&z=16&iwloc=A
Old Chicago- Eagan (Weds. @ 8)

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Scoreboard- Minnetonka (Weds. @ 9)

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$0-$7

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

BARGO! TUESDAYS (9pm- close) at LYNDALE TAP HOUSE

It's called BARGO and yes it as fun and easy as real BINGO but it's FREE. This is a perfect idea for a group of friends that need to catch up or are just looking for a night out but nothing crazy. Drinks at Lyndale's Tap House in Uptown are well priced and on this wonderful night you can get $3 dollar effen Vodkas, domestic taps or Captain Morgan to help enjoy your time. The BARGO starts at 9pm and lasts up until closing. You can win prizes and if it's not your LUCKY day, no worries, you didn't have to pay to play any way.

Check out this website for other drinking nights around Minneapolis.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

3-card stud

Everyone has one mild shot or 1/2 shot in front of them. Everyone gets dealt 3 cards. You go around the circle just like poker and people decide if they are in or out. If they are out, they must take their shot. If they are in, they put their shot in the center. The people left all show their cards and the worst hand takes all of the shots in the middle.

Hands strength from best to worst:
-Straight Flush
-3 of a kind
-2 of a kind
-High card

We usually don't include straights or flush's...only the straight flush. Otherwise it gets too confusing for drunk people. This game is best played later in the night so people make irrational decisions about their betting.

Price: $0 (just drinks)
Location: Indoors

Cheap and Fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Serene Biking

Minnehaha Falls

Walk around or ride bikes. Bike rental is $8/hour.

Poor Man's SkeeBall

This works as a fun drinking game that is sure to be different than guessing whether a card is black or red and having to drink because you happen to be wrong.

For this you will need a broomstick, duct tape, tennis balls and small garbage cans. find a spot with a hard floor (not carpet) and duct tape the broomstick to the floor. Then set up some small garbage cans in a line behind the broomstick (lined up perpendicular to the broomstick). Each player then rolls the tennis balls from about 10 feet away trying to get them to bounce off the broomstick into the air and in the garbage cans. 1 point for the first can, 2 for the second, and 3 for the third. Basically the set up should look like skeeball where someone is "bowling" trying to get the balls in the cans.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Yard Games: Kubb ("Koob")

Kubb is a Swedish game easily made out of wood blocks. The link above will show the rules, however my friends and I made our own version of the game which I like better.

Each player or team sets up 5 4x4 blocks of wood upright in a line about 16 yards from each other. Just outside of these lines, designate a "playing area" with your shoes or something. In the center of the playing field you place one 4x4 block called the "King." Think of the king like the 8 ball in pool. If you knock it over any time throughout the game you lose, however you must knock it down in the end to win. To start the game, you take turns throwing 6 2x2 blocks of wood trying to knock over the other team's 4x4 blocks from behind your line of blocks. When you knock one down, they throw that block back on your half of the 16 yards and that block is set upright again. The next round, if the other team doesn't knock that newly set up block, you can now step up to where it landed and throw from there. Therefore the other team has a large incentive to knock these ones down. Once the block is knocked down a second time, it is out of the game. The game ends when one team knocks down all of the other teams blocks then knocks down the king in the middle.

Some FAQ:
-You can't throw the blocks side-arm like a helicopter
-You can knock down the 4x4 blocks when you throw back a 4x4 block the other team knocked down
-If a 4x4 block is thrown back out of play, the other team may place it anywhere, but no closer than 2 ft from the king.

Price ~$5 each (for the wood)
Location: Outdoors

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Volleyball Courts (outdoor) in Hennepin County

Location: Many
Price: $0
Set up a game of Volleyball at plenty of parks in Hennepin County.  Here is a map of all of them according to the County.


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Cheap and fun things to do in Minneapolis St Paul

Mystic Bus

Mystic Lake Casino Bus Routes

You and a friend take the free bus out to Mystic and put your combined $14 on one hand of blackjack. If you win, you can buy some drinks or decent food. If you lose, eat some of the free popcorn or peanuts at the bar and take the bus home. Good luck.

Price: $7
Location:

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Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Thrift Store

Sometimes the best ideas just come from going to the thrift store. UNIQUE in Burnsville is probably the best one I know of around here. The other day I walked around and was able to find some old golf clubs for about $1 each and some old tennis balls to play poor man's golf. If anything, its very good people watching.


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Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Poormans Putt Putt

You know this, but I'm reminding you.  You can put and chip for free at almost any golf course.  You can also pay the $5 to hit a few drives.  This time it pays to be cheap.  The best golfers work on their short game twice as much as their long game.

Location: Multiple

Price: Putting / Chipping $0, Driving ~$5

Why you don't mess with the Law

Go to the Hennepin County Courthouse downtown.  Monday-Friday you can go watch an actual trial. Go to the front desk…ask what is happening that day (criminal trials are especially interesting), and you can sit in the audience and watch.

Price: $0

Location: 300 6th Street South, Minneapolis, MN

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Farmers Markets

Farmers Markets

Every Thursday in the summer Nicollet Mall has a Farmers Market. Park your car at the 50th street station (free street parking), then take the train to Nicollet Ave. This will cost $1.75.   Also, Saturday mornings in downtown Hopkins.  There are tons of them.  There are also plenty of samples.

Price: $0 (buy what is in season to stay cheap)

Location: Multiple

Punishments

-go to the neighbors dressed inappropriately and ask for something obscure
-pose for a picture that someone else sets up
-prank call
-drink a blend of random things
-shunned in a closet for X minutes & sing
-butt stamp (color your butt with a marker and stamp in on a piece of paper as proof)

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Picture winners

Simple one...just get three teams of people each with a camera. Go to a public place and try to get the best picture (with a caption) possible. Put all of the pictures together at the end and vote on the winner. Everyone chooses their top 3 pictures (giving 3 point to their favorite, 2 for their 2nd favorite, 1 for the 3rd choice). You can't choose one of your own. Losing teams buy dinner.

Price: $0 (must have 3 cameras)
Location: Any public place

Peeing directions...
-Pull down pants then pee
he forgot the directions were written in English left to right

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Card Games: Hand and Foot

Hand and foot is a card game played with 4 decks of cards and four people (2 on each team). Everyone is dealt 2 sets of 13 cards to begin the game. One will be considered your "Hand" and one will be considered your "Foot." One draw pile will be places at the center of the table and the player in the starting position begins the game by drawing 2 cards from the pile. when the player's turn is up, they discard one card and the next player then draws 2 to begin their turn.

The first goal of the game is to get sets of 3 or more like cards. Once a player has 3 cards, they lie them on the table as "played." The first time a player plays, however, their cards must add up to a given number of points (depending on the round) or their partner (across from them) must have already amounted to that number of points. It is likely that you will have to lay down multiple sets in order to reach the point threshold.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

The second goal of the game is to add on to those sets of cards by playing them one or more at a time as the game continues. Once there are 7 like cards, they are considered a "Book" (red is it contains no wild cards and black if it contains 1 or more wild cards). You may only use one wild card for a set of three until you add a 4th card...then you may add a 2nd wild card. No book is to have more than 2 wild cards.

Once a player uses all of the cards in their Hand, they begin playing their Foot. Once a player plays their entire Foot, and they have 2 black Books and 2 red Books, the game ends. At this point, everything unplayed (in someone's Hand or Foot) counts against their team. Everything played counts positively for them. The team that goes out first gets 100 extra points. Here is the scoring and explanation of cards:

Joker: 50 pts (wild)
2: 20 pts (wild)
3 (black): 0 pts (cannot be played)
3 (red): -300 pts (cannot be played)
4-9: 5 pts
10-K: 10 pts
A: 20 pts

Black books: 200 pts
Red books: 300 pts

There are 4 rounds of the game. For each round, you need a certain number of points to lay the first cards for your team:

Round 1: 75 pts
Round 2: 100 pts
Round 3: 125 pts
Round 4: 150 pts

Discarding:
You may draw from the discard pile in place of your normal 2 card draw provided that:
-there is not a 3 as the top card
-your team has already met the required points and played your first set(s)
-you must take 5 cards (unless there are less than 5 in the pile, in which case you take whatever is there)

Super Fans

1 - You and some friends find out when there is a local little league baseball game or football game (any outdoor sport).
2 - Don't get drunk (so you don't get arrested for public drunkenness).
3 - Paint your face and get decked out in team colors.
4 - Go to the game and cheer for the team like you were a frat guy at a college game.
5 - Have a non-conspicuous bystander planted in the stands to tape the whole thing.
6 - Running across the outfield mid-game is optional but highly recommended

** you just have to be careful not to do anything illegal **

Price: $3 (for facepaint)
Location: Any local park

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Drinking Frisbee Golf

143 Frisbee Golf locations across Minnesota. You can often find disc on the course, or bum a smoke to one of the shirtless backpackers for one of his frisbees. Usually we play with 3-4 people and loser of each hole takes a shot of whiskey -a good start to a summer night.
Price $0-$5 (depends if you have a frisbee already)
Location:Disc Golf Locations by City

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Mafia

Price: $0

This is a common game that you have probably heard of. Basically it is a game of lying. You need about 6-12 people. Everyone gets a card that only they see. One person will get an Ace, one will get a King and one will get a Queen. The rest get a different number (any number). The Ace acts as the Killer, the King is the Cop and the Queen is the Medic. Everyone else is a simple townsman. One person runs the game and does not receive a card. It is possible to have 2 Killer and 2 Cops, but only if you have 10+ people.

The game starts by everyone putting their head down except the person running the game "person without a card"(Master).

The master then says, "killer, put up your head and point to the person you want to kill." Then the killer does so, and then puts his/her head back down.

Then the master says, "Medic, put your head up and point to the person you want to protect this round." The Medic does so and then puts his/her head back down.

Then the master says, "Cop, put your head up and point to the person you want to accuse." The cop points to someone and the master then nods whether or not the pointed at person is the killer." The cop then puts his/her head back down.

The master then says, everyone put your heads back up. The master then says 1 of 2 things...

Situation 1 - "There was a murder last night...John (the person pointed at by the killer when everyone's heads were down) was killed" - then John is out of the game

Situation 2 - "There was an attempted murder last night" (the person killed by the killer was also protected by the medic). This gives more information out, as the medic now knows who is NOT the killer.

After one of these situations is stated by the Master, everyone as a group decides to put one person do death (trying to find the killer). Once the group decides, the game continues with the second round. During the trial debate for who to kill off, the cop tries to subtly convey the information they have gained from the last round to the rest of the group without being dubbed as the cop. That is of course, because the killer will likely kill them the next round if he/she figures out they are the cop.

The game ends when the killer is killed off by the group, or when the killer has killed everyone else off.

The game will be boring unless the killer plays well. Its also a good drinking game if you decide to have everyone drink when someone is killed off (3 drinks every time someone is killed if you are already out of the game)

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Parking space devil

You know those people who have to park in the back of the parking lot because they think their car is special and cannot afford to have it scratched by someone opening their door? Well, all that does for me is shows me they will have a great reaction to someone messing with them. My friends and I used to go get tons of shopping carts and outline their car with them. We wouldn't scratch up their car or anything, just surround the car with carts. It is best to do after sunset so the Walmart workers don't move them. You also have to be a bit patient because you want to see the person come out of Walmart and you don't really know when that is.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Left Right Center

Price $2 (3 dice & pennies)

Left Right Center is a simple dice game that can be played with tons of people. All you do is sit in a circle, and give everyone 3 pennies. You will need to write on 3 dice the letters L, R, & C on three of the sides. One person starts the game by rolling the three dice. For every die that has an "L", they give one penny to the person on their left. For every die that has an "R", they give one penny to the person on the their right. For every die that has a "C", they put one penny in the middle of the table. The middle of the table is the "pot". Once all of the pennies, except one, is in the pot, the game is over. The goal is to have the last remaining penny.

There are plenty of ways to make this a drinking game or for money. Using quarters will put the pot at around $10 is you have 14 people. Giving shots to all losers, giving the winner the ability to send out 5 shots, taking a drink every time the dice is rolled when a player has no quarters in front of them, etc.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Bad golf viewing

Adjacent to Eden Prairie High School, and many other places, have golf classes for individuals looking to just make contact with the ball. I was visiting the beach at Round lake (adjacent to EPHS) and parked my car right in front of these classes. I laughed so hard, that I sat in my car for about 20 minutes before I went outside to the beach.

Price: 0$ (Gas to get there only)
Location:
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Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Small-town tour

Some of the best summer weekends are due to small town street dances. Its sometimes hard to find out where these are and what weekends, but almost every small town in northern MN and western WI have them around the 4th of July. The best way to find these out is by calling the local city governments of counties. I've been trying to figure out how to get a list of different ones for every weekend one of these summers.

Typically there will be:
-cheap beer
-outgoing crowd of people
-cops drinking with 16 yr old locals
-live music / dancing
-exposed love-handles
-no one you know (which is essential to being crazier than usual)

Last time I was at one of these at a bachelor party, we traded a can of beer for a dog. Luckily we found a someone willing to take it from us at the end of the night.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Bucket List

It sounds simple, but it is worth it. Just make a list of 99 things you want to do before you die. Make them obscure, but feasible. Then go show it to a friend and tell them to pick one right now and go do it. Next week do the same thing with someone else.





Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Aspiring Stand-Ins

Price $5 (for copies)

Use your computer to make a professional-looking postcard that says something like this:

$500 for 2 days of acting. If you, or someone you know looks like the person below and is roughly 5'10-6'3, please send their picture to (insert an email address that you created just for this purpose). Warner Brothers is shooting a film locally and is looking for a stand-ins. The scene being shot will last 2-3 days and pay $500. We will respond to your email if you qualify for the part.

Word it however you think necessary, but you should get some pretty funny pictures of people that look like your buddy. I'm sure people will write some pretty funny stuff too. All you would have to do is get copies made and post them t coffee shops, libraries, schools, and bus stops.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Roofball

Price $0 (assuming you can find a soccerm / basketball / football or something)

Usually I play with 3-4 people otherwise it gets a little easy. All you do is find a roof that is a bit over your sight line (a roof where you can't see the actual roof when standing within 6 ft of it or so. Before the game, denote the boundaries on the roof on the left and right. Try to make them somewhere around 20 ft or so (the size of a two-car garage roof). Also, decide an order of who will go after who. One person starts by throwing the ball on the roof. The next person goes by throwing the ball back on the roof while not touching the ground (jumping in the air). Basically you try to keep the ball from touching the ground, by going in order, and jumping in the air every time you play the ball.

When a player screws up, they get a strike. After 3 strikes you are out. Simple? Trust me it gets to be pretty fun once people start figuring out how to get people out. Also, playing with a football makes it a bit more difficult if you think it is too easy.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Speedball

Price: 0$ (cheap kickballs are arounnd $10-20 but split across 8+ people, its <$7)

Speedball is a game played with 8+ people outside on a football field. I like it because it gives a chance for people that play different sports to compete in something that is nuetral.

The game is played like this:
-two teams line up like you would in basketball or soccer in the middle of the field with a soccerball or kickball in the middle of the field. One team kicks off to start. There are 3 ways to advance the ball:

Soccer-like: The ball is advanced like soccer, except that you may use your hands only if the ball is lifted off of the ground with one's feet or as a deflection off someone's body.

Football-like: Once the ball is in someone's hands, legally, they may pass the ball forward, as in football.

Basketball-like: They may also choose to "airdriblle" which means a player throws the ball in the air, takes a few steps, and catches it again. You can only do this one time before passing it to someone else.

The goal of the game is to score points 1 of 3 ways:

Touchdown: (1 pt) just like football
Dropkick: (2 pts) punting the ball (from a dropkick) through the uprights
Field Goal: (3 pts) kicking the ball (off of the ground) through the uprights

Other rules:
If the ball ever goes out of bounds, it is started again like soccer where one person throws an overhead pass to start the game again.

Bodily contact works like it would in each respective sport. When the ball is on the ground, soccer rules apply, in the air, football rules, and when dribbling, basketball rules.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Off to the RACES!!! Go Horsey GO!

It's Thursday evening and you don't have anything to do, and you're sick of going to the same bar or just going home to rest. Try giving the horse track a chance. Canterbury park in Shakopee, MN has a great deal on Thursday Nights to provide great entertainment for those that enjoy sports and animals. The race track will grant you access to the park for 1$, allow you to eat hot dogs and nachoes at a 1$/piece, all while being able to place dollar bets on a few horses while they race around the track. If you're not sure what to bet on, just stand around the parade area to over hear some experts picking their horses. Or better yet, be bold and pick the horse with your favorite name... WHO knows, you could pick the big underdog winner and go home with some extra cash. BUCK NIGHT starts on JUNE 16th and runs through AUGUST 25th. So call up some friends and tell them to head out to the races. You'll be glad you did!

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Lightning (Ping Pong Balls)

Everyone sits in a circle at a table. You need at least 2 ping pong balls (the more the better). The game is played just like the basketball lighting game. Place a large glass cup (wide ones are better). Fill is half full of water (this makes ball retrieval easier). One person starts by bouncing their ping pong ball into the center cup. The person to their right immediately starts after they do. If you make a shot, you pass your ball to the left. If the person on your right sinks thier shot before you do, you're out. Once you are out, you drink 1/2 of a beer and another 1/2 of a beer every time someone else goes out. This is why you want to hang on as long as possible.

In the second round, the winner of the previous gams starts and 2nd place sits to their left, the 3rd place sits left of 2nd place and so on.

Price: ~$6 (just beer and ping pong balls)
Location: Indoors anywhere

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Campus Golf (Poor Man's Golf)

Go to any park and play golf with tennis balls and trees. Don't over-think this one.

Price: $0 (just need tennis balls)
Location: Outdoors






Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Mystery Drink

This one is simple. You pour your friend 2 identical drinks each with the same 3 ingredients...anything you want. Your friend gets 3 guesses to figure out all three of the ingredients. If he/she can guess all 3 of the ingredients, you lose and drink both of the glasses. If he/she can guess only 2, you each drink one. If he/she can guess only one or none, then you win and they drink your mix of tabasco sauce, vodka and pineapple juice (or whatever nasty combination you came up with).

Price: $0 - just stuff in your kitchen
Location: At Home













Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Beach Day

Get a couple of friends together. Find your favorite recreational ball and head to the nearest public beach. Pack up the cooler with some ice from the fridge. Grab whatever beer was leftover from the previous weekend(retail value $4). Buy a high quality fruity beverage and just soak up the sun for a couple hours. Great way to get tan and also a good time for you Stags out there to put up a little advertisement to all the young Phillies out there. People love to come together for a friendly game of volleyball and then the best part is you can cool and clean off at anytime.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Larpers

"LARPing" is an acronym for Live Action Role Playing. If you have never heard of or witnessed Live Action Role Playing, you are seriously missing out. Its basically where people get in character like someone out of Lord of the Rings, Warcraft, or whatever fantasy storyline you can think of. They have a all-encompssing storyline that individuals are written into and they act the story out in person. I really don't know much about it, so if you haven't seen the movie Role Models, watch the video below for a taste of what you are missing out on.

Price: $0 (to watch) $~ (if you actually want to participate)
Locations: Local Larper Chapters



Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

St. Paul Saints game

Tickets are $4 for general admission and the food and beer are very cheap. The games are fun, with a lot of side attractions throughout the game in case you're not a baseball fan. Just north of 94 off of Snelling Ave., there is a lot of potential for post-game destinations, as both Minneapolis and St. Paul are just a few minutes away. It’s also a good meeting place when you’re meeting friends who are scattered around the Twin Cities.

Price: $8

Location:

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Geocaching

Geocaching.com

Geocaching is a game where people have hidden items around the world for others to find. What they do is document the positional coordinares (latitude, longitude) and post it on the Geocaching website. You can then take your GPS device and go to the exact coordinates to find the hidden item. Common courtesy is that you bring a different item to leave in place of the one you take. Some items will be as boring as a pencil, while sometimes you can find gift cards...anything someone decided to leave.
Price: $0
Location: Anywhere

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Beer Darts

Darts are a staple at nearly every bar, bowling alley or arcade you might find yourself in. But other than the occasional Sunday matinée on Fox Sports Channel, how often do you actually see people playing competitive darts? Here's an outdoor modification that'll have your friends diving to the ground in an effort to save even the skunkiest of beers.


What you'll need:

• Beer; you probably won't need more than a 6 pack per person. If you want to do it the poor man's way, buy a case and split it with your friends.
• Dart(s); surprisingly K-mart might be your best bet to purchase the metal tipped darts you'll need for this game. The initial purchase can be a hefty one (pack of 3 for $15) but they last forever.
• Lawn Chairs or something comfortable to sit on; the higher off the ground you are, the better the throwing angle.

Rules:

Beer darts, as it is affectionately called, challenges both your aim and chugging abilities. Begin by seating all competitors in a large circle, ensuring that there is at least a few feet separating each person. Have everyone shake up one of their beers and place the unopened can on the ground between their feet. FIRE AWAY! Take turns throwing the dart at your neighbors beer (be a man and throw it at someone other than the person sitting right next to you). If the person throwing misses your can, you pick up the dart and shoot.

• 1st dart to puncture your can = drink the beer down to the level where the dart entered your can (don't get sprayed in the eyes)
• 2nd dart to puncture your can = finish the beer
• A dart that punctures the top of the can/lid = shotgun your beer
• 3 can "hits" without breaking = lucky you, you drink your entire beer
• The dart gets stuck in your foot = play better

Continue playing until all the beer is consumed or until you are consistently hitting your competition with the dart more often than the cans.


Modifications:

• Try 16 ounce cans; not only is it easier to hit the intended target, but the explosions are undeniable more outrageous
• Introduce multiple darts into the game; who says you only have to play one at a time?!
• Slip your buddy a can of Michelob Golden, the ribbed for pleasure design is sure to bust early and often
• Use large handles/plastic bottles of Ron Diaz (or other hard liquor) for friends who have bad aim

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Vodka Roulette

Four or more people & shot glasses for each person
Water
Vodka
Everclear

Pour one shot glass of Everclear, 1-2 shot glasses of vodka the rest with water. Hand out the full shot glasses and don't allow anyone to smell them. If someone smells theirs, they drink them all. On someone's count. Everyone takes their respective shot whether it be water, vodka, or everclear. Whoever gets the everclear pours the next round.

Price: ~$5 a piece
Location: Anywhere

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Way Better Explosive!!!

The Works Bomb is a fun little experiment that can be used to impress just about anyone that's been sheltered in their life. I've used this pretty little baby to attact many little ladies, and a bunch of cool guys.

Here's the trick to the Works Bomb. First you need to find a bottle that can be capped very tightly. The best bottles are generally your normal 20 oz pop bottle. They seem to be the perfect size. Next you'll need a sheet of tin foil. A sheet the size of a notebook should be the right amount and you want to rip the tin foil into pieces so you can roll tight tin foil balls, approximately the size of a small marble. The tighter the ball is wrapped the better! Make about 20 of these small balls. The next step is to pour Works(a toilet bowl cleaner) into the 20 oz bottle. Fill it up about 1/4 of the way. After you've filled up the bottle you are ready to find a safe place to blow up the bottle. Give it room to breathe because this baby is very powerful! Once ready you'll need to put the 20 tin balls into the bottle and cap it very tightly. Shake for about 5 seconds, HARD! Set bottle down, and run away! It takes about 30 seconds for the bottle to explode.(longer in cold weather.) Sit and wait with you friends to see a fantastic bang.

Be careful with the bomb because it could hurt someone. If you are careful nobody should get hurt.

Pimp for 20 min

Price: $0

Location: Nearby

Get your nicest suit, or at least pop the collar on a lacoste polo. Bring your arm candy with if available to show you're a legit baller. Then head to the nearest Maserati or Mercedes dealership and test drive cars you'll never own because a) you won't have enough dough and b) you're not a tool.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis / St Paul

Free Podcasts

Itunes Podcasts Preview
This one unfairly assumes you have a computer, ipod, or some device with music-playing capability. Most people already know about this, but I don't think enough people utitlize what is offered. Podcasts are recorded radioshows that are freely available on Itunes or on the particular publishers website. Not only are comedy shows, typical radio shows, sermons and audiobooks available. You can also take classes from Stanford, Harvard, Yale and other colleges for free. Most of these are just lectures, but some places offer video podcasts which is basically the same as being in class. If you like learning new things but don't want to pay for it, next to reading articles, this is the best way of getting credible information from highly-regarded sources.

Good Podcasts:
Wall Street Journal This Morning - daily news
Zencast - Buddhist sermons
NPR Economy - every 3 days economy news
NPR Technology - weekly tech news
How Stuff Works Stuff you should know - random topic research
How Stuff Works Tech Stuff - weekly tech news
Radiolab - random topic research / lectures
Woodland Hills Church - St Paul MN church sermons
TIME Financial - Weekly finance
Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders - Stanford Entrepreneurial class

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Baseball Betting

Sports Betting.com

Take your $7 and place it on a team to win the World Series, League Championship, or Division Championship. Odds for the Brewers are about 35/1 and the Twins are about 20/1. Betting now will make the last month of the season a little more interesting.

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Frisbeer

This game will take a good partner and a little competitive spirit. A drink is required too.


Supplies
Frisbee(free)
Four stakes about 4 feet tall($6)
Red cups($1)
Case of Beer 30($12)

You can split all of these expenses between about 4 or 5 people so you should be well under the $8 mark.

The game

Stick two of the stakes int he ground about a foot and a half apart. Then walk about 20 feet and do the same thing with the other stakes so the two goals are parallel. Set a red cup on the top of each stake. One member of each team is next to each goal. First team tries to throw the Frisbee at the goal and either knock a cup off the stake or make it through the goal. If your opponent throws the Frisbee through you have to try to catch the Frisbee to nullify his points, if you don't catch it he gets two points, you do catch it no points are awarded.. If he hits the cup off you have to catch the cup with one hand(no trapping) You catch it you get a point. You drop it they get a point. he game is played to 11 points or more if you desire.

Points
Knock cup off(no catch)-1pt
Frisbee through goal(no catch)-2 pt
Frisbee through goal(catch)-0 pt
Knock cup off(catch)-1 pt(catcher)

Here is a beautiful example if you are confused. (1pt)

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

$7 to give someone $100

Microfinance:
Lend money to people in 3rd world countries to start their own company. The best part about Microfinance is the people pay you back and get a chance to make money for themselves instead of relying on charity throughout their life. It offers a chance to build their local economy so they can someday be self-sustaining. Basically the way it works is you give somewhere from $25-$250 typically and the Microfinance bank compiles your money and other people's money to raise enough for a local mother (typically) to buy a cow, open a sewing factory, or any time of small market business. You choose who you would like to lend the money to and they pay back the money in 6 months - a few years. Most people have heard about this, but still not enough people realize how practical and easy it easy.
If you send $100 for one year and forego the $7 you could make in the stock market, you gave opportunity for someone poor in another country for $7.
.Kiva.org
98.47% repayment rate to date

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul

Cards Games: Wild Progression

Price: $3 (2 decks of cards)

This is a card game played with 2-6 people and 2 decks (w/o jokers). The game follows the rules of "Gin" for the most part. The difference is that you play 10 rounds, each round adding another card.

The first round each player gets 3 cards and tries to either get a set of 3 or a 3-card run of the same suit. In this round the #3 is wild.
The second round each player gets 4 cars and tried to either get a set of 4 or a 4-card run of the same suit. In this round the #4 is wild.

Do you get the pattern? Each round, you get one more card and the number of cards you have in your hand is also the number of the wild card. Once you get to the round with 6 cards, you can begin doing 2 runs of 3 or 2 sets of 3.

Each round begins with a draw pile in the middle and one card flipped over. The player begins by either choosing from the discard pile or the draw pile. The round is over when someone lays down all of their cards in sets of 3 or suited 3-card runs (like Gin). Everyone then gets one more chance to get more "playable" cards. Each player then plays whatever cards they can (suited runs or sets of 3). Now you tally the points for the cards that are unplayable by each player for the round:

Person who "goes out" or "lays down" 1st: -15 pts
Someone who can play all cards after the 1st person lays down: 0 pts
2-9: 5 pts
10-K: 10 pts
A: 15 pts
Unplayable wild card: 15 pts

After you get to the round of 13 cards (Kings wild) the game is over. Only if there is a tie do you play 14 cards (Aces wild)

Cheap and fun things to do around Minneapolis/St.Paul