There are few things more daunting for a parent than planning a party for your child and his or her friends.  Being responsible for other people's children and making sure that they have a good time can be quite a handful, especially if you are taking on a sizeable group of youngsters.  Planning some party games to occupy your youthful guests can be a great way to get through the party with a maximum of fun and a minimum of problems.  Party games for children run the gamut from board games to guessing games to treasure hunts to puzzle games to well-known games like the gone fishing game.  Some children's party games require quite a bit of set-up, but sometimes the time you put into preparing an elaborate party game pays off during the party as the kids have more fun and display less behavior problems because they are so engrossed in the activities which you have prepared.  Taking a bit of time to prepare games for a children's party can save you time and energy in the long run.

One popular children's party game is the gone fishing game.  This game takes a bit of set-up, but because so many different ages of children like to play gone fishing, the gone fishing game makes a lot of sense for a variety of children's party situations.  Once you set up the gone fishing game, it is very easy to get all the children engaged and excited about the fact that you are going to play gone fishing.  The gone fishing game does require a willing helper or assistant, so don't try to go it alone, because one person cannot successfully run the gone fishing game.  Often, an older sibling will feel awkward at a younger sibling's party, so asking an older sibling to help out with running some games can help them feel useful and important during the party.

The rules to the gone fishing game are simple, making it easy for many different ages of young guest to play together.  There is no way to lose the gone fishing game, which is another reason why it is a good choice for children's parties.  Children can be quite sensitive about losing games, and one sore loser can put a blight on everybody's afternoon, so it is best to choose games for your child's party which do not focus on competition but instead put an emphasis on getting everybody engaged in an activity.

To play gone fishing, tie a string so that it stretches across the length of a room and then hang a sheet over the string to make an opaque curtain.  Grab an old fishing pole, or purchase one of the many toy fishing poles which are widely distributed in stores, and then tie a string or long piece of yarn to act as a fishing line.  Tie a clothespin to the "bait" end of the fishing line, and then have each child take turns "casting" their line over the sheet to the hidden part of the room behind the sheet curtain.  Your helper should wait behind the sheet, and when a child casts the line over the sheet your helper should attach a party favor to it with the clothespin, then give a few gentle tugs on the line to let the child who is "fishing" know that they have caught something. 

When a child playing the gone fishing game feels the tug, they should reel in their line to see what is on the other side.