Entertainment

Keeping Entertained

Entertainment during a power cut: games, books and music players to keep children and adults occupied, plus a shape to the day.

By Slightly Anxious

1st July 2026 15 minute read

IN SHORT

Boredom is one of the hardest parts of a crisis. Keep games, books and things to do that need no power, give the day some structure, and share out the jobs.

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At Slightly Anxious, our forecasting of what potential crises and emergencies you are most likely to suffer, falls into two camps; evacuation or endurance. We obviously, sincerely hope, that you will never have to endure any form of crisis or emergency, but unlike many ‘Preppers’ we don’t believe that a ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ is imminent nor is a civil war and the total collapse of civil society. What we do see is a potential for severe emergencies like a fire or a flood that could force you to evacuate your property and a likelihood for a crises that keeps you in your property for a period of time while the government deals with the situation. This could be a biohazard like Covid-19, a national grid failure or even a terrorist attack. You may be ordered to stay indoors for your own safety and you may well lose the use of utilities, like electricity, gas and water.

In both cases, we have explained in other articles how we can assist you. If a fire or flood makes your property unsafe, you will hopefully have taken the opportunity to prepare an emergency grab bag, so you can just evacuate your property at a moment’s notice. Safe in the knowledge that you have everything you need already packed. You just have to focus on getting you and your loved ones to a place of safety. If the emergency isn’t touching your property directly and you have been told to stay indoors, then we hope you have taken advantage of our emergency storage kit full that due to its aesthetically pleasing packaging, is fitting in seamlessly with your home décor. We also hope you have taken advantage of our Curated Meals to provide you with the recipes for tinned food you can have during your emergency.In both situations, these will provide you and your loved ones with everything you need to keep you going physically.

Why entertainment matters

What we want to discuss today is what you need to keep you going mentally. We don’t think you need to have any medical qualifications to know that any emergency or crisis scenario can be incredibly stressful, especially if you have loved ones you are responsible for. The food and drink, the communication, cooking, cleaning and toiletry equipment found in your emergency kits will all make life a lot easier from a physical perspective. But what about you and your loved one’s morale?

Experience has shown that keeping morale up in your group, even if it’s just you, is vital in ensuring your resilience to tough it out. Even if you are not at any imminent risk of injury and you have a good supply of food and drink and your basic hygiene needs are being met, boredom combined with the underlying fear of the unknown can be very debilitating. The people who survive the best are the ones who have kept their morale up and they did this by being kept entertained. It does sound almost trivial when you consider the seriousness of emergency situations, but we cannot stress how important it is to prepare yourself for being in charge of morale, the fact you are reading this suggests it will end up being you, and having entertainment as a vital part of an crisis planning. Not quite as important as ensuring everyone is safe, fed and watered but almost.

Four kinds of entertainment that help

Escapism: books, films, games
Creative expression: painting, music, writing
Activity: daily exercise, ideally as a group
Social cohesion: games and activities that bring everyone together
A big power station runs a TV or console for only a few hours

Four kinds of entertainment

Research has shown that the best forms of entertainment during times of emergency focus on three things; escapism, activity and social cohesion.

The first, escapism, is the most complex. Its complex because it's not just about losing yourself in a good film, book or podcast, so you can escape what is (not) happening – remember boredom is one of the biggest factors in any emergency. Though doing this is definitely recommended and we will discuss further below. Escapism can also take the form of cognitive play, such as solving puzzles or playing cards and board games. The problem-solving part of our brains need calming during a crisis as all it can see is a problem it can’t solve. These activities redirect that energy, provide distraction and fun.

The other is form is creative expression. This can be painting, drawing writing poetry, composing songs, journaling or even knitting and other crafts. In being creative, we not only amuse ourselves, focussing on the task at hand so escaping thoughts about outside but we accomplish things. At a time when everything that is going on feels out of your control, accomplishing a creative project restores your own feelings of control over the environment. Plus a new knitted sweater will always be useful.

Activity is a fairly self-explanatory method of keeping your morale up. Humans are meant to be active and when your are couped up at home, this can be problematic. Not being active affects you both mentally and physically. Lack of movement will increase tension in your mind as well as your joints. So you should ensure that everyone in your group does some physical activity every day and it will be more fun if you do this as a group and even more fun if it’s a game. Which is why we recommend arranging group sessions for stretches, yoga, calisthenics or even creating your own indoors Olympics (we will give more details on the website). The exercise will make everyone release endorphins and relieve physical stresses, so making everybody feel better.

Bringing everyone together

Social cohesion is a necessary and valuable part of any entertainment and may provide some of the biggest positives from the whole experience. For the majority of us, we don’t spend all of our time in the company of who we live with. We go to work, we go to school and when we’re not there, we’re out shopping or having fun. When we are altogether at home, it's usually only for a short while and we tend to be focussed on either watching TV or having a meal together. As you will have noticed during the lockdowns of the Covid-19 emergency, spending every hour of every day with the people you live with can be a very new and different experience. We hope we can provide you with ways to make this one, both positive and enjoyable.

The objective of social cohesion entertainment is to make the members of your group get along better. If it’s just you on your lonesome, this won’t be a problem but you can still find some benefit in the activities we recommend. Those of you who have spent family holidays and high days together already know how enforced periods of time together can sometimes cause tension and make some people focus on past grievances. The potential for flare-ups and bust ups can increase as the confinement continues. Which is why we recommend group activities in addition to physical activity and that’s individual and group performances. Another way is to look on it as a Variety Show, where every member of the group performs to the others and then everyone performs together. You can call it Your Property’s Got Talent!

Tell every member of the group that you’d like them to do a performance for everyone and that you’d like them to choose what it will be; a song, a poem, a dance, some comedy or magic tricks, it doesn’t really matter what it is just as long as they give it a try. Bribe them with cakes, sweets, snacks or alcohol (age dependent obviously) if necessary. We will provide some examples of what they can perform on the website if requested. Give them time and space to prepare and practice and then put on the show. Gather everyone around, you can dress the stage, supply drinks and snacks, have incidental music, this is your chance to shine as the compere (which is your excuse not to perform). Then get everyone together to finish with a rendition of your favourite song. Doesn’t matter what it is but it helps if it has universal appeal. It could be the national anthem, Mr Brightside by the Killers or Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Monty Python – just make it upbeat and uplifting. The main thing is for everyone to take part , have fun and to support each other. We’re certain you will find it enormous fun.

This may be the most controversial statement that we’ll ever make at Slightly Anxious and that is you could consider going ‘all in’ and getting a home karaoke kit. The majority these days synch to your mobile phone and use apps and an internet connection to provide the music and lyrics. As we can expect not to have any internet we then have a choice either to go old school and use CD+G, a CD which supplies the music without the vocals and shows the lyrics on a screen and therefore needs a karaoke machine with a CD player, or we need a subscription service for something like YouTube to be able to download the music and lyrics to play off our offline phones. Home karaoke can therefore cost from about £50+ to £200+. Is this worth the beautiful music you are and your loved ones can produce and the fun you will have? We say this is controversial because karaoke can be quite ‘Marmite’ (you either love it or hate it).

Another opportunity for performance gold, is with any older members of the group. You can take this as an opportunity, or even turn it into a separate evening’s performance, where the older members of the group have to tell stories from when they were younger. It’s the perfect opportunity to fill in those blanks from your collective history. You could ask each senior to tell a story about: 1) their first love, 2) their happiest memory and 3) their proudest achievement from their school days to get the party started. Or, you could get the youngsters in the group to come up with questions. However you do it, taking the opportunity to hear from the elders will be fascinating, funny and probably quite emotional – definitely a worthwhile activity.

If Slightly Anxious were that kind of website, we would be saying that you don’t need to buy anything to ensure that your entertainment needs are fulfilled in a time of crisis. To some, mostly the parsimonious, this is true. If you have books, a pack of cards and board games already in store then you can happily while away the hours. But we’re not fully convinced, most books people own they have read and less and less

people have cards and board games these days as other more electronic forms of entertainment have become to dominate. As well as us at Slightly Anxious needing to pay mortgages, so needing you to buy stuff, we also need to address that most people’s idea of entertainment these days involves devices and that’s why you may need to consider some purchases. You can’t be a Butlins redcoat all the time.

Screens and power

Let’s first address the elephant in the room and that is the television. By a country mile, most people’s favourite form of shared in-home entertainment is their TV. This may be enhanced by streaming services, such as Netflix, which provides you with an enormous library of viewing options. Not all of you will have recording devices for your TV, be it Sky Boxes, DVDs or even VHS! Whatever your TV situation, the truth is that it's very possible that you won’t be able to access any of it because you may have lost mains electricity. This also means you can’t play your Xbox or PS5 and even more traumatically, you won’t have access to the internet. Which means for the number one personal form of entertainment, the mobile phone, there will be no more social media and doom scrolling – which may well improve your morale, but still leave you bereft.

You can mitigate this by having a power station, which is like a large battery and costs in the thousands of pounds. We do actually recommend one as they are incredibly useful for keeping handheld devices powered up, but when it comes to larger appliances like a TV, a PS5 or a PC or even a refrigerator, you will only get enough power to last a few hours. Even with a full home battery set up, costing around five figures, you will only get enough power to last a day or two. Unless of course you have solar panels. And it’s very sunny.

If you can afford it, buy one. There is a good chance that when the power goes out it goes out for the phone masts as well. In which case you will still need to keep mobile phones charged, so they’re ready for when the masts become live again but also for the entertainment available on them. We all have music, video and literature on our phones that can be enjoyed.

Handheld and retro devices

We would, however, also recommend some other handheld devices as they are specifically useful in an emergency, due to their low power needs:

A Kindle Reader - c.£75-£95 – this will hold thousands of books and has up to six weeks of battery, dependent on use. You should download a collection of books once you purchase it and download them so it’s ready for when you need it. A potential life-saver when fighting boredom.
A MP3 player – such as the Agptek Classic at c.£35-£45 - definite Old School Walkman vibes with this. It will hold up to 70 hours of music on one battery charge. – check you have compatible headphones and then you can privately enjoy sounds to lighten your mood
A handheld retro games console – such as the Anbernic RG357 H at c.£80-£100 – preloaded with over 5,000 classic video games. Its battery lasts 6-7 hours. This is so much fun.
Waterproof Bluetooth Speakers – such as Ortizan 24W at c.£20-£30 - will connect to the MP3 player or people’s phones and have a 30 hour battery life. This means you can all party when it’s party time.

OUR PICK

Ortizan 24W waterproof speaker

c.£20-£30. About 30 hours of music for when it is party time.

View on Amazon

You can provide the members of your group with what life was like back in the 90s and noughties! The most important thing is the lack of a need for the internet to operate them and the hours of use you get with them, unlike with most modern devices. The problem with our modern devices is that we are never far from being able to charge them, they need an always-on internet connection, they have power hungry applications and they have power hungry screens. So to survive in a world with limited power, we need to go back in time.

These blasts from the past will also eventually run dry, even though we believe your Kindle Reader will last longer than most crises, you can just recharge them using your power station or more likely one of the array of power banks we also offer. In our article about what to do when the power turns off we detail which ones we recommend and how easy it is to ensure that they remain ready and charged for when you need them.

The 5,000+ games the handheld controller offers will more than likely keep whatever youths you have amused, but you too will enjoy them and probably remember some of them. As for the downloadable music and books that these handhelds offer, the key is to remember you have to download them first! This leads to a quick word of advice about what to download for reading and listening to during times of crisis.

Unsurprisingly, the advice is don’t go for books that have emergency situations as a major part of the narrative, or, as with songs, don’t pick ones that are either downright sad or have an emotional link for you that causes strong negative emotions. As you will have read in our article on, 'How to keep informed and how to keep talking', you need to remain informed about the what is happening in the world outside. Due to the fact its an emergency situation, the news is likely to be quite depressing, so what you don’t need to do is further add to your feelings of despondency by listening to the song that reminds you of your heart being broken or read a story that ends in death and despair. Music and books have a wonderful ability to enhance our emotions, let them dial your mood up and not dial them down. Remember when your newly purchased Kindle or MP3 player arrives to only download content that will make you smile, make you laugh and make you sing. We will have reading and listening lists on the website to help our members choose.

Games that need no power

Also available on our website are board games, packs of cards, word and number puzzle books, jigsaws, craft kits for knitting, crochet, whittling, watercolour painting, colouring books, fidget spinners, magic kits, science kits, toys and games for small children. Everything you need to keep minds old and young amused and entertained. And remember, they can all be used after the emergency has ended, so you should get many years use out of them, so a worthwhile investment.

Give the day some structure

Keeping everyone entertained is vital for keeping the morale of your group up but don’t let that pressure be what brings your morale down. Delegate tasks and give structure to people’s days. Tell them when there is quiet time for activities like reading or playing console games with headphones in and everyone is as silent as they can be. Then when there are unquiet times, when they can play games and do activities where they can talk and make a normal level of noise. Then there are the no limits times, when you all perform, sing and shout and go crazy and let off steam. All are important, all are necessary but just having one all the time is a nightmare. You will need to be part Sergeant Major and part Redcoat, but for those looking after loved ones, this is nothing new.

At Slightly Anxious we will always be searching for new ways to keep people amused in times of trouble so as a member, we will keep you updated with any new finds and always be there to support you with our range of trusted options as well as being available for any questions to be answered . Our goal is always to try and make your crisis scenario as bearable as possible and as much like an adventure holiday rather than an emergency.

Low-power devices worth having

Device

Battery life

Guide Price

Kindle e-reader

Up to six weeks

c.£75-£95

Agptek Classic MP3 player

About 70 hours of music

c.£35-£45

Anbernic RG357 H retro console

6-7 hours, 5,000+ games