The Dinner Question That Gets Better Answers Than “How Was Your Day?”

“How was your day?”

“Good.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

And there goes your attempt at family dinner conversation.

The High Low Buffalo game gives everyone something a little more interesting to talk about without making dinner feel like an interview. Each person shares a high from the day, a low, and a “buffalo,” which is simply something random (or funny!) they want to tell everyone.

The high and low can lead to conversations you might not have had otherwise. But when you have little kids at the table, just wait for the buffalo.

What Is High Low Buffalo?

High Low Buffalo is a simple conversation game families can play around the dinner table, in the car, or whenever everyone has a few minutes together.

Here’s how it works:

• High: The best part of your day.

• Low: The hardest, saddest, or least favorite part.

• Buffalo: Something random that happened, something you noticed, or really anything you feel like sharing. 

That last one is what makes the game especially fun with kids.

A buffalo doesn't have to be important. In fact, it's often better when it isn't. Your child might tell you someone had a banana in their lunchbox. A toddler could announce that they saw a really big truck. An older kid might finally mention the funny thing their friend said at school.

Without the buffalo, those tiny details might never make it into the dinner conversation.

Why “Buffalo” Works So Well

Adults tend to ask kids about the parts of the day we think are important. How was school? What did you learn? Did you have a good day?

Kids aren't always thinking about their days that way.

Their most memorable moment may have happened on the playground. They might still be thinking about a weird-looking cloud they saw through the car window or the fact that their teacher wore new shoes.

Buffalo gives those thoughts somewhere to go.

It also takes some of the pressure off. Nobody has to produce a meaningful story or teach the family a lesson about their day. Sometimes your contribution to dinner really can be, “I saw a dog wearing a sweater.”

And everyone gets to ask follow-up questions about the dog.

How Do You Play High Low Buffalo at Dinner?

There isn't much setup involved, which is exactly why this can become an easy family tradition.

At some point during dinner, someone starts with their high, low, and buffalo. Then move around the table until everyone has had a turn. Parents participate too.

You don't need to go in age order or designate an official leader. If your toddler desperately needs to share their buffalo first, let the buffalo happen.

For younger children, you may need to explain the prompts in simpler language. Try “What was your favorite thing today?” for the high. For the low, ask if anything made them sad, frustrated, or upset. Then ask them to tell you something silly or random for their buffalo.

After a few dinners, you probably won't need to explain anything. Someone will eventually sit down and announce their buffalo before you've even served the food.

Don't Turn the Low Into a Problem-Solving Session

The low is where parents may need to practice a little restraint.

Your child says someone wouldn't play with them at recess, and your brain immediately starts looking for a solution. You want more details. You may want to explain what they should do tomorrow.

Sometimes that's helpful. Sometimes they just wanted to tell you their low.

Give them room to decide which one it is.

You can ask a natural follow-up or acknowledge that something sounds frustrating without turning every low into a family meeting. If they want your help, the conversation can go there. If they don't, dinner can move on.

That makes it easier to keep sharing honest lows, even as kids get older.

Your Answers Matter, Too

High Low Buffalo gets less interesting if the adults are always running the game instead of playing it.

Share a real answer.

Your high might be finishing something you'd been putting off. Your low could be getting stuck in traffic. Your buffalo could be that you heard a song you hadn't heard since high school and somehow remembered every word.

Kids get to hear pieces of your day they normally wouldn't know about. They also see that grown-ups have disappointing moments and weird little stories worth sharing.

It makes the conversation feel less like parents checking in on kids and more like everyone catching up with each other.

Expect the Game to Get a Little Off Track

A four-year-old may not understand “buffalo” the first time.

They may tell you their favorite animal is a buffalo.

Count it.

Your child might give you six highs and refuse to identify a low. Someone may decide their buffalo requires a ten-minute backstory. Another night, everybody might finish in five minutes because people are tired and nobody feels especially chatty.

You don't need to enforce the rules.

The goal isn't to become exceptionally good at High Low Buffalo. It's to make it easier for everyone to talk.

If a random buffalo sends the whole table into a completely different conversation, the game worked.

Make It One of Those Little Family Traditions

Family traditions don't have to involve holidays or elaborate plans. Often, they're just ordinary things you repeat enough times that everyone starts thinking of them as something your family does.

That could be the High Low Buffalo game at dinner a few nights a week. It could be letting the kids take over dinner for a Kid's Choice Dinner Night. Or maybe your family occasionally skips the table altogether for a Friday Night Floor Picnic.

None requires much preparation. That's part of what makes these simple family traditions easier to keep doing when life is busy.

And over time, the little things your kids say become memories of their own. If you have a particularly funny answer you don't want to forget, write it down. Those wonderfully misspelled notes and early attempts at writing can even become keepsakes, much like framing your child's handwriting preserves a tiny piece of who they were at that age.

Save the Really Good Buffalos

Every once in a while, your child is going to give you an answer you know you'll want to remember.

Keep a note on your phone or a little notebook somewhere nearby and write those answers down. Don't make it another task you have to keep up with every night. Just save the ones that make you laugh or capture your child particularly well.

Years from now, “I saw a yellow butterfly at recess” may not sound like a major childhood milestone. But those random details are often the first ones we forget.

A photo can capture what your child looked like at four. A custom child silhouette can preserve that sweet little profile. High Low Buffalo gives you another kind of snapshot: what they were actually thinking about.

Tonight's Buffalo Might Surprise You

You don't need cards, a printable, or a special family dinner to try the High Low Buffalo game. Bring it up the next time everyone is eating together and go first so the kids can see how it works.

Some nights, you'll hear about something your child has been struggling with. Other nights, the conversation will be mostly ridiculous.

Both count.

Because when your toddler's buffalo is “Grandma has a refrigerator,” and they deliver this information like nobody else at the table knew, you may have just found your own high for the day.