Time to unplug the technology and spend some summertime fun outdoors. The kids may claim, “I’ll be bored,” but you know that family time spent together is way more fun than watching television, playing video games, and scrolling through social media posts. So, get off those phones and spend a little time with nature.
To help you make sure that the kids find some fun on your next camping trip, we’ve compiled a list of family camping games that are sure to be a hit. At the end of the trip, your family will leave with some sweet memories of fun and laughter. Who knows, maybe it will be easier to get them off the phone and be eager to embrace your next family game night.
1. Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat Camp Time Game
Before you go, get the kids ready to camp with this fun and interactive game!
Learn More: Hidden Toy Shop
2. Egg races
All you need are eggs and spoons. Divide into two teams. Each team is given a raw egg and a spoon. Team members must race from one end to another as they balance the egg on the spoon. If they drop the egg, they must start at the beginning. For multiple members on a team, pass the egg/spoon relay style. The first team across the finish line without dropping the egg wins the race! Watch how it’s done with this video.
Learn More: Matthew Travis
3. Orange Croquet
This game is loads of laughs for the whole family! You will need 4 oranges and an old pair of pantyhose or tights. Cut the pantyhose in half. Place one orange inside the leg of the pantyhose and tie it around the waist, so it looks like a long tail. Place the other orange on the ground. Using your hips, you will swing the orange “tail” to hit the orange ball on the ground. The object is to get the ground ball across the finish line before the other team. See how it’s done!
Learn More: Matt Palomaki
4. Scavenger Hunt
Make a list or use a picture list of bugs and shrubs the kids might find around the campsite. They can use their phones to take pictures when they find one to document the discovery and not disturb nature. The first one to complete the list wins the game!
Learn More: Homeschool Share
5. Water Balloon Toss
Fill up some water balloons and toss them back and forth without breaking them. If you break a balloon you are out of the game!
Learn More: Kid Activities
6. Flashlight Freeze
This is a fun game for after the sun goes down. In the dark, players move and wiggle around. The games master suddenly turns on a flashlight and everyone freezes. If someone is caught moving in the light, they are out of the game until there is a winner.
Learn More: YouTube
7. The Alphabet Game
The drive to the campsite will fly by playing this fun memory game! Start with the sentence “I went to the shops and I bought…” then have each player add a different item in alphabetical order from A to Z! Sounds easy, right? Wrong! In each turn, players will need to remember and recite all the items listed before, in the right order! Time to find out how good your memory is!
Learn More: A Bogie
8. Add-a-Story
One person begins telling a story with a single sentence. The next person add a sentence to the story and continue round and round until you have a complete story.
Learn More: YouTube
9. Pass the orange
Two teams are each given an orange. The team members stand side-by-side down a line. The first person in the line places the orange under their chin against their neck. They pass the orange to the next person on their team without using any hands. The orange gets passed down the line until the team that gets to the last person wins the game!
Learn More: YouTube
10. Glow-in-the-Dark Bowling
Place a glow stick in a bottle of water and line up the bottles as if they are bowling pins. Use a ball to knock down the “pins.” You can get glow sticks and rings on Amazon.
Learn More: Amazon
11. Camping Olympics
Create an obstacle course around the campsite using rocks, sticks, a cup of water, and anything else you can find. Then race through the course, keeping time. The fastest time wins the gold medal!
Learn More: Tinkergarten
12. Star Gazing
A nice, quiet game to help settle into bedtime. Lying on your backs, gaze up at the stars above and see who can identify the most constellations, planets and shooting stars.
Learn More: Outside Online
13. Park Ranger
One person is the park ranger. The other campers are an animal of their choosing. The park ranger will call out a trait of an animal like “I have wings.” If the trait does not apply to their animal, then the camper must try to get past the park ranger to a designated spot without getting tagged.
Learn More: Ultimate Camp Resource
14. Rock Painting
Bring some non-toxic water based paints and use the rocks you find to create some modern masterpieces. The rain will wash away the paint and it won’t be harmful to the environment.
Learn More: Camping for Foodies
15. Crown Prince/Princess
Create crowns using leaves, sticks and flowers from fallen greenery. Compare to see who made the most creative crown or compete to see who can use the largest variety of items.
Learn More: Our Days Outside
16. Glow in the Dark Ring Toss
Use water bottles and glow stick necklaces to create a fun ring toss for after-dark fun! First one to reach 10 points wins the game!
Learn More: Home Front Mag
17. Goblies
These are fun, throwable, paint balls. They are non-toxic and biodegradable, so you won’t harm the environment from playing this outdoor game.
Learn More: Amazon
18. Ball Toss
Use your favorite sports ball to toss a football, beach ball or soccer ball. Add a layer with “hot potato,” so the ball can’t fall to the ground or you lose the game.
Learn More: Mott Children
19. Honey, I Love You
This is a fun game for kids as they try so hard not to laugh! A person in the group chooses another person in the group. The chosen person has the objective of NOT smiling in any way. The first person tries to make their chosen person smile without touching them. The chosen person needs to respond to their funny faces, dancing, etc with the line “Honey, I love you, but I just can’t smile.” If they are successful in their response without smiling, then they win that round.
Learn More: Group Games 101
20. Mafia
Telling ghost stories around a campfire is a surefire fun activity, but here is a little twist on the classic. Using a simple deck of cards, any number can play. Find out how to play by watching this video.
Learn More: Triple S Games
21. Charades
A classic game that is always fun. Divide into two teams. Each team writes movie or book titles on pieces of paper for the other team. Each member of each team will take turns choosing a piece of paper and using gestures and facial expressions to get them to guess the title. To make it extra challenging, add a time limit for each turn. This set uses pictures, so even the youngest kiddos can take part in this family game!
Learn More: Amazon
22. Name That Tune
Play short clips of songs. Players try to guess the song. The first one to guess the song wins the game!
Learn More: The Game Gal
23. Who Am I?
Give each player a picture of a famous person. The player will hold the picture on their forehead, facing the other players. The other players must give them clues without saying the name of the person and they will try to guess who they are.
Learn More: Picklebums
24. Guess in 10
This card game is small enough to pack and is a great option for the littlest campers. Winner Of The 2022 National Parenting Product Awards.
Learn More: Amazon
25. Chubby Bunny
See who can stuff the most marshmallows in their mouths and still be able to say “chubby bunny.” This one is loads of fun, so don’t choke while laughing!
Learn More: YouTube
26. Camping Chair Basketball
If you’ve got some extra change lying around, this giant shootout chair may be just what you need to amp up the fun on your next camping trip. Simply set up the chair and challenge your campers to see how many mini basketballs they can shoot into the nets. Alternatively, you could even use your normal camping chairs and replace the basketballs with marshmallows!
Learn More: Trend Hunter
27. Marshmallow Stacking
Grab a plate and a bag of marshmallows for this tense game. See how high your group can stack the marshmallows without it falling over by each taking a turn to add one marshmallow at a time. Be sure to catch any falling mallows quickly so you can toast them on the fire later!
Learn More: Bible Games Central
28. Head, Knees and Toes
Two people face off with an object in between them. It can be anything from a shoe to a football. A third person is the leader. The leader calls out “head” and both people touch their head. Repeat for Knees and Toes. The leader calls out head, knees or toes in any random order and as many times as they want, but when they say “shoot,” both players try to grab the object in the middle. Keep going until someone gets 10 points. Watch how it’s done here!
Learn More: SPARC Athens
29. Sleeping Bag Race
Use your sleeping bags like potato sacks and have an old-fashioned sack race!
Learn More: Open Wide the World
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