Even though my favorite thing to do when we go camping is to lay in the hammock and enjoy nature, my kids don’t always reciprocate the same idea of fun. Over our many years of camping, we have discovered some camping games to play for kids or adults that are not only fun but simple to learn.
One of my most favorite memories from camping trips as a kid involved games we played at the campsite. Camping games make sure the kids stay entertained and active, plus camping, in general, gets them outdoors and away from electronics. What better way to make memories.
1. Cornhole
We love this game no matter whether we are camping or just hanging out at our shop. We play with 2 or 4 players. All you have to have for this one is the boards and beanbags.
Directions:
- Put 27 feet between the front of the boards and make sure they’re fairly straight. (we will walk this out if we don’t have a way to measure the distance)
- Determine the teams if 4 are playing
- Get on the opposite side from your partner so you can throw bags to each other
- Take turns tossing the bags to the other end (one at a time until all the bags are thrown)
- Ringing the hole is 3 points and landing on the board is 1. If your opponet scores 7 and you score 3, they get 4 ponts and you get 0.
- Whoever scored, that team goes first the next throw
- Whoever gets to 21 first wins
If this is too complicated for younger kids, you can modify the rules to make it easier and more fun for them to play.
2. Geocaching
Geocaching is a great game to play when you are out on your adventures. To get started, download the Geocaching app and create an account. Then find a geocache and sign the logbook. Be sure to put it back where you found it and log your experience online.
3. Ladder ball -bolo ball
This is a game that has 2 ladders and 3 bolas (rope with golf balls on the ends). You place the ladders 15 feet apart and toss the bolas. Each rung is worth a different amount of points. The top is 3, the middle is 2 and the bottom is 1. Its a very easy game to play you just need 2 or more people.
You can buy a ladder ball set or make your own.
4. Hide and Seek
Who doesn’t love a good old game of hide and seek? My kids love to play this no matter whether we are at home or at the campground. When they play at the campground, we set boundaries so they don’t wander off too far and the main rule is when mom calls you out of your spot, you come out, lol.
5. Scavenger Hunt
You can make this nature-themed and have the kids go find various things around the campsite or campground. You would plan this one ahead of time and bring it with you or you could write down what they have to find on a notepad. There are so many things they could go get, even colors like a green leaf or brown stick.
You could use this during a trail walk or hike to keep the kids entertained and involved with nature. We think this is a super fun game to play when you are outdoors.
You can print our scavenger hunt from my Etsy store here.
6. Alphabet Game
This game is probably better suited for younger kids but you go through the entire alphabet and find things that start with each letter of the alphabet.
We use this game in the car on the ride to and from the camp site also. My kids will find road signs and billboards with the alphabet letters in it.
7. Flashlight Tag or Hide and Seek
This is a fun game to play after dark with any number of players, all you need is a flashlight. You pick a person to be “it” and they stand in a designated location with their eyes closed while everyone else goes to hide. After the designated time has passed, the “it” person runs to find the people who are hiding.
8. Regular Tag
Just like with flashlight tag, you pick a person to be “it” and they count with their eyes closed while everyone else goes to hide. When the time is up, “it” person runs after the others until a person is tagged, then they are “it”.
9. Star Gazing
My kids love to do this when we are camping. If you are able to have a clear view of the night sky, there is no better way to enjoy the outdoors at night than with stargazing. We downloaded an app that tells us which stars are which and what constellations they are attached to. It’s so fun and educational too.
10. Ring Toss (with glow sticks)
You can play this game in the daylight or after dark but the after-dark version with glowsticks would be so much more fun. To play you would just need some bottles and rings (or glow stick bracelets). If you ring a bottle it’s 3 points and if it lands against a bottle it’s just 1 point.
11. Red Light Green Light
You might remember this game from elementary school! To play, you have everyone line up at the “starting line” and when you say ‘green light’ they move towards the finish line. When you say ‘red light’ they have to stop. If they don’t stop when you say ‘red light’, they have to go back to the start line. The first player to cross the finish line is the winner.
12. I Spy
I spy is a guessing game where one person “spies” something and the other person has to guess it. You would say “I spy with my little eye…” and then describe the thing without saying what it is. An example would be ” I spy with my little eye something tall and green”, the answer could be a tree.
13. Horseshoes
Horseshoes is a very fun game that you can take to the campsite with you for anyone to play. To play, two players take turns throwing 2 horseshoes each, at stakes placed 40 feet apart. The goal is to get your horseshoe as close as possible, or even to wrap around the stake. Usually, only the closest horseshoe scores a point. “Ringers” score 3 points. Each complete set of throws makes up one “inning.” An official game has 25 innings, but you can still have lots of fun playing as many innings as you like.
14. Simon Says
This is a game to test awareness and skills. To play you just yell out commands if you are simmon and the kids have to follow. They only do the commands if “simmon says”. If you just tell a command without saying simmon says first and the kids do the command, they are out.
You can make up things like “simmon says jump on one foot 10 times” or “simmon says cluck like a chicken”. It can be funny, fun or serious. You could even ask them to answer questions.
15. Checkers
We love games that make you have to think, so Checkers is a good one. There is a cheap and easy-to-pack checkers game you can bring with you in your camper or tent for the kids to play.
16. Frisbee
There are so many ways to play with a frisbee. You can toss it back and forth to a partner, set up cups or bottles and use the frisbee to knock it down like bowling. You can also create a course where the frisbee has to land in certain places.
There is a new game called Kan Jam for bigger kids and adults that uses a frisbee and two bins. You have to get your frisbee inside the bin. Its fast paced and the play is continuous. You try and deflect the other teams frisbee as they toss it with whatever body part you have.
17. Football Toss
Grab a football and bring it with you to the campsite. We love to just throw the football to each other while we are camping. If you have enough players, you could even try a game.
18. Jenga
If it’s raining or if you just want to play Jenga out on the picnic table, Jenga is a fun game to bring with you to the campsite. They also have mega jenga blocks but they might be harder to pack.
19. Banana Grams
Bananagrams is a fun word game that you can play inside or out. You place the banana pouch on the table and each player gets 21 tiles. You form words from the tiles you have while not taking turns and when you need a letter you say peel. You take a letter and every other player. The first to use all their tiles wins.
You can really play it however you want to if you just want to let the kids make words with the letters.
We hope you were able to find some fun games to play with the kids on your camping adventures. If you are new to tent camping, check out our beginner’s guide here.