Irrespective of the weather conditions, you must want to plan a camping trip with your family. Going on a mini-vacation with family is rewarding for various reasons. You get to connect, spend quality time, and make billions of unforgettable memories. And, camping is no better way to avail these benefits.
Pairing your camping expedition with some engaging and fun-filled activities can help you have the whale of your time at your adventure spot. So, if you are planning to embark on a camping journey with your family, read our guide to fill your camping days with amusement, fun, and thrill with the given camping games and activities.
Fun Camping Games For Your Family
Be it an adult, kid, or teen, games are something that people of any age can play. So, while you are at your campsite, you can try the following games to fill yourself with amazement.
Squirt Gun Races
This is one of the simple games. All you need to do is grab a couple of plastic cups, a squirt gun filled with water, and a picnic table. Line the cups along the edge of the table and try to knock them off using the water from a distance.
Hiking Stick Limbo Dance
Using the hiking stick as a limbo bar, you can recreate the broomstick version of the limbo dance. Play the music, grab a hiking stick, and dance as if no one is watching.
Flashlight Tag
Flashlight tag is one of the oldest games that people of every age love to enjoy. As it gets dark on the campsite, gather your family and play a hide and seek game where the tagger (one who seeks and finds) will use the flashlight to find and tag (hit the person with light) the person hiding in the dark. Once they are caught, you win the game.
Obstacle Course Games
The obstacle course games can be played using different ideas. For example:
● Do 15 jumping jacks,
● Weaving in and out arranged camping chairs,
● Jump over the bottles,
● Stepping in and out of buckets,
● Reach the marked line by hopping on one foot,
● Crawl under a picnic table,
● Run to the other campsite and come back without touching them.
Water Relay Game
It is one of the easiest plays that requires no extra tools. All you need to do is gather your family and ask them to stand in line. The person standing at the front of the line will hold a cup of water and the people behind them will hold empty cups. The front person will try to dump out the whole water over his head to the person behind them without watching them. The person behind will try to catch the water. The play continues until the last person receives water in their cup.
Nature Scavenger Hunt
The Thai hunt game is the best activity to keep your kids engaged, let them explore their creative minds, and enhance their thinking abilities. Before you leave for your camping journey, make a list of all the things and living beings you can find in nature. Divide the items among your family and go seek them in the dark woods until you find them and then tick the boxes. The person who finds the most of the things will be the winner.
Glow Stick Ring Toss
You need to have glowing sticks in ring form to play this game. When starting the game, place a normal stick and dig it half in the ground. Then standing at a distant place, try throwing the glow sticks over the stick placed in the ground. The member who completes the major throws wins the game.
Sleeping Bag Races
This is a running game famous among kids where they will wear a sleeping bag to cover themselves. The kid who crosses the first finish line hopping along will win the game.
Air Pong
It is an interesting and healthy activity where you get to exercise your lungs. All you need to do is divide into 2 groups. Each group will stand on the opposite side of the picnic table and a plastic cup will be placed in the middle that each team will try to blow away to the opposite side using their breath.
Hopscotch Game
This is a fun game that lets you get involved in physical exercise. You need to draw a hopscotch grid using a stick in the dirt to play this game. You will make a total of 9 boxes, where the 3rd, 4th, and 6th, 7th boxes will be in pairs. The first player will toss a stone into the first box and they will hop through the boxes with one foot in a single box and two feet on paired boxes until they return. If you land on a single box with both feet or touch the lines, you will lose the game.
Campfire Games You Might Want To Play
Campfire is a great activity to spend your chilled camp nights under the sky. You can share your old stories with your kids, talk about random things, plan your future, drink coffee, or play exciting games while sitting by the fire. Below are some top games that you can play while enjoying the campfire.
Camping Alphabet Hunt
This is one of the easiest games that you can enjoy while sitting. Even adults can have fun while playing it because it does not require any physical activity. All you need to do is name an object, thing, or creature present around your camp starting with each letter of the alphabet. For instance, you can name a tree when the letter T comes.
Wink Murder
It is a fun game that you can play with your whole family sitting near the campfire. To start the game, make everyone sit in a circle and decide who the judge will be. One person will act like a murderer within the group and wink at another person trying to act as if they are murdered. Remember that the murderer has to wink without the judge noticing. The judge will try to find out who the murderer is.
Two Truths and a Lie
This is an exciting game where the player will tell two truths and one lie about themselves. The person who guesses the lie will have one point. In the end, whoever receives the highest points becomes the winner.
Truth or Dare
This is known as one of the iconic games of all time. In this game, players spin a bottle on the table. The person who is faced with the cap of the bottle will choose between truth or dare. The rest of the players will then either ask some questions or give them some dare that they will have to perform.
Spy
It is a classic guessing game famous among kids where each player chooses a random thing from the surroundings and says, ‘I spy’. The player then tries to make the rest of the players guess the thing using the initial letter of that object.
Noah’s Ark
The game was created using the famous story ‘Noah’s Ark’. In this game, players begin by saying, “Into Noah’s Ark went one (animal starting with a).” For instance, Anaconda, “Into Noah’s Ark went one anaconda.” The next player repeats the same line by adding, “Into Noah’s Ark went one anaconda and two (animals starting with b).” For example, two bulldogs. The same continues to repeat. For example, the third player says, “Into Noah’s Ark went one anaconda, two bulldogs and three cats.” This goes on until the final letter Z comes.
Simon Says
It is an interesting game where players obey and disobey the command of Simmon. Simmon is a player who instructs the other players to obey them by saying, “Simon says close your eyes,” when they say it, the players have to obey them. But when Simmon instructs without mentioning ‘Simon says’ the players must not obey them. For example, “Close your eyes” And if someone closes their eyes, they lose the game.
Tent Game Ideas For Your Family
If the weather is a bit harsh, you cannot leave your tents, then playing some indoor games will let you pass your time more interestingly. We have listed below a few indoor games that you can play within the comfort of your camp tent.
Thumb Wrestling Tournament
It is one of the classic games that have been played for centuries. It involves two players who shake their hands together and try to catch the thumb of the opponent using their thumbs.
Charades
Charades is a fun game that you can enjoy sitting inside your tent. All you have to do is make a list of movie titles, the name of the series, or your favorite character. One player will pick one chit at a time and try to act it out without using their voice. While the rest of the players will guess the name. The person who guesses the word will pass on the next chit to any player.
Shadow Hand Puppets
Using a torchlight and your hand movements, you can create anything with your hands and fingers that will be reflected on the tent cloth.
Story Time
Like make-believe stories, it is a creative game where people create interesting and exciting stories. In this game, the starting player shares the initial part of the story which other players in parts will complete unless a conclusion is reached. Each family member will add some lines to complete the previous lines and this way you can make a collaborative story.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Activities Can You Have on Campsites?
There are numerous activities you can do together with your family that will help you pass your time easily and let you enjoy more. For example:
● Play fun games
● Share stories
● Build a campfire
● Go hiking with family
● Get active
● Wander around the wilderness
● Set projectors and watch movies
● Cook meals
How Camping Activities and Games are Helpful?
Camping is fun but the thrill multiplies when you engage in some exciting activities and play interesting games. However, it also has some other benefits too. For example,
● You can make great memories
● People get to spend quality time with their family
● It helps in restoring your energies
● Productivity at work can be increased after having been involved in such activities
● Reduces stress
● Increases brain functioning
● It lets people be the best version of themselves
● People get to laugh their hearts out
What Fun Camping Games You Can Buy?
There are a lot of handy, engaging, and exciting games in the market that you can take to your campsite. For instance, they are:
● Best of Mad Libs
● Pass the Pigs
● Yardzee
● Frisbee
● Late-Night Cards
● Toasted or Roasted
● Camp Talk
● Camping Bingo
● Telestrations
You can purchase them from any nearby store or any online selling platform.
How are Playing Camping Games Beneficial for Our Health?
Games that involve physical activities are a great way to increase our body movements which further help our blood to circulate well throughout the body. When there is good blood circulation, the hormones responsible for sending messages to different organs are transported easily. Thus, making our organs more functional and responsive. The Thai phenomenon acts as a great way to increase our physical strength and energy. Thus, making us more fit and healthy.
Be it a mountain, beach, or wilderness. It doesn’t matter where you are camping. However, enjoying the scenery and eating meals is not enough when you are in the middle of nowhere. You must be involved in some activities that keep you charged, engaged, and thrilled. Otherwise, you might decide to return.
Camping activities are a good source of boosting creativity, exercising our minds, and refreshing our moods. While on camp, you must not want to watch the paint dry. Instead, before heading off on your journey, prepare a list of engaging camping activities and games to make your trip memorable. The camping activities discussed in our guide will surely throw your boredom away.