The Best Camping Games

Entertainment for the campsite

Posted on: July 22, 2019
By: Jeff Dobbs
The Best Camping Games

Whether for keeping children entertained, rainy days, or entertaining nights, camp games are a must. Since you already have enough to pack, we selected classic games that require little or no equipment to play.

Scavenger Hunt

This timeless game is great fun for children but if adults want to play too you have to call it “Geocaching”. The basic premise is self-explanatory but interesting educational twists on the game can involve map & compass reading, GPS, phone app maps or very simple cardinal direction-finding. Playing at night with flashlights can make even a small playing area more interesting. 

Frisbee

The lowly frisbee is one of the most under-rated must-have items in your camping game-gear. The frisbee can be used in games for the young to the young-at-heart, many of which don't even require throwing the frisbee, such as water races. From tag, dodgeball, golf, full-contact keep away and basic target-throwing practice with a stack of cans, the frisbee is in many ways more versatile than a ball.

Dice

The camp game kit must contain tabletop games. Insofar as simplicity & portability go, dice are hard to beat. Entire books can be found on dice-related games for the young an old from as simple as speed-counting exercises for toddlers to complex strategic games similar to chess.

best camping games

Cards Against Humanity

Chances are if you are reading this you already own a set of these or you've been meaning to buy one. If you've never heard of this game, you are missing out on what is indisputably the most popular party game of the early 21st century. Sometimes compared to Apples to Apples, Cards Against Humanity specializes in giving players opportunities to create “offensive, risqué or politically incorrect” statements based on the concept of Mad Libs.

Glow In The Dark Ring Toss

This simple & easy to pack DIY game works well whether around the campfire or stuck in the tent. Every dollar store carries the snap & shake type of glow in the dark bracelets such as those found at carnivals. Get a box & make them into rings. Similar to horseshoes, using bottles of any type, throw the ring from a short distance and make it land around the bottle.

The Winking Assassin

Place scraps of paper for the number of people playing in a bowl. One scrap has a black dot, one scrap has a star, and the other scraps of paper are blank. Concealing their draw, the assassin is the one who draws the black dot and the detective is the one who draws the star and the blank scraps of paper are the potential victims. The assassin must wink at the other campers to “kill” them without the detective noticing; however, once they receive the wink, they may die so all can see—without revealing the assassin. The game ends when the detective catches the assassin or the assassin kills everyone except the detective. There can be an award for the most dramatic death.

Unfortunate tales of fortune

This classic camp favorite is fun for all ages. There is no way to win or lose this game. The first player makes a statement regarding an imaginary fortunate event regarding anyone or anything. The next player responds with an unfortunate event that followed the fortunate event. The more absurd and imaginative the statements or events, the more comical the game becomes. 

Zip! Boing!

This simple & hilarious game is fun for all ages and works best when seated in a circle or an obvious order of players. A player starts by simply saying “Zip” and they “pass the zip” to a person next to them. The next player can say either “Zip” or “Boing”. A Zip continues onto the next player in the order in which play started. A Boing reverses the order of play. The first player to smile or laugh is out of the game.

Twig Castles

Not so much of a game as it is a passtime, Twig Castles is fun for the young or anyone with a creative mindset. Bring water soluble glue, tape and or rubber bands. Find twigs and try to make little sculptures out of them. Kids obviously love this one but don't be surprised if you find your inner artist along the way as well.

Questions

Not to be confused with 20 Questions, this traditional game of wit requires quick thinking. The game begins with someone asking (preferably without warning) “Would you like to play Questions?”. The purpose of the game is to answer every question with a related question. A player loses if they respond in the form of a statement. Other scoring mechanisms include:

Hesitation: Player takes too long to respond

Repetition: Player responds with the same question or one that has already been asked

Rhetoric: Player asks a rhetorical question

Non sequitur: Player changes the subject of the other players question by responding with an unrelated question

 

A bottle of glue, a bottle of water, and a frisbee. Camping is about enjoying the simple pleasures in life. Leisure time games among friends and family are also an-too-forgotten pleasure that is best when kept simple.

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