GoCampingAmerica.com | Posted November
    2nd, 2016

    Games for All Ages

    Happy Camper Blog

    One of the many great things about camping is that it gives
    families a chance to put their electronics aside for a while and reconnect in
    simple ways. Here are a few fun games that campers of all ages can
    enjoy:

     

    There Once Was a
    Skunk

    This fun storytelling game comes from the blog
    Escapeadulthood.com. To play, someone in the group begins a story by saying,
    “There once was a skunk who . . .” and they finish the sentence however they
    wish. Then they point to someone else who continues the story with a sentence
    beginning with “Fortunately, . .”  Then that
    person points to someone else who continues the story with a sentence
    beginning with “Unfortunately. . .” Have the players alternate between
    “fortunately,” and “unfortunately,” and the story will likely get sillier as
    it goes on, resulting in something like this:  “There once
    was a skunk who took ballet lessons. Fortunately, he looked very good in a
    tutu. Unfortunately, he got dizzy very easily and often tripped on his tail.
    Fortunately, a drink of root beer always cleared up his dizziness. . . ”
    And so on. This game is sure to result in a lot of
    giggles.

     

    Campground Charades

    It’s easy to put a camping spin on this classic game that involves
    players pantomiming a phrase to try to get others to guess what it is. The
    blog TheJoysofBoys.com offers a free downloadable list of
    campground charade phrases that you can cut up and place into a jar. It
    includes dozens of phrases like “Pitching a Tent,” “Using a Compass to Find
    Your Way” and “Making S’mores.” Or, of course, you can make up your own
    phrases. To play, the first person takes a phrase slip from the jar and acts
    it out, using hints like indicating the number of words by holding up that
    many fingers. (Then hold up one finger before pantomiming the first word, two
    fingers before the second, and so on.) Or, to pantomime a word that rhymes
    with the word to be guessed, the player can tug on their ear to say
    “sounds like.” Each person who guesses a phrase correctly earns a
    point. The game can also be played in teams to foster a little friendly
    competition.

     

    Glow Stick Ring Toss

    This is a simple, but fun nighttime game to play. Before leaving
    home, pick up a few packs of glow sticks from your local dollar store. The
    necklace-sized ones work well, and you can also include a few of the
    bracelet-sized ones for an extra challenge. To play the game, activate the
    glow sticks and place one in each of several water bottles to serve as the
    posts, then form the rest of the glow sticks into rings and play away! You
    can also adjust the distance of the posts to vary the challenge or to
    simplify the game for younger family members. You can set your own point
    system, such as the first person to get a ring around a bottle five (or 10)
    times wins.

     

    Noah’s Ark

    This game comes from the blog iMom.com and would work well around
    the campfire. To play, have everyone sit in a circle. The first person begins
    by saying, “I’m going on Noah’s Ark and I’m bringing two apes.” The next
    person repeats what the first person said and adds something starting with
    the letter “B” as in “I’m going on Noah’s Ark and I’m bringing two apes and
    two birds.” The game continues around the circle with everyone reciting the
    list in order and adding their own animals. If someone makes a mistake,
    they’re out of the game and must move out of the circle. The last person in
    the circle wins.

     

    Washer Toss

    This classic game offers fun for the whole family since the
    distance of the targets and size of the washers can be adjusted based on the
    ages/abilities of the players. It’s a simple target game where players toss
    different colored washers into a box with a circle inside. Getting a washer
    in the circle earns three points, and getting one in the box outside the
    circle earns one point. The first player (or team) earning 21 points wins.
    There are commercial Washer Toss games available for purchase, or you can
    find plenty of instructions online for making your own. Another advantage is
    that this simple game doesn’t take much space to pack.

     

    No matter which games you decide to play, the most important
    thing is that family members of all ages can have so much fun playing them
    together.