Games
Games are a great way to get your group doing an activity together and a fun way to break the ice.
Camping Game Ideas - Download tips on how to organize game night at your campsite, reprinted courtesy of Knack. (This is a 152 Kb PDF.)
Excerpted from Car Camping for Everyone by Mary and Bill Burnham, photographs by Stephen Gorman. Copyright © 2009. Reprinted with permission of Knack, an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.
For ideas to plan your next camping or outdoor adventure, check out Knack Car Camping for Everyone, published by Knack, an imprint of The Globe Press. From choosing a sleeping bag and setting up a tent to overcoming challenges like weather, insects, and safety concerns, Knack Car Camping for Everyone offers the tools you need to make camping a pleasure.
Want additional inspiration? Check out NWF's favorite games:
Check out some new games or add your own to our Camping Games Flickr Discussion Board.
Great Game for Before Bed
HOW LONG IS A MINUTE?
A quick time filler, this is ideal to calm a group down.
Tell the campers that you are going to time a minute on your watch.
The campers have to raise their hand when they have counted a minute in their heads.
The closest one is the winner.
This game can be extended to two minutes (or any other length of time) when the children get good at it.
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Great Games for Older Elementary Ages
I TOOK A TRIP
Players: 4 or more
Equipment: None
Preparation: None
Everyone sits in a circle. One player, the leader, goes around saying to each player, "I took a trip. What did I take along?" The players name any object they please. One may say, "a suitcase," another says, "a pickle." Other answers might be "a lunch box," "an alarm clock," a peanut butter sandwich," "your poodle."
After each player has named an object, the leader goes around and asks a different question, any kind of question that will be funny, because the players are not supposed to laugh. The leader asks the same question of each player and they each must give the same answer they gave before.
For example, the leader asks something like, "What did I travel on?" The answers would come out, "a suitcase," "a pickle," "a lunch box," and so on. Since anyone who laughs is out of the game, the leader purposely tries to think of questions that will make their answers seem funny and silly.
After everyone has a chance to answer the first question, the leader asks another, such as "What did I wear around my neck?" and then another, trying to get everyone to laugh. The player who laughs last wins.
PASS THE SCISSORS
All players sit in a circle, and one is given a pair of scissors. In turn, the scissors are passed around the circle, from one player to the next. As a player passes the scissors to the next person they say either "CROSSED" or "UNCROSSED", and will be told if they are right or wrong. The object is to try and find out what the rule is. It is interesting at the start if the person knows the rule, and makes a great play of turning the scissors around and opening and closing them. The game continues until all have solved the mystery, or you take pity on those who haven't. The rule has nothing to do with the scissors. It is whether you have your legs crossed...
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Great Teen and Adult games
WINKING MURDER
All sit in a circle. Pass cards around telling people to keep them hidden; the person with the ace of spades is the murderer. When he is ready, the Murderer winks at people in the circle. Anyone who sees that they have been winked at lets out a blood-curdling scream and "dies." If someone thinks they know who the murderer is, they ask everyone to put their hands out into the center of the circle. Everyone closes their eyes and the person guessing touches the hand of the person they think is the murderer. If they are wrong, they are out of the game and the murderer is free to carry on... until they are found out or they murder everyone!
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE
Take turns telling three statements about yourself. Make sure one of the statements is a lie. A little imagination goes a long way in this game! Everyone then tries to figure out which statements are true and which are not.
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