Fun outdoor games for children and adults
Variety at the campsite
Playing outside is fun and not only strengthens the sense of community, you also train coordination and concentration. I'll introduce you to outdoor play ideas so you'll never be bored in the garden, park or campsite.
Table of contents
Boules - ball game
Boccia, Boules or Pétanque. The ball game is known and equally popular throughout Europe. The game is played in pairs or teams. In boules, a small, usually coloured target ball, the „piggy“, is thrown to any place. The winner is the one who manages to throw his own, larger balls as close as possible to the little one. In a game, it is therefore important to be able to estimate and vary your throwing distance well. The great thing: There are often public boules facilities in parks or campsites. These have the appropriate substrate of fine gravel and are levelled. This is a great place to throw the balls in good weather and meet other enthusiastic boccia players.
Boules is played with any number of teams.
A variation of boules is the new Crossboule. The balls are made of fabric and are therefore very soft. The target ball can accordingly also be placed on benches or stairs and you can also play in the sand or even in the snow. This way the game never gets boring, because the challenge changes round after round. And even small children can play without hurting themselves on the heavy normal boules balls. Crossboule can be found at Zoch-Verlag.
It doesn't matter whether you prefer to play boules or crossboule: The balls can be stored in a space-saving way and hardly weigh anything. This makes boules the perfect companion for a camping holiday.
Here you can find a boules/boccia set in the Berger online shop.
Here you can find a Crossboule set in the Berger online shop.
Croquet - precision game
Croquet comes from England and is a mixture of miniature golf and polo. Each player receives a racket and a ball. A course of goals is set up for this purpose. The aim is to get your ball through the course in as few strokes as possible with the help of the bat.
Croquet is also great for younger children as a croquet set includes rackets of different lengths. In addition, the goals can be placed at a distance suitable for children. Older children enjoy a more challenging course with inclines, holes and obstacles such as stones. Croquet can be played with any number of players, but is also great fun on its own. The game can be stored in a space-saving way, the rackets are not longer than 1 metre.
Croquet can be played with up to 6 players.
A fun alternative to croquet is football croquet. The ball may only be moved through the goals with the foot. Practical for camping holidays: You need almost no playing material. The goals are easy to build from sticks or string, and you have a ball with you anyway.
Ladder ball - throwing game
To play ladder ball, you need two essential components: The ladder and a few bolas. These are short ropes, each with a ball at the end. The aim is to throw your bola onto one of the three rungs of the ladder, where it must remain until the end of the round. Different points are awarded depending on the constellation.
It is best to stand 5 metres away from the ladder to throw. Small children can still easily play along by simply taking a few steps forward. If only adults are playing, you can increase the distance to the ladder or set up obstacles such as a clothesline or chair.
Ladder ball can be played with up to 6 players.
The feet of the ladder can be unscrewed thanks to wing nuts. This way, the game is quickly reduced to a flat pack size and can be easily taken along. Tip: If the frame is still too bulky for your camping holiday, you can also just take the bolas with you. Use a clothesline, branches or a fence as a „ladder“.
Mikado - game of skill
Everyone knows Mikado. But the small sticks are rather unsuitable for the small camping table or the picnic blanket. Luckily, there is the XXL version for outdoors. Here the sticks are at least 75 centimetres long. This means that nothing gets lost outside and the sticks are so stable that a gust of wind cannot move them.
Mikado can be played with any number of players.
At the beginning of the game, the sticks are bundled and set up. Then you just let go of the pack and the sticks fall criss-cross onto the floor. Now all players in turn must try to pick up one stick without the other sticks moving. The sticks vary in value. A stick has between 2 and 20 points, depending on the colour coding.
The great thing: You can easily make an XXL Mikado yourself. For this you need round sticks with a diameter of at least 10 millimetres. You can find these in DIY shops or model shops. You can decide for yourself how many you want, but a classic Mikado consists of 41 sticks. If you have less space, just use fewer sticks. You can sharpen the ends of the sticks with a normal sharpener and then sand them down with some sandpaper. There are no limits to the colour coding of the sticks. Your kids will love getting creative with painting the Mikado sticks.
Ring toss - throwing game
Ring toss is a nice way to train dexterity and coordination. The game consists of a frame into which several sticks are inserted. The aim now is to throw your rings over the sticks. The sticks vary in value and players take turns.
As many people can play as you have rings available.
For children, there are various ring toss sets in bright colours, but you can also paint your wooden game beautifully yourself. The ring toss frame is dismantled for transport and so the game takes up virtually no space in the camper.
Stick on the line - precision game
The name Stick on the line, meaning „stick on the string“, says it all. Here, sticks are thrown onto a string and the game is as simple as it is fun. In preparation for playing, all you need to do is stretch a string close to the ground. The players position themselves at an equal distance from it and now try to throw their stick so that it comes to rest exactly on the string. The sticks are divided into different point segments and colour-coded. Depending on how the stick stays in place, you can score up to 50 points per stick.
As many people can play as you have sticks available.
Small children can reduce the distance to the string. Also, you do not necessarily have to count the points as indicated on the stick. There are no limits to your imagination.
Alternatively you can also draw a line with street marking chalk. Similar to the Mikado sticks, you can also make Stick on the line sticks yourself very easily. You can also use your self-made Mikado sticks for this.
Kubb - movement game
Kubb is a mixture of chess and skittles. The game is played in two teams facing each other. Each team builds its pawns in the form of wooden blocks in front of them, the king stands in the middle of the field. In Kubb, the team that can knock down the opponent's pawns first and then the king with the throwing sticks wins. The movement game can be played in pairs, but also with any number of people as a team. The game comes from Sweden, where the game pieces are called „Kubbar“, which is why the game is called „Kubb“.
Kubb is played in teams, which can consist of any number of players.
Check out how Kubb is played by relaxdays here.
The closer the two teams are, the easier it is for smaller children to knock down the opposing pawns. Kubb consists of 10 pawns, 1 king and 6 throwing sticks. If you pack all the parts in a bag, the whole thing takes up little space and can be stowed away easily.
Here you can find Kubb in the Berger online shop.
Conclusion: great fun
Do you fancy something other than badminton and table tennis on holiday or in the park? Then these suggestions will ensure a successful afternoon of games. The games presented are particularly suitable for camping holidays, as they have a small pack size and weigh very little.
