One of the best parts of going camping is campfire activities and playing games to pass the time while hiking. It’s such a treat to have the family playing together outdoors, away from the distractions of technology and work. However, you need games that will make everyone excited to play and encourage laughter.
Below, we're sharing six of the best hiking or camping games that the whole family will love.
If you are hiking, and you've had a long day, there's almost nothing better than getting cozy with the family around a campfire, eating S'mores, telling stories, laughing, and winding down for the day. Because it too dark to play cards, Telephone is the perfect substitute.
To play, someone picks a phrase and whispers it to the person next to them. That person has to then whisper the phrase to the person next to them, and so on. It sounds simple enough, but someone always makes a mistake, and by the time the final person blurts out what they heard, it is sure to have changed so much that everyone is in hysterics.
While it's a great campfire game, it's can also be played to pass the time while hiking. If you're all walking in a straight line, the person leading the group can turn to the person behind them and whisper a phrase until it makes its way to the last person. The person in the back should then shout out the phrase to the front.
Capture the Flag is one of the most exciting and intense camping games you can play. The group is split into two teams. Choose two spots where the flags will be kept. And don't worry, you don't have to use actual flags - any object will do.
The aim of the game is to get the other team's flag. As you can imagine, each flag is fiercely guarded, but each team is motivated to venture out of their own camp to try and get the other's flag. In the process, teams can take each other as prisoners, hide, create tactical plans, and work as a team to win. Capture the Flag is a brilliant camping game for bonding, working the brain, exercising, and having a little competitive fun.
Pass the Water is one of the best games to play when it's hot. But make sure you are by a body of water first. The last thing you want to be doing is wasting precious water when camping or hiking, as it is dangerous to get dehydrated. So, we recommend waiting until you're near a stream, river, or lake for this game.
And it's as simple as it sounds, but in practice it is a lot more exciting. Break your group into teams of however many you'd like, and stand each team in a line with about a meter between each person. Person 1 from each team needs the last person in their line to fill their cupped hands with water. Then they must walk to the next person in their team line and pour the water into their hands. This repeats until the line is finished. The winner is the team with the most water remaining at the end.
Another great bonding game is building an obstacle course together. This may sound relatively simple but remember that you will be hiking, so you will have to build it from surrounding objects such as fallen branches or using your backpack as make-do cones. It requires being resourceful and coming up with a team strategy to create the course.
This game is best played on flat open land. As we all know, hiking terrains are not best for obstacle courses. But if you come to a clearer, wider area, this game might be a great choice. It's silly - imagine Dad racing Mom across a field - and it will quickly have the whole family cheering and laughing.
Sometimes after a long day of hiking, all the family wants to do is cuddle up around the campfire. Charades is another timeless camping game that is good for this cozy time.
For those who don't know, Charades is a pantomime game where you have to act out a phrase, and other people have to guess what you are acting. Phrases might be anything from film and book titles, or it could be an action, such as ‘synchronized swimming.’
There are dozens of methods of playing Charades, but the most common is that you break into teams of two and your team member alone has to guess what you are acting out. Then it will go onto someone else's team. The winner is the team who guesses the most phrases, and the silly acting usually has everyone in stitches.
Would any camping trip be complete without a huge game of Hide and Seek with the whole family? Hide and Seek is always such a fun one of the camping games because your surroundings aren't familiar, and there will be so many spots for people to hide in. We'll give you a camping that makes this game so much better: it is best played at the actual camp, so you can drop your bags and explore cabins, nearby forests, etc.
Safety has to be a priority, of course. For teenagers, why not hide in pairs, while younger children can hide with their parents. It is always more fun to create an invisible perimeter too, so that no one strolls too far and also so the seeker doesn't spend hours searching for everyone else.
Hiking trips are some of the most special moments of our lives, and playing camping games as a family only adds to this. Now, with these six ideas to choose from, you can spend less time pondering over what to play and more time playing.
It could be something active, like Capture the Flag, making your own obstacle course, or Hide and Seek, or it could be something for those cozy nights by the campfire like Charades or Telephone.
Whatever you choose, following these camping tips, you are sure you have a joyful and bonding time. After all, spending time with friends and family not only feels good but is known to be actively good for your health.
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