Camping Games The Whole Family Will Love

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Amazon
• Pinterest

One of my favorite things to do while camping is slow down a bit and enjoy some good old-fashioned games. Whether it’s a board game, a card game or a game around the campfire, I don’t care–I love them all. These are my favorite tried and true camping games that everyone in my family loves.

Not all of the games on this list need to be saved for camping. They also make great options when traveling to a hotel or Airbnb, or simply for some quality family time at home. In fact, many of these games are on my list of backyard must haves for entertaining. Most of these don’t require a ton of pieces or a complicated set up, they can accommodate many players, and they’re easy to learn–so anyone can join in.

These games also make great gift ideas for your favorite camping friends and family members.

Favorite Campfire Games

Catch Phrase – One of our favorite family campfire games

• Number of Players: 4+
• This is my family’s favorite camping game. It’s great because it can be played with an infinite amount of people, and you don’t need a table–so it’s a great campfire game. We usually do boys vs girls, and the kids all play too. Those who struggle with reading or describing just play as “guessers.”
• This is hot-potato kind of game where you are describing the word on the screen while everyone else guesses. Once they successfully guess, you pass it to the other team. You don’t want to be the one holding it when the buzzer sounds or else the other team gets the point.

Outburst – One of the best camping games for large groups

• Number of Players: 4+
• I had Outburst and Outburst Jr. as a kid, and these games are so much fun. Unfortunately they haven’t released a new edition in several years, so many of these games are priced high as “collector’s items”, but if you can find a good deal on a used one, do it!
• This is another one that we play boys vs girls. Each round consists of a Top 10 list and the team has a certain amount of time to guess as many as they can for that category (such as brands of toothpaste or Jack Nicholson movies, etc).

Follow the Leader – One of the easiest camping games; no set up or equipment!

• Number of Players: 5+(the more people, the better)
• This game requires no equipment or set up. Simply sit in a circle (around a campfire is fine). One player leaves the circle and the remaining players choose a leader. Everyone must copy what the leader does–he can raise a hand, cross legs, start snapping, etc). The person who left comes back, stands in the center of the circle and tries to guess who the leader is. They get attempts to guess correctly (this can be lessened if it’s a small group).
• There are lots of variations of this game. I’ve played similar games where the group selects a “killer.” The killer winks at people and they play dead. The goal is to guess who the killer is before he has managed to kill everyone.

Favorite “Active” Camping Games

Ladder Ball

• Number of Players: 2 or 4
• Ladder ball is always set up on our campsite, and the kids play it more than the adults. Don’t get me wrong, I love a game of ladder ball, but the kids LOVE it and can play it all day. It’s simple enough–toss the rope balls and try to hook them on the ladder across from you. You get 3, 2 or 1 point depending on which rung you’re able to hook.

Cornhole

• Number of Players: 2 or 4
• Most people know how to play cornhole by now. It’s a great outdoor game that is fun for any camping trip, backyard bbq, tailgate or wherever. The objective is easy–throw your bean bag into the hole. Unfortunately, that’s not as easy as it sounds. You can play this with a partner or individually.

Bocce Ball

• Number of Players: 2 or 4
• Bocce Ball has been around forever, and is a great camping game. Campgrounds often have large spaces or empty campsites that make ideal bocce ball courts. The objective is to roll your ball as close to the pea as possible, or ideally hit the pea. You can play bocce ball with a partner or individually.

PaddleSmash

• Players: 2+
• This is the for those of you who love a competitive game of pickleball. You and a partner take turns popping a soft, low-bounce ball back and forth using foam paddles, trying to outmaneuver your opponent with clever shots. It’s fast to set up, easy for everyone to pick up, and a great way to add movement and laughter to your campsite downtime.

KanJam – One of the more competitive camping games

• Number of Players: 4
• This is one of our favorite beach camping games. You play with a partner and try to throw a frisbee into the can. Your partner stands across from you and can hit the frisbee in when you toss it. If they manage to get the frisbee in through the slot, it’s an automatic win and the game is over. It’s so fun and gets super competitive.

Spike Ball

• Number of Players: 2 or 4
• This game is similar to volleyball, but you’re bouncing the ball on the net rather than over it. There’s diving, slamming, reaching and lots of laughing involved every time we play it. And it doesn’t take up a ton of space. This is a must-have when we go beach camping.

Favorite Adult Camping Games

Each of the following games are similar concepts. Match a card in your hand to the picture or card that is drawn. For example if someone pulls “Do not use the bathroom. There’s ______ in there”, you’ll play a card in your hand that makes the most sense in that blank or is the funniest fit.

What Do You Meme?

• Number of Players: 3+
• This one uses pictures that you match a funny caption (meme) to.

KinderPerfect

• Number of Players: 3+
• This game is parent humor–all the fun and quirky things parents deal with–but not kid-friendly.

Cards Against Humanity

• Number of Players: 3+
• This one probably needs no introduction. A hilarious game with many expansion packs so you can play over and over again.

Favorite Group Camping Games

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza – One of the cutest camping games!

• Number of Players: 2-8
• This game is too cute! You need to be quick to slap a certain card, but if you slap the wrong card you have to take the entire pile. The objective is to be the first one to get rid of all their cards. It’s quick to learn, and only takes about 10 minutes to finish the game.

Sequence – My all-time favorite anytime game

• Number of Players: 2-6
• Sequence is one of my all-time favorite games. I play it at home, at hotels, while camping–whenever I can find someone who wants to play with me. You can play as partners (4 or 6 people), or individuals (2 or 3 players). The objective is simple: be the first team or person to place 5 tokens in a row. And you’re not allowed to collaborate with your partner, to find out what cards they do or don’t have. It’s super simple and very competitive. My kids also love playing.

What Do You Meme? Family Edition

• Number of Players: 3+
• This game is so fun for all ages. Kids crack up creating captions (from the cards in their hands) for the provided pictures. And I love listening to what they come up with.

Sleeping Queens

• Number of Players: 2-5
• Sleeping Queens was invented by a 6 year-old and is one of my kids’ favorite card games. It consists of sleeping queens (imagine that) that need to be woken up. It takes about 15 minutes to finish a game, and the player who wakes the most queens wins.

Bingo – The kids’ pick for best camping game

• Number of Players: 2+
• No explanation is needed for this one. Bingo is hands-down the kids’ favorite camping game. My mom does a round of bingo every day of camping, and has prizes for the winners. They can’t get enough. It’s a great way to entertain the kids for a chunk of time, especially if the weather is bad and you need something to do.

Exploding Kittens

• Number of Players: 2-5
• This game takes “two minutes to learn and 15 minutes to play.” It’s a simple game where you don’t want to draw an exploding kitten unless you have a defuse card. You might also be able to use your action card to move an exploding kitten card and really screw over your friend. It’s a fun game with lots of laughs.

Spoons – One of the easier camping games for large groups

• Number of Players: 3+
• All you need for this game is a deck of cards and some spoons. The number of spoons you need depends on the number of players. You need one less spoon than players (just like in musical chairs).
• Place the spoons centrally on the table where anyone can access at least one spoon. You only need to grab one, but if you can reach a few, that is ideal.
• One person is the dealer and each player starts with 4 cards. The dealer picks up a card and decides to keep it or pass it face down. Each player picks up the cards they are passed, one at a time, trying to get 4 of a kind in their hand. When a player gets 4 of a kind, they will grab a spoon. At that time, everyone needs to reach for a spoon. Whoever doesn’t get one loses that round and has a “S”. Whoever spells “SPOONS” first loses and sits out the remaining rounds until there is one winner.

Rummikub

• Number of Players: 2-6
• This camping game is a twist on Rummy. You want to get rid of all of your tiles by laying down sequences or series, and building on to the tiles already played.

Scattergories

• Number of Players: 2-6
• In this game, you only have a short amount of time to come up with a word for each category. Roll the dice and find out which letter you’ll use that round. Let’s say it lands on K. You need to come up with a word that starts with a K for each category on your list. Categories may include: a boy’s name, a country, a professional athlete, things in your purse, things at the beach, etc.

For more fun ideas while camping, be sure to check out my post How to Have an Outdoor Movie Night While Camping and My Favorite Family Campgrounds in SoCal. And if you’re planning a group camping trip, check out these tips.

As an Amazon associate, I may earn commission on purchases made from links on this page.