No camping holiday is complete without one or two group games in the itinerary. Whether you’re enjoying the outdoors with family or friends, don’t forget to throw in the following games in your list of activities for a fun-filled and memory-worthy camping adventure.
Spoons
A classic card game where the objective of the game is to collect a four-of-a-kind and get a spoon. It is an easy game to play and great for all ages.
To play:
1. Place several spoons in the middle of the table, one less than the number of players. The dealer deals each player four cards and puts the remaining pile on their right.
2. The dealer takes the top card from the deck. If they decide to keep the card, they discard one card from their hand to the left. If not, they discard the new card (also to the left). The goal is to get to 4 of a kind. Other players follow along, picking up the discarded cards on their right, deciding whether to keep it or not, and discarding the extra cards to their left.
3. Once a player has four-of-a-kind, they grab a spoon. They can be sneaky about it to see if no one notices or can just grab it as fast as they can. Other players are now free to grab a spoon and the player without a spoon loses.
Cards Against Humanity
The game was officially released in 2011 and became the number game on Amazon after only one month. The game was meant to be fun, but it can also become quite offensive so it’s best played with friends with a good sense of humor.
To play:
1. The Card Czar holds the black cards and all other players are dealt ten white cards each.
2. The Card Czar places a black card in the middle, and other players choose a white card from their hands to complete the sentence in the black card and put it face down.
3. When every player has put down a card, the Card Czar flips the white cards open, reads the card together, and chooses the funniest, cleverest, or most ridiculous card, and awards the point to the card’s owner. The player with the most points after 5 rounds wins.
Mafia
There are plenty of variations for this game, but here is how I have played it
To play:
1. Choose a narrator who will not participate in the round.
2. Build a deck composed of an ace (mafia), king (police), queen (doctor), and number cards for the townspeople (depending on the number of remaining players) and put them in the middle. For 6 players, there will be 2 mafia members, 1 detective, and 3 townspeople. For 10 players there will be 2 mafias, 2 detectives, 1 doctor, and 5 townspeople. As you add more people you can add more mafias and detectives but the majority should always be townspeople.
2. Each player draws a card to see their role.
3. Every round starts with everyone closing their eye. The narrator asks the mafia to choose someone to kill. The detectives then decide on someone to ask the narrator to reveal if they are the mafia. The doctor then chooses someone to save. If they were the person who was supposed to be killer, they are then saved.
4. Everyone opens their eyes and the narrator explains what happens. The group then debate who they think is the mafia until a majority decides on someone to kill. They are then out of the game and their role is revealed. The goal is to eliminate the mafia.
4. The mafia wins if they kill all the townspeople without being caught.
The Sign Game
A simple and fun game sure to bring a lot of laughs (depending on the signs you choose) for the whole gang.
1. Players sit in a circle and choose a sign (e.g. wink, thumbs up, etc.)
2. One person stands in the middle and closes their eyes while other players show their signs and choose the first person to start the game.
3. The first player attempts to pass the sign to another player by performing their own sign and the receiving player’s sign without being caught. If the first player isn’t caught, the player who received the sign will pass it to another player by doing their own sign and the receiving player’s sign. The game continues until the player holding the sign is caught by the person in the middle.
Two Truths and a Lie
Think you know your family or friends? Well, you may be surprised by the truths they bring out in this game. There are now points to be won in this game, but the surprises and the laughs make it worth playing. To play:
1. The first player tells two truths or facts and one lie about themselves.
2. The rest of the players convenes and try to determine which of the three statements are the truths and the lie.
3. Once they reach an agreement, they tell the first player their consensus and he/she tells them if they are correct.
Charades
This classic remains to be one of the most popular games not just around the campfire but in just about every party worldwide. To play:
1. Players are split into two teams, and a set of words or phrases are written on paper and dropped in a box or bowl.
2. The first team chooses an actor, who then picks a word or phrase and acts it out while the rest of the team guessed.
3. If the first team guesses the word or phrase in one minute, they win a point. If not, the other team has a chance to guess and win the point for themselves.
Camping in itself if fun, but you can make it even more enjoyable by incorporating several group games into the itinerary. Doing so will surely leave the campsite ringing with laughter throughout your trip.