Press the button for a secret-rule game: what the leader says, three example rounds, and the trick behind Show answer.
Camp Riddle Games
The Aunt Who Hates Tea. The leader says: “My aunt hates tea. She likes coffee but not toast. She likes apples but not carrots. She likes swimming but not tennis. What else does she like?”The secret: She hates the letter T, not the drink. She likes anything spelled without a T: coffee, apples, swimming. Toast, carrots and tennis all have one. A traditional circle game, and this is one way to play it.
These 28 are camp riddles: games with a hidden rule, which a leader plays with a circle until the group works out the trick. Each gives the leader’s words and three example rounds, and hides its secret.
Read the full guide
If you are the leader
Press Show answer and learn the secret before anyone sits down. Say the opening lines, then let each player try and answer only yes or no. A player who thinks they have it proves it by playing, not by saying the rule aloud.
If you are a player
Leave the answer hidden: the example rounds are enough to start guessing. Word-rule games (15) hide the secret in the words themselves. Watch-closely games (13) hide it in something the leader does, so stop listening and look. The full list under the tool prints every secret, so players should not scroll past the tool.
Tips
Overdo the clue once most of the circle has it, so nobody is left guessing alone.
Easy games suit a first night. Keep the hard ones for a group that already knows a few.
Questions and answers
What is a camp riddle game?
A game with a rule that only the leader knows. Players take turns trying something, the leader says yes or no, and the round ends when everyone has spotted the rule. Most need nothing but a circle.
What is the secret of the I can play the pen game riddle?
Say okay. The leader says yes to any player whose sentence has the word okay in it, as the leader’s own always does, and the pen has nothing to do with it. It is one of the 15 word-rule games here.
Which of these games are traditional?
10, including The Green Glass Door, Black Magic, Crossed or Uncrossed and Petals Around the Rose. The other 18 were written for this page in the same style, and each of those says so under its secret.
How long does one game last?
Until the circle works it out, which can be two minutes or a whole evening. A group can leave a game unsolved overnight and pick it up at breakfast, since nothing needs to be set up.
The Aunt Who Hates Tea. The leader says: “My aunt hates tea. She likes coffee but not toast. She likes apples but not carrots. She likes swimming but not tennis. What else does she like?”The secret: She hates the letter T, not the drink. She likes anything spelled without a T: coffee, apples, swimming. Toast, carrots and tennis all have one. A traditional circle game, and this is one way to play it.
The Camp Cook. “Cook, may I have soup?” No. “May I have soup, please?” Yes. “Please, may I have more?” Yes.The secret: The leader is the cook, and it does not matter what food is asked for. The cook says yes to any request that has the word please in it. Written for this page.
The Caravan. The leader says: “The caravan is leaving, and I am loading an anchor.” The next player says a banjo and is told yes. The next says a tent and is told no. The next says a candle and is told yes.The secret: Each thing has to start with the next letter of the alphabet after the last thing that was accepted: anchor, banjo, candle, then something that starts with D. A refused thing does not use up a letter. Written for this page.
Show all 28 games (25 more)
Word-rule games: the secret is in the words, continued
Count With Me. The leader holds up a few fingers each time, to mislead, and says: “How many is this?” The answer is four. “And this?” Two. “And how many do you think this is?” Eight.The secret: The fingers mean nothing. The answer is the number of words the leader has just said: how many is this has four words, and this has two. Written for this page.
The Green Glass Door. The leader says: “Through the green glass door I can take a puppy but not a dog, butter but not bread, a wheel but not a tire. What can you take?”The secret: A thing goes through only if its name has a double letter, as green, glass and door all have. Puppy, butter and wheel pass. Dog, bread and tire do not. As described by Ultimate Camp Resource (see the source note).
I Am Going on a Picnic. The leader, Sam, says: “I am going on a picnic and bringing sandwiches. Tess may come with tomatoes. Ben may come with bread, but not with grapes. What will you bring?”The secret: You may come if the thing you bring starts with the same letter as your own first name. Sam brings sandwiches, Tess brings tomatoes and Ben brings bread. A traditional circle game, and this is one way to play it.
I Can Play the Pen Game. The leader holds up a pen: “Okay, I can play the pen game. Can you?” One player says, “I can play the pen game,” and is told no. Another says, “Okay, I can play the pen game,” and is told yes.The secret: The pen does nothing. You can play only if the word okay is in what you say, and the leader starts with it every time. One way to play, after Ultimate Camp Resource (see the source note).
The Market Stall. The leader says: “My stall sells sunflowers but not flowers. It sells footballs but not balls. It sells raincoats but not coats. What will you buy from me?”The secret: The stall sells only words that are made of two smaller words joined together: sun and flower, foot and ball, rain and coat. A campfire and a flashlight are both for sale. Written for this page.
The Night Train. The leader says: “The night train left the lake and stops next at an eagle.” The next player says an elephant: yes. The next says a moose: no. The next says a tiger: yes.The secret: Each stop has to begin with the last letter of the stop before: lake, eagle, elephant, tiger, and then something that starts with R. Written for this page.
The Oracle of the Campfire. The leader says: “Ask the oracle any question that has a yes or a no for an answer.” Will it rain on our tents? Yes. Is it time for lunch? No. Do bears like marshmallows? Yes.The secret: The oracle is not listening to the question. It answers yes when the last word of the question is a plural, more than one of something, such as tents or marshmallows, and no when it is not, such as lunch. Written for this page.
The Owl’s Club. The leader says: “The Owl’s Club lets in an otter but not a beaver. It lets in an eagle but not a hawk. It lets in an inchworm but not a caterpillar. Who else may join?”The secret: A member’s name has to begin with a vowel: otter, eagle, inchworm, and of course owl. Beaver, hawk and caterpillar begin with consonants. Written for this page.
Pass It Around the Fire. The leader says: “Around the fire I pass a cup.” The next player may pass an apple but not a stick, the next a mitten but not a hat, the next a pillow. Then comes a compass.The secret: The first letters of the things have to spell CAMP, over and over: cup, apple, mitten, pillow, and then a new thing that starts with C. Written for this page.
The Rhyming Raft. The leader, Jake, says: “I am rowing my raft across the lake. Ben may climb on with a hen, but not with a duck. Grace may climb on with lace, but not with rope.”The secret: You may board if what you bring rhymes with your own first name: Jake and lake, Ben and hen, Grace and lace. A player whose name is hard to rhyme may use a nickname for the game. Written for this page.
The Round Gate. The leader says: “Through the round gate I can roll a kayak but not a canoe. I can carry a tent but not a sleeping bag. I can bring a river but not a stream. What goes through for you?”The secret: A word goes through if it begins and ends with the same letter, as if it came back around to where it started: kayak, tent, river. Canoe and stream do not. Written for this page.
The Three-Beat Bridge. The leader says: “The troll lets a banana over the bridge, but not an apple. He lets a potato over, but not a bean. He lets an umbrella over, but not a hat. What will you carry across?”The secret: Only words of exactly three beats, or syllables, cross: ba-na-na, po-ta-to, um-brel-la. Clapping the word while you say it gives the game away, so the leader does it only near the end. Written for this page.
Watch-closely games: the secret is in what the leader does 13
A Good Map. The leader scratches a few lines in the dirt: “This is a good map.” A player draws one much like it: not a good map. Another draws one wobbly line: a good map.The secret: The drawing does not matter. A map is good if the person who drew it taps the stick twice on the ground when they finish. Written for this page.
Black Magic. A helper walks out of earshot and the group picks an object. Back comes the helper. The leader points at things in turn, asking “Is it this?” The helper says no, no, no, and yes at the right one.The secret: The leader and the helper agreed beforehand that the chosen object would be the one pointed to straight after something black. The name of the game is the clue. As described by Ultimate Camp Resource (see the source note).
Crossed or Uncrossed. Two sticks go around the circle. Each player says, “I receive them crossed and pass them uncrossed,” in any mix of the two words. The leader calls each one right or wrong.The secret: It is the passer’s legs, not the sticks. Say crossed if your legs or ankles are crossed and uncrossed if they are not, both when you receive and when you pass. Described on Wikipedia under Scissors (game), and by Ultimate Camp Resource (see the source note).
Join My Canoe. The leader sits on the ground as if in a canoe and says, “You may join my canoe if you can.” Players ask to join in different voices, with paddling moves and without. A few are let in.The secret: You are let in if you are sitting exactly as the leader is sitting when you ask: the same legs, the same hands. The leader changes position between rounds. Written for this page.
The Moon Is Round. The leader draws a face in the air with a finger: “The moon is round. It has two eyes, a nose and a mouth.” Players copy the words and the drawing exactly. Most are told no, and a few yes.The secret: In this version the secret is the hand. The leader draws with the left hand, and anyone who draws with the right is wrong, however good the moon. In other circles the secret is a small cough before the first word. A traditional circle game, and this is one way to play it.
Nine Leaves. Nine leaves lie in three rows of three. A helper walks away and the group picks a leaf. Back comes the helper. The leader touches leaves with a stick, asking “This one?” and the helper always knows.The secret: Think of each leaf as a tiny copy of the whole square. The place where the stick touches the very first leaf, such as its top left corner or its middle, shows where the chosen leaf lies among the nine. Written for this page.
One Up, One Down. A guesser leaves while the rule is told. Then the players speak in turn: “One up, one down.” “Two up.” “Two down.” Some shift in their seats and then say something new.The secret: Each speaker is describing their own two arms at that moment. One hand in the air and one in the lap is one up, one down. Both hands raised is two up. One way to play, after Ultimate Camp Resource, which counts legs as well as arms (see the source note).
Petals Around the Rose. The leader rolls five dice and says, “The name of the game matters.” A roll of 3, 5, 1, 2, 6 has six petals. A roll of 5, 5, 3, 2, 2 has ten. A roll of 6, 4, 2, 2, 1 has none.The secret: A rose is a die with a dot in the middle, and its petals are the dots around that middle dot. A three has two petals and a five has four. A one is a rose with no petals, and a two, a four and a six have no rose at all. A dice puzzle described on Wikipedia under Petals Around the Rose (see the source note).
The Smile Pass. The leader guards a doorway or a gap between two trees. Players walk up one at a time and ask, “May I pass?” Some are waved through and some are sent back, and then waved through on their next try.The secret: The guard lets through anyone who is smiling when they ask. A player who frowns in thought as they walk up is sent back. Written for this page.
The Talking Stick. A stick goes around the circle. Each player says, “This is the talking stick, and I pass it on.” The leader tells some that they passed it properly and others that they did not.The secret: Passing has nothing to do with it. You did it properly if you said thank you when the stick was handed to you. Written for this page.
Twigs on the Log. The leader arranges twigs on a log, sits back and asks, “What number is this?” Three. The twigs are moved a little: five. Every twig is taken away: two.The secret: Nobody should be looking at the twigs. The number is how many fingers the leader is resting on one knee after sitting back. Written for this page.
Where Can I Go? A player asks: “Can I go to the lake, the dock and the dining hall?” No. Another asks about the same places, slowly: yes. Another rattles off three new places: no.The secret: The places make no difference. The leader says yes to anyone who leaves a clear pause between the three names, and no to anyone who rushes them together. As described by Ultimate Camp Resource (see the source note).
Whose Marshmallow Is It? The leader lays five twigs in a careful pattern and asks, “Whose marshmallow is it?” Players study the twigs and guess, and the leader names one of them. A new pattern: now it is someone else’s.The secret: The twigs are a decoy. The marshmallow belongs to the first person who speaks after the leader asks the question. Written for this page.
How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03: secret-rule games that a leader plays with a circle until the group works out the trick. Every description and every example round is our own wording. 10 are traditional games and 18 were written for this page in the same style, and each entry says which it is. Checked on 2026-10-03: Crossed or Uncrossed against English Wikipedia, Scissors (game), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scissors_(game) (CC BY-SA 4.0), which gives the crossed legs as the most common solution; Petals Around the Rose against English Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petals_around_the_rose, and each sample roll here was counted by script; Black Magic, One Up One Down, I Can Play the Pen Game, Crossed or Uncrossed and Where Can I Go against the game pages of Ultimate Camp Resource, https://ultimatecampresource.com/camp-games/, and The Green Glass Door against its page there, https://ultimatecampresource.com/camp-staff-resources/all-camp-activities/green-glass-door/. Two are told here more narrowly than that site tells them: it accepts the word okay anywhere in the pen game sentence, and in One Up, One Down it counts legs as well as arms. I Am Going on a Picnic, The Aunt Who Hates Tea and The Moon Is Round are passed on by word of mouth in more than one form; we found no reference page for them on the day, so each is given as one way to play. Every example in a word game was checked by script against its own rule. Compared by script on 2026-10-03 with every other list on this site: no entry is repeated. Licence: own work