Camping Games

Camping games for kids and grown-ups on one campsite, with almost no gear: press Pick 3 new games.

Camping Games

  1. Tiny Shelter for a Pine Cone Camper1. Each builder picks a pine cone to be their camper. 2. In ten minutes, build it a shelter from fallen sticks, leaves and bark. Nothing may be picked from a living plant. 3. An adult pours a cup of water over each shelter as rain. 4. The driest pine cone wins. Scatter the shelters before you leave. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 15 min. Props: a cup of water.
  2. Pocket Hunt List for the Loop Trail1. Before setting off, write or print a list of ten things to find by looking only. 2. Fold it into a pocket. 3. On the trail, tick a thing when two people have seen it. 4. Finish the list before the trail loops back to camp. Nothing is collected. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 30 min. Props: a hunt list and a pencil.
  3. Lantern on a Sheet: Count the Moths1. Hang a white sheet or a pale towel over a line and set a lantern behind it. 2. Everyone guesses how many insects will land on the sheet in ten minutes. 3. Watch from two steps back and keep a tally. Nobody touches them. 4. The closest guess wins. Turn the lantern off afterward so that they fly on. Play in buddy pairs inside a boundary an adult has walked, with an adult outside too. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 12 min. Props: a white sheet, a line and a lantern.

Next step Print a campground hunt list

How it works

These camping games are for one family or a few friends on one campsite, two to twelve people with almost nothing to play with. Choose by when you are playing: in daylight, after dark or in the tent.

Read the full guide

Outdoor camping games by time of day

The All games menu keeps one kind: Around the fire, In the tent when it rains, Flashlight games after dark, With what is on the site or For the walk. Its last entry, More filters, sorts by head count, by In daylight, After dark or In the tent, and by No props.

Before dark

Two flashlight games need setting up in daylight: the reflector strips and the rope between two trees. Every flashlight game is played in buddy pairs with an adult.

Tips
  • Pack one rope, one spare tent peg and a stick of chalk: they cover five of these games.

Questions and answers

What are fun camping games for families with small children?

Balance Five Stones, Then Scatter Them, Tiny Shelter for a Pine Cone Camper and Match My Bandana in the Woods need no reading and no score keeping. In the tent, Which Zipper Was That? suits the youngest.

Are these printable camping games?

Yes. After the first press, Print prints the picked games with their steps. Three entries also link to a sheet to print: a nature bingo card, a campground hunt list and camping charades.

What can you play in a tent when it rains?

Choose In the tent when it rains. Rolled Socks Into a Hiking Boot and Sock Change Inside the Sleeping Bag use up energy lying down, and Draw a Map of the Sounds Outside is quiet.

What games can you play around a campfire?

Seated ones. Call the Smoke: Who Moves Next?, The Trip From A to Z and Farthest Sound Wins need nothing but the circle, and nobody leaves their chair.

More tools

Browse Acting and Drawing

All 50 games

Around the fire 10

  • Act It on the Log: Camping Charades 1. One person stands in front of their own seat and acts out something from camp life with no words: zipping a stuck tent, chasing a hat, a mosquito at bedtime. 2. The circle guesses. 3. The first right guess acts next. 4. Actors keep their backs to their own chair and stay on their side of the fire. Everyone stays seated, and nobody runs near the fire ring. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 12 min. Props: none.
  • Call the Smoke: Who Moves Next? 1. Campfire smoke never stays put. 2. Each person names who they think will be the next to shift a chair out of the smoke. 3. When someone moves, everyone who named them scores a point. 4. Guess again at once. First to five points picks the next game. Everyone stays seated, and nobody runs near the fire ring. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Either-Or by the Fire 1. One person reads a camping either-or: tent or hammock, sunrise or sunset, lake or river. 2. On three, everyone puts hands on knees for the first choice or on their head for the second. 3. The odd one out explains in a sentence. 4. The reader passes the questions to the left. Everyone stays seated, and nobody runs near the fire ring. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: a list of either-or questions.
Show all 50 games (47 more)

Around the fire, continued

  • Farthest Sound Wins 1. Everyone goes silent for one minute. 2. Each person listens for the most distant sound they can pick out: a truck on the highway, an owl across the lake. 3. In turn, name your sound and point to it. 4. The circle votes for the farthest. A sound that someone else also heard counts for both. Everyone stays seated, and nobody runs near the fire ring. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • First Satellite, First Shooting Star 1. Lean back and watch the sky in silence. 2. A steady point of light that moves across the sky without blinking scores one point for whoever calls it first. 3. A shooting star scores five, and a second witness must agree. 4. A light that blinks scores nothing. Play to seven. Everyone stays seated, and nobody runs near the fire ring. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
  • Five Pebbles, One Tale 1. In daylight, chalk a simple picture on each of fifteen pebbles: a boat, a boot, a moon, a fish. 2. By the fire, the first teller draws five pebbles from a hat without looking. 3. They tell a story that uses all five pictures, in the order they came out. 4. Pebbles go back in the hat for the next teller. Rain washes the chalk off. Everyone stays seated, and nobody runs near the fire ring. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 12 min. Props: fifteen pebbles, chalk and a hat.
  • Pick a Log, First to Fall Wins 1. When the adult tending the fire has laid fresh logs, each person picks one log by pointing from their seat. 2. Watch the fire. 3. The first log to burn through and drop wins the round for whoever picked it. 4. Pick again each time the adult adds wood. Nobody but the adult touches the fire. Everyone stays seated, and nobody runs near the fire ring. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
  • Sealed Predictions for Tomorrow Morning 1. Everyone writes three guesses on a scrap of paper: who will wake first, what the first bird will sound like, and what the weather will be at breakfast. 2. Fold the scraps into an empty mug and cover it. 3. Open them at breakfast. 4. One point for each right guess. The winner chooses the day's walk. Everyone stays seated, and nobody runs near the fire ring. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: scraps of paper, a pencil and a mug.
  • Trail Names Earned Today 1. Go around the circle. For each person in turn, the others suggest a trail name earned by something they did today: Pancake Flipper, Creek Hopper. 2. The person picks the one they like best. 3. Only kind names may be offered. 4. Everyone uses the trail names until breakfast. A slip costs one dish to wash. Everyone stays seated, and nobody runs near the fire ring. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • The Trip From A to Z 1. Go around the circle naming things from this trip, one for each letter in order: ant in the cooler, bridge, canoe. 2. It must be something at least two people saw. 3. A player who is stuck may ask the circle for help once. 4. Reach Z, and you have the story of the trip to tell at home. Everyone stays seated, and nobody runs near the fire ring. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: none.

In the tent when it rains 10

  • A Rain Rhyme, One Line Each 1. The first person says a line about the rain. 2. The next adds a line that rhymes with it. 3. Keep going around the tent on the same rhyme sound until someone is stuck. 4. That person starts a new rhyme. Write the best verse inside the cover of the trip notebook. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • Draw a Map of the Sounds Outside 1. Give each person paper and a pencil, and mark the tent as an X in the middle of the page. 2. For three silent minutes, draw every sound you hear where you think it is: a drip to the left, a bird behind, voices far to the right. 3. Compare maps. 4. When the rain stops, step out and check the nearest three. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: paper and a pencil each.
  • Finger Hike on the Trail Map 1. Spread the trail map on a sleeping bag. 2. One person closes their eyes, and another puts their finger on the trailhead. 3. A guide talks the finger along tomorrow's route: "left at the junction, up to the lake". 4. Open your eyes at "stop". The closer the finger is to the real destination, the better the guide. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 8 min. Props: a trail map.
  • Five-Minute Postcard of the Campsite 1. Hand everyone a postcard, or a card cut to that size, and a pencil. 2. In five minutes, draw the campsite from memory: the tent, the fire ring, the table, the tree with the lantern. 3. Prop the cards in a row. 4. Each person names the best detail on someone else's card. Mail one home. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: a card and a pencil each.
  • Guess the Seconds Until the Rain Stops 1. Lie back and listen to the rain on the fly. 2. When it sounds as if it is easing, each person calls how many seconds until it stops. 3. Count together, quietly. 4. It stops when nobody has heard a drop for a count of ten. The closest call wins. The rain usually has other plans. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Pack the Stuff Sack, Smallest Wins 1. Each player gets their own sleeping bag and its stuff sack. 2. On go, everyone stuffs the bag into the sack. 3. First to finish scores two. 4. Then line the sacks up: the smallest packed sack scores three, so a careful packer can beat a fast one. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 8 min. Props: a sleeping bag and its stuff sack each.
  • Rolled Socks Into a Hiking Boot 1. Stand a hiking boot at one end of the tent. 2. From the other end, each player lobs three pairs of rolled socks at it, sitting down. 3. A pair that stays in the boot scores three, and one that hits it scores one. 4. Clean socks only, by vote of the tent. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 8 min. Props: a hiking boot and three pairs of rolled socks.
  • Sock Change Inside the Sleeping Bag 1. Every player lies zipped into a sleeping bag, wearing socks, with a spare pair inside. 2. On go, change into the spare pair without unzipping. 3. Hold the old pair out of the top of the bag when you are done. 4. First pair out wins. Socks on the wrong feet are allowed. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 5 min. Props: a sleeping bag and a spare pair of socks each.
  • Which Pocket Is It In? 1. One person names something the family packed: the matches, the spare batteries, the can opener. 2. Everyone else points at the bag, and says the pocket, where they think it is. 3. The namer checks. 4. A right answer scores, and so does finding something that everyone thought was lost. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 6 min. Props: none.
  • Which Zipper Was That? 1. Everyone closes their eyes except one person. 2. That person works one zipper: the tent door, a sleeping bag, a jacket, a backpack pocket. 3. The listeners name it. 4. Right guessers score a point, and the zipper job moves to the left. There are more zippers in a tent than anyone expects. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 6 min. Props: none.

Flashlight games after dark 8

  • Caught in the Beam, Freeze 1. One player stands in the middle of the lit site with a flashlight turned off, eyes closed, and counts to ten. 2. The others creep toward a camp chair behind them. 3. At ten, the player turns the light on and sweeps it once. Anyone the beam lands on must freeze until the next count. 4. The first to touch the chair takes the flashlight. Walking only. Play in buddy pairs inside a boundary an adult has walked, with an adult outside too. Players: 3 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: a flashlight and a camp chair.
  • Copy My Blinks 1. Two players stand a short way apart, each with a flashlight. 2. The first blinks a pattern of long and short flashes, four in all. 3. The second must send it back exactly. 4. Right? Add one flash. Wrong? Swap who leads. The longest pattern copied is the family record. Play in buddy pairs inside a boundary an adult has walked, with an adult outside too. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: two flashlights.
  • Find the Camp Mug by Blink Code 1. One pair looks away while an adult sets a camp mug somewhere on the site, in the open. 2. The pair searches without their own lights. 3. The rest of the family blinks a flashlight at the ground: slowly when the pair is far from the mug, quickly when they are near. 4. When they find it, a new pair searches. Play in buddy pairs inside a boundary an adult has walked, with an adult outside too. Players: 4 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: a camp mug and a flashlight.
  • Lantern on a Sheet: Count the Moths 1. Hang a white sheet or a pale towel over a line and set a lantern behind it. 2. Everyone guesses how many insects will land on the sheet in ten minutes. 3. Watch from two steps back and keep a tally. Nobody touches them. 4. The closest guess wins. Turn the lantern off afterward so that they fly on. Play in buddy pairs inside a boundary an adult has walked, with an adult outside too. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 12 min. Props: a white sheet, a line and a lantern.
  • Punch a Constellation in a Paper Cup 1. Each person draws a constellation of their own as dots on the bottom of a paper cup. 2. An adult pushes a pencil point through each dot. 3. In the tent, or against its wall, shine a flashlight through the cup. 4. The others guess what the picture is meant to be. Play in buddy pairs inside a boundary an adult has walked, with an adult outside too. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 12 min. Props: a paper cup each, a pencil and a flashlight.
  • Step Over One Beam, Duck the Other 1. An adult kneels and shines a flashlight flat across a clear patch of ground, a hand above it. 2. Players step over the beam one at a time without breaking it. 3. Then the adult raises it to waist height, and players go under. 4. Raise the low beam and lower the high beam a little each round. A leg in the light means a turn as the beam holder's helper. Play in buddy pairs inside a boundary an adult has walked, with an adult outside too. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 8 min. Props: a flashlight.
  • Ten Reflector Strips Along the Site Edge 1. In daylight, an adult ties ten strips of reflective tape to branches, posts and guy lines around the edge of the site, at eye height. 2. After dark, players sweep their flashlights from the middle of the site. 3. Call out each strip you catch and point to it. 4. The first to find all ten wins. Collect every strip in the morning. Play in buddy pairs inside a boundary an adult has walked, with an adult outside too. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: ten strips of reflective tape and a flashlight each.
  • Twenty Steps Along the Rope, Lights Off 1. In daylight, an adult ties a rope at waist height between two trees, twenty steps apart, over ground with nothing to trip on. 2. After dark, one player at a time walks its length with one hand on the rope and the flashlight off. 3. An adult walks beside them with a light pointed at the ground behind. 4. At the far tree, say one thing you noticed that you would have missed with the light on. Play in buddy pairs inside a boundary an adult has walked, with an adult outside too. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: a rope and a flashlight.

With what is on the site 11

  • Balance Five Stones, Then Scatter Them 1. Each player collects five stones from one small patch of ground. 2. Stack all five in one tower that stands for a count of ten. 3. The tallest tower wins, measured against a water bottle. 4. Then every stone goes back where it was found, so that the site looks as it did. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Family Rope Square, Eyes Closed 1. Tie a rope into a loop, and everyone holds it with both hands. 2. All close their eyes. 3. By talking only, the family must pull the loop into a square and lay it on the ground. 4. Open your eyes and judge it. Then try a triangle, with one person allowed to give directions. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: a rope.
  • The Ground Snake Gets Wider 1. Two people kneel and wiggle a rope along the ground like a snake, low and slow. 2. The others jump over it one at a time, back and forth. 3. After every round, the snake wiggles a little wider. 4. Touch the rope and you take an end. Play on flat ground, away from the fire ring and the tent pegs. Players: 3 to 10. Time: 8 min. Props: a rope.
  • Most Skips on the Lake 1. With an adult at the water's edge, each player picks three flat stones. 2. Check that nobody is in the water or in a boat ahead. 3. Throw low and sidearm, one at a time, and count the skips aloud together. 4. The best single throw wins. A plop counts as zero and gets the loudest cheer. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Pine Cone Golf Around the Site 1. Choose six targets around the site as holes: a stump, a camp chair, the water jug. 2. Each player has a pine cone and throws it underarm from a starting line toward the first target. 3. Throw again from where it lands. Count the throws until it touches the target. 4. Fewest throws over six holes wins. Keep the course away from other people's sites. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 15 min. Props: a pine cone each.
  • Pine Cone Lap Around the Tarp Edge 1. Everyone holds the edge of a tarp at waist height, pulled tight. 2. Drop a pine cone on it near one person. 3. By raising and lowering their own part of the edge, the family rolls the cone all the way around without letting it fall off or reach the middle. 4. Count the laps. Add a second cone going the other way. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: a tarp and two pine cones.
  • Pine Cones Into the Camp Pot 1. Set an empty cooking pot on the ground and mark three throwing lines with sticks: near, middle and far. 2. Each player gathers six pine cones. 3. Throw two from each line. 4. A cone in the pot scores one, two or three by the line. Empty the pot and try to beat the family total. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: a cooking pot and pine cones.
  • Pot and Spoon Rhythm, Copy and Add 1. Each player takes something from the camp kitchen that makes a sound: a pot, a mug, two spoons. 2. The first plays a rhythm of four beats. 3. The next copies it and adds four more. 4. Keep adding until the pattern breaks. Play before quiet hours, and not at breakfast. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: pots, mugs and spoons from the camp kitchen.
  • Rope Quoits Over a Tent Peg 1. Knot three short pieces of rope into rings. 2. Push a spare tent peg into the ground at an angle. 3. From four steps away, toss the three rings. 4. A ring over the peg scores three, and one that touches it scores one. Pull the peg up when the game ends. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: three rope rings and a spare tent peg.
  • Sort the Kindling: Pencil, Thumb, Wrist 1. Tip the gathered firewood into one pile. 2. On go, players sort it into three heaps by thickness: thin as a pencil, thick as a thumb, thick as a wrist. 3. An adult checks the heaps. 4. A stick in the wrong heap takes one off the score. The fire builder gets three tidy heaps. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: the gathered firewood.
  • Tiny Shelter for a Pine Cone Camper 1. Each builder picks a pine cone to be their camper. 2. In ten minutes, build it a shelter from fallen sticks, leaves and bark. Nothing may be picked from a living plant. 3. An adult pours a cup of water over each shelter as rain. 4. The driest pine cone wins. Scatter the shelters before you leave. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 15 min. Props: a cup of water.

For the walk 11

  • A Hundred Silent Steps 1. The leader says "silent hundred". 2. Everyone walks a hundred steps without a word, counting in their heads. 3. At a hundred, stop. Each person shares one thing they heard, saw or smelled that they would have talked over. 4. Nobody may repeat what someone else said. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Best Walking Stick, Judged at the Turnaround 1. Each walker looks for a fallen stick to walk with. Nothing is broken off a tree. 2. Sticks may be swapped for better ones along the way. 3. At the turnaround, hold a show: the straightest, the best handle, the most interesting bark. 4. Every stick gets a title, and all of them are left at the trailhead for the next family. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 20 min. Props: none.
  • Bingo on the Trail, One Card for the Family 1. Carry one bingo card of things to spot on the walk. 2. Whoever sees a thing first calls it, and a second person must see it too. 3. The spotter marks the square. 4. The family wins together with a full row. The best spotter picks the first snack stop. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 30 min. Props: a nature bingo card and a pencil.
  • Four Photos: Tiny, Huge, Old, New 1. Each walker, or each pair with one camera, has four photos to take on the walk. 2. One of something tiny, one of something huge, one of something old and one of something new. 3. No photo may be of a person. 4. Back at camp, pass the cameras around and guess which word each photo was for. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 30 min. Props: a camera or a phone for each pair.
  • How Many Blazes to the Next Junction? 1. At a trail junction, look at the painted marks on the trees that show the way. 2. Everyone guesses how many of them the family will pass before the next junction. 3. Count them aloud as you walk. 4. The closest guess chooses which fork to take, if the map allows a choice. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 20 min. Props: none.
  • Hunt for the Best Echo 1. At an open spot with a cliff, a lake or a line of trees ahead, stop the group. 2. One person calls a short word and everyone listens. 3. Try from three different spots. 4. Vote for the place with the clearest echo, and name it on the map. Keep it to a few calls so that the wildlife and other walkers are left in peace. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • Match My Bandana in the Woods 1. The leader holds up something with a clear color: a bandana, a water bottle, a jacket sleeve. 2. Before the next trail marker, everyone looks for something in nature that matches it exactly. 3. Point, do not pick. 4. The leader judges the closest match, and that person leads with a new color. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
  • Pocket Hunt List for the Loop Trail 1. Before setting off, write or print a list of ten things to find by looking only. 2. Fold it into a pocket. 3. On the trail, tick a thing when two people have seen it. 4. Finish the list before the trail loops back to camp. Nothing is collected. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 30 min. Props: a hunt list and a pencil.
  • Throw for the Daypack at Every Marker 1. At each trail marker, everyone who is big enough to carry the daypack plays one round of rock paper scissors. 2. The loser of the final throw carries the pack to the next marker. 3. Nobody carries it for three markers in a row. 4. An adult takes it on the steep parts whatever the throw. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 20 min. Props: the daypack.
  • Touch Four Textures, Pick Nothing 1. The leader calls four textures: rough, smooth, prickly, soft. 2. Each walker finds one of each beside the trail and touches it with one finger. 3. Show a partner. Nothing is picked, and nobody touches a plant they cannot name without asking an adult first. 4. The first pair to finish calls the next four. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 12 min. Props: none.
  • Whistle Code on the Trail 1. Agree on a code before the walk: one whistle means stop, two means come back to the group, three means gather around the leader. 2. The adult with the whistle blows a signal at odd moments. 3. Everyone does it at once. 4. The first to respond gives the next signal. Stay on the trail and within sight of an adult. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: a whistle.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03 for one family, or a few friends, on one campsite with almost no gear, in our own words. Player ranges and minutes are our estimates. The fire and after-dark lines are our own house rules and claim no expert review: nobody runs near the fire ring, and the flashlight games are played in buddy pairs with an adult. Nothing is picked from a living plant, and what is moved is put back. No facts are stated, so nothing was checked against an outside source. Licence: own work