Outdoor Party Games

Yard games for adults and mixed ages, sorted by the space you have: press Pick 3 new games.

Outdoor Party Games

  1. How Many Lit Windows by Nine?1. At dusk, everyone picks a spot in the yard to count from. 2. Each guest writes down how many lit windows they think they will see from that spot at nine o'clock. 3. At nine, go back to the spot and count. 4. The closest guess wins. Porch lights and street lamps do not count. Space: a patio. Players: 2 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: paper and a pencil.
  2. Which Color Goes Gray First?1. As the light starts to go, lay six things of different colors in a row on the grass: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. 2. Everyone guesses which color will be the first that nobody can tell apart from gray. 3. Look again every five minutes, from the same chairs. 4. A color is gone when three people in a row cannot name it. The best guesser picks the last game. Space: a patio. Players: 2 to 30. Time: 20 min. Props: six things of different colors.
  3. Stepladder Rungs: Higher Scores More1. Stand a stepladder open on the grass and number the gaps between its rungs from the bottom up. 2. From five paces, each player throws three rolled pairs of socks. 3. A sock that passes through a gap scores that gap's number. One that hits a rung scores nothing. 4. Add up three rounds. Step back two paces for the final. Space: a small lawn. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: a stepladder, tape for the numbers and three rolled pairs of socks.

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How it works

These outdoor party games are for a yard full of adults or mixed ages: target games made from what a house has, old lawn games with their rules, relays and games for dusk. Each says how much space it needs.

Read the full guide

A yard party in order

1. Leave two of the Lawn target games from what a house has running from the start. 2. Teach one of the Old lawn games with their rules to whoever wanders over. 3. Call everyone together for Team relays for grown-ups or the Whole-crowd games for 20 or more. 4. Keep Games for the last light for dusk.

Sort by the space you have

Under More filters, the last entry of the All games menu, choose A patio or A small lawn, and the list keeps only what fits there.

Tips
  • Walk the lawn before the guests arrive and mark sprinkler heads and holes with a cone.

Questions and answers

What outdoor party games work in a small yard?

Choose A small lawn under More filters. Stop the Ball Inside the Hose Ring needs six paces and Clothesline Badminton needs a clothesline. Patio Table Cap Flick is played sitting down.

How do you play pétanque without a set?

Use any six balls of one size in two colors, and one small ball as the jack. Throw from a scratched circle with both feet planted. When all are thrown, the side with balls nearer the jack than the other side's best scores.

What outdoor games suit a big crowd?

For twenty or more, Clap Against the Runner and All Throw, All Catch take everyone at once and need almost nothing. Cross the Lawn in Exactly One Minute needs only a stopwatch.

What can we play outside when it gets dark?

Games for the last light are written for dusk. Catch Until You Cannot See the Ball ends by itself, and Find the Glow Under the Flowerpot needs one small battery lantern.

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All 28 games

Lawn target games from what a house has 6

  • Broom Putting Course, Five Flowerpots 1. Lay five flowerpots on their sides around the patio and lawn, mouths facing different ways. 2. Players putt a tennis ball with the bristle end of a broom, starting each hole from a chalk mark. 3. Count the strokes until the ball rests inside the pot. 4. The fewest strokes over the five holes wins. A chair leg or a garden gnome makes a fair hazard. Space: a patio. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 15 min. Props: a broom, a tennis ball, five flowerpots and chalk.
  • Catch It in the Wheelbarrow 1. One partner stands at a line with five tennis balls. The other holds a wheelbarrow eight paces away. 2. The thrower lobs the balls underhand, one at a time. 3. The partner steers the wheelbarrow to catch each ball in the tray, without letting go of the handles. 4. A ball that bounces out does not count. Trade jobs, and the pair with the most catches out of ten wins. Space: a small lawn. Players: 2 to 16 in pairs. Time: 10 min. Props: a wheelbarrow and five tennis balls.
  • Patio Table Cap Flick 1. Draw three chalk rings on the patio table, one inside another, and number them 1, 2 and 3 from the outside in. 2. Players sit at one end and flick a bottle cap with one finger from the table edge. 3. A cap scores for the ring it stops in. A cap knocked out by a later one loses its score. 4. Five caps each. The middle ring is smaller than it looks. Space: a patio. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: chalk and five bottle caps for each player.
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Lawn target games from what a house has, continued

  • Sock Golf Around the Yard, Nine Landmarks 1. Name nine landmarks as holes: the gate post, the big tree, the watering can, the back step. 2. Each player throws a rolled pair of socks toward the first one, walks to where it lies and throws again. 3. Count the throws it takes to hit the landmark. 4. Write the scores on a card. The fewest throws over nine holes wins, and flower beds are out of bounds. Space: a small lawn. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 20 min. Props: a rolled pair of socks each, a card and a pencil.
  • Stepladder Rungs: Higher Scores More 1. Stand a stepladder open on the grass and number the gaps between its rungs from the bottom up. 2. From five paces, each player throws three rolled pairs of socks. 3. A sock that passes through a gap scores that gap's number. One that hits a rung scores nothing. 4. Add up three rounds. Step back two paces for the final. Space: a small lawn. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: a stepladder, tape for the numbers and three rolled pairs of socks.
  • Stop the Ball Inside the Hose Ring 1. Coil a garden hose into a ring about two paces across. 2. From six paces, players roll or lob a tennis ball so that it comes to rest inside the ring. 3. A ball that rolls through and out scores nothing, which is most of them. 4. Three balls each. The first player to stop five inside wins. Space: a small lawn. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: a garden hose and three tennis balls.

Old lawn games with their rules 4

  • Clothesline Badminton 1. A clothesline at head height is the net. Mark the back of each court with a jacket. 2. Sides hit the shuttlecock back and forth over the line. Each side may strike it once before it crosses. 3. A rally ends when the shuttlecock touches the ground. 4. The side that wins the rally scores a point and serves next. Play to an agreed score, and trade ends halfway if there is any wind. Space: a small lawn. Players: 2 to 4. Time: 15 min. Props: a clothesline, rackets and a shuttlecock.
  • Kubb, Baseline to Baseline 1. Mark a pitch about five paces by eight. Stand five wooden blocks, the kubbs, along each short end and a taller block, the king, in the middle. 2. Teams take turns throwing six batons from their own baseline at the other side's kubbs. Throws are underhand, and a baton may spin only end over end. 3. Kubbs that fall are thrown back into the other half and stood up where they land, and must be knocked down again before the baseline ones. 4. A team that has cleared every kubb on the other side throws at the king. Knocking it over then wins. Space: a small lawn. Players: 2 to 12 in two teams. Time: 30 min. Props: ten wooden blocks, a taller king block and six batons.
  • Pétanque With Any Six Balls 1. Scratch a circle on the ground. One player stands in it and throws a small target ball, the jack, 6 to 10 meters away (about 20 to 33 feet). 2. One side throws or rolls a ball toward the jack from inside the circle, with both feet planted on the ground, and then the other side does. After that, the side whose ball is not the closest throws next. 3. A ball may knock another ball away from the jack. 4. When every ball has been thrown, the side with the closest ball scores one point for each of its balls that is closer than the other side's best. The first side to 13 points wins. Space: a small lawn. Players: 2 to 6 in two sides. Time: 20 min. Props: six balls of one size in two colors, such as tennis balls, and one small ball.
  • Rounders in the Park 1. Set out four posts as bases. 2. The bowler bowls underarm. The batter hits the ball with a short bat and runs for the first post. 3. A batter is out if the ball is caught, or if a fielder holding the ball touches the post the batter is running to. 4. A batter who hits the ball and gets around to the fourth post without being out scores a rounder. Sides trade places at the end of an innings. For a yard party, play with a soft ball. Space: a field or a park. Players: 8 to 18 in two teams. Time: 30 min. Props: a short bat, a soft ball and four posts.

Team relays for grown-ups 6

  • Human Croquet, Steered by Voice 1. Half of each team stands in pairs around the lawn with hands joined overhead, as hoops. 2. One teammate is the ball and walks with eyes closed. Another is the mallet and walks beside them. 3. The mallet may only say forward, stop, left and right, and steers the ball through every hoop in order. 4. Time each team's round. Hoops, ball and mallet trade jobs for the second round. Space: a small lawn. Players: 8 to 24 in two teams. Time: 15 min. Props: a stopwatch.
  • Pin Up Five Towels, Take Them Down 1. String a clothesline for each team and put a basket of five wet dish towels and ten clothespins at the start. 2. The first runner carries the basket to the line and hangs all five towels, two pins each. 3. The next runner takes them all down, pins in the basket, and brings it back. 4. Carry on by turns until everyone has run. A towel on the grass must be pinned up again. Space: a small lawn. Players: 6 to 24 in teams. Time: 10 min. Props: a clothesline, a basket, five dish towels and ten clothespins for each team.
  • Plank Skis for Three 1. Each team has two planks with three loops of rope tied along each. 2. Three teammates stand with a left foot on one plank and a right foot on the other, and hold a loop in each hand. 3. They walk the planks to a cone and back by lifting each one together, on a call of left and right. 4. Three more take over. A foot on the grass costs three seconds. Space: a small lawn. Players: 6 to 24 in teams. Time: 15 min. Props: two planks with rope loops for each team, and cones.
  • Run the Hose Out, Coil It Home 1. Each team has a garden hose coiled at the start and a cone twelve paces away. 2. The first runner takes the free end and pulls the hose out straight to the cone. 3. The next runner coils it back at the start into a flat ring of at least five loops, with no kinks. 4. Carry on by turns, out and back, until everyone has run. A referee sends back any coil that will not lie flat. Space: a small lawn. Players: 6 to 20 in teams. Time: 10 min. Props: a garden hose and a cone for each team.
  • Watering Can Slalom to the Far Saucer 1. Set five cones in a line for each team, with a flowerpot saucer on the grass at the far end. 2. The first runner carries a full watering can through the cones and pours until the saucer is just full. 3. Water that runs over the edge means the saucer is emptied and filled again. 4. The runner empties the saucer back into the can, comes home through the cones and hands the can on. Space: a small lawn. Players: 6 to 20 in teams. Time: 10 min. Props: a watering can, five cones and a flowerpot saucer for each team.
  • Wrong-Way Binoculars Rope Walk 1. Lay a rope for each team in a gentle wave across the grass. 2. A walker looks at the rope through the wide end of a pair of binoculars, so that it looks far away. 3. The walker follows the rope to its end, heel to toe, while a teammate walks beside them. 4. Hand the binoculars on. The team scores for the number of walkers who finish in five minutes. Space: a small lawn. Players: 4 to 20 in teams. Time: 10 min. Props: a long rope and a pair of binoculars for each team.

Whole-crowd games for 20 or more 6

  • All Throw, All Catch 1. Everyone stands in one big circle. Half the crowd holds a tennis ball or a rolled pair of socks. 2. On three, every holder throws underhand and high to someone across the circle who has empty hands. 3. Count how many are caught. 4. Throw back and try to beat the count. When the crowd catches every one, give everybody something to throw. Space: a field or a park. Players: 20 to 60. Time: 10 min. Props: a tennis ball or a rolled pair of socks for every second player.
  • Clap Against the Runner 1. The crowd stands in one big circle. One runner stands just outside it. 2. On go, a single clap is passed around the circle from player to player, each clapping once in turn. 3. At the same moment the runner sprints once around the outside. 4. Whichever gets back to the start first wins. A new runner tries after every race. Space: a field or a park. Players: 20 to 80. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Cross the Lawn in Exactly One Minute 1. Everyone lines up along one edge of the lawn. Watches and phones go in pockets. 2. On go, the host starts a hidden stopwatch and everyone starts walking. 3. Each player tries to step over the far edge at exactly sixty seconds, without ever standing still. 4. The host calls the time as each player crosses. The closest to sixty wins. Space: a small lawn. Players: 10 to 60. Time: 5 min. Props: a stopwatch.
  • Fetch for the Host, by Team 1. Teams of five or six gather at their own picnic blanket. 2. The host stands in the middle and asks for something: a thing that grew this year, a thing older than the youngest guest, a thing with a zipper. 3. One runner from each team brings one to the host. 4. The first to arrive scores two, and any other that fits scores one. Runners change every round. Space: a field or a park. Players: 20 to 60 in teams. Time: 15 min. Props: a picnic blanket for each team.
  • Shout Eight Words Over the Other Teams 1. Split each team in half, and send one half a hundred paces away with paper and a pencil. 2. The host hands each near half a different sentence of eight words. 3. On go, every near half shouts its sentence across the field in one voice, as often as it likes. 4. With every team shouting at once, the first far half to hold up the sentence written out correctly wins. Space: a field or a park. Players: 20 to 60 in teams. Time: 10 min. Props: a written sentence, paper and a pencil for each team.
  • Ten Seconds to Become a Bus 1. Split the crowd into groups of eight to ten. 2. The host calls a thing: a bus, a birthday cake, a washing machine, a wave. 3. Each group has ten seconds to form it with their bodies and hold still. 4. The host walks past and names the best one, and its group calls the next thing. Space: a small lawn. Players: 20 to 80 in groups. Time: 10 min. Props: none.

Games for the last light 6

  • Catch Until You Cannot See the Ball 1. Pairs stand five paces apart with a light-colored ball and throw it back and forth. 2. After every catch, both take one step back. 3. A dropped ball puts the pair out, and they sit down to watch. 4. As the light fades, the gaps grow and the ball gets harder to see. The last pair still catching wins. Space: a field or a park. Players: 4 to 30 in pairs. Time: 15 min. Props: a light-colored ball for each pair.
  • Find the Glow Under the Flowerpot 1. One player hides a small battery lantern under an upturned flowerpot somewhere in the yard, with a thin line of light showing at the rim. 2. Everyone else waits facing the house. 3. On go, seekers walk the yard. A seeker who sees the glow says nothing and sits down on the grass. 4. The first to sit hides the lantern next. Space: a small lawn. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: a small battery lantern and a flowerpot.
  • How Many Lit Windows by Nine? 1. At dusk, everyone picks a spot in the yard to count from. 2. Each guest writes down how many lit windows they think they will see from that spot at nine o'clock. 3. At nine, go back to the spot and count. 4. The closest guess wins. Porch lights and street lamps do not count. Space: a patio. Players: 2 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: paper and a pencil.
  • One Last Throw at the Lit Bucket 1. Put a lantern inside a bucket at the far end of the lawn, so that it glows. 2. Every guest gets exactly one ball and one throw from the patio. 3. Throw in order of who arrived first. 4. Everyone whose ball stays in the bucket takes a bow together. Then the lawn games are packed away. Space: a small lawn. Players: 4 to 60. Time: 10 min. Props: a bucket, a battery lantern and a ball for each guest.
  • Which Color Goes Gray First? 1. As the light starts to go, lay six things of different colors in a row on the grass: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. 2. Everyone guesses which color will be the first that nobody can tell apart from gray. 3. Look again every five minutes, from the same chairs. 4. A color is gone when three people in a row cannot name it. The best guesser picks the last game. Space: a patio. Players: 2 to 30. Time: 20 min. Props: six things of different colors.
  • Whose Silhouette Against the Sky? 1. The guests sit low on the grass, facing the brightest part of the sky. 2. Three volunteers go behind a hedge or around the corner and agree on an order. 3. One at a time, each walks along the skyline with a walk that is not their own. 4. The audience names each walker. A walker nobody names wins a round of applause and picks the next three. Space: a small lawn. Players: 8 to 40. Time: 10 min. Props: none.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03 for a yard party of adults or mixed ages, in our own words. Player ranges and minutes are our estimates, and each game says how much space it needs. No game involves alcohol, and nothing is staked. The rules of the four old lawn games were checked on 2026-10-03 against English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ followed by the name): Kubb, P%C3%A9tanque, Rounders, Badminton. Licence: own work