Summer outdoor games
May 8, 2018 1:43 PM Subscribe
Are there some amazing outdoor games you like to play with adults and tweens at get-togethers?
Does volleyball or croquet scratch that itch or do you only get excited over corn hole?
Or, are there nonsporty games (not alcohol related) that you love in your neck of the woods? Tell me what you do outside at get-togethers no matter how weird or normal!
Does volleyball or croquet scratch that itch or do you only get excited over corn hole?
Or, are there nonsporty games (not alcohol related) that you love in your neck of the woods? Tell me what you do outside at get-togethers no matter how weird or normal!
badminton!
posted by Fig at 1:59 PM on May 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Fig at 1:59 PM on May 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
We like bocce in my neighborhood! Doesn’t require a huge time investment, natural aptitude, or a lot of equipment/set up.
posted by stellaluna at 2:25 PM on May 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by stellaluna at 2:25 PM on May 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
Spikeball is fun! It requires a certain level of athleticism, though, and only 4 people can play at once.
posted by geegollygosh at 2:34 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by geegollygosh at 2:34 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Suzy Sticks/Frickets/Cups. The one handed catch rule means we usually played it beer-in-hand in college, but fun either way. We used PVC pipe, so it's super easy and cheap to make a set.
My friends tend to play a lot of bocce ball these days.
posted by natabat at 2:37 PM on May 8, 2018
My friends tend to play a lot of bocce ball these days.
posted by natabat at 2:37 PM on May 8, 2018
Stand-offs!
The people in that video are useless at it, between two good players it looks a lot like dancing in a weird way.
The Rules:
- Get an opponent of roughly the same size (small people and heavier people have advantages)
- Stand facing each other, feet together, close enough that you can comfortably press your hands on those of your opponents.
- Try to push your opponent off-balance.
You win if your opponent lifts a foot, touches you anywhere but on the palms of your hands, or tries to grab you.
The trick to Stand-Offs is that, with your arms limp, you are completely safe. To win however you have to either get in a shove at the right moment, or feint such that your opponent falls over trying to brace for a push that's not coming. It's more about grace and guile than brute strength, and is a great way to teach kids how to balance.
A word of advice, though: Don't play this game with a ballerina. :)
posted by Eleven at 2:46 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
The people in that video are useless at it, between two good players it looks a lot like dancing in a weird way.
The Rules:
- Get an opponent of roughly the same size (small people and heavier people have advantages)
- Stand facing each other, feet together, close enough that you can comfortably press your hands on those of your opponents.
- Try to push your opponent off-balance.
You win if your opponent lifts a foot, touches you anywhere but on the palms of your hands, or tries to grab you.
The trick to Stand-Offs is that, with your arms limp, you are completely safe. To win however you have to either get in a shove at the right moment, or feint such that your opponent falls over trying to brace for a push that's not coming. It's more about grace and guile than brute strength, and is a great way to teach kids how to balance.
A word of advice, though: Don't play this game with a ballerina. :)
posted by Eleven at 2:46 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
We used to play some awesome croquet games with the neighbors, using both backyards together. Laying out difficult courses was a big part of the fun. We made extra wickets out of coat hangers to double the course length.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:01 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:01 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
You can't beat Spikeball for the athleticism to space-required ratio in a competitive backyard game setting--anything more athletic requires more space, and anything taking up less space requires less athleticism.
posted by Kwine at 3:07 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Kwine at 3:07 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
I love Ultimate, but find that disc golf is a bit better for all ages and athletic abilities. just pick a thing and try to get a frisbee to hit that thing in as few throws as possible. works great in backyards and you can make requirements, like going around, not over, the house, or to the left of that tree, etc.
a pack of small, multi-colored discs is pretty cheap too.
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:19 PM on May 8, 2018
a pack of small, multi-colored discs is pretty cheap too.
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:19 PM on May 8, 2018
Horseshoes is a fantastic game, as are most throwing-things-at-other-things games, like boules/pétanque or bocce, lawn darts etc. And croquet is hard to beat, especially on a beat-up lawn with no boundaries.
posted by Kafkaesque at 3:50 PM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Kafkaesque at 3:50 PM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
The big five at every gathering are: cornhole, badminton/volleyball, croquet, wiffle ball, and bocce. Tossing a Nerf football and/or a Frisbee is also encouraged.
posted by kevinbelt at 4:08 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by kevinbelt at 4:08 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Ladder golf is great, and a new-ish addition to the "throwing-things-at-other-things" genre. You can get cheap plastic sets instead of these fancy ones, too.
posted by Paper rabies at 5:50 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Paper rabies at 5:50 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
My family tends to have juggling equipment and poi at gatherings. It's more solitary (or pairs) but a lot of people have enjoyed learning and playing with it all. They're also fun to watch if you're not feeling as energetic.
posted by Margalo Epps at 6:14 PM on May 8, 2018
posted by Margalo Epps at 6:14 PM on May 8, 2018
I second ladder golf! I've played it while drinking beers with other adults, and I've also played it with my 4 year old. Such a great yard game.
posted by gatorae at 7:14 PM on May 8, 2018
posted by gatorae at 7:14 PM on May 8, 2018
I spent many summers at a camp where we were only allowed to play cooperative games. Here are some of the ones that are actually fun:
Island Frisbee: Five players and up, the more the merrier. Get five or six Frisbees and scatter them around an area of ground. Everyone playing mills around. When the organizer signals, everyone dives to the nearest Frisbee. The trick is that everyone near a Frisbee has to touch the Frisbee in some way without touching any other person. You can take as much time as necessary to fit everybody in, and the Frisbees may be lifted off the ground. Then, for the next round, remove a Frisbee. Eventually you will have many people doing ridiculous and amazing contortions around a single Frisbee. You can get a really astonishing number of people to fit if you all work together slowly and carefully-- the record I've been present for with a regular-sized Frisbee is forty-three.
Spiral Knots: Also five players and up. Everyone stand in a tight circle, shoulder to shoulder, facing in. The organizer counts to three. On three, everyone grabs for someone else's hands. Each of you should be holding a hand with each hand. Make sure that no one is holding two hands belonging to the same other person. Now, have everyone move around, going over and under others, without letting go of your grips, until you have either one giant circle or two interlocking ones. This one is always interesting, because you don't know if you'll get one or two circles, and you don't know who will be facing outward and who inward at the end. This game gets both easier and more spectacular as the number of people you have increases.
Stand-Up: Great for kids! Pair people of similar heights and weights up. Have them stand back to back, and lean against each other, pressing their entire backs together. The goal is for them to use this leaning position to sit down on the ground, and then stand back up again, without falling over or putting down any hands. Yes, it can be done; it just takes practice. It's very graceful to watch when it happens, and it feels amazing when you get it, but you'll fall over a lot first. When two people master it, have them add a third. You can go on up to about six people. The more people you have, the less similar their heights and weights have to be for it to work.
Ropeless Tug-of-War: Also great for kids. Stand back-to-back, bend down, look at each other through your legs, cross your wrists, take the other person's crossed hands, and try to pull one another across the center line between you. Again, when you get good at this you can add people and try to pull each other across a center point.
posted by Rush-That-Speaks at 8:02 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Island Frisbee: Five players and up, the more the merrier. Get five or six Frisbees and scatter them around an area of ground. Everyone playing mills around. When the organizer signals, everyone dives to the nearest Frisbee. The trick is that everyone near a Frisbee has to touch the Frisbee in some way without touching any other person. You can take as much time as necessary to fit everybody in, and the Frisbees may be lifted off the ground. Then, for the next round, remove a Frisbee. Eventually you will have many people doing ridiculous and amazing contortions around a single Frisbee. You can get a really astonishing number of people to fit if you all work together slowly and carefully-- the record I've been present for with a regular-sized Frisbee is forty-three.
Spiral Knots: Also five players and up. Everyone stand in a tight circle, shoulder to shoulder, facing in. The organizer counts to three. On three, everyone grabs for someone else's hands. Each of you should be holding a hand with each hand. Make sure that no one is holding two hands belonging to the same other person. Now, have everyone move around, going over and under others, without letting go of your grips, until you have either one giant circle or two interlocking ones. This one is always interesting, because you don't know if you'll get one or two circles, and you don't know who will be facing outward and who inward at the end. This game gets both easier and more spectacular as the number of people you have increases.
Stand-Up: Great for kids! Pair people of similar heights and weights up. Have them stand back to back, and lean against each other, pressing their entire backs together. The goal is for them to use this leaning position to sit down on the ground, and then stand back up again, without falling over or putting down any hands. Yes, it can be done; it just takes practice. It's very graceful to watch when it happens, and it feels amazing when you get it, but you'll fall over a lot first. When two people master it, have them add a third. You can go on up to about six people. The more people you have, the less similar their heights and weights have to be for it to work.
Ropeless Tug-of-War: Also great for kids. Stand back-to-back, bend down, look at each other through your legs, cross your wrists, take the other person's crossed hands, and try to pull one another across the center line between you. Again, when you get good at this you can add people and try to pull each other across a center point.
posted by Rush-That-Speaks at 8:02 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
We used to play some awesome croquet games with the neighbors, using both backyards together. Laying out difficult courses was a big part of the fun. We made extra wickets out of coat hangers to double the course length.
I meant to include that we marked all the wickets by tying small strips of brightly-colored fabric into bows on them. That way they were more visible across the grassy expanse.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:29 PM on May 8, 2018
I meant to include that we marked all the wickets by tying small strips of brightly-colored fabric into bows on them. That way they were more visible across the grassy expanse.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:29 PM on May 8, 2018
Badminton is relaxed because most people tend to not get too uptight about it. There's always exceptions, but hyper competitive jerks usually gravitate to more macho sports. Badminton is cool because young people and old people can just swat the birdie around and not fuss about keeping score if they don't feel like it.
posted by ovvl at 10:14 PM on May 8, 2018
posted by ovvl at 10:14 PM on May 8, 2018
Badminton and petanque, plus its homemade variation, speed petanque.
Truthfully, though, I'm from Pakistan and the only game that matters, in any context ever, is cricket.
posted by tavegyl at 11:24 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Truthfully, though, I'm from Pakistan and the only game that matters, in any context ever, is cricket.
posted by tavegyl at 11:24 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Kubb is specifically great because the structure of the game makes it really easy for people to come and go as they please without disrupting play, plus you only need one hand so you can hold a drink while you play. Perfect summer game.
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:18 AM on May 9, 2018
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:18 AM on May 9, 2018
These two games are more chill, and more "collective problem-solve-y" than anything else. They're games i remember from various summer camps, and are better in middle-to-big groups.
In fact, the first one is better with a big crowd - you get everyone into a group, and then everyone closes their eyes - and starts shouting out the name of their favorite color. And then, you keep your eyes closed, shouting out that color, and try to find other people in the group who also have the same favorite color, and go stand together with them. What you're trying to do is everyone sort themselves into groups by favorite color, but using only sound to locate each other. It's easy to understand and lets people yell, which goes over well with kids especially.
The other is better with a middle-size group (it would get a little unwieldy with more than 12 people, say); "Human Knot" is one thing I've heard it called. You stand in a circle, stick your hands out, then all close your eyes and walk forward, and when you feel another hand you grab it. Then when everyone's holding a hand in each of their other hands, you open your eyes. You're now all holding hands with people in a big tangled mass of arms in the middle. The challenge is to untangle the arms so that you're all standing in a circle, but you have to do it without letting go of hands. (If there's a situation where the only way to undo a knot would require some really bizarre contortions, you can make that exception for a temporary "five second break".)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:45 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
In fact, the first one is better with a big crowd - you get everyone into a group, and then everyone closes their eyes - and starts shouting out the name of their favorite color. And then, you keep your eyes closed, shouting out that color, and try to find other people in the group who also have the same favorite color, and go stand together with them. What you're trying to do is everyone sort themselves into groups by favorite color, but using only sound to locate each other. It's easy to understand and lets people yell, which goes over well with kids especially.
The other is better with a middle-size group (it would get a little unwieldy with more than 12 people, say); "Human Knot" is one thing I've heard it called. You stand in a circle, stick your hands out, then all close your eyes and walk forward, and when you feel another hand you grab it. Then when everyone's holding a hand in each of their other hands, you open your eyes. You're now all holding hands with people in a big tangled mass of arms in the middle. The challenge is to untangle the arms so that you're all standing in a circle, but you have to do it without letting go of hands. (If there's a situation where the only way to undo a knot would require some really bizarre contortions, you can make that exception for a temporary "five second break".)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:45 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
You can get special badminton birdies that have extra long feathers. That makes the birdie move slower and stay aloft longer, which allows even lower-skilled badminton players to have fun in the game.
Also, if you don't mind acquiring some cheap supplies, Pool Noodle "Jousting" is fun for participants and viewers alike.
1. Get a cheap dollar store/costume hat (ones with a brim work best, but anything as long as they are the same size/fit) and a pool noodle for each player.
2. The goal is that each person uses their pool noodle (with one hand, fencing style) to eliminate the other players by knocking their hats off. Last person with a hat on wins.
3. Players cannot touch their own hats either to hold them on or reposition them lest they be eliminated
4. Players can only make noodle-to-hat contact with other players.
5. Play needs to be limited to a designated field of play where there is enough room for noodling but not for all-out running. Out of bounds players are out of the game.
6. A fun Christmas variant is to use Santa hats and call it "Elf Jousting."
7. Games are short, a lot of fun to watch, and lend themselves to tournament play.
posted by cross_impact at 11:09 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also, if you don't mind acquiring some cheap supplies, Pool Noodle "Jousting" is fun for participants and viewers alike.
1. Get a cheap dollar store/costume hat (ones with a brim work best, but anything as long as they are the same size/fit) and a pool noodle for each player.
2. The goal is that each person uses their pool noodle (with one hand, fencing style) to eliminate the other players by knocking their hats off. Last person with a hat on wins.
3. Players cannot touch their own hats either to hold them on or reposition them lest they be eliminated
4. Players can only make noodle-to-hat contact with other players.
5. Play needs to be limited to a designated field of play where there is enough room for noodling but not for all-out running. Out of bounds players are out of the game.
6. A fun Christmas variant is to use Santa hats and call it "Elf Jousting."
7. Games are short, a lot of fun to watch, and lend themselves to tournament play.
posted by cross_impact at 11:09 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh, and for a really fun photo op game, you can try what we call "Cheesy Face" (or "Cheeto Face")
1) Get a large tub of those cheese balls (or several depending on the size of your crowd) and several cans of plain shaving cream (not menthol or anything that burns)
2) The contest: use the shaving cream, and only the shaving cream, to attach as many cheese balls to your face as possible
3) Only the skin above the neck and below the hairline (yeah, no fair, bald people) can be used for attaching cheese balls
4) Multiple layers are allowed, but eyes, ears, nose and mouth must be clear and viewable at all times
5) Winners (and also-rans actually) make great photo ops
6) You can see why this might be an outside game.
The record at our last game was an eleven year old neighbor girl who attached 97 cheese balls to her face.
posted by cross_impact at 11:19 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
1) Get a large tub of those cheese balls (or several depending on the size of your crowd) and several cans of plain shaving cream (not menthol or anything that burns)
2) The contest: use the shaving cream, and only the shaving cream, to attach as many cheese balls to your face as possible
3) Only the skin above the neck and below the hairline (yeah, no fair, bald people) can be used for attaching cheese balls
4) Multiple layers are allowed, but eyes, ears, nose and mouth must be clear and viewable at all times
5) Winners (and also-rans actually) make great photo ops
6) You can see why this might be an outside game.
The record at our last game was an eleven year old neighbor girl who attached 97 cheese balls to her face.
posted by cross_impact at 11:19 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was at a party recently where we played four square using a big squishy plastic ball on a court chalked in the middle of the street. It was an astonishing amount of fun for tweens to adults. We played for hours and didn’t want to stop.
posted by ottereroticist at 11:43 AM on May 9, 2018
posted by ottereroticist at 11:43 AM on May 9, 2018
Mölkky is always a huge hit when we go camping and also on Friday afternoons at work when the weather is nice. It's better to play on gravel or mulch. If the grass is too high, the skittles don't travel very far... but if the ground is too smooth, they'll roll forever.
posted by xiix at 12:59 PM on May 9, 2018
posted by xiix at 12:59 PM on May 9, 2018
Kan Jam!
posted by hootenatty at 2:40 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by hootenatty at 2:40 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by bondcliff at 1:53 PM on May 8, 2018