Camp Games

Kids await their summer vacations with a lot of anticipation. Not only do they get a legal chance to skip away from the mundane school life, but they get an opportunity to spend the entire holiday with a host of other kids in a summer camp. Granted that summer camps also feel like school, but ask any kid and he/she would tell you that camps will win hands down against any school. After all, which school will let the kids spend lazy afternoons, not droning in a classroom, but hiking or fishing or swimming? Or spending days at a stretch playing games (which indirectly equips them with leadership skills)! That is why adults should always strive to make the camp life of kids as excitable and fun as possible. And, while talking of arranging games and activities for kids, know that it is a highly challenging task, unlike what you thought of it. An activity or a game that goes for days, without any change, can make even the most hyper of the kids sulk in the corner. So, for a fun camping experience, the games should be ever changing and should keep on attracting the kids flagging interest. If you are looking for some games to heighten the activity of the camp, then read below for a brief selection.

This game can become a favorite with kids when camping. It is especially good when the camping group is very large. Blindfold all the kids or let them stand with their eyes closed. Then, let a designated person go behind each kid and tap him/her telling if he/she is a duck, or a cow or a dog. The kids must then form a group by locating another duck or a cow or a dog by quacking, mooing, or bowing. In the whole process, the eyes of the participants would be closed or blindfolded. When all the children find their respective groups, the game would end. The group which is formed first would be the winner.  

Choose two kids, one as Tom and another as Jerry. Make the remaining kids stand in a circle. The kids should stand somewhat apart so that Tom and Jerry can run through them. Ideally, the distance should be such that they can hold hands and form a circle. The game starts with Tom chasing Jerry inside and outside the circle of the kids. The kids in the circle would need to save Jerry from getting caught. For this, they can allow Jerry to come in and out as he/she wishes. However, Tom should be stopped from getting inside or getting hold of Jerry. If the Jerry gets caught, he/she would form the circle with other children and one of them would be appointed as the next Jerry. In case Tom is unable to catch, he/she would also share the same fate as Jerry.  

Divide the group into pairs and let all the pairs link their arms together at the elbows. Now choose a pair randomly through the lots. The chosen pair must be split up. Then make one kid chase the other kid. The kid, who is being chased, can link his or her arm with any other pair. The kid in the other end of the link then gets free and is now chased by the original chaser. Each time, a kid gets free from the link, he gets chased by the chaser. In case the chaser manages to catch hold of the kid, he/she then forms a pair with the other kids, while the kid who was being chased becomes the chaser.

Make all the campers sit in a circle facing the center. Blindfold one kid and spin him or her round a number of times and then bring to the center of the circle. Give a bell to a kid in the circle and let it be passed around and rung. The blindfolded kid must follow the sound of the bell. Select a leader within the group. He/she should indicate the person who should stop the bell. The blindfolded person must now guess the person holding the bell by pointing. If it is the right answer, then the kid holding the bell is blindfolded next, but if he or she fails to pinpoint the bell holding person, then same thing is repeated again.