Going camping any ideas for good camping outdoor night games?

Question

hi we are going camping as a family next weekend we are a very large family with alot of family members with us about 15 ppl and everything the problem is at night we sit around the campfire and seem to have nothing to do it is very dark so daytime games wont work at night and scary stories dont interest us last year we played charadesand it stopped being fun this year anybody have any good ideas for games the family can play this year? we were looking to buy laser guns but they are expensive for a family this large. id love any great ideas for fun outdoor family games that wont be too costly! thank you!

Answer 1

Well, it's not a game so much as a treat.  Get a bag of Wint-O-green Lifesavers.  Have everyone pair up and one at a time, crunch the candies.  You'll see a neat light show.  I use this during a night hike program after we talk about fireflies.  The kids dig it, but adults seem the most surprised.

Also, you can do a "blind" hike.  That's where only the leader can see.  Everyone else has blindfolds on and walk along holding hands.  You have to communicate effectively from front to back so everyone gets messages like "watch out for the stick" or "bend down", etc.

Another fun thing we've done - relates to nocturnal animals' sense of smell - is a matching smell game.  You get some kind of containers (film canisters work great) and put something smelly in each.  There should be 2 of every kind of smell.  For smells, you can use candy pieces like butterscotch or peppermint or you can soak cottonballs in flavored extracts (vanilla, peach, apple, etc.).  Everyone pulls one container out of a bag and has to match up with the person that has the same smell.  Kids love this game.

"Pack it up" is another game we use to play, and I guess it would work at night, too.  You get 2 backpacks full of gear, the same gear in each, like flashlight, mess kit, bug spray, etc.  You have 2 teams where everyone is paired up with another teammate - one person per team is blindfolded.  At "GO!" 2 pairs go from the starting line to where the bags are.  The "sighted" person has to direct the blindfolded person to grab all the items and put them into the backpack, then fully zip all the zippers.  Once the gear is packed, the sighted team member directs the blindfolded one to "pack it up" - meaning put the backpack on.  Then the teams make their way back to the starting line.

P.S. The Lifesaver candies need to be the ones that are not sugar free.  The spark effect is called triboluminescence.

Answer 2

You can play "flashlight tag"--it's like laser tag, but you use your flashlight. If you shine your light on someone and can name them correctly, they are out. Last one left wins. (You could also do teams, like on laser tag). Good luck.

Answer 3

hang a couple of lanterns on ropes and try horse shoes

Answer 4

You can play manhunt. it is fun for all ages. In order to play manhunt the more people the better. it is basically hide and go seek. But in order to play it, it has to be very dark out and there are no flashlights allowed. it isnt harmless becuase everyone is quiet becuase no one wants to be caught by the person who is trying to find them. But if the person who is looking for the other person see's you. You bettter run as fast as you can away from that person. Hope u have fun playing it as much as i have fun.