Are you a summer camp fanatic? Summer camp games involve campers and leaders or the camp counselors in activities, designed to provide physical exercise. They are fun and help build leadership skills, self-esteem, and independence.
Below are some of the best summer camp games for children of all ages.
List Of Top Summer Camp Games
1. Adaptive or Special Needs Game
Bead Roll
This is one of the best summer camp games for special needs. The game is played to promote an active range of motion through physical activity. In this summer camp game, you will be engaged in socializing with peers through passing beads, shaking hands and making eye contact with peers.
Engagement of socialization with peers can be done through making eye contact with peers, passing beads, and shaking hands.
You will need a large space enough to fit individuals, especially if they require physical support for sitting, or for balance. The advantage of playing this game, with colored, textured string or rope, is, the individuals with vision problems or fine motor control deficits can see and feel the large beads of different colors.
In this bead roll game, every child sits or is seated in a circle. On each child’s lap, a rope is placed around the circle. Then, the leader starts by placing one bead onto the rope and passes it to the child, who is on his/her right. That child gives instructions to pull or push it across the person to their right and so on around the circle.
The beads are placed continuously so that each child eventually has one in their hand, they are trying to pass along. At the end of the game, every child, says the bead color that is in front of them, they are trying to pass along.
2. Hide-and-Seek Camping Game
Kids of every age love hide and seek and this hide-and-seek game is sure to provide fun for your campers. Play these games at night, for additional fun. Make sure you assign an area, without any obvious dangers.
Find the Camp Counselors
This is a great fun summer camping game and is ideally suited for children ages eight through twelve years. The aim of this game is to find hidden counselors. Start the game by providing a pencil and paper to every camper. Let the campers be in a specified area until all the counselors hide The campers search for them after all the counselors are hidden. As the camper finds them, they take signatures from the counselors.
The first camper, who gets all the signatures of the counselors, wins.
3. Team Camp Games
A great deal of camp fun can be bought through competition between teams. The team with the most points wins in each of these games.
Capture the Flag
This is one of the most popular children’s games and is great for camping. The goal of the game is to capture the flag of the other team. Divide your group into teams, and designate a play area. On one side of the playing area, every team hides their flag. The teams must try to find the other team’s flag.
The team members, at the same time, must avoid being tagged by members of the opposing team. If they are tagged, they go to ‘jail’, a designated area of the opposing team’s side. The player can get out of the jail, if someone on their team, manages to get to them without being tagged. The game continues till the end, when one team captures the other team’s flag or when the time ends.
4. Camp Games for Campfires
Usually, campers are physically exhausted at the end of the day. Still, campers need evening activities to keep them entertained. Most of the camps have an outdoor area or a pavilion for night gatherings.
The following activities will keep everyone entertained until the lights are out.
Skits in a Bag
The camp counselors use certain props by gathering items. Divide the group into teams. Each team includes four to seven people. Give each team three props and tell them they must develop a skit using them.
You can even choose a storyline theme for young campers. Few of the suggestions for the skits are the first day of camp, a scary story, the last day of camp, or a bad day at school.
Allow the teams to prepare their skits in about 20 minutes of time. The campers can even prepare their skits early in the day for performing around the campfire at night.
5. Camp Games for Young Children
Most of the games above-listed work for any age. However, the following game is especially appropriate for younger children.
Doggy, Doggy, Where Is Your Bone?
This is the best guessing game for very young children. Start the game, with your campers, standing or sitting in a circle. For this game, you will need a prop to serve as a bone.
Select a camper to play the dog and find the bone. The camper playing as the dog closes their eyes or you can blindfold them. The leader of the game selects a person from the circle to sneak up and steal the bone. When this camper does so, they say in a pretentious voice, “Doggy, doggy, where is your bone?”
All the players stand with their hands behind their backs after they return to the circle, and the camper playing the dog tries to guess who has the bone. Once they guess correctly, the camper who stole the bone becomes the dog.
“Summertime is the best camp time for many children.”
With the best and varied selection of camp games, create lasting memories and fun for the kids.
Tips for Fun and Effective Camp Games
For camp games to be fun and effective, follow some simple rules and guidelines.
- Choose games that fit the age and ability level of your campers.
2. Give clear instructions and make sure all participants understand the rules of the game.
3. Make sure you choose games where everyone can participate and have fun.
4. Counselors should participate with the campers.
5. Encourage sportsmanship and discourage rough playing, name-calling, and any other behaviors that may hurt campers physically or emotionally.
