Games to Play at a Fun Fourth of July Barbecue

What fun Fourth of July patriotic games can you play at your party, barbecue, picnic or potluck? Here are a few of our favorites for your Independence Day entertainment.

Bombs Away!

Here's an entertaining Fourth of July party game for participants of all ages. Bombs away is sure to be an all-American hit at a Fourth of July party.

Materials Needed:

Several water-filled balloons

How to Play:

Bombs Away can be a structured balloon-toss game or an all-out, all-American water war.

In structured play, players form two lines. Bombs Away partners face one another (from one line to the other).

At the caller's instruction, players from one line toss their water balloons to their partners in the other line. After catching the balloons, players in the second line take one step backwards.

If a balloon is dropped and breaks, that pair is disqualified from Bombs Away.

Play continues until one pair remains as the winners of this Fourth of July party game.

Capture the Flag

This team-building Fourth of July party game is an excellent ice-breaker, pulling together Independence Day celebrants in every generation.

Materials Needed:

1 red bandanna

1 navy blue bandanna

How to Play:

Form two teams for Capture the Flag at your Fourth of July party. Assign each team to a predetermined territory (perhaps two sides of the yard or park). Clearly mark the Capture the Flag boundary lines. (Spray chalk works well for this.)

Designate a jail for each team, located deep within that team's Capture the Flag territory.

Give each team a bandanna, which will serve as the team flag. Instruct each team to place its flag in a permanent location within the team's Capture the Flag territory.

Once the Capture the Flag game begins, players on each team try to capture the other team's flag and carry it to their own territory without being tagged. (Players may only be tagged in the opposing team's territory.)

Players who are tagged must proceed to the opposing team's jail and remain there until a team member comes to tag them (without themselves being tagged). A player may only rescue one imprisoned team member at a time.

If a player is able to grab the enemy's flag, he must try to run to his own Capture the Flag territory without being tagged. If he is tagged, the flag is returned to its original location, and that player is jailed until he may be rescued.

If a player successfully carries the enemy's flag to his own territory, his team wins Capture the Flag, a high-energy Fourth of July party game.

All-American Archery

Better than a bow and arrow, All-American Archery offers a skill challenge as a Fourth of July party game.

Materials Needed:

Lawn Darts Set

Several balloons

How to Play:

Blow up several balloons (red, white and blue). Plant the balloons in the ground with small garden stakes.

Divide players into teams for All-American Archery. Place all participants behind a starting line. Instruct them to toss darts and pop balloons.

The team that pops the most balloons is the All-American Archery victor in this Fourth of July party game.

All-American Army Training Course

Somewhat like television's Survivor challenge, Fourth of July party game will test the agility and athleticism of guests at an Independence Day celebration.

Materials Needed:

2 jump ropes

2 spare tires

2 ladders

2 orange traffic cones

2 large cartons

2 hay bales

2 hula-type hoops

Whistle

Other items, as desired

How to Play:

Set up an obstacle course, with objects for participants to climb over, crawl under, jump through, skip in, and perform other athletic-type tasks. Create one all-American Army Training Course for each team in this Fourth of July party game.

Divide participants into two (or more) teams. Instruct participants how to complete the course. At the starting whistle, the first member of each team will enter the all-American Army Training Course. When he or she returns and tags the next player, that participant will do likewise.

The first team to complete the all-American Army Training Course, one player at a time, will win the Fourth of July party game.

Yankee Basketball

Who doesn't love to shoot a few hoops at an Independence Day gathering? Here's a Fourth of July party game to get guests on their feet.

Materials Needed:

Basketball

Basketball net

How to Play:

Yankee Basketball players take turns shooting free-throws into the basketball net. Each time a player misses, he receives a letter (Y, A, N, K, E, and E). Once a player has Y-A-N-K-E-E, he must sit out for the remainder of the Fourth of July party game.

The last player standing is the winner in this simple, but sporty, Fourth of July party game.

Fourth of July Flashlight Tag

This after-dark challenge offers mystery and fun as a Fourth of July party game. Play after dusk, but before the Independence Day fireworks start.

Materials Needed:

Flashlight

Darkness (outdoor)

How to Play:

Designate one player to be "IT." Give this player a flashlight. Choose a counting spot, such as the picnic table, campfire or patio for this Fourth of July party game.

The player who is "IT" stands at the counting spot with the flashlight turned off and counts to 60, while all of the other players hide.

After counting to 60, the "IT" player switches on the flashlight and begins searching for the others. If he finds a player, he shines the flashlight on him or her. That player must then take the flashlight and search for another player, while the first "IT" player waits at the counting spot.

Once another player is found, the flashlight is passed as well, and the second player joins the first one at the counting spot.

The Fourth of July party game continues until all participants have been located and gathered at the counting spot.

Combat Trench

This Fourth of July party game truly brings folks together.

Materials Needed:

None

How to Play:

Combat Trench is like Hide-and-Seek in reverse.

Pick one player to be "IT." Instruct this player to find a hiding spot, while the other participants count to 60.

After counting, all of the players hunt for the "IT" player. Each time a player finds "IT," he or she must join the same hiding spot. Eventually, all of the players will be crammed into the same hiding place, except for the one last remaining searcher in the Fourth of July party game.

Adapt Additional Games for a Fourth of July Party Celebration:

Flag Croquet - Use small American flags for end posts in the croquet set.

Fourth of July Frisbee - Play with a red, white and blue flying disc.

Heroic Valor Volleyball - Set up a standard volleyball set. Hang festive patriotic streamers from the side poles.

Old Glory Bocce Ball - Stick an American flag into the ground, and instruct players to aim for the flag, instead of the "jack."