Outdoor Game Ideas for Picnics, Family Reunions and Parties

Getting together with family and friends is always fun, but why not make it even more memorable by adding some active outdoor games to play. These games are not only fun but the perfect entertainment to go along with all the great food and conversation.

Mix up the outdoor games at your next family gathering by adding one of these fun games along with the traditional tug of war, kickball, and softball games to create something new.

Outdoor Game Ideas

For large picnics or family gatherings, the All Up Relay outdoor game is a fun game for people of all ages.

To play this fun outdoor game, the following materials are required: Long jump rope or piece of rope, two hula hoops, 3 plastic toy bowling pins or empty 2-Liter plastic soda bottles and whistle.

For starters, it is easy to turn your park or backyard into a relay zone for this fun game. Use a jump rope or spray paint to indicate the starting line. At the opposite end of the relay running space which should be twenty to fifty feet long, place the two hula hoops side by side. Place three of bowling pins in one of the circles.

To play, divide players into two groups of equal numbers behind the starting line. Blow the whistle to indicate the start of the relay. The first person in each line runs forward and with one hand only, moves the bowling pin from one circle to the other. Each club must stand and none can touch the outline of the circle. Once finished, the relay participant runs bag and touches off to the next person in line by touching them on the hand. The second player runs forward to the circles and changes the pin back to the other hula hoop ring. The relay continues and the winning team is the one that has their last player cross over the finish line first.

Another fun game for your next family reunion or company picnic is the Arrow Chase. Materials needed for the game are just sidewalk chalk and a stop watch.

Ideal for a park or large outdoor setting, this fun game combines hide and seek and tag.

The group is divided into two equal groups, one will be the running group and the other the hunting group. Each member of the running group should have a piece of chalk. The object is to lead the hunting group on a wild path with twist and turns so they can make it back to the starting line without out being caught by the hunting group.

At every ten feet, the running group draws an arrow at some point along their path. The hunting group begins at the at the starting place and waits two minutes prior to starting to give the running group time to get a head start.

The running group should use all possible finesse in making it difficult to find their arrows, although the arrow must be in plain sight, though not necessarily from the point of view of the course taken. It may be marked on the farther side of a post, stone, etc., or at a considerable height, or near the ground, but never under a ledge or where it might not be seen plainly by any one standing in front of it.

The running group will naturally take a course that leads them back to the starting point, the hunting group, however, trying to overtake them before they can accomplish this.

Other fun outdoor games to bring along to your next family gathering or company picnic are bean bag toss, badminton and lawn darts. Be creative and have fun and your next outdoor get together will be one everyone will remember for years to come.