8 DIY Yard Games That Will Engage the Whole Family

Kick the can, hide and go seek, or flashlight tag not keeping everyone entertained? We’re here to help. Check out our 9 fresh, exciting games to play at the RV park, around the campsite, while you’re tailgating or even in your own backyard.

1. LAWN TWISTER
In this DIY game, you’ll be playing twister right in the grass. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Cut a 10-inch or so circle from a piece of cardboard, whether it be from a pizza box, moving box, or whatever you have around. This empty circle will be your template.

2. Spray paint a line of six circles in each paint color: Red, green, blue, and white.

3. Create a spinner from the leftover cardboard, draw colors and limbs from a hat, or have a “caller” face away from the game and call out instructions! Now you have a silly game that washes off immediately and can be as big or as small as you desire!

2. GIANT BEER (OR WATER) PONG
Instead of the typical red solo cups on a ping pong board, have the family compete in a life-size lawn game. Use buckets, trash cans, or whatever you can find, and throw rubber balls or volleyballs instead of ping pong balls. If the group is 21 and over, feel free to keep this a drinking game; if you’re playing with kiddos, use water, Kool-Aid, or another fun drink!

3. THE FROZEN SHIRT RACE
The perfect game for a hot summer day is here. Soak t-shirts in water and seal them in plastic bags to pop in the freezer overnight. The next day, take them back out and race to see who can “defrost” the shirts fastest and put on the shirt quickest.

4. GIANT JENGA
Use 2×4 blocks of wood to make a giant Jenga game; you can keep it short enough to be tabletop or as tall as a person to really make the competition intense! For more fun you can have with these 2x4s, everyone takes time to paint pieces however they want, or let the kids see what they can build with them! This game brings you a versatile resource for plenty of ways to have a great time.

5. WATER BALLOON DODGEBALL
The name makes it pretty clear—it’s dodgeball, but with water balloons. It’s a great game to cool off with, and a fun combination of a water balloon fight and a water balloon toss! Who will get out, and who will be able to catch the balloon without it popping?

6. GIANT RING TOSS
Make a ring toss as big as you are! Here’s how to make it happen:

1. Pound 6 or more ¾ inch wooden dowels into the ground. You can choose how tall you want them to be; go up to 5 or 6 feet to really make it life-size!

2. Slide pool noodles down the dowels to make poles for your ring toss.

3. Use pool noodles to make the rings, too. Bend them in a circle and duct tape them, or cut dowels in 6-inch segments and slide into the noodles for more rigidity.

4. Have fun! See who can throw from the greatest distances or from the weirdest positions (i. e. behind the back, under the leg, and whatever else you can dream up).

7. GLOW IN THE DARK BOWLING
Once it’s nice and dark, add glow sticks to ten bottles of water to make glow in the dark pins. You can even line the lane with glow sticks for a little extra sparkle! Roll or kick a soccer ball (or whatever you have at hand) as the bowling ball and see who can get the most strikes.

8. BLANKET RACE
Everybody grab a blanket and head to the yard! Pair up with one person holding on to the blanket and the other pulling and race across the lawn. Who can pull their partner the fastest?

Make it interesting with a crazy course, different blankets, or silly rules you think up. Change the game around and race until you’re too tired to drag your partner for another second!