How to Make Backyard Games

Purchase a normal croquet set and turn it into a fun backyard obstacle course game called ̶0;Crazy Croquet̶1;. Part of the fun of Crazy Croquet is setting it up, so get the entire family involved in making the game. Gather items to make an obstacle course such as pipes, bricks, cinder blocks, wooden boards, rocks, dryer hoses or whatever you can find. Create an obstacle course with all of these random items. To make a ramp, cut a hole big enough for the croquet ball to fit through in the top of a two-foot long piece of plywood. Prop up the ramp using a cinder block. Part of the obstacle course will be getting the croquet ball up the ramp and dropping it through the hole. Use the rocks and wooden boards to create pathways that players need to follow with their balls. When you are done, the game is played similar to miniature golf.

Make a fun game called ̶0;Shark̶1; in your back yard with hula-hoops or beach towels. Randomly place hula-hoops or towels in your back yard. These are now called ̶0;fishy̶1; dens. You can make as many dens as you want. One person is chosen to be the "Shark" to start out the game. He stands at one end of the backyard and calls out, ̶0;Fishy, fishy, cross my ocean.̶1; The other players are the fish, lined up on the other side of the yard, and have to run from den to den to reach the shark's side to win. The dens are the fishy safe zones and they can stop and rest in them. The shark runs around trying to tag the fish when they are between the dens. When the shark tags one of the fish, that little fish becomes the shark and the game starts over. If the shark is unable to tag any fish and the fish all make it to the other side of the yard, the game starts over with the same shark. If the game is dragging on, you have the option of choosing another shark.

Make a tetherball game for your back yard with the following items: an old tire, 12-foot galvanized pipe, cement and a tetherball on a rope. Drill a hole in the top of the galvanized pole. Fill the old tire with mixed cement and set the galvanized pole in the center. Hold the pole until the cement is firm. After approximately 24 hours when the cement has hardened, attach the tetherball rope to the top of the pole. Play tetherball according to the rules.

Build a theater with a clothesline. Make curtains out of two old sheets by folding down one edge of the sheet and sewing under the entire length, leaving openings in the ends. The fold should be wide enough to thread a clothesline through it. This is your stage curtain. Attach the ends of the clothesline to whatever is solid and far enough apart for a stage such as a wall and a tree. Kids can use the sheets as stage curtains and slide them open and closed for their shows. Make it even more like a stage by hanging another old sheet behind the stage and letting the kids paint it as a backdrop.

Make a ̶0;Kick the Can̶1; game. Use an old tin can as the base. One person is ̶0;it.̶1; He stands by the can and counts to 100 as all the other players hide. Once the counter gets to 100, he runs and finds the hidden players. When he sees someone, he tags them. They both run back to the can to see who can kick it first. The person who doesn̵7;t kick the can becomes ̶0;it̶1;.

Make a piñata filled with water instead of candy. Fill a large trash bag with about a gallon of water. Hang the trash bag from a tree or a solid patio rafter. Take turns hitting it with a plastic bat until it breaks and splashes on everyone.