Unique Games to Play Outdoors

Winter Games

• There are many fun games you can play in the snow without a lot of required materials. One fun and easy game is called Flag In A Snow Stack. All you'll need is a white cloth, a stick, and a stopwatch. Tie the cloth to the end of the stick. Allow each player to stake the stick somewhere in the playing area, and time how long it takes for the other players to find it. The winner is the one who hides the stake that takes the longest to find.

  Another fun winter game is called Hat Trick. Build a snowman and take turns throwing a hat, trying to land it on the snowman. Older kids will want to stand a good distance away from the snowman, 15 feet or so, in order to make the game more challenging.

  You can combine this game with Get On A Roll. For this game, separate players into teams of two, and have them try to roll the biggest snowball they can within a time limit. These snowballs can be used as the base of the snowman.

  You can also have a pitching contest with snowballs by building a snow mound, and setting a tin can pyramid on top of it. Have players throw snowballs at the tin cans and try to knock off only the top can.

  Any of these games will be entertaining, and safer than the average snowball fight, especially for younger players.

Summer Games

• Sardines is a fun variation of Hide and Seek. For this game, only one player is given 100 seconds to hide. The rest of the players break up and search for the hider. Once the player is found, the searcher hides with the original hider. Eventually, there will be only one person left looking for the group. After this player finds the group, he gets to hide in the next round while the group waits.

  Firefly is a great game you can play at night. Three or more players and a flashlight are all you need. The player who holds the flashlight is the firefly. The firefly runs away, counts to 60, and then briefly turns on the flashlight. The rest of the players count to 100, and then begin chasing the firefly. Every 60 seconds, the firefly must flash the flashlight again, giving a hint to the other players. The person who tags the firefly becomes the firefly in the next round.