Pinecone Games

Collect Pinecones

• No need to wait until you have pinecones to have fun; make a game out of collecting the pinecones for use with various outdoor games. Whoever collects the most pinecones and the largest variety of pinecones in five minutes gets to create the first game involving pinecones. Often, impromptu imagination can produce the most fun games and gives the children a sense of leadership.

Pinecone Baseball

• Place four sticks, rocks or other found objects on the ground as bases in a large, open area in a diamond shape. Note that it will be more difficult to hit and field a pinecone than a baseball, so place the bases relatively close to each other (for example, about 15 feet). Find a large, straight stick for use as a bat. Form into two teams, a batting team and a field team. The pitcher stands about 10 feet from the batter, who holds the stick as a bat, and then the pitcher tosses the pinecone to the batter. The batter hits the pinecone and runs to the first base, positioned about 15 feet to the right. If the batter misses the pinecone three or four times, he's out; three or four outs and the teams switch -- batters become fielders.

Pinecone Toss

• Fashion a loop out of a large reed or sapling, or use a hula-hoop as a target. Throw the pinecones through the loop, positioned about 5 feet from the players. All players throw one pinecone each round, and if a player misses the loop, he does not participate in subsequent rounds (he is out). After each round, the loop is repositioned farther from the players. When there is only one player left, that player wins the game.

Pinecone Annie Annie Over

• Children divide into two teams and position themselves on each side of a building. One team throws the pinecone over to the other team. If the other team catches the pinecone, they run around to the other side and attempt to tag the other team, either by hand or by hitting them with the pinecone. The throwing team runs to the safety of the other side of the building, where they cannot be tagged. The team with the most players at the end of the game wins.