Children's Summer Camp Games

Hands-Free Scavenger Hunt

• To play this game you will need a knit winter cap for every two players and duct tape. Divide campers into teams of two. One team member puts on the cap. The other person loosely wraps the cap with duct tape so the sticky side faces outward.

  After all caps are covered with tape, give each team a list of items it must find somewhere in the camp, such as a pine cone, a pebble, a dandelion or some dried grass. Everyone has 15 minutes to collect as many things as possible and attach them to the cap. However, all players must follow two rules during their scavenger hunt:

  1) The cap cannot be removed from the player's head at any time;
  2) Neither team member can use her hands to put collected items on the cap.

  Call the teams back after 15 minutes. The team with the most collected items on its cap wins the game.

Capture the Fort

• Play this game with a group of at least 20 people. You will need a medium-size rubber ball or soccer ball.

  Divide the group into two teams: the defenders and the attackers. Ask the defenders to select someone from their team to be the captain. The team forms a circular "fort" around their captain. They hold hands and face outward so their captain can see their backs.

  The attackers surround the circle, standing 10 to 12 steps away from the defenders. They attack the fort by trying to get a ball into the center of the circle. They can kick the ball so it goes through a defender's legs or they can throw it over the head of any defender. Inside the circle, the captain can try to stop the ball by catching it and throwing it back outside the circle.

  The fort is captured when the ball touches the ground inside the circle. The teams swap places and the defenders become attackers.

Human Bobsled Relay

• Mark a line approximately 50 feet away from a starting area, then divide campers into teams of three.

  Each team sits down together in a line. Each team member then wraps her legs around the person sitting in front of her. Explain that when the "go" whistle blows, the teams must slide their way to the finish line, using only their hands. Only the first person in the line may use her legs to assist the team, but the legs of the other two team members cannot touch the ground or the team will need to return to the start line and begin again. The first team that crosses the finish line wins the race.