Even though worldwide quarantine is slowly losing its intensity and many places are opening up, some amusement parks and parks, in general, remain closed. But that does not mean you cannot have fun with your family. In fact, you can spend some quality time and have fun right in your backyard.
You don’t have to travel far to spend meaningful time with your family. It can be accomplished both in comfort and privacy. Not to add that your home is likely to be the safest location during the pandemic.
Here’s a list of some amazing backyard games for you and your family to enjoy.
1. Water Balloon Fight
The heat can sometimes be unbearable in the summer. You can quench your thirst with cold water and drinks, but after a while, your skin will feel irritated. A fun way to beat the heat is a lively water balloon battle. Fill balloons with cold water and have the ultimate showdown.
Throw these balloons at each other and the one with the most hits wins. To get the whole family involved, you can add slips and slides for adults and water toys for toddlers that are safe to use. For more information on these toys, check out patiogateway.com.
2. Ring Toss
There are a lot of variants for this game, so you can choose whichever one you want. The most common one involves throwing rings from a distance onto small poles. The one who can get the most number of rings on the pole wins.
To make the game more interesting, you can use small juice bottles instead of poles. If you can land a ring on one of the bottles, you get to drink it. It’s a fun and refreshing way to beat the heat and involve all your family members.
3. Hide and Seek
No outdoor games list can be complete without hide and seek. The name says it all. One person becomes the seeker and the rest hide around the backyard or house.
Then the seeker must search for the hiders in a set time. Although you need only two players to play this game, it is more fun with 4-5 players or more.
4. Backyard Bowling
Small children cannot bowl in a bowling alley. The ball will be far too heavy for them to carry and roll. However, a miniature version of bowling can get all your family, friends, and even the kids involved.
You can buy a backyard bowling set from your local supermarket. Just arrange the pins, set some rules, set the course, and start bowling in your backyard. The bowling balls are small and light enough to be carried around by children easily.
5. Backyard Golf
Bowling is not the only sport that you can bring to your backyard. You can also try miniature golf. Just like bowling, you can buy a miniature golf set online or from the nearest supermarket. If you have a lot of spare time, this miniature golf can be a lot of fun.
It requires time, patience, and competitiveness. Setting up the course can take some time. You can get more creative by adding some obstacles, which can include books, pipes, rings, or wooden planks.
6. Jump Rope
Jump rope is a fun game that burns calories as well. You can have all your family members involved and see who can do the most jumps. You can make it more fun by using a large skipping rope and have multiple people jump at the same time.
Two people can grab the ends and spin the rope and three or more people competing. The last person jumping wins!
7. Hopscotch
This one is an old-school original backyard game that almost everyone has played at least once in their life. The game is usually played on a sidewalk. But you can play it in your backyard too. You can use food color to mark the lawn. It will not harm the grass, and the color will also wash away with a little spray of water.
Children can experience a new outdoor game, while adults can revisit their childhood through a quick game of hopscotch.
8. Bandana Tag
A different variant of the original tag game. Instead of one person running around and tagging someone, this game has people running with bandanas attached to their heads. So now, simply touching someone will not make them ‘It.’ You need to grab the bandana from their head.
Kids will obviously not be able to reach the head of adults. So adults will attach the bandana to their belt or waistband. It would not be fair otherwise.
9. Obstacle Course
Ready, set, go! Everyone loves to race. The feeling of adrenaline coursing through your veins is exciting. So why not build an obstacle course in your backyard and have a small race? Your backyard might not be big enough for the adults, but it will be fun for the kids. You can use fabric tunnels that the kids have to crawl through.
Use wooden planks or tight ropes and have them cross them to go from point A to B. You can use bean bags, hula hoops, skipping ropes, and plenty of other things to create a fun and challenging obstacle course. You will find tons of videos on YouTube to get inspiration for your next course.
10. Blind Man’s Bluff
We have all played this at least once. You can play it when you go camping, on the school grounds, or even in your backyard. One person will be nominated to be the seeker and be blindfolded. Then others will spread across the backyard and make noises. Since the seeker is blindfolded, he will have to follow the noises to catch the other players.
Once the seeker is able to catch all the players, the game ends and the person who was first caught gets to be the new seeker.
Final Thoughts
Not being able to go outside does not mean you cannot have fun. You can try all of these games and more in your backyard this summer to have a great time with your family and friends.