Outdoor party games make your parties more interesting, challenging, and fun.
Are you planning on hosting a backyard barbecue, park picnic, beach day, family reunion, summer party, or camping trip? If yes, then you need to include some exciting outdoor party games to make the occasion fun and memorable.
This post contains numerous interesting outdoor party games. Some require a bit of athleticism while others require strong strategic thinking.
Outdoor Party Games For All Ages
Balloon down
You will need three different balloons, it doesn’t matter whether they are the same color or not. Blow them up with helium and tie them to some kind of balloon weight.
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If you want patriotic party games, use red, white, and blue balloons. Write point values on the 3 balloons using a permanent marker. You can write 1, 5, and 10 or 25, 50, and 100.
Tape a line on one side of the yard and place the balloons about 10 to 15 feet away. Put the lowest scoring balloon closest and the next highest scoring balloon, and the highest-scoring balloon at the end.
Put a bucket of small footballs next to the tape and make sure they are heavy enough that they can be tossed across the yard. Now, to play this game, the players are given 5 footballs to toss.
They are to try to hit as many balloons as possible. If they hit a balloon, they score the points written on it. The person who scores the most points or gets a certain number of points wins the game and goes home with the prize.
Ring toss
You can make yours or buy already made sets and play the ring toss as your outdoor party.
Your guests should stand a bit further away from the objects they are trying to ring. The older they are, the farther they stand.
DIY ladder golf
This is a perfect outdoor party game that will be loved by both children and adults. To play this game, there have to be 2 teams of 2 people each.
The aim of the game is to make the golf balls hook onto the rungs. Each team will take turns tossing the playing pieces towards the ladder golf structure.
The top rung has 3 points, the middle rung has 2 points, and the bottom has 1 point. If both teams hook a playing piece onto the same rung, it will cancel out and no team gets a point for that rung.
When all the playing pieces have been thrown, the team with the most points wins the game.
If you don’t know how to set this game up, click here.
Outdoor Party Games for Kids Ideas
Human piñata chase
Kids will love this fun variation of the traditional piñata. It can be played at a party or family reunion.
You have to prepare your human piñata or piñatas for this game. Put hot glue on the front and back of the shirt. Every piñata needs one shirt and you should use old or cheap shirts because the shirts will be destroyed in the chase.
Attach small snacks, small-sized candies, fruit snacks, small cookie snacks, full-sized candy bar, money in a zip lock bag, small toys, pencils, etc.
Now, divide the children into age groups, and ask someone to be the piñata. You can do 1 piñata at a time, (i.e. one piñata for each age group). Or you can let all your piñatas be chased at a time but they should be a time limit for each age group.
Give the human piñatas a head start and then send the kids out to collect their treats. As they get close, they grab hold of the prize and pull it off. You can make some so hard to pull off to make the game more fun.
Giant outdoor chalkboard
This is a fun game for kids to engage in for an outdoor party. Apart from being a fun activity, it gives kids the opportunity to be creative.
They can draw or write all they want without making a mess if it was indoors. Click here to see the procedures of setting up a giant outdoor chalkboard.
Large tic tac toe
You can make this tic tac toe game by using a plastic tablecloth, 2 different colors of plastic plates, and duct tape. Cut the tablecloth into a square shape, then measure and tape off the tic tac toe area in equal squares of 9.
Little kids can play it like a regular tic tac toe while older kids can play it by tossing the plates like a Frisbee onto the square they choose.
This is a really fun game both kids and adults would love.
Pool noodle football toss
For this game, you need five pool noodles, a football, rebar from the hardware store, and duct tape. Form three of the noodles into rings and tape them where they meet each other.
Each ring should be taped individually before being taped together. Tape the end ring noodles to the long ones. Put the 2 rebar pieces in the ground and then slide the noodles over each one.
To win a point, each kid will have to toss the football through it. You can give a different point system for each hoop or one point for each throw through the hoop.
Ins and outs
For this interesting game, you will need 8 balls of different sizes and a long rope. Cut 8 pieces of rope the size of a hula hoop and tie the ends together.
Place the rope circles on the ground fairly apart from each other. Each circle needs a ball. Place 4 balls inside each circle, and 4 balls outside the other 4 circles.
Now, you group your kids into 2 teams, one team tries to get all the balls inside the circle while the other team tries to get all the balls out of the circle.
This is a fun and very fast-paced game; the more people playing it, the more fun it is. Adults too will enjoy playing this game.
Bucket ball toss
You need 5 buckets, sticky numbers, and 3 soft balls. You can use a vinyl cutter to make numbers for each bucket. Also, you can use sticky letters.
Line the buckets up starting with the smallest number closest to you. Each player is given 3 balls to toss and the player that gets the most point wins.
Little children can stand closer to the buckets while older kids stand far away.
Fun Outdoor Party Games
Find the leader
This fun outdoor party game will be loved by people of all ages, it involves lots of fun and you can get creative with the moves. You need 10 players or more, and a large space.
Ask the players to form a large circle leaving enough space in the center. There should also be space between each player to move freely. One player or two (if the group size is large) is called “It” and sent out of the room or garden (if outdoor) to wait.
The remaining players pick a leader. The leader will make a gesture, posture, or movement, and the rest of the players will imitate him or her. Once the leader has been picked, the player (“it”) or players will be called back to the room or area.
“It” will stand in the center and the rest of the players will move like their leaders. “It” is to guess who the leader is as the rest of the players mimic their leader.
The players should be cautioned about looking at their leaders directly so as not to give “It” a hint. If “It” guesses right, the leader becomes “It” and the game continues.
The game is much more fun when the players introduce different and funny actions, movements, and postures.
Junk in the trunk
This is a fun party game that involves a lot of jumping and shaking. It involves at least 6 players or more. What you need for this game are an empty tissue box, glue or tape, a waistband, rope, or belt, 8 or more ping pong balls, and space for players to move.
You have to prepare for this game beforehand. You have to attach the empty tissue box to the rope, belt, or waistband to make it look like a bum bag or waist pouch bag.
Remove the plastic from the tissue box to create a clear opening. Put the ping pong balls in the tissue box tied to the belt and ask the player to tie the belt around the waist so that the box is tied to their backs.
It needs just a minute to win this game and it can be played by one person at a time.
All the players have one minute each to shake their bodies and let out all the balls out of the box. The person who gets all the balls out of the box in one minute wins a prize.
Outdoor Graduation Party Games
How’s it hangin
This is an amazing teen party game for a graduation party. You need at least 6 players, a long piece of string, an orange, a banana, and a hula hoop.
Tie the string to the banana and it has to be at least 12 inches long. This game takes a minute-to-win and it is played by one player at a time. Tie the string with the banana to the front of the jeans or trousers of the player.
Adjust the length of the string so that the banana touches the ground. Put the orange at one end of the room and at the other end, put the hula hoop.
The player has to move the orange into the hula hoop with the help of the banana within a minute. The player who manages to get the fruit into the circle wins the prize.
Stack’ em up
Aside from being fun, this is a skill game that teens will love to play at any graduation party. It needs 6 players or more and what you need to provide are sandwich cookies or chocolate ding dong cakes.
This is a simple and fun game of stacking and balance. All the players have to do is bend backward and start stacking the cookies or cakes on their forehead.
They have to stack as many cakes as they can balance and if the stack falls off the forehead, the next person tries it.
Sleeping beauty game
This is a fun and also silly game teens will love. You only need players and nothing else. The sleeping beauty game is all about resilience and not giving in and it is also fun.
Each player will take turns to be sleeping beauty. They will lie down on the bed pretending that they are in a state of deep sleep. They must not talk, move, or even wince.
The rest of the players will try to wake up the sleeping beauty and make him or her laugh without touch. Players can say all kinds of funny and silly things to wake the sleeping beauty up.
This makes the game so much fun.
Outdoor Party Games For Teenagers
Wink assassin
This interesting teenager outdoor party game is also known as “wink murder” or “killer” and it is a popular stealth game loved by teens. It takes less than 5 minutes to set this game up.
You need space for the players and the game should have one assassin or murder that can secretly kill the others by winking at them.
The players should pick chits of paper to determine who the murderer is. All the players have to make eye contact with one another while observing the rest to identify the killer.
If the assassin winks at a player, the player counts to 5 and fakes a sudden death. If another player suspects another player to be the murderer, he/she will say “I accuse”. The accuser can also ask other players if they suspect anyone.
If anyone also suspects, he/she also says “I accuse” and at the count of three, the 2 accusers are to point to the suspects.
If they point to the same person the game ends but if they point to different people, the accusers are eliminated and the game continues until the murderer is identified or all the players eliminated.
Medusa
This amazingly fun game works well when you have a big group of teenagers. You need at least 10 people and some space for players.
The players will have to stand in a circle with their hands around their neighbors’ shoulders. At first they would keep their heads bowed but on the count of three or at any other indication, the players have to look up at another player.
If two people find themselves looking at each other, they instantly scream and drop dead. The game continues until only 2 people are left. Interesting right?
Balloon Stomp
This interesting outdoor party game can be played by teens in the backyard. Note that this is a group game and it is very noisy because it involves balloons bursting and the teenagers shouting for joy.
You need at least 10 players, balloons of 2 colors, some strings, and a large space. The players are divided into 2 groups and their aim is to burst the opposing team’s balloons without losing theirs.
Each group should have an equal number of players. Each team should have a different color of balloons or strings and they are to tie the balloons to their legs using a long string so that the balloon is not too close.
When the moderator says “go”, the players are to move around quickly and step on the other team’s balloons with their legs only. The team that successfully bursts the opposing team’s balloons first wins the game.
Balloon blow
All teens will love this game and the best part of it is that it can be played indoors. It is more fun outdoors and you need at least 6 players and balloons of different colors.
Divide the players into pairs, each pair is given a simple task of keeping their balloon in the air by blowing at it. Make sure the pairs have enough space to play without bumping into each other.
The pair that keeps their balloon in the air long after the others have dropped theirs is the winner.
Outdoor Birthday Party Games
Vroom! Vroom!
This might look like a silly game, but for teens, it is not. It is a fun game and also shows how the players are good at observing and following simple rules.
You need at least 8 players and space for players. Ask the players to stand in a circle and put their arms in front of them as they would do when holding a steering wheel.
One player is to say “vroom” to start the game and makes a hand movement as if turning the steering wheel either to the left or right. The other players copy the lead player.
To change the direction, a player says “E-r-r-t” and then “vroom” to indicate a new direction. A player that makes a mistake is eliminated and he or she will have to write their name in the air using their butt. Lol
After that, the remaining players continue until just one person is left.
Baby in the air
This interesting outdoor birthday party game tests how alert you are. It is highly competitive and played by teams of two. You need at least 8 players, balloons, water, and a space for playing.
You need at least 10 water balloons and you fill them with water before the game starts. The players should arrange themselves in a circle with one person in the center.
Every player should be allocated a number and the person in the middle calls out “Baby in the air, I call number ___” and throws up the water balloons at the same time he or she is calling out the number.
The player whose number has been called has to move fast to the middle and catch the baby from falling to the ground. Any player who drops the balloon is out.
What makes this game fun is the right timing of throwing the balloon and calling out the numbers.
Wacky ducky
This fun outdoor birthday party game needs proximity among players thereby making it more interesting for kids and teenagers. You need at least 8 players and space.
The players are to sit in a circle, the circle should be large enough for one person to stay in the middle. The person in the center (let’s call him or her “It”) is blindfolded and spun around a few times.
While this is happening, the players quickly change seats and rearrange themselves. Once everyone is back in the circle, “It” feels the other player in the circle using a rolled-up newspaper or a wooden spoon.
“It” then stops at a person and sits in the lap of the player. The player then quacks like a duck in a wacky or silly voice. The player has to be identified by “It”.
If “It” guesses right, the sitter takes the place of “It”, otherwise “It” continues for another lap until he/she guesses right. Your teens will have lots of fun trying to fake voices to fool their friends in this game.
Conclusion
We hope this post has given you wonderful ideas on how to spice up your outdoor party for any occasion. If you have more game ideas, you can let us know in the comment section.
