Best Campfire Games for Kids & Families
Celebrities Set up the Celebrities game by writing down the names of 5-10 famous celebrities on small pieces of paper. Put the papers into a hat or bowl and mix them well. Split up the group into two teams, then give one person from each time a minute to describe as many of the celebrity names to their team as possible. However, they’re only allowed to use 3 words to describe each celebrity they pick out of the hat. Players are also not allowed to gesture or make noises, and they can only “pass” on a celebrity once per turn. Keep track of every correctly-guessed name and set aside the slips of paper so they can’t be used again in this round. Once every player on each team has had a turn as the “describer,” put all the papers back into the hat and start the second round. In Round 2, everyone gets to go again with the same celeb names—however, in this round, the describer is only allowed to use 1 word to hint at each celebrity. Repeat this process again before the third and final round, where describers can now use gestures but can’t use any words at all.
Charades Write clues on small slips of paper or use an online Charades generator. If you’re creating your own Charades prompts, aim for a mix of play titles, book titles, songs, TV shows, movies, celebrities, and general actions. You can divide your group into teams or play collaboratively as a group. Select one person from the group or one of the teams to be the first “performer.” Have them choose a prompt then act it out without speaking or making any noises. The group or the performer’s team then tries to guess what is being acted out. You can also choose to play with a timer to up the ante, but that’s up to you and your group! Some people play Charades so that certain hand signs can be used to indicate the category of or number of words in the clue (like unfolding your hands for “book” or cranking a film camera for “movie”). Check out this list for a full guide to Charades hand gestures. You can also play an even more giggle-inducing variation called Puppet Master Charades. In this version, one person stands still while another person acts out the clue by manipulating the other person’s arms, legs, or body position (like a puppet master!).
Fortunately, Unfortunately Start off this story-telling game starts by having the first player begin with a fortunate or positive statement. For instance, they might say “Fortunately, I woke up to a beautiful and sunny day this morning.” The next player then continues the story with an unfortunate or negative statement, like “Unfortunately, I soon realized I’d slept through my alarm and was late for school.” The third player then adds another positive statement, like “Fortunately, I then remembered that today was a school holiday.” The next player then adds another unfortunate statement, and play continues in this alternating way until the story comes to a natural end.
Heads Up, Seven Up You can repurpose this classic classroom game for the great outdoors by choosing three people to be pickers and having the rest of your players sit around the campfire in their camping chairs. Ask everyone who’s seated to close their eyes and hold their arms outstretched with their thumbs up in the air. Then, have each picker walk around the circle and select one person’s thumb to tap. When someone’s thumb is tapped, they must put their thumb down so the other pickers know they’ve already been chosen. Pickers should be as stealthy as possible while tapping the thumbs—their goal is to not have the tapped individual know that it was them who tapped their fingers. Once all of the picking is completed, the pickers all say “heads up, seven up” in unison. Players that were tapped can then stand up and guess who pickles them. After each person has made their guess, the pickers will reveal who they really selected. If the person guessed correctly, they’ll switch places with their picker. If they guess wrong, then the picker stays in their role for the next round.
In the Pond, Out of the Pond Assign one person to be the “caller” and have the rest sit around the campfire with their hands on top of their thighs. The caller can then say one of three things: “In the pond,” “out of the pond,” or “on the bank.” Each of the three phrases has an associated movement (see below) that all players must quickly do. If a player moves their hand to the wrong place, then they’re out of the game and have to sit on their hands for the remaining rounds until only one player (the winner!) is left standing. In the pond: Players put their hands toward (but not in!) the campfire. Out of the pond: Players put their hands above their heads. On the bank: Player put their hands on their thighs.
I Went to Market Choose a general theme or category for this game, e.g., fruits, yellow things, sports items, or even camping-related items! Then, players go around the circle saying “I went to market and bought _____.” They must fill in the blank with an object that belongs to the chosen category or theme. However, players must also choose objects in alphabetical order: i.e., Player 1 might say “I went to market and bought apples, then Player 2 says “I went to market and bought bananas, Player 3 says “I went to market and bought coconuts,” and so on until the alphabet is completed. If any player messes up their letter or states something that doesn’t belong in that category, they’re out of the game.
Name Game Start off the Name Game by choosing a general category, like animals, places, or celebrity names. Ask the first player to name an item that fits the topic and starts with the letter A. Moving around the circle, players then take turns naming a new item in that category that starts with the final letter of the preceding word. For example, let’s say that the category is colors. The game might go: aquamarine, eggshell, lime green, navy blue, etc. Items can’t be repeated once named. If someone repeats a word, can’t come up with a word, or hesitates for too long, they’re eliminated from the game.
Name That Song There’s a few different ways to play this game for the lyrically- or melodically-inclined. In its most simple form, write down the names of a bunch of popular songs on little scraps of paper. Place them in a bowl, hat, or other container. On each turn, pass the container around the campfire circle and have the player whose turn it is pick out a paper. The player then hums or whistles the melody to the tune and the rest of the group tries to guess the name of the song! If you have an instrument on hand, however, you can ask a player to play the riff, intro, or melody of a famous song. The rest of the group then tries to guess the song name as quickly as possible. This game can be played in teams with scorekeeping, or simply played as a fun and collaborative game.
Numbers Also known as Zen Counting, this game begins by having all players sit in a circle around the campfire with their eyes closed. The goal is to have the group count out loud and reach the highest number possible without any two people saying the number at the same time. Once you’ve said that the game has started, any person can start by saying “one.” Then, any player can say “two.” Play continues like this, with numbers being stated in numerical order. However, there can be no pointing, gesturing, or pre-assigning of who is saying which numbers or who will be the next person to speak. If two people say a number at the same time, you have to start over from 1. Try setting a goal of what number your group wants to reach. 15? 30? 50? 100?
Pick Your Heaven This simple thought game is more of an activity than a competitive game, but it’s still a great way to pass the time around the campfire and get to know your fellow players better! Simply ask each player to design their own version of heaven. They can only choose one place in which to situate their heaven, and they must choose five people and five things to join them there.
Sound Train Have all players agree on a starting sound—like “p,” “sh,” or “ooh,” for example. Then, have each player take a turn saying a new word that starts with the chosen sound. If the sound is “th,” for instance, players might say “thatch,” “theory,” or “thick.” The game continues until a player can’t think of a new word to add. The last player that was able to offer a correct word can choose the new sound for the next round. If desired, you can add a more challenging variation where all players must say their words according to a simple, repeated rhythm—like patting one’s knees twice and clapping once. If the player doesn’t say their word before the beat is finished, they’re out!
Telephone Start the Telephone game by having all players sit in a circle around the campfire. Ask one person to think of a phrase—it can be simple or complex, but the sillier the better! This starting player must then whisper their phrase into the ear of the person sitting next to them, and they can only say the phrase one time (no repeating!). Whatever the listener heard must be whispered into the ear of the next person into the circle. Repeat this process until the “phrase” makes it all the way around the circle. When it reaches the last person, have them announce what they heard out loud to the group. Did the phrase manage to stay unchanged? You can also play a variation known as Crazy Telephone, where the first person starts with a single word. Instead of the next person repeating what they heard, they say the first associated word that pops into their head. If the first person whispers “cat,” for example, the next person might say “hat,” the next “fedora,” and so on.
Vegetable, Vegetable Start off this silly game by having each player choose a new “vegetable name” for themselves (e.g., Broccoli, Spaghetti Squash, Corn, etc.) and sharing it with the group. Then, one person begins the game by saying their own vegetable name twice, then saying any other player’s vegetable name twice. The person whose vegetable name was just said must then say their own name twice, then the name of another person’s vegetable twice. This pattern repeats throughout the game. However, no one is allowed to show their teeth while speaking. If someone shows their teeth on their turn, then they must sit out the game. Play continues until everyone is bored or only one person is left standing. Keep in mind that there’s no specified order to this game, so you don’t have to say the veggie name of the person next to you. Players can choose whoever they want for the next turn! For example, a given round may look like: Player 1 (Avocado): “Avocado, avocado, bok choy, bok choy.” Player 2 (Bok Choy): “Bok choy, bok choy, carrot, carrot.” Player 3 (Carrot): “Carrot, carrot, brussel sprout, brussel sprout.” Player 4 (Brussel Sprout): “Brussel sprout, brussel sprout, eggplant, eggplant.”
Wink Murder The classic Wink murder game begins by designating one person as the “detective” and having them walk away from the campfire until they’re out of earshot. Then, decide as a group which among you will be the “murderer,” so that everyone but the detective knows who the murderer is. Invite the detective back into the circle. At their own leisure, the murderer may then “kill” other members of the group by winking at them. If the victim sees the murderer winking at them, they must pretend to die. Meanwhile, the detective should be working to figure out who the murderer is. If the detective is able to guess the murderer, then they win and a new detective is chosen. If everyone dies before the detective figures it out, then the murderer wins and becomes the next detective. Depending on the number of players, you can also play that the detective must guess the murderer before three or fewer people are left alive.
What’s Yours Like? Choose one person to be the “guesser” and have them walk out of earshot of the campfire. Among the remaining players, decide a secret word (that the guesser won’t know). However, the secret word must be something that all the players possess, like feet, ears, underwear, paycheck, mother, hair, pet, bedroom, etc. Ask the guesser to come back, and then have them ask “What’s yours like?” Each player must share a one-word or brief description of their version of the “secret word” item. The players’ goal is to stump the guesser and prevent them from guessing the secret word. Once everyone has given their responses (e.g., “smelly,” “bony,” “tanned,” “dirty,” for secret word “feet”), the guesser must try to figure out the secret word. If they don’t guess it on the first try, they can ask any other player for an additional description.
Where In the World Are We? This game is best played by a family or group of friends that have been on numerous trips and vacations together. Have one player begin by silently thinking of a specific past destination or trip that the group has gone on together. Then, that player can give three clues about that chosen vacation or vacation spot. The rest of the group can then guess the destination. If the destination is guessed correctly, let the guesser become the new clue-giver.
20 Questions Choose one person to be “it” for the first round of 20 Questions. During each round, whoever is “it” must choose a person, place, or thing without revealing the identity of their choice to the other players. Players must take turns asking yes-or-no questions about the item and attempting to guess what it is. Players can only ask a total of 20 questions. If a player guesses correctly, the game ends and they become the new “it.” If no one is able to figure out the mystery item, “it” reveals the answer and a new round begins.
Best Campfire Games for Teens & Adults
Contact Ask one player to choose a secret word. The goal of the game is to get all other players to find out what this secret word is. The “wordmaster” (the person with the secret word) starts by sharing the first letter of their secret word. Each guesser then silently thinks of a word that begins with that letter and asks a question relevant to the word they’re thinking of. The goal of the guesser is to ask a question obscure enough that the wordmaster won’t know what they’re thinking of, but helpful enough that another guesser can guess what word they’re thinking of. If the wordmaster knows the answer to the question, they can say “No, it’s not ____.” If they’re right, a new guesser can ask a question. If they’re wrong, the original guesser can give another clue to the word they’re thinking of. If another guesser knows the answer to the question, they can say “Contact!” Then, the initial question-asker and the guesser will simultaneously count down from 5 then say the word they’re thinking of. If they say the same word, this is a successful “contact.” Due to this contact, the wordmaster must then reveal the second letter of their word. Play continues until the target word is completely revealed or guessed by one of the players. An example start to Contact might go something like this: Wordmaster (W): The first letter is S. Guesser 1 (G1): Is this something that swims in a river? Guesser 2 (G2): Contact! G1 & G2: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, salmon! W: The second letter is W, so S-W… Guesser 3 (G3): Is this something that has a long neck? W: No, it’s not a swan. G2: Is this something that you wear around your house? W: No, it’s not a sweater. G2: No, not that. Is this something comfy you wear on your legs?
Chubby Bunny You need marshmallows for this game, but otherwise it’s a fairly easy campfire game! Allow each player to cram several marshmallows into their mouth without chewing or swallowing. Then, have everyone take turns saying “chubby bunny” without spitting the marshmallows out. If it’s too easy the first time, up the ante by adding some more marshmallows into the mix!
Mafia Mafia is a pretty complex game that’s best played by adults and young adults—we’ll give you an overview, but you can see the complete rules, strategies, and variations here. First, designate a narrator—this individual will run the game but does not count as a “player.” If you’re the narrator, start the set up by writing the following roles on small slips of paper: “Mafia” (2 slips), “Doctor” (1), “Police” (1), “Villagers” (number of players minus 4). Randomly hand out these papers to the players, and remind them not to reveal what role they’ve been given. The game begins with the night cycle, which begins with everyone closing their eyes. The narrator then says “Mafia, wake up.” The mafia players will open their eyes and silently agree on a victim through pointing and gesturing. The narrator then tells the mafia to go back to sleep and says “Doctor, wake up.” The doctor then silently points to someone they want to save (which could be themselves). If the doctor chose to save the same person that the mafia killed, that person will survive the night. Otherwise, nothing will happen to the person saved and the mafia’s victim will die. The narrator then tells the doctor to go back to sleep and says “Detective, wake up.” The detective silently points to someone they suspect to be mafia. The narrator will give a head nod or shake to indicate whether that person is or isn’t a mafia member. If the detective receives a yes, then they must try to convince the townspeople (the next day) that that person is a mafia member. The narrator then tells the detective to go to sleep and says “Everyone, wake up,” starting the day cycle. During the day cycle, the narrator dramatically tells the story of who was killed (or saved) during the night. Any killed players must stay silent for the remainder of the game. Players can then hold discussions about who they suspect to be mafia and begin to make accusations. If an accusation has been made against a player, then it must be seconded before being taken to a vote. If the majority of players vote guilty, the accused states whether they were mafia and is removed from the game. If the majority of players vote not guilty, accusations restart until one person is voted out and the night round begins again.
Rob Whitehouse’s Alphabet Game Best played by three or more people, this game starts out by having two players simultaneously shout out a category and a letter. Then, all of the other players must try to quickly think of an item from the category with a starting letter as close to the shouted letter as possible—but that doesn’t start with the shouted letter itself. However, anything that comes earlier in the alphabet than the starting letter is considered “farther” away by two additional “spaces.” For instance, let’s say that the two starting players shouted out “European countries” and “C.” In this case, “Estonia” would be considered “closer” to the starting letter than someone who said “Bulgaria,” since “B” comes before “C” in the alphabet. Basically, you’re tacking on an extra space to any letters preceding the shouted letter. Let’s say that “Estonia” is counted as two spaces away from “C,” since “E” comes two spaces after “C” in the alphabet. “Bulgaria” is only one space away from “C” in the alphabet. But, since “B” comes before “C,” you must add on two spaces, making it three spaces away in the game—so “Estonia” is a better guess! “Cyprus” would also be a bad choice, since it starts with “C” and the goal is to choose a word that starts with the letter closest to “C” in the alphabet. Once one person has declared a word, they start to slowly count down (out loud) from 10-0. Everyone else has the time of this countdown to declare a letter that’s alphabetically closer—play continues until someone’s word can’t be beat.
Secret Word Association Begin the game by asking everyone to secretly pick a random word and keep it to themselves. Then, play a typical game of word association: one person starts by saying a random word (e.g., “rodeo”). Then, the next player in the circle says a word associated with that word (e.g., “horse”). The third player would say a new associated word (e.g., “carriage”). Play continues around the circle in this way—if a player repeats a word, hesitates, or says something that the group deems unrelated, they’re out of the game. Meanwhile, every player’s underlying goal is to get someone else to say their secret word. They may steer the words or theme toward the word they have chosen. Once someone says someone else’s secret word, the person who chose that word is declared the winner!
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon Start by having one player say the name of any famous actor or actress (or pull the name out of a hat with several celebrity names placed in it). Then, players will work to find the fewest number of connections from that person’s name to Kevin Bacon. Players can work collaboratively or compete to figure out the shortest line from Kevin Bacon to the chosen actor. In theory, any actor or actress can be linked to Kevin Bacon in six connections or less. You can even use the Oracle of Bacon website to check your answers and see if there was a shorter route.
Two Truths and a Lie Have each player take turns offering three statements about themselves: two of these statements should be true, and the other one should be a lie. The rest of the players can then try to guess which statement is not true. Once everyone has made their guess, then the starting player can reveal which statement was (truly) the lie. For example, someone might claim “I have dual citizenship in Germany, my best friend is a celebrity hairdresser, and I ate a whole bag of salt and vinegar chips for breakfast this morning.”
Best Campfire Drinking Games
Fuzzy Duck To play Fuzzy Duck, have the first player turn to the person next to them and say “fuzzy duck.” That person then turns to the player next to them and says “fuzzy duck.” This pattern continues around the campfire circle, until any player decides to respond with “does he?” instead of “fuzzy duck.” Saying “does he?” changes the direction of play and changes the repeated phrase from “fuzzy duck” to “ducky fuzz.” Anyone can change the direction of play at any point by saying “does he?” when it’s their turn. On each direction change, the phrase switches between “fuzzy duck” and “ducky fuzz.” If someone says the wrong words or mispronounces the phrase, they must drink! For instance, one round might sound something like this: “fuzzy duck” → “fuzzy duck” → “does he?” → “ducky fuzz” → “ducky fuzz” → “ducky fuzz” → “does he?” → “fuzzy duck” …
Hot Seat Choose one person to be in the “Hot Seat” and set a timer for 1-2 minutes. The rest of the group has free rein to ask any hot seat question that they want and the person in the hot seat has to answer. To make the game more interesting, try to ask open-ended questions that can’t be answered with an easy “yes” or “no.”
Knee-Tapping Have your group of players sit close enough together around the campfire so that everyone can put their hands on the closest knee of the people on either side of them. Everyone should have one of their hands on someone else’s knee, and everyone should be able to see everyone else’s hands. Once you’re all locked and loaded into this position, decide a direction of play—for this example, let’s say you’re moving to the right around the circle. One person begins by tapping the knee to their right. Whatever hand is directly to the right of the knee the hand that just did the tapping must then also tap the knee it’s resting on. This action continues around the circle. At any point on their turn, a player can tap their hand twice to change the direction of play. A player may also tap their hand three times to skip a hand but stay in the same direction of play. If any mistakes are made, the erring player must drink!
Never Have I Ever One player says something that they’ve never done, starting with the phrase “Never have I ever…” Any players that have done that thing before must drink. For instance, if one player says “Never have I ever gone skydiving,” anyone that has been skydiving must take a drink. Play continues around the circle until players are ready to move on to a new game. If you want to level your game up a notch, check out this list of juicy Never Have I Ever questions!
Roxanne Split the group into two teams, although players can sit in any arrangement around the campfire. Play the song Roxanne by The Police on someone’s phone or other device. Whenever the word Roxanne is sung, Group 1 must take a sip of their drinks. Whenever the words red light are sung, Group 2 must take a sip of their drinks.
21 To play the 21 game (also known as Cheers to the Governor), choose a direction of play around the circle and have one player start by saying the number 1. The next player says 2, then 3, then so-on and so-forth until your group reaches 21. However, players can actually choose to say one, two, or three numbers as long as they’re in order. If a player says one number, play continues in the same direction. If they say two numbers, play changes direction and reverses to the previous person. If they say three numbers, play continues in the same direction but skips the next person. If a player messes up what they’re supposed to do (i.e., takes their turn when play is supposed to switch directions), they must drink and the game starts over at 1. If your group manages to count all the way to 21 without any errors, whoever says “21” has to finish their drink and come up with a new rule for the next round. Alternatively, everyone can take a sip and say “Cheers to the governor!” before the person who said 21 makes a rule. New rules can be pretty much anything. Players could be required to clap on multiples of five instead of saying the number, do a push-up instead of saying “10,” or have to say all multiples of “2” in a British accent. The world’s your oyster!
Best Campfire Activities for All Ages
Try other camp activities like sing-a-longs, storytelling, and whittling! Having fun around the campfire doesn’t necessarily have to include playing games. There are plenty of other activities that are a blast to do with family and friends while camping, including these fun-filled options: Campfire Sing-a-Long: Sing some well-known tunes acapella or over a guitar accompaniment: here’s a list of popular camping songs to get you started. Campfire Storytelling: Make up or share some classic scary campfire stories for a classic camping activity. Campfire Cooking: Nothing tastes quite like food cooked over the campfire—try heating some Jiffy Pop, roasting hot dogs on a skewer, or making a classic s’more! Whittling: Pass the time by whittling some nearby wood into a spoon, knife, or more complex whittling project. This activity is great for adults or kids who have supervision, and can be a great way to teach children a new hands-on skill!
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