Hey campers! Grab your bug spray, lawn chairs, and that cousin who always mysteriously disappears when it’s time to clean up the s’mores mess — because today we’re talking about the best outdoor board games to fire up your summer nights.
I’ll be your guide: part camp counselor, part hype-man, part referee when someone inevitably accuses grandma of cheating. By the end of this list, you’ll have more fun game ideas than raccoons have ways to break into your cooler.
So let’s roll the dice and get this campfire party started!
1. Camp: The Board Game
Link: 👉 Check out Camp here
We’re starting this list with the MVP of outdoor games. Camp is basically the summer camp counselor of board games — fun, slightly educational, and always yelling “no running near the fire!”
Here’s the deal: this game tests your knowledge of the outdoors, wildlife, and all things Mother Nature, but it does it in a way that doesn’t make you feel like you’re back in 5th grade science class. It’s perfect for kids, adults, and that one uncle who thinks he’s a bear whisperer after watching a single documentary.
Pro tip: if you get a question wrong, just say “the mosquitoes distracted me.” Works every time.
2. Cornhole (Technically Not a Board Game, but Let’s Be Honest…)
Okay, okay — don’t yell at me. Cornhole is basically an outdoor board game if you squint hard enough. You’ve got boards, you’ve got points, and you’ve got people who suddenly think they’re professional athletes after one lucky throw.
The beauty? It’s easy, everyone can play, and you can still hold a cold drink in your hand while dominating. Try that with Monopoly.
3. Giant Jenga
What’s better than Jenga? GIANT JENGA. It’s like regular Jenga after it drinks a gallon of protein shakes.
The thrill of pulling out a block the size of a loaf of bread is unmatched. The sound when the whole tower collapses? Legendary. The panic in everyone’s eyes when the tower wobbles like a deer on ice? Priceless.
Just don’t play it near the firepit unless you enjoy living dangerously.
4. Ticket to Ride: First Journey (Travel Edition)
Want to feel like a sophisticated adventurer but also don’t want to leave your backyard? Ticket to Ride has your back.
You’ll “travel” across the map building train routes while someone inevitably says, “I knew I should’ve blocked you!” This one works perfectly on a picnic table outside. Bonus: when mosquitoes attack, just say you’re “switching trains” and run inside.
5. Uno Attack (Outdoor Chaos Edition)
Uno is already chaos in a deck of cards. Uno Attack takes that chaos, adds a battery-powered card launcher, and basically dares you to lose friends.
There’s nothing quite like that moment when the machine spits 10 cards into your lap while your siblings cackle like evil villains. Play it outside where your screams won’t scare the neighbors (or maybe do, that’s even funnier).
6. Lawn Scrabble
Yes, it exists. Giant letters, giant words, giant arguments over whether “yeet” is officially a word yet.
It’s educational, it’s competitive, and it gives you the unique joy of spelling “mosquito” while smacking your cousin with the Q tile.
7. Codenames: Campfire Version
If you’ve never played Codenames, here’s the deal: it’s like a spy word game where one player gives clues and the rest try not to embarrass themselves.
When you play it outside by lantern light, it turns into a dramatic espionage thriller where every clue feels like the fate of the free world depends on it. Or at least the s’mores supply.
8. Yardzee (Yahtzee’s Bigger Cousin)
Regular Yahtzee? Cute. Yardzee? Now we’re talking.
Imagine chucking dice the size of bricks across your yard and screaming “YAHTZEE!” so loud that the neighbors peek over the fence. It’s a workout, it’s fun, and if one of the dice accidentally rolls into the bushes, congratulations — you’ve just invented “Dice Hunt.”
9. The Resistance (Backyard Betrayal Edition)
Okay, campers, listen up: The Resistance is the game where you accuse your friends of being traitors, liars, or secret double agents. Basically, Thanksgiving dinner but with cards.
There’s nothing funnier than seeing your little cousin try to lie about being “loyal” while their face gives away everything. Play this around the fire and you’ll discover just how untrustworthy your family really is.
10. Glow-in-the-Dark Capture the Flag
Yes, it counts as a “board game” because the entire forest becomes your board. And honestly, nothing feels more epic than sprinting through the dark with glowing bracelets while trying not to trip over a tree root.
This is the ultimate outdoor game for people who like strategy, teamwork, and screaming, “WHO STOLE OUR FLAG?!” at the top of their lungs.
🏕️ Final Thoughts (aka Why Outdoor Board Games Rule)
Look, summer is short. Mosquitoes are relentless. And at some point, your phone battery will die, leaving you with only three entertainment options:
Watching raccoons break into your cooler.
Staring at the campfire until you start naming the flames.
Playing outdoor board games with friends and family.
Option three is obviously the winner. Especially when you bust out Camp: The Board Game — the one game that makes you smarter about the outdoors while giving you bragging rights at the picnic table.
So go forth, campers. May your dice always roll sixes, may your Uno Attack always miss you, and may your giant Jenga towers collapse in the most dramatic slow-motion possible.
Now excuse me while I go accuse my grandma of being a double agent in The Resistance. (She totally is. Look at her eyes. Shifty.)