If you’re looking for campfire activities for kids, we’ve got 11 ideas your little ones will love! Perfect for toddlers, for kids in elementary school, for tweens, and even for teens, these ideas are easy to set-up and so much fun. Whether you’re going on a family road trip, camping with a youth group, Girl Scout, or Boy Scout troop, or organizing an outdoor campout in your backyard, these ideas double as great drinking games for adults, too!
11 Campfire Games for Kids of All Ages
1. TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE
If you’re camping with a larger group and want an ice breaker to kick off your first night together in the great outdoors, this is a good one to try. Ask everyone to write down (or think about) 2 personal truths and one lie about themselves, and then ask them to take turns sharing the items on their list while the rest of the group determines which item is the lie. This is often used as an ice breaker in school and business settings, and it’s a great way to lighten the mood and get everyone laughing.
2. TELEPHONE
If you’re looking for campfire games for kids and have a group of at least 5 people, Telephone is a great option as it’s suitable for all ages and stages. To play, one person comes up with a phrase or saying (the sillier the better!) and whispers it into the ear of the person next to them. That person then whispers it to the next person, and once it has been whispered to the final person in the group, he or she must say the phrase out loud. The words almost always get mixed up, resulting in something completely different than what was originally said!
3. 20 QUESTIONS
20 questions is another easy game you can play with kids of different ages. To play, one player thinks of a person, place, or thing, and the rest of the players ask 20 yes or no questions and attempt to figure out what it is. If a player guesses correctly after asking 20 questions, they earn a point and become ‘it’! If no one guesses, no one earns a point and someone else is randomly chosen to be ‘it’.
4. CHARADES
Charades is another fun game to play if you’re looking for campfire games for kids! Each person takes a turn acting out a word or phrase (this deck of charades cards for kids has tons of great kid-friendly prompts) and the rest of the group tries to figure out what the word or phrase is as quickly as possible. You can do this as one big team, or split up into smaller teams to make things more competitive!
5. NEVER HAVE I EVER
Did you ever play Never Have I Ever in college? It’s such a fun way to get to know people on a more personal level, and while you probably played an R-rated version with your college buddies, lol, you can create a G-rated version to add to your collection of campfire games for kids. To play, write out a list of 10 child-friendly statements (examples: never have I ever eaten a bug, never have I ever eaten food off the floor, never have I ever been sent to the principal’s office) and ask everyone to hold their hands out in front of them, palms facing outwards. As you read off the items on your list, ask everyone to fold a finger down for each item they have experienced.
6. WOULD YOU RATHER
‘Would You Rather’ is another great idea if you’re looking for campfire games for kids because it’s easy to setup and suitable for every age. To play this game, all you need to do is write out a list of questions with 2 scenarios, and then read them off while everyone takes a turn saying which scenario they prefer. You can make this easy for younger kids (Would you rather it be summer or winter? Would you rather eat cookies or cupcakes?) and more thought-provoking for older kids (Would you rather be able to fly or be able to breathe under water? Would you rather travel back in time or visit the future?). Once kids get the hang of this game, they can take turns coming up with their own questions!
7. THE ALPHABET GAME
When I first started thinking about ideas to include in this list of campfire games for kids, I kept remembering a drinking game we played in college called The Alphabet Game. To play, pick a category (i.e. fruits, vegetables, animals, countries, cities, etc.) and then one person starts by saying the name of something that falls within that category that starts with the letter A. The next person comes up with something within that category that starts with the letter B, and so on and so forth. The idea is to keep it going without pausing. The first person who can’t come up with a word is out, and you continue the game, and start new ones with new categories until you’re left with one winner!
8. TRUTH OR DARE
For those who need a refresher, Truth or Dare is an easy game you can enjoy at any age. The youngest person in your group chooses a player and asks them, ‘truth or dare?’ If the player chooses ‘truth’, they are asked to answer a question about themselves honestly. If they choose ‘dare’, they must do something silly, hard, or embarrassing. Once the question is answered, or the dare is completed, that person chooses the next victim, and the process continues until everyone has had a turn. If someone refuses to answer a question or complete a dare, they will be given a consequence, which is usually determined at the beginning of the game (i.e. say something embarrassing, eat something gross, etc.). THIS POST has tons of clean, kid-friendly truth or dare ideas!
9. I WENT TO MARKET
This is another one of my favorite campfire games for kids as it usually gets pretty silly towards the end. To play, the youngest person in the group starts off by saying, ‘I went to market and bought a ______’, adding a grocery item he or she would buy. The next player continues by saying, ‘I went to market and bought a <first player’s item> and a ______’. Each player continues, adding items to the list as they go along. When a player makes a mistake, they are eliminated and the game continues until there is only one person left.
10. FINISH THE STORY
Telling stories around the campfire can be so much fun, but if you’re not the story-telling type, it can be difficult coming up with something captivating. Another option to consider is creating a story collectively. One person starts the story off, and then each person adds a few sentences until you have a silly narrative that probably doesn’t make any sense.
11. STRAIGHT FACE
My final idea in this list of campfire games for kids is sure to get everyone laughing. Write a bunch of funny and embarrassing sentences on small pieces of paper, and then have players take turns picking them out of a hat and trying to read them out loud while keeping a straight face. It’s surprisingly hard to do and so much fun!
I hope this collection of campfire games for kids inspires you to find new and creative ways to have fun with your little ones during your time in the great outdoors!