Oh, the good old days of us just playing in the mud and joshing around in waters till our heart’s content. You know those days of running around, chasing our friends down and tumbling down the grass like there’s no tomorrow? Some days we just sit back and think of all the games that we used to play.
Now with social media taking over the majority of our lives, we barely see ourselves or even kids for that matter to mingle and have fun in a social gathering. Even if we should strive to limit screens at social occasions, you must have noticed their invasion as well. But what if we recreate those times?
Well, if you are hosting something, then you would want to keep your guests engaged and entertained, whether you are organizing an event, a huge group retreat, or a celebration. What better way to do this than with some customized new games and some old classic ones? Scroll through to uncover the best games to play with large groups or during a gathering.
1. TAG
I’m sure most of you played tag at least once when you were younger, though you may have different names for it now. The game’s simplicity is really what makes it so beloved.
More than two players are needed to play this game; the more, the merrier.
One person is selected by majority to be “it,” and they must chase the other players to tag them (by tapping on shoulder or hand). It is now the person who has been tagged who tags additional players, and so on.
You can go ahead and add a twist to it by creating a new variation called “freeze tag,” wherein someone is tagged; they are frozen at that particular place and cannot move until their teammates unfreeze you. There is no requirement of any setup; you just need a house with open background to have fun
2. Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament
This entertaining game is modeled around the classic “Rock, Paper, Scissor” game. Up until the first victory, players compete against one another and the winner advances onto the next round. However, rather than being ousted from the competition, the losers support the winner by cheering for them as they take on fresh competition. Repeat this method until there are just two players remaining and they have a sizable following of supporters. Until one of the final two players has won twice, play must continue.
It’s advised to play this group activity outside because it can get quite loud. This exercise is fantastic since it functions as both a small-group activity and a large-group game. Rounds are super quick, easy to include everybody, and it scales very well. That’s why this is one of the best picnic games for large groups.
3. Doodle Together!
Doodling Together is a playful and imaginative icebreaker in which players finish the doodles that others started as a group by following a set of instructions. There is a timer set for a minute, after which everyone has to pass their sheet to the next person, who will add their creativity to your doodle, and it goes on until you receive your sheet back.
It is a fantastic group activity to foster creative self-assurance, fluid teamwork, and capacity for workshop group collaboration. Outdoor games for large groups rarely have the ability to be funnier or more inventive, but with this one, you can choose a specific theme or a story to keep everyone engaged and also, the perfect way to pick out the ‘Picassos’ of your group!
4. Snowball!
There is always a period when everyone is checking out the space and getting to know one another when you bring a big gathering. What better way to create a bond with others than playing the snowball game? This lighthearted activity helps break the ice and energize the room.
Start the game by instructing the participants to write five questions or facts about a subject of their choice on a piece of paper. Then, ask all the participants to form a circle in the center of the room, crumple their papers into balls, and get ready for a snowball war!
Stop the game when it becomes a little too loud and ask everyone to grab the snowball nearest to them and ask everyone to identify who scribbled the questions or facts on the snowball they are holding, have a little talk, and then present them to the group (pick up another one if someone finds their own).
5. Apple, Orange and Banana
In a big group, complexity isn’t your friend. Sometimes all you need to get things started is a fast game with clear instructions! Banana, Orange, and Apple is quick and interesting and works well for groups of any size.
First, you have to tell your crew to surround and make a circle by putting their hands on each other’s shoulders who are next to standing next to them. This is where the game becomes interesting. When you say apple, all your friends must jump ahead a little, then when you say orange, all must jump backwards. Later, when you say banana, your crew must jump sideways and turn 180 degrees.
This game can also refer to an individual’s mind and listening abilities and how well they focus. Work your way up to mixing many orders to keep everyone on their toes and to great hilarity!
6. The Marshmallow Challenge
This challenge is a builder’s dream; your objective is to erect a structure that is stable and taller than the opponent team. Firstly, divide the participants into two groups; each group will be provided with sticks, strings, tape, and bands. The teams shall assign everybody their designated materials and work together to create a stable structure that can stand still and finally, place a marshmallow on top of it. This activity should be concluded within the given time, so, its all about precision.
It places a strong emphasis on teamwork, communication among participants, leadership dynamics, and problem-solving techniques—all qualities you want in a large group game. There are marshmallows as well. Everything is just better with marshmallows; we don’t make the rules. To make it more interesting, teams should choose one person who’ll be blindfolded and given the opportunity to place the marshmallow on top without breaking the structure.
7. Most Likely to
We mean, c’mon! A gathering and no “who’s more like to”? Unbelievable. For small groups of friends or family, this party game works the best. Create a circle. Start by asking, “Who’s most likely to trip over their own feet?” (Or another scenario, quality, action, etc.).
Countdown from three (playing a drum roll with your hands is advised), and then ask each individual to point at the person they believe would be most likely to do the act in question. The person with the most accusing fingers is the one who is out. Ask “Who’s most likely to…” to everyone in the circle till just one remains, who’ll be the winner. To extend the game’s duration, you can skip the elimination rounds.
8. Never have I Ever
Yes, there’s a show on Netflix. Yes, we know. BUT AGAIN, a party and no ‘Never Have I Ever’? Profanity! Circle your chairs, ask everybody to raise all their fingers, start off by having one person declare, “Never have I ever…” and end with them doing something they have never done. (Visited Australia, ate escargot, played Fortnite, and similar experiences.) If anyone in the group has done it, they must put one finger down; if no one has, the person stating “Never have I ever…” must raise one finger.
After all the questions fly by, the one who has more fingers raised will be crowned the winner. If you are playing with your old mates, grandparents, or conservative visitors, play carefully and establish ground rules in advance. This party game can get as explicit as you choose.
9. Head’s Up
Our favorite! Oh, what a laughter riot this will cause. A card will be held to one person’s forehead, facing out. While the individual with the phone speculates, everyone else will act out, give a hint, or describe whatever is displayed on the card. It can be a movie character, the name of a car, or a sports player; options are unlimited. Everyone will get 5 chances to guess it, and if the person fails, he is out of the competition.
The card will then move on to the next individual, and so on; the person with the highest success rate in guessing the cards will be the ultimate winner. To add a bit of spice, you can have two teams participating; after one person’s time is up, it gets passed to the next person in the same team. The team to gain the highest overall points would be the winning team.
10. Monkey in the Middle
There are many variations of this game; in one of the more condensed variants, two teams play catch and toss with a ball so as not to lose it to a person in the middle who is known as the monkey and is a member of neither team.
If the monkey successfully catches the ball, the person who tossed it changes into a new monkey. Another variation of the game has two players play catch and throw to keep the ball from going to the center group of individuals. It is a refreshing game, if you have open outdoors or a huge backyard.
11. Kick the Can
Both adults and kids will love playing this fun game. This game is a mix between tag and hide-and-seek. The selected “it” places a can in the middle of the field and waits for a predetermined period of time. The other players concealed till then. Then, the “it,” while keeping an eye on the can, tries to find the hiding players.
If the “it” manages to tag the hiding players, they have to automatically take his place. As soon as the “it’ lowers his guard, anyone among the hiding players can kick the can, which signals a restart of the game. This fun game requires a lot of patience and quick decision-making.
12. Hopscotch
Every kid enjoys playing hopscotch, it is one of the most popular games. Hopscotch turns out to be the best game for large groups kids game outdoor to play outdoor with other children, and adults taking part in it will be more like a competitive faceoff.
A hopscotch grid can be drawn and used to play, or one can be purchased from a store. Each player has to hop through the checkered squares on the ground and try not to lose balance or step outside the line while doing it. To make things more interesting, you can divide players and play kids vs adults and challenge; it’ll be an absolute laughter riot.
13.DodgeBall
One of my personal favorites, the dodgeball challenge. This game requires at least 12 players and 2 teams to enjoy. All the players mark their positions and launch a softball war at each other, if the softball touches them below the shoulders, they get eliminated instantly.
The goal is to not get hit and catch the ball every time and target vulnerable participants from the opposite team. Every successive elimination shall yield a point and the team all out would fetch 3 points. If the team fails to eliminate the last standing player under 3 chances, one player gets revived. To make it more challenging, you can set a goal of 50 points, whichever team reaches the criteria first, will be the winner.
14. Musical Chairs!
Another family-friendly classic game for large groups. This game is played in the majority of social gatherings and parties. One person plays the music while the other participants walk around a set of chairs that is often arranged in a circle. There has to be one chair less than the total number of participants.
Everybody has to walk around and pay close attention to the music. As soon as the music stops, you have to rush to the nearest chair and occupy it before someone else. The player who didn’t get a chair or fails to sit quickly is out. Just make sure you don’t knock each other out!
15. Blindfold!
Attach a piñata on a string that can help control its movement. Divide players into groups of two; one can be the “attackers” and the other can be the “defenders.”. One by one, each member of the group shall grab a stick and try to knock the piñata off the string. But, here’s the fun part: each participant will be blindfolded and stunned about 5 times by the rival team, before moving forward.
Let’s say one participant from “attackers” comes forward; his job is to successfully hit the piñata under 5 chances. They will navigate based on the directions given by his teammates. Similarly, the job of “defenders” is to successfully deviate the piñata and save it from getting hit. You can also add additional rules to make it more competitive.
16. Straight face
Is your humor broken? Do you laugh at literally everything? Well, if you do then this game is going to be a challenge for you! Find some writing supplies and a notepad. Write an absurd sentence on a slip of paper for each person, then gather them all in a hat. (If it’s a mixed group, establish appropriate rules in advance; if it’s just grownups, let loose.)
Create a small circle. Toss the hat to one person. They must make a statement on a piece of paper and recite it aloud to the group. Maintaining a straight face is the main goal. Anyone who smiles or laughs loses. To make it more engaging, you can ask everybody to hold water in their mouths, and anyone who bursts it out quickly will be eliminated. Refill after every slip is read out.
17. Dumb Charades
Probably the only game with no haters. This time-tested party game can be made as basic or complex as you like. Get everyone to brainstorm ideas for roles to play and then divide them into teams. Each team member will act out a different item from the selection while others try to determine what it is. It can be anything, like a famous dialogue from your favorite movie or a sitcom character you secretly like, opportunities are endless.
Change teams and continue when the timer goes out. Add time restrictions, score formulas, rules regarding silence, and more as needed. To make it look astounding, take inspiration from the format of “Family Feud” where, after enacting a role, one person from the team will be asked to determine, and failing to do so, would automatically pass it on to their next teammate.
18. Red light, Green light
Loved the Netflix show ‘Squid Game’? Well, why don’t you try it in real life? In this, one participant from the group assumes the role of a traffic light, and everyone else begins by stepping back from them in a straight line. As soon as the traffic light turns around to say “green light,” the other players begin to move in that direction.
When the traffic light turns around to say “red light,” everyone must stop moving, and if anyone is seen doing so, they must restart from the starting point. The first player to tag the traffic light serves as the traffic light and will determine the pace of the game according to his liking. Of course we do not mean to replicate “Squid Games” as it is, please don’t kill each other.
19. Frisbee
A straightforward game of catch and throw—what’s new about it? We’ll say this game will amuse you and the crew the way a frisbee glides smoothly and freely. There’s quite a few types of frisbees you can choose; they come in various shapes and sizes.
You can toss a frisbee at each other while enclosed in a semi circle or create two teams ( like playing catch and fetch), and let me tell you, it’s all about the speed and angle you throw it. Failing to catch it will win a point for the opponents and similarly, them dropping your serve will gain you a point. If you have more players, you can also conduct an ultimate frisbee tournament.
20. Tug of War
Many of you have played this game at some point; if you haven’t, don’t worry; it’s not that difficult and is as simple as it gets. Firstly, we require a smooth rope; obviously, we don’t want to bruise our hands, do we? We mark a line in the middle and two subsequent lines parallel to the center line; that marks our starting point.
There has to be 2 teams, with an equal number of participants and a referee. As soon as the referee blows his whistle, it’s time to flex your muscles. You shall firmly pull the opponents toward the center line, while holding onto opposite ends of the rope. The squad that pulls off the hardest and makes sure the opponents cross the center line wins.
21. Jam Sesh!
You absolutely cannot go wrong with a good old jam session. Sing your hearts out away to glory. Bring out the Arianas, Rihannas and Justin Biebers in you.
It is one of the games that is best played around a bonfire or a similar environment. It’s a great opportunity for singing enthusiasts who simply need a chance to start humming. Divide the group into two teams. One team can start singing and jamming (better if you have instruments on hand), while the other team should, at any time, pick the word their song ends with and start singing their song that includes that exact word.
22. Telephone
If you want to spend the entire game doing silly things, this is a great game for you. The more participants, the more enjoyable it is. So, this is how this particular game is played: all the people sit together, forming a circle, where one person from your crew will slowly whisper a small phrase in one person’s ear who will be beside him, then the same whispered word will be told to the next person in the circle, and finally the short piece will come back to the same person who had begun it to check whether the same was mumered or others have misheard it and blabbered something else and the first person speaks it loud.
The rules are straightforward; a player may only whisper once and may only use an uncommon or unfamiliar phrase. To make it more interesting, you can create two groups, wherein they assign the word to each other and check if they are able to keep up with it.
23. The Floor is lava!
The simplest game of all time, you just require a secluded spot (indoors or outdoors) to enjoy this game. Let me walk you through. Firstly, we need to promote someone to play “it.” At the beginning, the rules are simple: all the players shall stroll around, and at one random point, the “it” will shout, “The floor is lava,” and if any player is still standing on the floor, they lose or change into the new “it.”. You can create a safe zone or place a few cots and pillows, so players can jump onto it to save themselves from burning in the lava.
24. 21 questions
This game is for all the social freaks; it’ll truly test how capable your recognition pattern is. So, the game begins with one person choosing a thing, an animal, a movie, or a famous person, etc. Each individual will be given 21 chances to say “YES or NO.”. The whole point of this game is to know what the person likes without them actually telling you. It’s up to you to guess their secrets.
If you are in a big crowd, they will have to ask you 21 questions randomly to solve the quest, and the ones who fail to correctly place a guess will be out eventually. Correct guessers can either receive a reward or move on to the next round of questions. To make things simpler, everybody can follow a particular theme.
25. Would you rather?
Similar to the 21 questions, the concept of this game is to assign the next person with a few difficult scenarios. The other person shall choose A or B; for example, “Would you prefer not to take a shower for a year or not to clean your teeth for a year?.” The goal is to create bizarre and hillarious scenarios and ask them for an explanation afterward for choosing their options. Their chance to ask the person next to them follows their response. Continue until you run out of scenarios to consider.
Conclusion
We’ve come to the end of our list of enjoyable outdoor activities, and we hope our suggestions were helpful. These games that are listed are not something that can be enjoyed and covered in just one day. These games for large groups and adults outdoors can be enjoyed on your vacation as well.
Speaking of vacations, HolidayKeepers offers you the best rentals for large groups in Poconos, which are equipped with open backyards, exceptional amenities and can accommodate all your friends and family for a peaceful vacation full of games and activities. We can also accommodate groups up to 50 people.
Contact us for further information.
FAQs
Q: How do you know what game is best for your group?
A: Consider the dynamics of your group; look at the age range, number of participants, interest, and energy levels before finalizing any game.
Q: Suggest a few picnic games for adults in large groups?
A: Would you rather, never have I ever, frisbee and snowball would be preferable games for big groups outdoor
Q: Name a few outdoor family games for large groups.
A: Dumb charades, telephone, most likely to, and musical chairs are classic games to play with family.
Q: What are the games that require less equipment to enjoy?
A: Games like tag, rock paper scissors, red-light green-light and frisbee require limited or no equipment to have a good time.
