Inspiration for outdoor fun — our favorite games for big parties!
Fun Outdoor Games for Large Groups
Having a get-together outdoors is always a great idea; you’ll want some fun activities to keep all your guests entertained. If you are looking for inspiration for your next backyard party, we’ve got some great outdoors group games ideas for you here.
Outdoors Group Games We Love
There are loads of outdoor games to choose from. Hundreds! We’ve narrowed down the list to our favorites, below. Which ones are your top picks?
Outdoors Group Games for Kids
Hide and Seek
One of the classic outdoors games for children, hide and seek is very straightforward and can keep kids amused for hours if there are enough hiding places!
One person covers their eyes and counts while the others hide. There are lots of different versions of hide and seek – it’s an obvious choice for large groups.
Simon Says
This is another popular children’s game. A person is picked to be Simon, who then gives instructions to the rest of the players, such as ‘Simon Says touch your toes’. Players are out when they do the action, but Simon didn’t say ‘Simon Says’ at the beginning. The last remaining player is the winner and then becomes Simon.
Musical Chairs
Who hasn’t played this as a kid? If you have plenty of space, this is an excellent choice for large groups of children and adds some musical fun to your party.
Two lines of chairs are arranged back to back; the children walk or dance around them (there should be one less chair than the number of children). When the music stops, you have to sit down. The person who doesn’t get a seat is out. Each round, another chair is removed.
Three-Legged Race
Races are a great choice if you have lots of room and a nice bouncy lawn to fall over on. Lots of children can get involved in this one, and you can even have four-legged races, with three children tied together rather than two. However many you have, there’s going to be lots of laughing and falling about!
Sharks and Minnows
If you have a pool, the children will love this game. The aim is for the shark to catch the minnows as they try to get to the other side of the pool. There are lots of different ways to play this, and it’s a fun choice for up to 12 players.
Obstacle Course
You can make your own obstacle course and time players to see who is the fastest getting round it. This is great fun for all ages. You can buy inflatable obstacle courses. It’s easy enough to make your own though – get inventive with cones, wooden planks, sandpits, trampolines and more!
For a large group, split children into two teams for a relay race and see which team can finish the course first.
Treasure Hunt
Arranging a treasure hunt takes a bit organising beforehand, but it is so popular with children. They love working out a clue and running to find where the next one is hidden. You can make this work for large groups by putting players into teams to see which one finds the treasure first. The goodies don’t have to be anything phenomenal or expensive – the fun is in finding them!
Tug of War
Tug of war is an easy choice for large groups because you can have lots of people involved on each side of the rope. Mix up ages and abilities when you pick teams, to ensure it isn’t a walkover for one side!
Sports for the Backyard
These choices are perfect if you don’t have endless space, but enough room to put up a net. In fact, you can play both of these without a net and still have plenty of fun.
Badminton
Badminton is a fun sport that is easy to set up in the backyard with a net, rackets and some shuttlecocks. You don’t need loads of space as play is concentrated in a relatively small area. Plus, there is no danger of smashing any nearby windows with a shuttlecock!
Volleyball
Volleyball is an excellent choice for parties. You just need a net and a ball. You can even forget the net and hit the ball to each other without it. You usually have 6 players on each side, but you can add more if you have a large group.
Leisurely Games
These games are a bit less intense (perhaps!) than our sporty suggestions above. They are great for all ages.
Croquet
Croquet is a leisurely lawn sport that’s perfect for a sunny day. It’s easy to set up in advance. You have croquet mallets, hoops and balls – the aim being to hit the balls through hoops with your mallet.
Cornhole
Cornhole can keep your party guests amused for hours. Like most successful games, it’s simple. You throw beanbags onto a board to score points. The board has a hole at the end; you get more points for getting the bag in the hole.
You can adapt this for large groups by setting a time limit and having teams – which team can get the most beanbags onto the platform in the allotted time?
Horseshoes
This game is similar to cornhole, except you throw horseshoes to try and hit a target. It’s another classic outdoors game that can easily be adapted for large groups. Split people into teams and see which team can score the most.
Oversized Games
For something a bit different, try massive versions of popular indoor games. Who wouldn’t love a go at giant Jenga? You can also get oversized Yahtzee, chess and dominoes for the garden. For large groups, you might think about having all four games so that teams of people can swap between them.
Which are your favourite outdoors group games?
Fun games make for a good party. We’ve picked our favourite games for children and adults of all ages and abilities, to give you a wide range to choose from.
No matter which games you choose, these fun outdoors group games are sure to please. Remember, the simplest games are usually the most successful – and the easiest to set up too! Have fun!