What better way to enjoy the time spent in your backyard than to play some fun and engaging games?
If you love having people around or entertaining guests, then you should consider adding some backyard games to make it more fun.
It can also be the perfect place for the whole family to spend time together and have fun. This way, you can always keep your eyes on the children while they play.
Every child loves family game nights. During the long summer nights, having your backyard filled with fun games to play would make an exceptional family games night–one they shall not forget in a hurry.
There are several games and activities that you can incorporate into your backyard that will make your time with your favourite people worthwhile.
Bean bag toss
This game is a standard for all backyard games. It’s quick and easy to put together, enjoyable for all ages and doesn’t take up a lot of space. The cornhole set can be folded and stored indoors or in outdoor storage when it is not in use. This will protect them from bad weather conditions and will help your set last longer.
If you prefer to leave the game outside, it is advisable to place them on gravel or concrete instead of grass to protect your lawn, but remember to bring the set under shade or into the storage if the weather forecasts a downpour or storm.
Yard Yahtzee
Yard Yahtzee is a great game to play during long summer nights. The game is about scoring points by rolling dice of different number combinations. You can use the scorecards from your regular-size Yahtzee set, but you have to make use of giant wood dice instead of the small ones.
You can make it a DIY project by using wood to make the blocks of cubes, paint them with different colours of paint and use a circle stencil to make dots.
Tabletop tic-tac-toe
This is a fun game that can be played both indoors and outdoors on the centre table. It is played by two players on a three-by-three grid, who alternately place the marks X and O in one of the nine spaces on the grid.
You can use a tree stump instead of your centre table just like Chicken Scratch has here.
Supersize Scrabble
This is a good way to make your little ones interested in improving their vocabulary while having fun. They shall look forward to every game night/day, adding new words to their vocabulary so that they can outdo others.
Instead of getting the foldable board, you can ask a patio professional to create and install a permanent scrabble design on the ground of your decking like AJC.
You can construct giant racks and letters from wood using a permanent marker or oil paint to stencil the letters on the square boxes.
Classic or magnetic darts
Darts aren’t meant to be in bars and garages only, you can set up a dart zone in your patio where everyone can take turns shooting on your next barbecue.
This is a game that can be enjoyed by both children and adults, so you don’t have to worry that your kids will not be interested in it. They can be taught focus, precision and how to maintain a good form while having fun.
You should use a large dart backboard to protect your wall and also choose a location for the dart game away from grills and walkways.
If you are concerned that the sharp points of the darts will damage your walls or hurt your guests or children, you can get a magnetic dart board — they are safe enough for everyone to join in the game.
Pingpong
Every child loves this game and their love for it doesn’t fizzle even when they’re teenagers. Most times it translates into a love for table tennis as it is similar to pingpong.
It is easy to learn but difficult to get really good at and children, naturally inquisitive, love a challenge which makes it a game that can be played and enjoyed by a wide range of ages.
Set up and keep your pingpong table on the concrete part of your patio and not on the grass so that you won’t have a big rectangular dead spot on your lawn!
Pingpong tables can get damaged by extreme weather conditions, so consider having your table made with rollers to make it easier to roll into a garage or outdoor storage to protect it when it is not in use.
Games for furry friends
Imagine your dog or cat thinking to itself, “Why should humans have all the fun?” “Don’t we deserve to have fun too?” It’s a good thing they can’t speak.
If you or your kids own a dog as a pet, consider adding a course when they can jump over while your kids play “fetch” with them.
If constructing a course would be too much for you, you can buy flat, circular discs that can be used to play the fetch game with them. Jumping and running can also be as fun for dogs as it is for humans.
Volleyball
For some fun in the summer, you can add a net to a sturdy pole and your volleyball court is set. If you want a setup just for the summer, consider using wooden poles and portable nets that can be easily removed.
Nice extra– Scoreboard
Your backyard games would not be complete without a scoreboard where everyone can see their performance—that is if you want a game indeed.
Image via Heart Haven Home
A large chalkboard is a simple option — it can be used to keep score of yard games and you can give prizes to the winners to make it worthwhile. This way everyone will look forward to the next family games.
Conclusion
So, there you have it! Nine games to liven up your backyard. You can incorporate any of these games and activities into your yard and make your time with friends and family enjoyable. These games are inexhaustive, you can still take time to check out other fun activities to do in your yard and choose the one that works best for you.