Work without play makes Jack a dull boy, and there is no reason you should become dull when you have a spacious yard. It’s important as an adult to let loose once in a while and enjoy some of the fantastic outdoor games available. Instead of scrolling your free time away on your device, relive your younger days outdoors with other adults or your family.
Studies show that engaging in playful activities helps you build social networks, lower stress levels, ease the mind, and improve your cognitive function. This is way much more than you can get from your phone, TV, or laptop. Get your family together and enjoy any of these 5 unique outdoor games in your lawn or yard.
Giant Ring Toss
Lawn games that everyone can participate in are much more fun. The giant ring toss is all about accuracy and the points that you get by correctly aiming and tossing your ring on the dowels. The game is best enjoyed when in groups. Split the groups into two to create teams and compete with each other.
Players on each team take turns tossing the giant ring onto the dowels. The dowels are color-coded, and each color represents a specific number of points, e.g., the blue dowel can be three points and red-tipped dowel five points. The first team to reach specific points say 15 wins the game. The game is not as easy as it sounds, and the real fun is how hard adults find it to aim the rings into the dowels correctly.
Supersized Pong Game
There is no better way of reminiscing your old college days of playing beer pong that playing supersized Pong game as a family.
How to Set-up and Play the Game?
You will require several buckets for this game, depending on the number of participants you are, but preferably 12 and fill them with water or sand. Divide yourself into two equal teams and place the buckets into two triangle shapes. Each team takes an aiming position seeking to sink their pongs into their opponent’s buckets. The first team to sink pongs into all of their opponent’s buckets wins. You could also decide to spice things up by tweaking the rules a bit, such as increasing the aiming distance or blindfolding the player tossing the pong.
Spike Ball
Spike ball is quite similar to volleyball and is an all-inclusive game. The size of the spike ball hula hoop sized net can perfectly stand on your yard on its foldable legs.
What is Required for the Game?
Like the other games, the spike ball also requires several participants, but not many; Four is a good number. It would help if you also had ample space for tossing and passing the spike ball around. Balance out the teams in terms of height and strength.
How to Play the Game?
Spike ball is a two on two games where you must bounce the ball of the net and send it to your opponents. Your opponents can pass it between themselves three times and bounce it back on the net to you. In case they miss, you score a point, and the first team to 21 wins the game.
Scoop Ball Set
The more you are in the family, the merrier. Scoop ball set is a great way to get everyone to participate in the outdoor game, not only having fun at home but also bonding as a family. Again, you have to divide yourselves into two equal teams and pick colored scoops to toss whiffle balls to each other. All you have to do is try to catch the tossed ball with the scoop without falling off.
Capture the Flag Redux
This is one of the unique outdoor games that requires lots of creativity and energy to run, but the return there is lots of excitement with participants completely getting lost in the fun and moment.
It is a glow in the dark version where illuminated markers and colored orbs are used instead of actual flags. Any family member can participate, but there needs to be enough people to create two teams. The players hide the illuminated orbs in their territory and strive to penetrate their enemy’s territory to steal their orb and bring it back to their territory without getting tagged. How fun is this, right?
Conclusion
With a spacious yard and a complete family, there is no reason why you should be going to the gym every week to cut weight and keep fit while you can achieve the same at home with your family members for much less and much more fun. Pick any or all of these unique outdoor games and enjoy your weekend.