There are plenty of kids at youth camp who don’t know each other, and the best way to break the ice is to have some fun and exciting youth camp games for them to play once they get settled.
Play these 7 youth camp games for excitement and to get acquainted:
1. Capture the Flag
Separate into two or more groups and place a flag for each team a good distance apart. Each team has a territory, and the middle of the playing field is the dividing line.
Each team must try to get the other team’s flag, which is out of their territory. If a player gets tagged out of their territory, they are either frozen, out of the game, or have to go to jail.
The first team to get the other team’s flag back to their own base is the winner. Kids love this game, and it allows them to make friends by working as a team to achieve a common goal.
Want to take it up a notch? Check out our review of a glow-in-the-dark game called Capture the Flag REDUX.
2. Minute to Win It
Based on the hit game show on NBC, these youth camp games are a set of fast-paced mini-challenges that have to be completed within one minute. You can pick from plenty of challenges, as at least 50 are listed for you to choose from on the website.
Be sure to watch an episode so you know how the game works. You can choose as many challenges as you want and have different stations for the kids to visit. Feel free to get creative and make up a few one-minute games that fit your youth camp theme.
Playing close to the holidays? Here are holiday-specific versions:
3. Tug of War
This age-old game will be a hit for your youth camp game arsenal. You can separate according to ages to make the teams fair and let them go at it. For extra fun, create a mud pit in the middle so the losing team will fall into the mud.
No rope? No worries! Try this unique version of Ropeless Tug of War.
4. Mega Duck, Duck, Goose
Few kids really outgrow this game. If you have a lot of kids, you can still play it. Have the kids form a large circle, and when someone gets caught have them go to the middle of the circle.
Once six kids get in the middle, have them start their own mini-game of Duck, Duck, Goose. Then once six more are tagged, have them begin another game just outside the middle game, and so on.
If you have a lot of kids, game after game will get going and the kids will have a blast. This is also a great way to randomly select groups of six and form groups for the rest of the youth camp.
