Camping Party Games for Adults: 12 Fun Activities for Groups

Looking for a few fun camping games?

Going camping with family or friends can be one of the most peaceful ways to spend a weekend.

What are some fun camping activities?

When you mention camping to someone, they’re likely to think of sitting around a campfire and chatting, eating barbecue and making s’mores.

Some people may go hiking, read books, play music or tell campfire stories. But of course, one of my favorite things to do to spend quality time with others is to play games.

Unfortunately, camping is good for a lot of things, but playing a board game with a million tiny pieces is not one of them. With that being said, here are some of the best camping games for adults:

12. Two Truths and a Lie

This is a great party game that requires no equipment and works well around a campfire. All you need is a small group of people.

Actually, you could probably play this with any number of people. It’s probably too easy to play by yourself, but all the more power to you if you try.

Anyway, it’s also a good way to get to know your fellow campers.

To play, all you have to do is say three statements about yourself. Two of them will be true, one of them will be a lie. The rest of the players guess which one was the fib.

Go around in a circle until everyone has had a chance to go. To make it more fun, develop your own point system using marshmallows or M&Ms or anything else you have around the campfire.

The game is great because it provides a lot of good conversation starters. Try not to make your fibs too outlandish. It takes a little creativity to be good at this.

Remember, short and sweet is the key to success.

11. Never Have I Ever

This one is easily turned into a drinking game, if you prefer. But either way, this simple game is so much fun and another great way to learn about your group.

Again, no equipment is needed to play this game. Players usually start by putting five fingers up. Go around in a circle, stating something you’ve never done.

For example, “Never have I ever slept outside.” (Hopefully this won’t be true by the end of the night). Any player who has slept outside puts a finger down. When all your fingers are down, you’re out.

It’s easy to adapt the game and make it your own by implementing some house rules. Try not to make things too strict when playing these fun getting-to-know-you games.

Games that don’t require much, if any, equipment are the best games for camping.

Next, we’ll get into some categories that will require a bit of preparation since they need some “equipment”. I’ll try to keep this list of things small and easy to pack.

10. Sleeping Bag Races

All you should need to play this game is your sleeping bags, which hopefully each camper already has.

To play, establish a start and finish line. Make a bracket if you wish to make it more competitive, pull your sleeping bag up to your shoulders and then go off to the races.

You can choose to race standing up, but it’s probably safer to go with the more horizontal approach and scoot like worms.

Relay races are always fun, but you risk messing up your sleeping bag, so weigh that against how much you want to race each other.

I haven’t personally ripped a sleeping bag here, but I can picture it happening pretty easily if you’re scooting over rocks or sticks.

9. Liar’s Dice

All you need to play this game is some plastic cups and some dice. This deceptive game is for two or more players.

Each player gets five dice. To play, shake your dice up in your cup and dump them out in front of you, without revealing them to other players.

The first person to play makes a bet.

“I bet there are 5 two’s”.

That player bet that out of all the players in the game, there are at least five dice that rolled the number two. Generally, try to work with the information you have. One’s act as wild, so they count for any number. (No bidding on ones).

Players go around in a circle, clockwise, upping the bet. Neither number can go down, so naturally, there’s a bubble.

When the number is high enough, the next player may not wish to increase the number of dice, so they would instead call “Liar”.

All players then reveal their dice. If there are fewer dice than the player bet, that player loses a dice to the person who called them a liar. If the person who called liar is wrong, that person loses a dice to the person who won the bet.

The goal of the game is to be the last player standing with dice.

Liar’s Dice can be played with large groups, but you would need to pack a lot of dice.

8. Spoons

All you need to play this game is a pack of cards and some plastic spoons.

Players start with four cards. The rest of the cards are in the middle of the table. The dealer draws a fifth card, chooses one to discard, and passes the discarded card to the player to their left.

Players keep passing down cards with the goal of collecting four of a kind.

When a player has four of a kind, they discreetly take a spoon from the center of the table.

There should be one less spoon than the number of people. When another player notices, they also grab a spoon.

And the last person who is left spoonless is out of the round.

It’s kind of like musical chairs without so much music or moving around.

7. Other card games

If you remember to bring a simple stack of cards, you can play just about any classic game. It’s an easy way to check a lot of boxes at once with just one item to remember to pack.

A few examples of games you can play with a simple deck include:

• Spades
• Poker
• Hearts
• Go Fish
• Bull

6. Phase 10

Another fun portable card game is Phase 10. This game is similar to Rummy.

Players compete to be the first with ten varied phases with two sets of three, one run of seven, or seven cards with the same color.

The game is easy to teach and learn and is very family-friendly. This game also plays between 2-6 players. It is currently $9.99 on Amazon.

Read Also: What are the best 6 player board games? My top 6, ranked

5. Love Letter (or Lovecraft Letter)

This is a great game that is just about as portable as a standard deck of cards. It plays between 2-6 people and is easy to learn and teach.

In this game, characters compete to have their letters delivered to the princess to prove their worth. During the game, you choose between two character cards to play. Each card has its own ability, and the last player standing wins.

There’s a version of the game called Lovecraft Letter (pictured above), which adds a little something extra to the original game. But if you’re looking for something more portable, the original version may be the way to go.

The rounds move really quickly and it’s a fun game to play that is easy to be played again and again.

It’s a simple game but it’s one of my favorites. The original Love Letter is only $11.99 on Amazon. Lovecraft Letter is $25.98.

4. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

This is one of the best games to play camping because you can play it any time, any place. It’s a fun way to pass the time and it also is guaranteed to get a few laughs.

This excellent game takes up the same amount of space as a standard pack of cards.

The goal of the game is to get rid of all your cards. To do this, you must be quick and clever.

Players take turns playing a card from their hand while saying the words from the game title. So, the first player would put down a card and say “Taco” out loud, even though the card might say “Pizza”.

Play proceeds clockwise. If a player’s word and card match, players slap the deck and try to avoid being last.

The last player to notice the match has to collect the deck of cards.

It’s easy to get tripped up playing this game, and some cards in the deck exist to throw you off.

The game sells for $9.99 on Amazon.

3. Cornhole

Cornhole is a classic outdoor game, but it can be restrictive since it’s not as convenient to pack. Plus, you will need a fairly large area to play.

Still, there are some lightweight and portable options of this game available on the market these days.

You can even find light-weight LED cornhole sets for under $30 on Amazon, which are perfect for playing at dusk.

2. Spikeball

This outdoor game is like a mix of volleyball and ping pong. It’s one of my favorite active games to play outside.

If it sounds familiar, it may be because it made an appearance on Shark Tank. It’s a lot of fun.

The ideal place to play, in my opinion, is the beach but I think it would be great for a camping game as well.

It has a low net that almost looks like a small trampoline. Players spike a small foam ball and try not to let it drop. Spikeball plays four players at a time.

This is one of the more active games on the list. The original game is currently $69.96 on Amazon.

1. Frisbee

Ending the list on a classic, frisbee requires minimal equipment and can be played just about anywhere. Toss a disc back and forth or see how far you can throw one.

Or if you’re like my husband, pack a few putters and practice your disc golf game.

Whether you have the whole family with you or just a small group, throwing around a frisbee is a wholesome way to spend some time, and it’s easy for younger kids to join in on the fun as well if you’re with the family.

Do you have any games to add to the list? What are your favorite camping games? Let me know in the comments below.