Are you spending enough time with your kids during your free time? This not only keeps them happy but also improves your bonding with them. Playing games with them is the best way to be their good friends and parents can then use this as a platform to mold their character and grow them up as good individuals.
Get more Educational Game Apps (Check out Now)
This not only makes them exciting but improves overall family bonding. Here are a few games which you can try on your next playtime with your kids.
1. Make a Pass
This is an interesting game to play with your kids. Form two groups and draw two goal lines which should be like 100 feet apart. Members of each team should stand behind their goal line. They have to start by throwing Frisbee to the opposite team.
If they manage to catch it, they can pass it on to their team member and move towards the opposite team’s line. Likewise, the first team that manages to reach the other team’s line and keep Frisbee on it wins.
2. Scavenger Hunt
This is an awesome game that helps you to explore each and every corner of your neighborhood park. In this game, parents can ask the kids to find certain items that are hidden at different parts of the park. You can give the list first and then take some time to hide these items at different points of the park.
Then ask them to find these items and collect it in a bag and meet at a certain point. One who completes the list first and meet at the point wins.
3. Capture The Flag
This is a wonderful game that can be played by kids and parents in the park. They can form two teams and each team needs to place their ‘flag’ within their decided boundary. The role of the other team is to capture the flag and return to their area safe.
However, the other team members will try to catch the invaders by hiding near the ‘flag’ area. If you are caught, you will be put in their ‘jail’ or if you manage to bring the flag home, you win.
4. Tug of war
Form two teams of an equal number of members. Take a rope by hands and arrange your teams on both sides of ropes.
The weaker members should be closer to middle and stronger members should be towards the end for balance. You can mark a boundary on the ground which can be called your territory.
The middle of the rope should be on the boundary line of two teams. When the captain says ‘start’ the team members have to use all their effort to pull the other team towards their territory. When the first person of the opposite team crosses your boundary line, you win.
5. Basketball
There is no need to explain the rules of the game as it is very popular among all age groups. If there is a basketball court area in your park, you can try this game for sure. If not, you can also buy one portable basketball stand and ball easily from retail or online stores.
If there are multiple hoops, divide the team and play the game or else just play a friendly game of H-O-R-S-E just for fun.
6. Hopscotch
In this game, you have to draw columns 1 to 9 on the sidewalk of the park. Get a small stone or coin to play the game. First, you have to throw the coin to column 1. You can now hop over 1st column and move through columns 2 to 9 and then come back the same way.
But you have to stop before column 1 and take the coin back by hand and hop over column 1 to starting position. Repeat it for column 2 and so on. The game ends when you throw the coin to the wrong column or out of the box.
7. Badminton
This is one of the most exciting and common games that is played at the park.
Some parks will already have a badminton court or else you can simply set it up on the grassy area. It can be played by one member on each side or 2 members per side.
8. Follow the Leader
The randomly selected ‘leader’ will go first and everyone follows. The fun part is that everybody will imitate whatever you do on the journey.
Know More: 20 Smart Brain Games For Kids
Everybody sits if you sit; everybody runs if you run, everybody looks back if you look back and so on. This is just a friendly game and takes turns to be the ‘leader’.
9. Traffic Lights
This is an interesting game which enhances the awareness of the traffic rules too. A member ‘X’ will be selected randomly to become traffic light. He will be at one end and other members will stand at other ends. When ‘X’ shouts ‘Green’, the members should start moving from other ends.
When he shouts ‘red’, they should freeze. Any member who wrongly responds to traffic lights has to go back to the initial position. The person who reaches the traffic light first wins the game.
10. Frozen Tag
This is a simple fun game which can make your evenings exciting. A person is chosen as ‘IT’. Others are asked to get scattered along the playing area. The ‘IT’ person has the choice to touch any person in the group and others can block the touch.
If they manage to touch anyone, they become frozen in the same position. Others in the team can save the frozen member by crawling through their legs. The game ends when every member on the ground gets frozen.
11. Outdoor Bowling
This is a simple replica of the original bowling game. Take some empty bottles from home and fill it with water or sand. You can use these as pins. So form a triangle with these bottles on the ground and mark the line.
Take turns among yourself to bowl on it and score if you correctly hit them. Fix a certain number of turns for the game. One who scores the most points after these turns win the game.
12. Balloon Toss
Form teams of 3 members each and stand about 3 to 5 feet apart. Keep a bucket at the final point. Make water balloons to play the game. During the game, the first member has to throw the balloon to the second member, then to third member and finally to the bucket.
If the balloon breaks or falls down on the way, you have to start off again. You will have three chances. If you successfully complete to pass it to the bucket, your team wins.
13. Hide and Seek
This is one of the most played traditional games in the parks. During the game, everyone should find a hiding position in the park except one who will be selected in random. That random player ‘X’ needs to count till 10 by keeping his eyes closed and facing towards a tree when others find their hiding places.
His role is to find the persons one by one and touch that tree which locks that person. The hiding members should manage to touch the tree before ‘X’ finds them out.
14. Hot and Cold
This is an exciting game that is played with a small pin, button or balls. A team member will be selected as random ‘X’. He has to hide this object while others close their eyes.
Then others have to find out this object. X can give hints like hot, warm and cold while they search for it. When he says hot, it means the member is very near to the object and he says ‘cold’ when he is far from it.
15. Captain of the Ship
This is a really interesting game in which a randomly selected member ‘X’ becomes the captain of the ship. He has the power to call out orders (a preset list of orders). The other members have to follow what he has ordered.
Get more Educational Game Apps (Check out Now)
If a person does a mistake while performing the task, he has to leave the game or become a shark that needs to catch other players. The common commands include ‘to the ship’ (run to the swings), ‘starboard’ (run to the right) or ‘to the port’ (run to the left).
Know More: 10 Outstanding Educational Games For Students
Most of these games need a lot of interaction and have exciting elements which make free time fun. This also encourages them to minimize their time of watching TV or video games and come out of the house to have a mix of fresh air and sunlight. In fact, it gives them the dose of exercise and that is why such games are becoming secret of family fitness.