15 Backyard Games for Kids That Will Get the Whole Family up and Moving
They'll be playing outside all day long!
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A backyard is nothing but your own personal oasis. When the weather gets warm, it seems as if we live in our backyards: We cook there (at least if the grill is fired up), eat there (BBQs and picnics, everyone), relax there (you need nothing more than a blanket and a book), and entertain the kids there. Except, sometimes you need help with that last thing. You can send them out into the yard, a land of infinite possibilities, and suddenly every game they’ve ever known flies out of their heads, and the come back saying, “But there’s nothing to do out there!”
Don’t let them get back on their screens that easily. March them right back outside with some ideas to get them started. (Just don’t forget the sunscreen!) Keep this list handy, and they’ll remember all of the fun that can be had in the great outdoors. Test them with games of skill, like bocce, cornhole, or croquet. Excite their imaginations with treasure maps and scavenger hunts. DIY some fun activities, like lawn bowling or kiddie car washes. And then, when the sun goes down, throw on some bug spray, head back outside, and do it all again in the dark.
Muggle Quidditch
You won't be able to fly on a Nimbus 2000, but, with a few modifications, you can play the home-game version of Quidditch. You can set it up in the backyard with hula hoops and some wood, plus a volleyball, balloons, and a yellow golf ball to stand in as the golden snitch.
Get the tutorial at Housewife Eclectic »
PREVIEW: These 50 Fun Activities for Kids Will Keep Them Entertained for Hours
Cornhole
Take turns tossing a bean bag across the yard and into the target. If you don't have your own cornhole set, you can try to make your own bean-bag bullseyes with hula hoops or paper plates.
Flamingo Ring Toss
Horseshoes? Boring! Spice up your backyard — and hone your aiming skills — with a twist that involves lawn flamingoes.
Get the tutorial at Sugar and Cloth »
RELATED: 20 Amazing Indoor Activities for Kids' Rainy-Day Fun
Water Balloons
When the weather gets warm, there's nothing more refreshing. Or, if you can't stand the chaos of an all-out balloon war, make it more of a challenge by doing a balloon toss: Everyone grabs a partner; they start by standing close to each other, and toss the balloon to each other. Everyone who catches the balloon without breaking it takes a step back. Then, toss again, and take another step. The farther you go, the harder it is to catch, and the more likely the balloon is to break when it falls.
DIY Soda Bowling
Grab some empty bottles, some pool noodles, and a beach ball — and you've saved yourself a trip to the lanes. It's a perfect outdoor summertime twist on bowling.
Croquet
If you can't head out to a mini-golf course, at-home croquet is the next best thing. Hitting the balls through the wickets will make them feel like they're in Alice in Wonderland.
Sack Races
The perennial field day staple is a classic for a reason — it's really, really fun. Don't have a stack of potato sacks at home? Try sleeping bags.
Balloon Stomp
Hide small prizes (coins work) inside inflated balloons, and watch as the kids jump, stamp, and stomp to get them out. It makes a satisfying pop and is good cardio!
Pool Noodle Obstacle Course
Pool noodles can be bent into tunnels to crawl through, hurdles to jump over, or beams to balance on. Create a backyard obstacle course, then challenge your kids to tackle it as quickly as they (safely) can.
Hula Hoop Obstacle Course
Of course, if you don't have pool noodles on hand, hula hoops, jump ropes, and Frisbees work just as well. Or, if you have a driveway, you can try tracing out a route with sidewalk chalk.
Treasure Hunt
Hide a few prizes in the backyard, and draw a map for the kids to follow to find them. Make it more of a challenge by having them decipher clues along the way. You could also go for a backyard scavenger hunt, where they have to find a whole list of natural items.
Bocce
Players take turns trying to get their team's ball closest to the pallino (the little ball). That makes it a game that requires strategy as well as skill.
Hopscotch
If you have a paved area in the backyard, you can break out the sidewalk chalk and dust off this schoolyard classic. And if you've got nothing but grass, you can always DIY a temporary hopscotch board by buying some $2 square, concrete garden pavers.
Glow in the Dark Toys
On a warm night, head out into the backyard after the sun sets with a glow-in-the-dark Jenga set or glow-in-the-dark Frisbees. That way, even if you have a busy day, you can still gather and have some family time at home.
Flashlight Tag
Or, if you have a really big backyard, arm everyone with flashlights for a game of Flashlight Tag. It's basically hide-and-seek, but in the dark, and the seeker gets a flashlight and "catches" players by shining the beam on them.
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
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