5 Fun Backyard Games For Kids Of All Types

Backyard games are a simple yet fun way of keeping your kids physically active. And after receiving an excellent response for DIY yard games, we have put together five fun backyard games that require little to no need for any arts and crafts, perfect for quick playdates.

1. Red Light, Yellow Light, Green Light

This game is the simplest one of all, and it’s also great for when your kids get a playdate and you want to keep them occupied with something fun yet easy to understand.

Here’s How You Can Play It:

One of the players will be “it”. The person who is “it” and the other players will stand on the opposite sides of the backyard.

The player who has become “it” will control the other player’s movement by saying red light, yellow light, and green light with their eyes closed and then open afterward to see the player’s progress and if they’ve moved or not.

Saying red light means that the players must stop moving and stay at the exact position where they’ve been stopped, yellow light means that the players can walk, and green light means that they can run.

Whoever moves during the red light when they’re not supposed to be walking or running is eliminated, while whoever reaches the end without getting caught by “it” and touches him will become the next “it.” Simple yet fun!

2. SPUD

This classic old game has probably been played by all parents. That rush you have while trying to catch the ball and then running away from it makes it one of the perfect backyard games for kids. For more engaging and fun backyard gaming ideas, you can visit www.bighappybackyard.com.

Here’s How You Can Play It:

The game starts with one kid becoming “it,” but just for the first round. The person who is “it” must throw the ball up in the air and say one of the players’ names.

All kids must run away from the ball while that one kid, whose name has been called, must try to grab it as fast as possible. As soon as he grabs it, the player throws the ball to another player.

If that player gets touched by the ball, he will get an “S” and would become the next “it.” The game is repeated until one of the players gets the complete set of S-P-U-D and loses the game.

3. Monkey In The Middle

This game is pretty easy to play and helps your kids create great focus while playing a game. Cool, isn’t it?

Here’s How You Can Play It:

You’ll need one ball and three or more players to play this fun backyard game. All the players would make a circle, and one player would be in the middle of that circle.

The kids in the circle have the ball and toss it around to each other without hitting the kid in the middle. The kid in the middle of the circle must try to grab the ball while it is being tossed around.

When the kid finally catches the ball, he joins the circle, and the player he has caught the ball from will get in the middle of the circle, and the game begins again.

This game unconsciously helps the child improve focus and timing, and cooperation with the other kids. What a fun trick to help your kids through!

4. Hide And Seek

This classic old game is the star for most playdates, and if you got a big backyard with anything big enough to hide behind lying around, your kids can play this game.

Here’s How You Can Play It:

One of the kids becomes the seeker while the other kids hide. The seeker closes her eyes and counts up to at last 10 seconds, howver some go to more than 100 seconds.

After 10 seconds, the seeker tries to find the hiders and the first one who is caught becomes the next seeker; this would go on till they find the last hider who will ultimately become the winner; yup, it’s that easy!

If you like this backyard game, you will surely love DIY Giant Bananagrams Yard Game. Don’t know how to play this one? You can get to know the rules of this game here www.bighappybackyard.com.

5. Octopus

This game is a new one, but we had to put it on the list as it provides a rush to your kids as no other game would. This game would get your kids excited as each player would be involved in different ways.

Here’s How You Can Play It:

First, you have to choose a safe zone and then get to the opposite side of the yard. The players would ask “it” if they’re allowed to move or not. It would depend on the person who is “it” if he would like the other player to run now or later. The player can do it by just pronouncing no or yes.

When the person who is “it” says yes, the kids must run towards the safe zone and the person who is”it” would try to catch them. The players who have been caught will sit at the exact place where they’ve been caught and become the “seaweed.”

These “seaweeds” would still be sitting at their positions and must try to catch other players running by. If they do catch any, they will also become a “seaweed” and sit there until only one player is left, who would ultimately become the winner.

Take Away

That one thing that all parents are tired of is their kids lying around and indulging in the internet world. Which, if you think of is not that bad if it is being used wisely and for a moderate amount of time.

But as parents, we want our kids to run around and get some fresh air yet still have some fun. In simple words, we want them just to be kids and have a good time.

Well, no need for you to worry, as here are five fun backyard games that your kids can play at any time of the day, perfect for any playdates, or you can also play with them. With a broad range of skills and no need for particular devices, these games are perfect for your kids to have fun and keep them physically active.