There is just something about taking the family out of the home environment and into a setting in the outdoors that brings the family together and makes playing games that much more fun.

What are the best games? Well, the answer to that question is certainly different for each family.  In my opinion, the best games for camping are the games that your family enjoys playing together.  The games can be board games, yard games, running games, games that require thinking such as "I Spy".  The entire objective here is to get the family playing games together.... making family vacations memorable.  At this writing. my children are pre-teens, so they think that I am a great big DORK... so making family time is sometimes a little tougher.... so family camping is a real advantage... we have a captive audience.

Some of our favorite Family Camping Games are:

Bocce - This is a really simple game.  The game consists of 9 balls - 1 small ball called the pallino, which is slightly smaller than a tennis ball.  There are then 8 balls, 4 each of two colors called bocci.  The object of the game is to get as many bocci closer to the pallino than your opponent's closest bocci.  The game combines elements of bowling, horseshoes, and shuffleboard.

Scrabble - I know that this is a game that you can play anywhere, but our family really enjoys pulling out the scrabble board on the picnic table after dinner, and playing.... it is also a great way to build the family vocabulary.

Mexican Train Dominos - This is one of the most fun games that there is to play.  This is a simple yet fun variation on the fun camping game of dominos.  The Mexican train rendition of the game makes the game a little easier for kids to join in on the fun by allowing the players to play off others trains as well as their own. 

All of my children really enjoy this game, and it makes for some fun round the table game playing....

Our other great family camping ideas.....

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