Games on the Grass

5 Outdoor Games for Your Family This Spring

Warm weather is here, and it is officially time to take your friendly competition outside! Finding the right outdoor game for your family can be tricky, which is why we pulled together the top five games to introduce to your backyard this season. These games are all easy to set up, and most of them just need a bit of space in your yard. Many can be found online or at local sporting goods. But make sure you don't forget your bug spray for these games, or the mosquitoes will be the real winners. Grab your family and friends and try out these games this Spring!

Spikeball

Spikeball is a two-on-two net sport that combines elements of volleyball and foursquare. To play, you will need a Spikeball set (includes a round net and a softball-sized ball). The set is quick and easy to set up in your yard. With four players and a tight net in the middle, one player will serve the ball to start. Once the ball is served, teams have three alternating hits to return the ball to the net. A point is won when the ball hits the ground or bounces on the net twice. You can choose how long you play, but it is typically played to twenty-one, and you must win by two. This game is perfect for a small competition in the yard, or you can turn it into a tournament style if you have a bigger group visiting. You will not regret this one!

Kan Jam

If you love frisbee golf, but prefer the backyard, this is the game for you. Kan Jam is a game with two frisbees, two plastic “kans,” and four players. Each team takes turns tossing the frisbee toward the “kan” and the other teammate tries to “deflect” it in. Be the first team to make it to twenty-one without going over, or land it perfectly in the small hole in the front, and your team wins!

BULZiBUCKET

Take everything you love about Skee-ball and everything you love about corn hole, mix them together, and you have your new favorite backyard game called BULZiBUCKET. This game consists of three hacky sacks, three different-sized buckets stacked into a tower, and two to four people. Each team takes turns tossing their hacky sack into the buckets. The top bucket (the smallest) is worth three points, the middle is worth teo points, and the bottom bucket is worth 1 point. To spice things up, there is one ball with a black patch that symbolizes the Money Ball, which doubles the points of the bucket it lands in. The first team to twenty-one without going over wins! 

Bocce ball

Bocce ball is a classic yard game where teams take turns rolling eight balls toward a small target ball (the jack). Each team gets four balls, and scoring is done after all of the balls have been thrown. The team closest to the jack wins the round and automatically gets one point. If the team that won the round has another ball closer to the jack than any of their opponents' balls, they gain an additional point for each ball. Games are typically played to twelve points.

Croquet

This game has been around far longer than the others, and it is tried and true. Croquet is a strategic lawn game where teams use mallets to hit colored balls through six hoops (wickets) in the correct sequence to score points. The team with more points wins. It's a bit slower-paced but perfect for a chill afternoon. A typical game takes forty-five minutes to an hour, so it's ideal if you're looking for something leisurely.