35 Super Fun Camping Games for Adults - Amateur Adventure Journal

Games are a classic camping activity whether you want to spend a low-key weekend in the woods or need something to do after a long day of hiking and exploring.

I’ve tested lots of games while camping with my husband and our friends. Luckily we have found plenty of games to keep ourselves entertained while we’re unplugged from our devices.

No matter if you’re camping with friends or family, these great camping games will keep the grown-ups entertained once the kids have snuggled into the tent.

What makes these games great for adults to play while camping?

These are games that require little to no equipment, so you don’t have to pack a lot of extra stuff in addition to your camping gear.
They can be played with no electronics or Wi-Fi.
Many of the games can get raunchy, involve drinking, or have more complicated rules than children’s games. There are plenty of family-friendly games on the list too though so there’s something for everyone!

Ready to play? Here are 35 fun camping games for adults.

Use these links to navigate through different categories:

Conversation games for adults
Active games for adults
Drinking games for adults
Group games for adults
Card games for adults
Board games for adults

Conversation Games for Adults

All of these games only involve talking. These are some of the best games to play at night around the campfire since they don’t require moving, daylight, or sitting in a specific arrangement. Some of these are also great games to play on the drive to and from your campground.

You Laugh, You Lose

You Laugh, You Lose is one of my favorite camping games. It’s a really fun game to play as it will have you laughing all night long!

On your turn, you have a minute to try and make your partner (or opposing team) laugh. If they laugh before one minute is up, you get a point, but they get a point if they keep a straight face the whole time. But, this is one of those games where having the most fun is more important than keeping score.

This game is best played by campers who know each other’s sense of humor well.

Never Have I Ever

Never Have I Ever is a great game to play with people you’re willing to be open with.

On your turn, you say something that you have never done. For example, you might say “Never have I ever gotten a speeding ticket.” Anyone who HAS done that thing has to take a drink.

Alternatively, if the people you’re camping with don’t drink, you could all hold up 3 fingers at the start of the game and anyone who has done the thing has to put one finger down. You’re out of the game when you’ve put down all of your fingers.

The things you share can be as mundane or risqué as you want, as long as you’ve never done them. That’s why I recommend this game for adults – the conversation can turn to some raunchy topics depending on who you’re playing with!

This game can be a great way to learn more about your fellow campers. Or if you already know a lot about everyone’s past, it’s a chance to show how much you remember if you want to target things that you haven’t done but others have.

Truth or Dare

Truth or dare is a great way to bond with your fellow campers by sharing secrets and engaging in scandalous dares.

The rules are simple. On your turn, pick someone and ask them “Truth or Dare?”. That person will choose to either tell the truth or accept a dare.

If they choose “truth”, you get to ask a question that needs to be answered honestly. If they choose “dare”, you will suggest a challenge for them to do.

As with Never Have I Ever, the questions and dares can be as innocent or intimate as you want.

Not feeling creative? Consider bringing a print out or screenshot with a list of prompts.

Would You Rather

Would You Rather is a game that can strike up interesting conversations and fuel lively debates.

To play, take turns coming up with two hypothetical scenarios and asking everyone which one they’d rather do. For example you might ask “Would you rather have the ability to fly or to be invisible?”

The scenarios can be as unpleasant, ridiculous, far-fetched, or profound as you can think of.

It’s a great game to pass the time whether you’re sitting around the campfire, on a hike, or staring up at the stars.

Drunk or Child

Drunk or Child is a silly game that let’s you learn fun stories that have happened in each other’s lives.

Each person will tell crazy stories that happened to them in their past. The other people have to figure out if they were drunk or a child when these stories transpired.

Avoid sharing any clues that give away when it would have taken place (for instance, places or people that would have only been relevant later in life).

This game can be challenging to play if you already know a lot of each other’s silly stories. Therefore, it might be a better game to play for a group of adults that are still getting to know each other.

Of course, this game doesn’t really apply if you or the people you’re camping with don’t drink.

Two Truths and a Lie

Two Truths and a Lie is a fun way to get to know more about your friends.

To play, one person lists 3 statements about themself. Two of the statements are true and one of the statements is a lie. Everyone else has to guess which one is the lie. Then it’s another person’s turn to come up with two truths and one lie about themself.

It can be a challenging game if you feel like you and the people you’re camping with know everything about each other. But it can be a great way to learn even more things about each other that may never come up in conversation otherwise, or just to see how many random stories you remember about each other.

Shag, Marry, Kill

Shag, Marry, Kill is another game that can easily be played while doing other camping activities like hiking or making s’mores.

To play this game, someone lists three celebrities and another player must choose one celebrity to shag, one to marry, and one to kill. After taking their turn, they present the next player with three celebrities to shag, marry, or kill and so on.

It can be interesting to hear what combinations other people choose!

This game is versatile for camping because it can be played anywhere in any size group. It’s simply an amusing prompt for conversation.

Just a Minute

Just a Minute is a game from a popular BBC radio show that can be adapted for any number of players instead of a group of contestants. If you’re not familiar with the show, you can listen to past episodes to hear some examples.

One player is given a topic which they have to talk about for a full minute without hesitating, repeating themselves, or switching topics. If they do, they get a point. The next player then gets a new topic and has a minute to speak about their topic.

If a whole minute is too challenging, one variation is to see who can discuss their topic for the longest amount of time.

I like to play Just a Minute while sitting around a campfire or picnic table to limit distractions when I’m focusing on a topic.

Twenty Questions

Twenty Questions is a fun game to get your brain thinking.

To play, someone thinks of a person, place, or thing and keeps it a secret. Everyone else has to figure out what it is using 20 questions or less. The questions can only be yes or no questions. For example, you could ask “Is it bigger than a pencil?” but not “How big is it?”.

This is a great game to help pass the time while you’re setting up camp or taking a walk in nature.

The Alphabet Game

The alphabet game is a memory game in which you take turns listing items starting with the letters A through Z. The challenge is that you have to remember and list every item previously mentioned before you say a new item.

For example, the first person may say, “I’m going on a camping trip and I’m bringing apples.” On the second player’s turn, they may say “I’m going on a camping trip and I’m bringing apples and bananas.” Then it would be the next person’s turn to list apples and bananas before listing an item that starts with the letter C, and so on.

This game is typically played with the prompt “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing…”. No matter what prompt you use, the items that players list don’t actually have to be relevant to the topic (you can totally bring a zebra camping when you get to the end of the alphabet!).

Active Games for Adults

These are games that require some amount of movement or action, so some of them might not work the best around a campfire. But they’re still great games for adults to play while camping because they can be played in a wide open campsite and they don’t require packing any extra equipment.

Charades

Charades is a game that will have you moving and laughing for hours.

If you’ve never played charades before, players split up into two teams. One person or team comes up with a word and acts it out without talking. The other team has to correctly guess the word they are acting out.

You could let each team’s turn go on until the guessing team is correct or stumped. If you want turns to rotate more quickly, you can set a time limit on each turn.

I recommend playing charades in the daylight so you can easily see each person when they are acting.

Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek is another classic game that gives you a chance to explore all over your campground.

One person closes their eyes and counts to 30 (or however much time you agree upon). While they’re counting, everyone else hides. Then the person who was counting has to go find the people who are hiding. Find everyone and then pick a new seeker for the next round.

When you’re playing hide and seek outdoors, it can be helpful to set boundaries of where it’s ok to hide. For example, hide only within your campsite or the campground. This will prevent the seeker from wandering all over the woods trying to find you.

Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a fun way to explore your campground while spending quality time with your friends or family.

To set up a scavenger hunt, create a list of objects that need to be found. One option is to work as a team to find all of the items on the list together. Or if you’re feeling more competitive, you can race each other to be the first person to find all of the items.

If you don’t want to bring your own objects to be found in the scavenger hunt, make a list of outdoorsy items at the campground like rock, pine cone, and stick. Just make sure you aren’t disturbing any ecologically sensitive areas or species when searching for and moving these items.

Drinking Games for Adults

The only equipment needed for these adult-only games is booze (which you probably packed anyway). And a few require shot glasses. Pro tip: Sometimes it’s nice to play the games that get you drunk off shots because less liquid consumed means less time leaving your cozy sleeping bag to pee in the night.

Sip Sip Shot

What happens when you add drinking rules to Duck Duck Goose? You get the game Sip Sip Shot!

Everyone but one player sits in a circle. The remaining person walks around the outside of the circle, telling each person to take a sip of their drink by tapping them on the head and saying “sip”.

Eventually they should replace the word “sip” with “shot”. The person who was tapped on the word “shot” stands up and chases the tapper around the circle.

If they succeed in tagging the tapper, they’re safe. If not, they have to take a shot and they become the new bopper.

This probably goes without saying, but I don’t recommend drinking and running around a campfire or in the dark.

Paranoia

Are you paranoid about what other people say about you?

In this game, you’ll get to find out what your fellow campers think about you – if you’re willing to drink.

To start a round, the person to your left whispers a question to you about the group of people you’re playing with. It could be something like “Who’s the funniest person here?” or “Who’s the most likely person to get fired from their job?”

You say your choice out loud to the whole group. Your answer must be someone in the group.

If anyone wants to hear what the question was, they first have to take a sip or a shot! The person who came up with the question will whisper the question to anyone who took a drink (don’t say the question out loud or else everyone will hear it whether they drank or not).

Medusa

Medusa is a very simple drinking game for campers who want to play a game without a learning curve.

Everyone sits in a circle or around a picnic table with a shot. Players start each round with their heads down.

On the count of three, everyone looks up and stares at another player. If you find yourself looking at someone who isn’t looking back at you, you’re safe. But if you make eye contact with someone, you both shout out “Medusa!” and take a shot.

Typically, Medusa is played with full shot glasses set around the table and the game ends when all of the shots are gone. When I’m camping I just play with one shot glass per person and refill them between rounds so I don’t need to pack so many shot glasses. Alternatively, Jell-O shots are a fun option to pack in the cooler.

Cheers to the Governor

Cheers to the Governor is a typical drinking game where you make up silly rules as you go. Don’t forget to follow the rules or you’ll have to drink!

Set up the game by having everyone sit in a circle with a full drink. Go around the circle taking turns saying a number out loud from 1 to 21. Once someone gets to 21, everyone raises a toast and says “Cheers to the governor!”.

The player who gets to 21 creates a new drinking rule to implement on the next round of counting. For example, you could make a rule that whoever gets to the number 5 has to give someone a high five or that you must skip the number 13. If you break this rule during the rest of the game, you take a drink.

Once the rule has been established you restart the counting from one. Continue making a toast and a new rule every time someone reaches the number 21, keeping all of the previous rules that other players made.

This continues until there is a long list of rules. It gets harder and harder once there are a lot of rules to remember and a lot of mistakes have caused everyone to drink more!

Flip it or Sip It

Flip It or Sip It is a low-key drinking game that’s doesn’t need a large group of players.

The only equipment needed besides alcohol is a coin. Hopefully someone has one in their pocket or their car!

One person flips the coin and predicts if it will land heads or tails. If your guess was wrong, take a sip of your drink and pass the coin to the left. If you guess correctly, pass the coin to the right.

I like to save Flip It or Sip It for a point in the night when everyone is too drunk or sleepy to play a game with more complex rules.

I’m Going to the Bar

This game is like the Alphabet Game, but it’s more challenging because you don’t have the alphabet to aid your memory. Plus you’re drinking.

One person starts off the game by saying, “I’m going to the bar and I need to get a tequila sunrise (or any other alcoholic drink).” The next person repeats it and adds on another drink, such as, “I’m going to the bar and I need to get a tequila sunrise and a margarita.”

Each person repeats the list and tacks on another drink to the end of it. The first person to mess up the list takes a drink.

Let’s Go Camping

Although this game isn’t actually related to camping other than the name, what better time to play this than while on a camping trip?

Someone thinks of a place to go camping that you wouldn’t expect (for instance, a school). The remaining players guess what things they should bring in order to get clues about where they’re camping.

In this example, a tent is not relevant since you wouldn’t find a tent at a school. But a notebook is a relevant item to bring to school. If you guess an irrelevant item, take a drink.

The person who figures out the location starts off the next round by choosing the next destination.

You can definitely play this game without the drinking, but I think it’s more fun because there are higher stakes for guessing incorrect clues.

Group Games for Adults

While many of the games on this list can be played by two or more players, the games in this category are best played with a large group of adults. I recommend playing them with at least 6 or more players.

Mafia (Werewolves)

Mafia (also called Werewolves) is a go-to camping game for large groups.

In this game, mafia members and civilians try to kill each other off. The catch? You don’t know who’s on which side!

The full rules are pretty long but here’s an overview of the game setup and how the rounds work to get you started.

One person is chosen to be the narrator and will facilitate the game. The narrator will secretly assign some people the roles of mafia members, doctor, and detective so no one else knows the identity of these roles. Everyone else is a civilian. Many writeups of the rules will instruct you to assign these roles using cards, but you can just have everyone close their eyes and tap people on the head to silently designate the roles so you can play without using any equipment.

Once the roles have been assigned, the game play alternates between “night” and “day”. At night, everyone puts their head down and the narrator facilitates the mafia, doctor, and detective to take turns picking their heads up to silently play their parts.

First the narrator asks the mafia members to wake up and choose someone to kill by pointing at them. When they’ve come to a consensus they put their heads back down.

Next the narrator wakes up the doctor who silently chooses someone to save in the event they are the person that the mafia murdered.

Lastly the narrator wakes up the detective. The detective will point to someone to ask if that person is in the mafia, and the narrator must nod or shake their head to let them know.

The narrator then declares that it is daytime, at which point everyone lifts their heads back up. The narrator announces who the mafia killed off (and that they were saved, if they are the person that the doctor chose). Everyone must discuss who they think is in the mafia and agree to accuse one person of being in the mafia. When everyone agrees on one person, that person is killed and out of the game.

Continue alternating between day and night until all of the mafia members are eliminated or until the mafia outnumbers the civilians.

You can find a more detailed explanation of the rules of Mafia here.

Murder by Winking

If you think Mafia is too complex or takes too long to play, you may prefer the game Murder by Winking.

Murder by Winking is an excellent game to play around the campfire at night when everyone’s faces are obscured by flickering shadows.

Have everyone sit around the campfire and choose one person to be a neutral party for the round. This person’s job is to assign the role of murderer so no one else knows who the murderer is.

Once the neutral party is chosen, everyone else closes their eyes. The neutral party silently selects a murderer by walking around the circle and tapping one person on the head. They will then sit back down and tell everyone to open their eyes.

Resume having a normal conversation as if you aren’t playing a game. The murderer tries kill people one by one by winking at them – without getting caught by another person.

If the murderer winks at you, you die. Slump over and act dead! If someone witnesses the murder occur they can accuse the murderer by name.

If your accusation is correct, you win the game. But if your accusation is wrong, you die, so guess wisely! The goal is to catch the murderer before they kill everyone.

Telephone (Whisper Down the Lane)

Telephone is a group game that can be enjoyed by campers of any age.

The aim of the game is to get a word or phrase from one end of the group to the other only by whispering. See how much your message changed from the beginning to the end!

Get everyone together in a circle or line. One person comes up with a word or phrase and whispers it to the person next to them. That person whispers what they think they heard to the next person, and so on until everyone has heard the word or phrase.

The last person who had the phrase whispered to them will say what they heard out loud to the group. The person who came up with the phrase will then announce what phrase they started the round with.

It’s fun to have more people share what word they thought they heard to find out where the communication broke down and hear how many times the phrase got messed up along the way.

To make the game more challenging for adults, try to come up with unique words and only let people whisper one time each. No do-overs!

If you have a really large group, you could split everyone into two teams and see which team gets closest to the original word.

Animal Noises

If you enjoy guessing games and making silly noises, try playing Animal Noises on your next group camping trip. It’s an easy game that can be played as long as everyone knows each other’s names.

Everyone stands in a circle close enough together that there aren’t large gaps between people.

One person goes to the middle of the circle and covers their eyes. They will keep their eyes covered as long as they are in the middle of the circle.

Have them spin around until they are disoriented and don’t know who is standing where.

They will then randomly point to someone in the circle and say the name of an animal. The person they point at has to make the sound of that animal.

If the person in the middle can guess who made the animal sound then they swap places. If their guess is wrong, the person in the middle keeps spinning and pointing at people until they can correctly identify someone’s animal voice.

It may sound like a child’s game, but hearing all of the goofy animal sounds will even put adults into giggle fits!

Card Games for Adults

Here are a variety of card games that adults can play while camping. All you need is a deck of cards! I recommend practicing these games at home so you don’t need to look up the rules when you’ve already lost cell service at your campsite.

Hearts

Hearts is a good card game for a small group looking to play a game that requires a bit of strategy.

In this game, everyone takes a turn placing down a card. The cards must be the same suit as the suit of whatever card was placed down first in that round – unless you don’t have any cards of that suit.

There are special rules and point values for hearts and the queen of spades. The goal is to have the fewest points after everyone has discarded all of their cards.

Hearts is typically played with 4 people, but it can be played by 3 to 5 players if you discard any extra cards when dealing so all players start with the same number of cards.

The rules of Hearts are explained here.

Rummy

There are many variations of the card game Rummy.

Generally speaking, players take turns drawing cards with the goal of collecting 3 cards of the same rank (e.g. 3 sixes) or runs of the same suit (e.g. the 5, 6, and 7 of spades).

Click here to read the rules for the basic version of Rummy. If you only have 2 players, click here to read the rules for Gin Rummy.

Speed

Speed is two-player card game that requires quick movements and reflexes. I suggest playing it when you’re feeling energetic and sharp.

The object of the game is to get rid of all of your cards. Players can place a card from their hand onto one of the center piles if their card is one number higher or lower than a card in the center. The catch is that there are no turns; players constantly discard cards at the same time as each other.

To read the full rules of Speed, click here.

Spit

If you like playing Speed, you’ll probably also enjoy Spit.

They are very similar games in their goal and rules, but the cards are set up in a different layout.

Click here for a full description of the rules for Spit.

Crazy 8s

Crazy 8s is a card game that’s similar to Uno, only it’s played with a standard deck of cards.

It’s a good game for small groups since it can be played by 2 or more players.

The gist of the game is to get rid of all of the cards in your hand by placing down cards that match either the suit or number of the card in the center pile.

In this game, 8s are wild, hence the name of the game.

Click here for the complete rules of Crazy 8s.

Trash

Trash is a game of luck that’s a bit more engaging if you find games like War or Go Fish to be too simple. It’s still simple enough, though, that you can hold a conversation without being too distracted.

The goal of the game is to be the first person to draw and lay down cards ranging from Ace to 10.

Trash is typically played with 2 players but you can include more players if you use multiple decks of cards.

Read the rules for Trash here.

Strip Poker

If there’s any card game that’s for adults only, it’s strip poker.

Strip poker can be a great game for camping (depending on who you are camping with). It’s a steamy game, but you also don’t have to pack any poker chips or cash to gamble with. Win-win.

Traditionally, poker is played by gambling with chips or money. In strip poker, you bet the clothes you’re wearing instead. The goal is to keep your clothes on while losing players remove their clothing one piece at a time.

This works as a camping game if you have enough room to play in your tent or have a very secluded campsite.

The specifics of strip poker can vary. You’ll need to choose a type of poker to play and decide how much each item of clothing is worth. Click here for some suggested poker variations.

Board Games for Adults

Here is a short list of board games that are compact enough for car camping. Try playing them at your campsite’s picnic table, or play them in your tent on a rainy day.

Cards Against Humanity

Cards Against Humanity is the ultimate game geared towards adults.

Players use the cards in their hand to complete fill-in-the-blank statements. The bit that makes this game for adults: the statement and answer cards are typically offensive or risqué .

Try to complete the statement with a funnier answer than everyone else and you win the round.

If you’ve played Cards Against Humanity a lot, there are plenty of expansion packs and themed packs you can purchase to change up the combinations of cards you play with.

The Voting Game

The Voting Game will let you find out what your friends and family think about you.

This game includes a set of question cards and a set of numbered cards which you will use to vote for the person you think best fits the question in each round.

The questions will be things like “Who will be the most unrecognizable in 10 years?” or “Who would you choose to be your prison cell mate?”

Each person casts their vote anonymously. Whoever received the most votes gets to guess who voted for them.

There are several variations of the rules if you want to play a different way. For example, I’ve played with everyone revealing their votes at the same time instead of voting anonymously (this skips the round of guessing how people voted).

If you’re creative you can make up the questions yourself so no game equipment is needed. However this is one game where I’ve found the game helpful to own since it comes with lots of prompts.

The great thing about The Voting Game is that it can be played by a range of group sizes since anywhere from 3 to 10 players can participate. It’s best played by groups of people that know each other at least somewhat well.

Bananagrams

Bananagrams is a game that’s similar to Scrabble. But instead of playing together on a board, players race to make their own crosswords.

The only equipment in this game is a set of letter tiles, all packed in a small banana-shaped pouch.

Just make sure you don’t lose any letter tiles at the campground. It may be helpful if you have a blanket or tablecloth to create a flat surface to lay the tiles on while you play.

Bananagrams can be played with 2 to 8 players, so it can be played whether you’re camping as a couple or a group.

Uno

Uno is similar to the card game Crazy 8s. However, it’s more elaborate with specialty cards that affect the game such as skip, reverse, and draw two.

Make sure you agree on the rules with your partner before beginning the game. I’ve played with lots of different people that insist on slightly different rules.

Uno can be played with 2 to 10 players so it’s another game to pack whether you’re camping as a couple or a group.

If you found this article helpful, check out even more camping articles!

As always, enjoy the outdoors responsibly. Leave no trace on all of your adventures.