Best Campfire Games for Families
There is something genuinely magical about sitting around a campfire as a family. The flames, the warmth, the smell of woodsmoke, it creates exactly the kind of atmosphere where the best memories are made.
The evenings are often the highlight of a camping trip for children, and having a few campfire games for families up your sleeve makes those hours between dinner and bedtime something special.
Here are our favourites.
Campfire Games for Families: Storytelling Games
Here’s our overview of some fantastic storytelling family campfire games to play.
Pass the story
One person starts a story with a single sentence. The next person adds a sentence, and so on around the fire.
The only rule is that you cannot end the story, that is for someone else to do.
Stories tend to go gloriously off the rails in the best possible way, and children love both the silliness and the responsibility of being part of the narrative.
Two truths and a lie
Each person around the fire says three things about themselves, two true, one made up.
Everyone else votes on which they think is the lie.
A great way to learn surprising things about family members and endlessly entertaining with children who have not quite mastered the art of the convincing lie.
The alphabet story
Tell a story together where each sentence must begin with the next letter of the alphabet.
Harder than it sounds, and children find the constraints hilarious.
Ghost stories
A camping classic, and completely optional depending on the ages and sensitivities of the children around the fire.
Keep them gentle for younger children. The campfire setting does half the work for you.
Family Campfire Games: Memory and Word Games
Want to test memories or have games about words, this section of campfire games for families is for you!
I went camping and I packed…
A memory game where each player repeats everything that has been packed before adding their own item.
Start simple and watch it become increasingly chaotic. A good one for long warm evenings when children are relaxed and in no rush to sleep.
Twenty questions
One person thinks of something, an animal, an object, a person, and the others have twenty yes or no questions to identify it.
Campfire-themed rounds work well.
The name game
Someone names a famous person. The next person names someone whose first name begins with the last letter of the previous person’s surname.
Simple, surprisingly engaging, and endlessly playable.
Games Around the Campfire: Active Campfire Games
If you’re looking for something a little more active, then this is a category that people will love, with some of the more popular family campfire games.
Shadow puppets
Hold a torch at arm’s length from a tent or a light-coloured wall and make animal shapes with your hands.
Children love learning new ones and performing shows for each other. A quiet, gentle activity that works well as the evening winds down.
Campfire trivia
Prepare a few simple quiz questions before the trip, nature facts, animal sounds, camping-related questions.
Children love the competition and it sparks brilliant conversations around the fire.
Quieter Campfire Activities Families will Love
If you want to keep the noise down, and relax in the evening, this category deals with that, but still offers something to keep people entertained.
Roasting marshmallows
Not technically a game, but absolutely an activity and one that children will request every single evening.
Have skewers ready and enforce the golden rule: patience makes better marshmallows.
Star spotting
On a clear night, away from light pollution, a campsite is one of the best places to look at the stars.
Download a free star map app before you leave home, or bring a printed guide. Even very young children are captivated by being shown the plough or Orion’s belt.
Campfire drawing
Bring a few clipboards, paper, and pencils. Ask children to draw what they can see around the fire.
The low light, the flickering flames, and the unusual subjects make for surprisingly lovely pieces of art.
Making the Most of Campfire Evenings
Switch off phones. When children see adults genuinely present and engaged around the fire rather than half-looking at a screen, they settle into the experience completely differently.
This means they’ll be fully focused on the campfire games for families that you’re introducing.
Let the children take the lead once you have introduced a few ideas, the best campfire evenings have a life of their own.
Have snacks and warm drinks ready. Hot chocolate, popcorn, fruit, and marshmallows mean the evening can extend naturally without anyone getting hungry or restless.
Build in some quieter time at the end before taking younger children to bed, the activity level coming down naturally makes bedtime much smoother.
For even more ways to keep children entertained, head over to our full camping games for kids section, check out our family camping tips for trip planning, and explore Camping With Kids for everything else.
