14 Camping Activities For Adventurous Adults

Pitch the tent, build the s’mores, and get the gang around the fire to play my camping activities for adults!

You can read all of my game guides here.

Explore GTQ’s list of adult games.

Best Adult Campfire Games and Activities

Charades

The goal of charades is to act out words or phrases without speaking while teammates try to guess the answer.

It is a great option for those seeking a hilarious and interactive game, one of the easiest camping ideas that requires little preparation.

Would You Rather

Players ask each other thought-provoking Would you rather questions, presenting two challenging scenarios.

This game sparks conversations, reveals insights about fellow campers, and encourages friendly debates.

To make the game more relevant to your experience, give the questions a wilderness theme, such as “Would you rather hike up that mountain or cross the whitewater river?”

This game is great for campers who enjoy engaging in discussions and getting to know others more deeply.

We have heaps of Would You Rather Lists that you can use: clean, would you rather, would you rather for best friends, would you rather for friends, and would you rather for couples.

20 Questions

Choose a person, place, or thing, and have others ask up to 20 yes-or-no questions to guess what it is.

20 Questions is a fantastic game for sharpening deductive reasoning skills and providing hours of entertainment around the campfire.

Campfire Trivia

Prepare a set of camping or nature-related trivia questions and challenge your fellow campers to test their knowledge.

Campfire Trivia creates a lively atmosphere around the fire.

This game is great for knowledge-seekers and trivia enthusiasts who enjoy friendly competition.

We have Campfire Trivia already created for you – it includes five rounds with five questions and test themes such as general knowledge, history, and world records!

Word Association

In Word Association, players begin with any word of their choice and then requires the next player to say an associated word quickly.

The game continues as players build a chain of connected words

An example of Word Association would be one player starting with the word “ocean” then the next player saying “sand”.

Words Not Associated

This version of the above game is much harder, requiring players to say words not associated with the word before.

It is tricky because the brain wants to say words associated with what it hears, so you really need to break away from that track!

Sticking with the ocean example, the next player could say “coffee,” as this word is not associated with the ocean.

It is harder than it seems, especially after a few campfire beers!

Ghost

In the game Ghost, players must take turns, one after another, contributing a new letter to a collaboratively created word.

The objective of Ghost is to not be the player that completes the word.

If the challenged player cannot provide a valid word, they receive a letter.

The player that spells out the word ‘ghost’ loses the game; think of it like the opposite of Scrabble, where you don’t want to complete the word!

Telephone

In the game of Telephone, players organize in a circle with the goal of whispering a sentence down the lane from one person to the next.

The game continues until the last person reveals the phrase.

The hilarity comes from the inevitable distortion of the message along the way, mishearing certain phrases and ending up with a humorously different phrase than the one that started.

Telephone is a fantastic game to test communication skills and witness the power of miscommunication.

Categories

Choose a category, such as animals, food, or movies, and take turns naming items.

The catch is that each item named must start with the last letter of the previous item named, for example if the person before you says ‘gelato,’ then you could say ‘onion.’

Categories is an engaging game that tests knowledge, quick thinking, and vocabulary skills.

Story Starters

In the game of Story Starters, the first player begins a story with the initial sentence, and every following player continues the storyline with one additional sentence.

The story takes unexpected turns as each player contributes unique ideas, making for a collaborative and often humorous story by the time the round ends.

Storytelling Circle

In the Storytelling Circle game, participants gather in a circle, one by one, contributing to a collaborative story.

This activity stimulates imagination, encourages creativity, and keeps everyone entertained while fostering a sense of camaraderie.

Originally designed for acting improvisation classes, Storytelling Circle is a great way to incorporate creativity and engaging communication over a shared goal.

This game makes for a great camping game for adults who share a love of storytelling and cooperative group activities.

If you love wordplay games, check out our guide to car games for adults, too.

Name That Song

Players take turns humming or singing a snippet of a song while others guess the title and artist, making for a musical and humorous game.

It’s a fantastic game for music lovers and adds a touch of friendly competition to the campfire circle, and it can be even better for those who are not musical at all.

If someone is musically talented, why not get them to play the songs on their guitar?!

Intros Only

Another music-based campfire game option is Intros Only.

This requires more work than Name That Song, as one music fan will need to prepare a playlist.

The game host then plays seconds from the song’s intro, and the players have to guess what it is.

Make the game more challenging by giving less time, or make it easier by letting the song play on longer.

You can speed up or slow down the intro for mega music super fans using apps.

Why not add a theme such as theme tunes, songs from movies, or covers?

You can probably tell that we love crazy quiz rounds at Games & Trivia Quizzes, so much so we have outlined over 50 in our quiz round ideas list here.

Name that Animal Sound

One player imitates the sound of an animal while others try to guess the animal species.

It’s a fun and interactive game that combines your natural space with themes of nature.

Name That Animal Sound is a great game after you’ve had more than a few drinks and are sitting around the campfire, and nothing is funnier than your friends trying to imitate cows after one too many drinks.

Uno

Uno is a great card game for big groups, as the rules are relatively quick to grasp, and all you need is a small pack of cards.

The cards range in color and number, ranging from 0 to 9, and feature red, green, blue, and yellow.

There are also cards like Skip, Reverse, Draw, and Wild that all serve unique purposes to help mix up the game.

Each round begins with seven cards for each person, and each player has a turn contributing to the pile with a card of the same color or number or one of the variable card types mentioned.

The objective of the game is to be the first person to run out of cards, making for a rapid-paced and energetic race to the finish.

This is one of the best campfire games for adults who need something to focus on as the cards lead the game.

Uno also features in our guide to the best beach games for adults.

The Alphabet Game

For fun camping activities for adults who don’t need cards, consider The Alphabet Game.

Choose a category (e.g., animals, food, countries and take turns naming items starting with each letter of the alphabet.)

The first person to go through all the letters wins.

It can become a great campfire drinking game incorporating a new rule: every time someone makes a mistake, they take a shot of a drink of their choice.

Mafia

In this social deduction game, players are assigned roles of either “mafia” or “townspeople.”

The mafia members try to eliminate the townspeople, who must deduce the mafia’s identities and vote them out.

Mafia is a thrilling game of deception, deduction, and teamwork that keeps campers engaged and on the edge of their seats.

Mafia also features in our cocktail party games for adults.

Go Fish

A classic card game that anyone can learn quickly, Go Fish is a great way to get a whole group together with a simple premise.

The objective of the game is to get four of a kind, with a set number of cards in your set and a pile of cards sitting in the middle like a pond to go fishing in.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament

Hold a friendly tournament to determine the ultimate Rock, Paper, and Scissors champion.

While originally a game meant for children to pass the time, Rock, Paper, Scissors can be made more exciting and engaging by turning it into a high-paced and/or high-stakes tournament.

Rock-Paper-Scissors Relay Race

Divide into teams and have players race to a designated point, playing rock-paper-scissors against each member of the opposing team they encounter.

The winner continues racing while the loser joins the winning team.

The first team to have all members reach the finish line wins.

This game combines the classic hand game with a thrilling relay race, providing excitement and teamwork.

If you’re looking for more activities requiring teamwork, you may also like our scavenger hunt ideas for adults with outdoor suggestions.

Rock Skipping Contest

Arguably the oldest outdoor camping game for adults, rock skipping has been around as long as there have been rocks and rivers.

Each participant tries to skip a flat rock across the water, aiming for the highest number of skips.

It’s a simple yet enjoyable game that combines nature, skill, and a touch of friendly competition.

Thumb Wrestling

A simple yet competitive game, thumb wrestling involves two players linking hands and attempting to pin down the other person’s thumb.

It is a fun game involving friendly contests and physical activity around the campfire.

Tic-Tac-Toe: Nature Edition

Draw a tic-tac-toe grid on the ground using sticks or stones, and players take turns placing leaves or pebbles to create their X or O.

Instead of traditional X’s and O’s, players can use different natural elements, like acorns and pinecones, to make it more of a nature theme.

Tic-Tac-Toe: Nature Edition adds a creative twist to a classic game and brings a sense of nature to your camping fun.

Name that Constellation

If the clouds clear out and the stars are shining, it may be the best time to play a game of Name That Constellation.

Using a star chart or a stargazing app to help you navigate, look through the night sky to find the different constellations.

Did we miss out any of your favorite fun adult camping games? Tell us in the comments!