Camping games I packed
Last weekend, Sean and I went camping at Lake Easton with our friends Charlie and Michele. Naturally, I packed a bag of games! I tried not to go too far overboard and focused on packing small games that would work well at a picnic table.
Here is the list of games I brought and why:
- Hive (small, quick, can get wet or dirty without damage)
- Slide 5 (small, quick, playable on a picnic table)
- Mexican Train (dominoes can get wet or dirty)
- Bohnanza (because this group played it recently and liked it–also because small box is easy to pack)
- Zombie Dice (small to pack, quick dice game, can get wet or dirty)
- Farkle (small dice game, can get wet or dirty)
- Perudo (fairly small and portable, can get wet or dirty)
- Pass the Pigs (small, can get wet or dirty)
- Waterproof deck of cards (small, waterproof!)
- LCR (small, quick, waterproof/dirtproof, Sean likes it)
We camped from Friday to Sunday. Here is the list of games we actually played:
- Bohnanza
- Slide 5
- Set (Charlie & Michele brought it; I didn’t actually play it, but they did)
Our tents--we put Lily in the little one
On Friday night, we played Bohnanza and Slide 5. Both were really fun. We played by lantern light on the picnic table. There was some fierce bean trading in Bohnanza and some psych out your neighbor fun in Slide 5.
Sadly, those ended up being the only 2 games I played the entire trip! I got a terrible sleep on Friday night because Lily, our golden retriever, kept whining. She woke me up a bunch of times. We tried making her sleep in her own tent, but she apparently wanted to get up at 4 am.
Me on the bike ride
On Saturday, I was pretty exhausted from that, but I toughed it out and went for a mountain bike ride with the rest of the group anyway on the John Wayne trail. We walked Lily a lot that morning so that she was tired and slept while we were away. We rode for about 2.5 hours on a very bumpy and (for me) challenging trail.
Sean on the bike ride
Michele on the bike ride
Charlie on the bike ride
After the bike ride, I crashed in a camp chair and napped while the others went inner-tubing on the lake.
Sean tending the campfire
We roasted veggie dogs and corn for dinner both nights–yum!
Camping dinner
Amazingly, I was not feeling up for a game after dinner on Saturday because I was so sleepy! I went to bed about 9:30 pm and got a better sleep, but Lily still woke me up a few times. She needs to work on her camping routine! It’s hard to be mad at that sweet face though.
Lily in the car ready to go home, apparently feeling no remorse for being a huge pain at night
By Sunday, Lily was becoming a better and more mellow camper, but by then, I was still tired and Sean and I were starting to catch a cold, and we didn’t fit in any more games that day.
Our bikes loaded back on the car
I learned that it’s especially hard to find the time and energy for games on a camping trip with so many other outdoor activities to enjoy! We have another camping trip planned in September where we will have to carry all of our supplies with us for a mile or two to the campsite. I’ll have to carefully consider the size and weight of the games I bring on that trip!
Great post! How did Lilly do in the little tent?
She whined a lot at night in there. But it was just the right size for her crate. It just usually takes her a couple of nights to get used to a new place, unfortunately. I think if we camp with her more often, she’ll get better.
Heh cry Lily cry, make your owner sigh
I like Hive, but the game I would prefer to take on a camping trip is Trax. It comes in a carrying case very much like Hive, and the pieces are about the same size. IMO Trax provides the best gaming for its weight and volume. Most of the other games I like use pieces that are so small, I would likely lose some, and become a litterbug. Of course, finding an opponent is another challenge. Still, more than one game seems like overkill to me.
Trax sounds fun. I had never heard of it before! And yes, it was way overkill for me to bring that many games. I almost always overpack on games for any occasion! I usually want to offer options so that I am sure to have something that the person or people I am with will enjoy. I worry that if I only bring one game, people might not like it or might not feel like playing that particular game. I will be going on a camping trip in a few weeks where we hike in to the campsite, and it will be a big challenge for me to narrow my options!