I don't think it's a secret that I love being on the lake... boating, skiing, now surfing, swimming and going to get ice cream pretty much makes up the best day ever. But sometimes the water doesn't cooperate and can be too rough even for tubing.
On those days, my dad usually takes us up into the trails overlooking the lake for a hike. But the other thing we love to do is play cards and lawn games. We'll also have giant water fights, play soccer or football all day long, but this post is about 5 super awesome yard games.
Yard Yahtzee
My uncle brought up giant Yahtzee last summer. Basically, it's the same as regular Yahtzee, but way more fun. We usually play in teams, everyone gets to roll. The five dice are big wood blocks and each team tries to get as many points as possible with different combinations of numbers. There have been a few vendors at the farmers' markets selling yard yahtzee this summer.
Ladder Golf
Our neighbours introduced us to this one. A few years ago, they arranged a giant tournament, mixed up teams with adults and kids from different families. I think my uncle won and had to sing O Canada at the end. I don't know if he had to, but I think he did. Anyway, each team has 3 sets of balls on strings and you have to throw each set of balls on strings at the rack across the lawn with different points awarded for each of the three bars on the rack.
Bocce
Known as lawn bowling in our house, I am not sure if we actually follow the rules. The way we play it is that a little ball is tossed and it becomes the target. Each team rolls their balls towards the little ball and the closest one gets a point. It's a bit like curling in that you can knock off the other team's ball, but fun outside.
Croquet
It's a bit like golf, but totally not. There are balls that each person has to hit with a stick and you can hit other people's balls out of the way. There's a track you have to follow to win. Probably you should read the instructions.
Koob
We were in Kelowna this summer for a few days and went to the beach with another family. Their dad brought out this super fun game called Koob that I totally can't explain, but we played it there and then got a set of our own to have when all my cousins came to the lake. If you play this one with our family, you want to be on my dad's team.
The good news is that with all of these games, there are lots of instruction videos and sites online.
What other games does your family love to play outside?
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