16 Outdoor Games for Kids (And How to Play)

Kelly R.:  This outdoor game for kids is played like a traditional game of tag, but when the person who is "it" tags you, you must freeze on the spot. Stay frozen until another person who is not "it" comes along and taps you. If the person who is "it" manages to freeze everyone, he or she wins.

Kelly R.:  Draw a hopscotch design on the ground with one or two squares in each row, and number the squares 1-10. Throw a stone into square 1. Hop along the boxes (one foot in the rows with one box, two feet in the rows with two boxes), skipping the box with the stone in it. When you reach box 10, turn around and hop back, pausing to pick up the stone. On your next turn, toss the stone into box 2. Continue until you make it all the way to box 10. If playing with more than one player, take turns tossing the stone and hopping. If you miss the correct box with the stone or land it on the line, lose your turn.

Kelly R.:  Players line up along a starting line. One player is a traffic light, and stands at the finish line with her back to the other players. When the traffic light says "green light," all of the players must move toward the finish line. When the traffic light says "red light" and turns around, the players must stop. Any player still moving goes back to start. Continue until the first player reaches the finish line and becomes the new traffic light.

Kelly R.:  Players are assigned a number (for 4 players, use 1-4). "It" stands in the middle of the players, throws a playground ball into the air and calls out a number. All players scatter, except for the player whose number was called. He grabs the ball, yells "SPUD," and all other players must freeze. The player with the ball throws it at one of the frozen players. If the player is hit, he receives the letter S in S-P-U-D. If not, the person throwing receives a letter. The person with the letter becomes "it." Players are out when they receive all of the letters, and last player standing wins.

Kelly R.:  This is one of the best outdoor games for kindergartners or preschoolers to play with big kids! The person who is "it" covers her eyes and counts while the other players hide. The seeker must find all of the other players, and the last one to be found becomes the new seeker. You can play variations where the seeker must tag the other players, or where there is a home base that the hiders need to reach to become safe.

Kelly R.:  Players sit on the ground facing each other in a circle. The player who is "it" walks around the outside of the circle, tapping each player on the head and saying either "duck" or "goose." The player tapped as "goose" must jump up and chase "it" as he runs around the circle to try to sit back down in the newly vacant spot. If goose doesn't tag the runner, he becomes the new "it."

Kelly R.:  This is our go-to outdoor game for our family of four. Draw one large square (8-10 feet across) with chalk and divide it into four equal squares. Squares are numbered 1-4, and one player stands inside each square. Player 4 bounces and taps a playground ball into an opponent's square to start play. When the ball enters any player's square, he or she must tap the ball into another square. Any player who misses the ball, lets it bounce more than once, or sends it out of bounds must move to square 1, and all other players move up one square.

Kelly R.:  Players stand along a starting line, and must reach the finish line without being tagged by the shark. Any minnows who are tagged by the shark become sharks, too. Repeat racing across until all remaining minnows have been tagged. The winner is the last minnow to be tagged.