Summer Camp Games for Teens

Ensure an enjoyable time for your campers by playing games.camping image by Sergey Dyadechkin from Fotolia.com

When summer approaches, prepare for the teenagers to head to camp. Though the food and amenities of the camp remain very important to your campers having a good time, plan the entertainment. This summer, ensure your campers enjoy themselves by planning some games that teens from all backgrounds and of all skill levels and ages will like.

Shrieks

To break the ice for your teenage campers, play a game called "Shrieks." Gather everyone into a circle, making sure that all of the players can plainly see each other. Tell everyone to put their heads down and count to 10. As soon as time is up, all of the campers raise their heads and stare at someone. If two campers find themselves staring at each other, they both let out loud shrieks and then leave the circle. However, if one camper looks at another camper who isn't looking back at him, he stays in the game. Continue until only two people remain in the game.

To cool off a bit from the heat, play this game in the camp pool. If the camp has no pool, section off a shallow portion of your camp's "watering hole" so that it forms a 15-feet by 30-feet rectangle. Before you start, tear off the wrapper of a 2-liter bottle and fill it completely with water. Divide the campers into two teams and have each team look at one side of the water. Tell all the campers to look away as you throw the bottle into the water. After you count to 10 to allow for the bottle to sink below the water, tell the teens to search for the bottle. Once a player finds the bottle, he attempts to make it to the opponent's side with the bottle in hand. Every time a player does this, she scores a point. The first team to 10 points wins the game.

In a wooded area, gather your teenage campers around a base point. Divide the players into two teams. Tell the first team to head off into the woods and set up an ambush point. As they leave the base, the first team leaves behind a trail of items, such as breadcrumbs or crumpled-up pieces of paper. The second team waits for 5 minutes and then heads into the woods using the "clues" as their guide to finding the first team. Once the second team gets to the ambush point, the first team surprises them and then tries to tag all of their opponents as they all head back to base. Any players who get tagged join the first team. Once everyone returns to base, the game continues as the second team has their turn at ambushing.