A performance to liven up the campfire
How do you like to enjoy a campfire?
It’s nice to relax while watching the flames or chat with your friends, but it’s also fun to put on performances or play games together!
In this article, we’ll introduce some activities you might want to try during a campfire.
Along with skits, songs, and dances, we’ll also share plenty of easy games that everyone can enjoy—be sure to use them as a reference!
- [Campfire] Carefully selected fun games recommended for recreation!
- Material you can use for skits: a roundup of recommended acts for campfires
- Fun activities that liven up a camp: recreational games
- Songs you can dance to around the campfire. A roundup of recommended tracks for dancing.
- [Elementary School Rec] Recommended Games and Performances for a Fun Party
- A fun, everyone-joins-in game that gets everyone excited!
- [Elementary School] Games and Recreational Activities to Enjoy at a Forest School Camp
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- [For University Students] A Roundup of Fun Games and Recreational Activities
- Great for camping! Recreation games for kids
- Fun activities for junior high school students. Recreation games.
- Recreation Ideas That Truly Excite High School Students! A Fun Collection of Activities
- [For Elementary Schools] Recommended Exhibits and Recreational Activities for a Cultural Festival
Performances to liven up a campfire (1–10)
Where are you from?
“Antagata Dokosa” is famous as a temari (handball) song.
As children, we often played a game where, in time with the song, whenever the lyrics hit the syllable “sa,” you lift one leg and pass the ball under it.
At a campfire, why not try a recreation where, on each “sa,” you slap your own thigh with your left hand and the right thigh of the person on your right with your right hand? Once you get used to it, switch to different poses instead of the thigh slap or speed up the tempo—surprisingly tricky even for adults, and guaranteed to get everyone excited!
Let’s go hunt wild beasts.
For a setting where people are gathered around a campfire, the game “Let’s Go Hunt Wild Beasts” fits perfectly, doesn’t it? The leader calls out the name of an animal, and everyone has to form groups matching the number of syllables in that name; anyone who can’t join a group is out.
It’s a simple game, but the catchy chant and easy movements leave a strong impression, and the fun comes from the sense of unity among participants.
It starts to feel like the flow leading up to each prompt is more important than the game’s content itself.
While there is a win-or-lose aspect, it’s the kind of game that makes you want to focus on getting everyone excited together.
Evolution Rock-Paper-Scissors
A situation where people gather around a fire outdoors is something you don’t often get to experience.
In a game with repeated matches, participants can deepen their interactions and enjoy it even more.
Evolution Janken is a game that incorporates rock-paper-scissors, so it’s easy for anyone to understand.
The simple rule is that by winning at rock-paper-scissors, you gradually evolve into bipedal walking in stages.
Originally, you start face-down and evolve into bipedal walking, but since you might get dirty outdoors, it’s better to adjust the growth stages and enjoy it that way.
Performances to liven up a campfire (11–20)
drama
When it comes to classic activities—not just for campfires—plays are hard to leave out.
If you’re putting on a performance with something large and prominent at the center, the atmosphere will naturally differ from a typical play.
Since it will likely be dark, choosing a piece with big, noticeable movements will make it easier for the whole audience to follow.
You could also take advantage of the large campfire and the central setup by incorporating elements where performers move in circles around it—that might be quite interesting.
Yamanote Line game
A classic game that everyone from kids to adults can enjoy: the Yamanote Line Game.
Did you know, as in the recommended video, that there are countless possible prompts? You can play with categories related to colors, food menus, character names, and not only nouns but also verbs and adjectives—there are so many ways to enjoy it.
It also gets more fun if, instead of one person choosing the topic, everyone takes turns proposing one.
You’ll never get bored with the gap between what you’re thinking of and what others come up with.
Drop the Handkerchief
When you think of a campfire, you probably picture everyone sitting in a circle, gazing at the flames in the center.
Speaking of circles facing inward, it’s similar to the game “Handkerchief Drop.” In this simple game, the tagger drops a handkerchief behind someone who’s seated; if the tagger makes it around the circle and sits down, the roles switch.
Because it’s a game that requires full-on sprinting, it might seem dangerous around a fire, but the running happens on the outside of the circle, so you can enjoy it with relatively low risk.
dance
As a classic performance, we definitely want to include dance.
For the campfire scene, isn’t folk dancing around the fire the gold standard? Watching the flames burning at the center while everyone circles around really amps up the energy! And it doesn’t have to be folk dance—you could also perform with the campfire at your back.
With just a single natural light source, you can create a unique atmosphere that people don’t see very often.