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!
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Performances to liven up a campfire (11–20)
Catch game
Games that everyone plays in a circle are a classic at campfires.
You start with your left index finger resting on the palm of the person next to you.
At the leader’s cue—“Catch!”—you quickly pull your index finger away.
The person whose palm it’s on tries to close their hand quickly at that cue to catch the finger.
The outcome depends on each person’s state at the moment the cue is given.
It’s a fun game of timing and bluffing, with the leader varying the timing or even calling out different words.
song
When it comes to campfires, songs are an essential part of the fun.
Classics like “Kumbaya,” “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore,” and “Hallelujah” bring back memories for adults and can be enjoyed anytime.
Changing the lyrics or gradually speeding up the tempo can make them feel fresh.
It’s also great to include movement-based singing games like the one in this video.
If adults exaggerate the same motions, little kids will love it!
Second-count guessing game
Let’s try a seconds-guessing game using a smartphone or stopwatch! First, choose the target time, like 10 seconds or 30 seconds.
At the start signal, begin counting, and without looking at the display, stop when you think the target time has passed.
The person closest to the specified time wins.
It’s a game that tests your internal body clock.
It’s simple and easy to join, and it works for small or large groups.
Why not include it as a campfire activity?
Gorilla Game
In elementary school, there are overnight study trips, right? At night, you sometimes have a campfire.
A great recommendation for a recreation activity at times like that is the “Gorilla Game.” The rules are simple: split into a questioner and an answerer, and the answerer must reply “gorilla” no matter what they’re asked.
Questions like “What’s your name?” or “What did you have for breakfast today?” are fun because answering “gorilla” makes everything hilariously mismatched.
It’s a popular activity with kids, so be sure to give it a try around the campfire!
Jump together
One fun challenge to try with a large group around the campfire is “Jump Together.” Form a circle holding hands with the campfire in the center.
One person calls out a direction to jump—like “forward” or “right”—and everyone else jumps in that direction.
If you keep calling “forward,” you’ll get too close to the fire and it will get hot, so the caller should be careful.
Once you get used to it, try a version where the calls stay the same, but everyone jumps in the opposite direction of the command!
Greengrocer Game
A great recommendation for campfires with very young children or lower elementary students is the “Greengrocer Game,” which is like a hand-clapping song.
You can sing and play along, and it doesn’t require any special props—perfect for easy, casual fun.
It starts with a song, so everyone can sing together.
Then, in rhythm, names of fruits and vegetables are called out.
When it’s something you’d find at a greengrocer, you clap your hands.
If something that wouldn’t be there is called, hold back and don’t clap.
Can everyone make it to the end without getting tricked?
Activities to liven up a campfire (21–30)
Octopus and sea bream
A two-person game called “Tako and Tai” (Octopus and Sea Bream).
Face each other, shake left hands, and each player secretly decides to be either Tai or Tako.
When a name is called—for example, if “Tai” is called—the Tai player tries to slap the back of the Tako player’s hand with their right hand.
The Tako player wins if they pull their hand away in time or successfully block with their right hand.
The key is that both words start with the same syllable “ta,” which makes it tricky.
You can also spice it up with feints by saying other words that start with “ta” to hype things up.
If you fall for a feint and make a mistake, you lose.