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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- 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
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- [Elementary School] Games and Recreational Activities to Enjoy at a Forest School Camp
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- [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 (31–40)
Puzzle-solving game
When you think of campfires, songs and dances are the classics, but a great new staple we recommend is puzzle-solving games.
They’re an intellectual recreation you can enjoy even in the dark, ranging from simple to aha-moment challenges—like wordplay puzzles that ask what a string of hiragana is pointing to, or cipher-style questions using arrows and kanji.
They’re fun for everyone from kids to adults, and you can adjust the difficulty to suit the group size and age range.
You can tackle them solo or enjoy them as team competitions—there are many ways to play.
Give them a try!
Unchaka
There’s no gameplay to it, but it’s a great act to kick off and liven up a campfire.
Just the name “Unchaka” gives off a cheerful vibe, doesn’t it? The leader slaps both knees and shouts, “Unchaka!” Everyone else should copy the leader.
Next, the leader says, “Unchaka! Rakachaka!” so imitate that and slap your knees the same way.
Repeat that twice, and when the leader says, “Unchaka! Rakachaka! Rakachaka! Poo,” while thrusting both hands forward, copy that too.
That’s all there is to it, but it surprisingly gets everyone hyped.
You can also add your own twists, like mixing in different moves during the repeated parts.
Hoka-hoka Janken
When you want to get everyone pumped up in a team competition, “Hokahoka Rock-Paper-Scissors” is also recommended.
It’s like a team-based version of rock-paper-scissors.
First, a representative from each team comes to the front and plays.
The losing side then swaps in a new representative.
During each round, there’s a rule for the chants: the winning team says, “We won, we won, Hokka Hokka Jan,” while the losing team says, “Don’t lose next time, Hokka Hokka Jan.” Letting each team adapt the chant can also help strengthen team unity.
Number guessing game
It’s a number-guessing game that both kids and adults can enjoy.
The rules are simple, yet it’s surprisingly deep.
First, players form a circle.
One person calls out any number they like, and everyone chooses to either sit or stand accordingly.
If the called number matches the number of people who are standing, that player wins.
Because there’s a psychological element, it’s a game that can get everyone—from children to adults—excited together.
It’s also fun to tweak the rule so that matching the number means you lose.
Try adjusting the rules to suit the size of your group.
Camp Bingo
Let us introduce “Camp Bingo,” a game that uses bingo cards illustrated with camping items like campfires, tents, and lanterns.
Participants check off the items on their cards as they find or experience them at the campsite.
It’s enjoyable for both kids and adults and helps build observational skills in nature.
Because it feels like a game, it easily livens up the atmosphere and gives participants a chance to break the ice.
Preparation is simple, and the charm lies in how everyone can have fun together in a lively, social way.
True or False Quiz
A true-or-false quiz that anyone can enjoy intuitively, even with a large group.
You often see it on TV quiz shows.
Since you answer with either O (true) or X (false), no one gets bored just because they don’t know the exact answer.
Think on instinct, move, and go to the side you believe is correct.
Those who get it wrong are eliminated, and only the winners remain to play another round—using this last-person-standing format to decide the champion can really hype things up.
If there isn’t space to move around, you can still have fun by having those who think it’s O raise their right hand and those who think it’s X raise their left hand.
Werewolf game
If you’re camping with a large group, why not enjoy the Werewolf game as a communication tool? Werewolf hinges on player conversation and bluffing, so you advance the game while interacting with others.
The rules are simple: find the werewolves hidden among players who have been assigned roles beforehand.
Since only you can see your own role, you’ll need to deduce who the werewolves are through discussion and lead your team to victory.
Give it a try!
Epicenter Game
Let’s play the Epicenter Game and have fun together! In the Epicenter Game, when one person moves, everyone else copies them.
The tagger (the “it” person) tries to guess who the moving person—the epicenter—is.
The more players there are, the harder it gets.
While the tagger isn’t looking, the epicenter changes their action, but because everyone’s gaze can give it away, the key is to glance around casually so the tagger doesn’t notice.
Everyone should keep looking around and imitate the epicenter.
If the epicenter is correctly guessed, the tagger switches.
Telephone game
There are lots of different versions and rules for the telephone game, aren’t there? You can play by passing the message using only lip movements while listening to music, or by writing characters on someone’s back and passing it along.
Choosing which type to play based on the number of people and participants sounds fun.
If you have a large group, a simple version might be best.
Single words are too easy, so try using short sentences and whisper them to the next person.
With a lot of people, it often doesn’t get passed on correctly, and you’ll be surprised—“It was such a simple sentence!”
ghost story
When you think of a campfire, it often takes place in the summer, right? So how about livening things up with scary stories, a classic part of summer tradition? Even people who say they’re bad with scary stuff—aren’t you the type who, despite saying you’re scared, still ends up watching those spooky TV specials because you’re curious? You could have different narrators for each story—like school legends passed down over the years, folktale-style ghost stories, or chilling real-life experiences someone actually had.
Having some eerie background music would be great, too.