A picnic isn’t complete without a run about and a bit of competition after your sausage rolls and strawberries. We’ve rounded up a few of our favourite games for a picnic
Tug of War
Best for: A gang of mates at the beach.
You’ll need: A long, thick rope.
How to play: You (literally) know the ropes. Mark a line in the sand or chuck a jumper down to be ‘the line’. Split into two equal teams, taking into account size, strength etc (you may need one extra person on one side to even it up). Line up on either side of the rope with the middle of the rope over the line. On the count of three, both teams should pull on the rope. The winning team is the first to pull one of the other team over the line.
Capture the Flag
Best for: Family groups in the woods.
You’ll need: Two ‘flags’ (they can be t-shirts, napkins, toys or anything else).
How to play: Divide the space into two ‘territories’ (an invisible line between two trees will do) and nominate a space to be a ‘jail’. Split into two teams. Each team should hide the other team’s flag somewhere on their territory. Both teams then compete to find their flag and get it back to their own territory without being tagged and thrown in jail. You can only be tagged on the other team’s territory. A member of your team can release you from ‘jail’ by running to the jail to ‘untag’ you.
French Cricket
Best for: Neighbours in the park.
You’ll need: A cricket bat and a tennis ball.
How to play: One person is the batter. Everyone else fields in a circle around them, taking turns to be bowler. The batter’s legs are the stumps. The bowler bowls at the ‘stumps’ and the batter must hit the ball away with the bat. If the ball is caught the batter is out and replaced by whoever caught them out. If the batter has hit the ball they may then turn to face the next bowler. If they didn’t hit it they must play the next bowl facing the same way, twisting to defend their stumps from whichever direction they choose to bowl.
Cats or Dogs
Best for: Couples or anyone getting to know each other
You’ll need: Nothing!
How to play: You don’t even need to get up for this one. Simply sit back over a glass of something chilled and take it in turns to fire ‘choice’ questions at each other. Start with ‘cats or dogs?’ and move on to ‘sweets or chocolates?’, ‘oranges or lemons?’, ‘Piers Brosnan or Daniel Craig?’ and wherever your fancy takes you.
This blog was inspired by our feature ‘Delicious, Fictitious Picnics’ in our June issue, in which we take a look at picnics from novels. Buy a copy of our June issue in shops or from our online store and join us on the picnic blanket.
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