Summer is the perfect time to spend time in the great outdoors, and if you’re looking for ways to entertain your friends and family, these 40+ DIY backyard game ideas are a great place to start.
40+ Fun DIY Backyard Game Ideas Your Kids Will Love
Outdoor DIY games can be as simple or complex as you want. But most require very little money and few tools. Like commercially available lawn sets, they are a great way to get your family out of the house and away from cell phone and TV screens. Younger children will love simple games like Tic-Tac-Toe or ball toss games, and will really enjoy giant bubble wands.
Older children will find outdoor twister or backyard Angry Birds both fun and challenging. There are even options that will appeal to teenagers and adults. Consider setting up a giant Jenga tower or Four In A Row game at your next barbecue or family get-together, and soon kids and adults alike will be enjoying the festivities.
Don’t spend your summer cooped up in the house. With a little time and creativity, you and your family can enjoy the DIY backyard games listed here.
1. Cool Jumbo Tic Tac Toe
When you think about classic games, Tic Tac Toe is always a standout. This jumbo-sized version is here to transport you back to your playground days. All you need is some wooden boards and paint, and you can bring the fun pastime right to your backyard deck. What’s cooler about this large tic tac toe game is that it can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.
2. Wall Mounted Ring Toss Challenge
There isn’t much uniqueness found in the typical ring toss game, but have you considered elevating it in the literal sense? All it takes is to move it from the ground to the side of your home. As far as DIY projects go, this is simple to do. With some unique number placement, you can make it both challenging and exciting.
3. Rolling Potted Plant Dartboard Stand
Darts are another time-honored tradition to play with friends and family. With this stand, you can bring the typical indoor game outside. Besides that, attaching wheels to the bottom of the pot allows you to move it around as you see fit. What’s also amazing about this project is its functionality beyond being a game. It still works as a flower pot, so you can make your game area entertaining and aesthetically pleasing.
4. Platform Tree House Playground Fun
If you have a nice tree in your backyard, but no interest in making a real treehouse, consider this platform-based play area instead. You’re still able to give your kids the treehouse experience, but it’s kept closer to the ground. The only extra things you need are a few playground accessories like a slide and a wheel so your kids can stretch their imagination.
5. Spray Painted Twister Grass Board
Whether you played Twister as a child, or you enjoyed it with a few rambunctious friends as an adult, we all know how easy it is to wrinkle and tear that thin sheet of paper. Taking it outside is out of the question, so the next best thing to do is convert your yard into the board. You still get the fun of twisting and awkwardly bending around your friends without the worry of slipping on torn paper.
6. Stop and Throw Skee Ball Carnival Game
Skee Ball is the delight of many children (and adults), especially at the arcade or the fair. Why not bring a version of that game to your backyard with this carnival-themed idea? With some color-coded slots, you can easily keep track of different points for some healthy competition. This is a great way to bring some life to your backyard or add a fun element to an outdoor birthday party.
7. Oversized Slingshot Fun Destruction Game
A lot of us know about Angry Birds, right? It has the thrill of shooting something into a wall and destroying it, an act that excites people of various ages. You can bring all of that to life in your backyard with this giant slingshot. Remember to set up an area you want to be demolished (a collection of discarded boxes or bottles can work), and position it just the right way so it’s lined up with the slingshot, and launch away.
8. Colorful Water Balloon Piñata Collection
Piñatas are a staple at parties, but if you want to put something together on your own, you don’t always have to go the route of filling an item up with treats. You can excite kids all the same with water, which is always a refresher on those hot summer ways. Best of all, this project is easy, quick, and popping them doesn’t require much strength.
9. Coffee Can Stilts Coordination Game
Many kids know all about the plastic stilts since numerous schools use them in the gyms for entertainment and developmental purposes. You don’t need to seek out those plastic stands, however. Just remember to save and wash out those empty coffee cans. They’re surprisingly the right size for kids’ feet, and with the right strings attached, they can easily delight your little one as they wander the backyard.
10. Make Your Own Kubb Lawn Game
Kubb is a popular lawn game that started in Europe but has traveled throughout the world. It’s usually meant for wide-open spaces, but you can just as well enjoy it in the comfort of your backyard using six or fewer people. Don’t feel fazed about the scope of this game because once you learn it, you’ll be eager to grab a group of friends and head outside anytime it’s nice out.
11. Massive Matching Card Symbol Game
Matching games are a decades-old game that remains the delight of many kids, but it is a rather stationary game. You can get everyone far more active by enlarging the game and laying out the cards in your yard. This project lets you create whatever symbols you want for the game. Whip out some stencils to ensure each symbol has a proper match and lay them out to bask in some childhood joy with the whole family.
12. Life-Sized Colorful Jenga Game Set
It’s always fun to transform your childhood games into something excitedly gigantic, and this Jenga project is no different. Whether you paint the wood or leave it natural like the original game, this oversized Jenga game is the perfect outdoor pastime. As you pull out one of those extra-large pieces and that tower starts to wobble, you’ll love that heightened sense of exhilaration.
13. Classic Cornhole & Bean Bags
Nothing quite says outdoor fun like a good old cornhole toss game. But why should you rush out to the store to buy one when you can build a personalized board right at home? You can even create your bean bags to match up with your finished board. What you’re left with is a custom cornhole game that you can drag outside whenever the sun shines.
14. Relaxing Oversized Outdoor Checkerboard Game
Sometimes you need a game that’s a bit slower even if you’re outside, and checkers is a great option in this case. It’s always been a game that spans generations due to a comfortable dose of strategy and competitiveness that kids can readily get into. Consider creating this life-sized version of the game to excite little ones into learning about the game.
15. Pool Noodle Tic Tac Toe
There are many ways you can bring tic tac toe outdoors, but who knew just how handy pool noodles would be for creating the game? If you aren’t using the pool noodles, simply turn them into the popular game. This is a project that you won’t even have to create anything for as long as you have bean bags or something else to use to toss into the spaces instead of “x’s” and “o’s”.
16. Fun Water Gun Cup Race
Hot weather always calls for some water fun outside. Rather than spend all that water spraying each other down, you can create a unique racing game. Just find a good spot outside whether it’s between two walls or two trees, tape up some string and plastic cups, and kick off the race with some water guns or any other squirt toy you have around the home.
17. Massive Backyard Dice Yahtzee Game
Yahtzee is a somewhat portable game, so you can easily bring it outdoors, but there’s no sense in settling for small dice when you can build these cool massive ones instead. They’re far more exciting to look at and get a bunch of people involved in the game. Plus, you can always use them for any other game you can think of that involves dice.
18. Funny Water Balloon Volleyball Game
Volleyball is always a fun sport to take outdoors, and the same goes for a water balloon fight, but have you ever thought of combining them into one incredible game? Once you set up the net, take away the ball and instead add some towels and water balloons to toss over it. It won’t take long for everyone to be laughing and soaking wet.
19. DIY Giant Dice Backyard Yahtzee
20. Home Made Tomato Cage Kerplunk
21. Simple Outdoor Spray Paint Twister
22. Jumbo DIY 2×4 Jenga Pieces
23. Hand Painted Giant Outdoor Scrabble Tiles
24. DIY Pool Noodle Ring Toss Set
25. Rustic Stone and Wood Tic-Tac-Toe Board
26. Pallet and Bushel BasketBall Toss Game
27. Gaint Backyard Four In A Row
28. Easy DIY Ball Toss Game
29. Recycled Tin Can Bowling Set
30. Incredible Backyard DIY Bowling Lane
31. Inexpensive Sticky DIY Tic-Tac-Toe Board
32. Outdoor Squirt Gun Painting for Kids
33. DIY Koob Lawn Game Set
34. Homemade Bean Bag Toss Game
35. Backyard Miniature Golf Course
36. Inexpensive Squirt Gun Race Game
37. Ring Toss DIY Backyard Game Idea
38. Pack and Carry Tic-Tac-Toe Set
39. Fun Summertime Giant Bubble Wands
40. Creative Flamingo Lawn Ornament Ring Toss
41. Giant DIY Lawn Dominoes Set
42. Soda Bottle and Beach Ball Bowling
43. Outdoor Angry Birds Lawn Game
44. Matching Tiles DIY Backyard Games
45. Pool Noodle and Frisbee Toss Game
