You’re packing for your family vacation, looking forward to building stronger relationships with your kid–one outdoor adventure at a time. The RV is ready, and you’re just packing the last snacks for the road when a horrible thought hits you…
What if it rains, and you’re stuck in the camper the whole time? What if the cell service is bad while you’re traveling, and the kids can’t stream their shows on their tablets? What will you do to stave off the whining and boredom?
I’ve survived rainy camping trips that forced us to remain cooped up all weekend. No, it wasn’t what we wanted, but we still had fun. Here’s how.
We played games. Fun games.
And those times when we were “bored” ended up forging friendships that lasted for years. We still laugh about them.
The first thing you need to accept is that boredom is not the enemy. It’s the rite of passage to a bonding experience you’ll never forget…but only if you control the narrative. A rainy day doesn’t just shut the door to kayaking, canoeing, and ATVing; it opens the door to family game nights aplenty!
Whatever you do, keep it positive and keep it fun with these best RV games to play on the road on rainy days (or even outside in the sun).
What Camper Games are Best for RVs?
As always, whatever you bring into your RV needs to have a purpose. You don’t have room for games that you’re never going to play or games that have millions of pieces and an extensive setup.
Camper games must be…
- Small
- Versatile
- Entertaining for your whole family
Choose wisely.
You also need games that you can play at different times:
- Road games for travel days
- Rainy day games
- And outdoor games to play in camp.
Let’s start with the best RV games for the road.
Fun RV Games for the Road
The road to your next RV destination is paved with time. How you use that time sets the tone for your trip. Here are a few suggestions that engage all ages.
Mad Libs
This one is perfect for school-age children to refresh their parts of speech during the summer. One person goes through the Mad Lib worksheet, asking for different parts of speech like adjectives, nouns, adverbs, etc. The end result is hilarious, making this a great way to set the tone for a fun family vacation.
Game Type: Cooperative
Cost: $5.99 on Amazon
Age: First grade and older
Difficulty: Easy
Photo courtesy of Mad Libs
Road Trip Bingo
Test your kids’ observational skills by creating a bingo board with places you will pass on your way. They could be historic sites that you pass on the highway or fast food restaurants.
If you want to get high-tech, you could even use a GPS to spot geocaches and add them as bonuses to your Bingo board.
Game Type: Individual
Cost: $0 if you print it yourself or $2.49 on Etsy
Age: First grade and older
Difficulty: Moderate
Photo courtesy of Kids Activities Blog
Worst Case Scenario
You’re heading to the great outdoors, so you may as well be prepared. Worst Case Scenario is easy to play in the car and can lead to great family discussions.
Game Type: Teams or cooperative
Cost: $13.69 at Target
Age: Second grade and older
Difficulty: Moderate
Photo courtesy of Amazon
Pro Tip: Don’t feel like you have to play games for the entire RV trip. Plan a little downtime and let the kids watch a movie or read a book. Just because this is time spent in silence doesn’t mean it doesn’t count as quality time.
Rainy Day Indoor Games for When You’re Stuck Inside
When it rains, it pours (metaphorically and literally)–especially if you had a cool family outing planned. Now, you’re stuck inside a small space. You need to turn the tide with a dose of family fun.
Pull out a Deck of Cards
As a veteran of many rained-out camping trips, I can tell you the smallest, most versatile form of entertainment is a deck of cards. You can play, literally, thousands of games with a deck of cards.
- Want a high-energy game that anyone who knows their numbers can play? Go with Spoons.
- Need a strategy game that can keep the teens involved? Teach them Wist or Spades.
- Ready to up the ante? Choose your brand of Poker.
Game Type: Team or individual competitive
Cost: $2.99 at Target
Age: Pre-K and up (depending on the game)
Difficulty: Easy to difficult
Photo courtesy of Target.com
Dice Games (Like Yahtzee)
Dice games like Yahtzee and Farkle are games of chance that make it easy for everyone to participate, and all you need are dice and paper to keep track of scores.
Game Type: Individual competitive
Cost: $8.99 at Target
Age: Pre-K and up
Difficulty: Easy
Photo courtesy of Target.com
Settlers of Catan
Settlers of Catan is one of those strategy games that can bring out the best or the worst in people. It all depends on your family, but it’s a fun game that eats up time and teaches supply-side economics at the same time.
And for those who prefer a faster pace to the game – or fewer game pieces – there’s the “Struggle for Catan” card game.
Game Type: Board Game or Card Game, Strategy
Cost: $69.97 (Board game) $14.99 (card game)
Age: 8+
Difficulty: Moderate
Photo courtesy of Walmart
Betrayal at House on a Hill
If you find your family is getting a little too competitive, then try a cooperative game like Betrayal. After all, there’s nothing that brings you together quite like exploring a creepy old house only to find that one of you isn’t as friendly as you should be…
Game Type: Cooperative, Strategy
Cost: $55.99 on Amazon
Age: Middle School and older (The content gets pretty creepy for little ones.)
Difficulty: Moderate-Hard
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com
So gather around the table, shuffle the cards, and let the games begin!
Outdoor Games for Downtime at Camp
When the weather is good, and you have some downtime–or need to burn off the kids’ energy after dark–there are plenty of outdoor games to play (even after dark).
Ladder Ball
This easy-to-set-up and easy-to-store classic game involves tossing two balls that are tethered together so that they wrap around different rungs in the ladder to score points. If you can toss a ball, you can play ladder ball.
And it stores perfectly in your pass-through storage space.
Game Type: Team competitive
Cost: $51.92 at Walmart
Age: Pre-K and up
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Photo courtesy of Walmart.com
Kubb (Skulls and Femurs)
Dating back to a time when the Vikings would use skulls and femurs as the game pieces, think of Kubb as billiards meets bowling in your backyard with blocks. The first one to knock down the king wins.
Game Type: Team competitive
Cost: $59.99 through Amazon
Age: 8+
Difficulty: Moderate
Photo courtesy of potterybarn.com
For older kids and teens who don’t go to bed when the sun goes down, here are some nighttime games to try on your next camping trip.
Man Hunt
When I was growing up, we would camp with a Navy Seal who would strike up a game of Man Huntl. Naturally, he was the man we always hunted…and he always won.
Game Type: Group game
Cost: $0
Equipment: Flashlights
Age: No longer afraid of the dark
Difficulty: Depends on who you’re hunting
Safety Tips:
- Hunters should be in pairs.
- Everyone has flashlights.
- Boundaries should be clearly marked
- Agree upon an ending time.
Capture the Flag
Capture the Flag gets your kids working together as a team. Each team has a flag that they have to defend. The goal is to capture the other team’s flag and return it to your base before they do.
Game Type: Team competitive
Cost: $0 (unless you decide to buy flags)
Equipment: Flags and flashlights
Age: 10+
Safety Tips:
- Have clear boundaries
- If the space is large, then travel in pairs
- Agree upon an ending time.
BONUS: Jackbox Party Pack
The Jackbox Party Pack is an honorable mention on our best-of RV games list. If your family enjoys a good trivia game (and you have access to the internet while RV camping), then Jackbox Party Pack is a hilarious game that lets you be the audience and participants of a game show.
Summary
With your “game” plan firmly in place, nothing can stop your family road trip from being a memorable one, filled with fun bonding time with your family.
But when the journey is over, and it’s time to put away your RV, you want to store it properly so that it will be ready for many more adventures.
That means storing it in a place where it will be protected from storms and extreme cold weather. That’s where Neighbor can help.
With Neighbor, you can find RV storage in all 50 states. You may even find storage in your very own neighborhood. Neighbor is a peer-to-peer RV storage marketplace that offers RV storage that’s up to 50% cheaper than traditional storage options
