Obstacle Course Games

A family picnic...now that can get really boring. With nothing to do except eat the heavily laid picnic baskets, make half-hearted attempts at explaining to uncle so and so about the many things that are happening with your career, then after a failed and lukewarm attempt at Pictionary or dumb charades, there's nothing left to do but simply confine to the blaring sounds of a music player and a book and sit in a corner waiting for the day to end. You know what this spells? B.o.r.i.n.g! Why limit the day to a dull one when you can add that extra zing to it? How are you going to do that? By playing some obstacle course games, of course. Aren't those for kids only, you ask? Myth. The way I see it, there is nothing to lose, so why not get to it and make a success of that picnic? Here are some obstacle course games that you can include in your picnic (or any other social gathering for that matter) and have a great time.

Obstacle Course Ideas

There are several activities that go into making an obstacle course. Here are examples of these obstacle course ideas that you can look into. In the following section, we will give you some examples of games that you can use to design your own obstacle course. These games are great for both, kids and adults - they'll get the energy levels soaring high, the kids in a tizzy of activity and the adults having the time of their lives. Plus, one can always increase the difficulty level of the games and the rounds according to the age group that is playing them.

Spoon and Lemon

Aerobic Exercise Special

...with a twist. Everyone has played this one in their childhood and knows how it works. The concentration that one requires to carry the lemon without dropping it is not easy. Now add obstacles to it and see how tough that gets. Since the level of difficulty is already quite high, all you can do is add some bricks at regular intervals (make the distances huge cause the kids can't really be looking down and you don't want them getting hurt) and make them walk. They have to reach from one point to the other while doing a zigzag round through the bricks. You think this is a silly one for the adults? Try it, I'd urge, and see what fun ensues.

Introducing aerobic exercises in this set up is one of the most simple ways of putting forth an obstacle course. Think of all the aerobic exercise that you can bring into the scenario. For example, the kids (or adults) have to start off with 5 jumping jacks, then run and pick up a basketball and try to shoot it into the hoop, before proceeding to do 50 counts of a jump rope.

Hula Hoop Run

Partner Run

Use a large ground to lay out an obstacle course for this outdoor game - To give an example, place 5 - 6 hula hoops (through which you have to jog), 2 - 3 chairs (under which you have to crawl), tie a strong rope to a tree, if you have one (on which you have to swing), place a garbage bag (hop into it and run), then do the catwalk across a thin wall without slipping. The fun part about this obstacle course is that you can add as many obstacles as you want and determine the rounds of repetitions as well. For example - the swinging from the rope can be done 5 times back and forth. Here are some other items that you can use as obstacles in the course: Ladder pockets for running through. A rope/lawn pipe to jump over from side to side. Draw in a hopscotch and do a round of that. You can either do this as a team with one selected member carrying through the course, or if there are not many people, then one can play this game individually as well. In both cases, the course needs to be timed. The one with the best time wins this outdoor family game.

Think playing obstacle course games alone is fun? Try it with a partner and see how much more fun and difficult it gets. The activities that you'll have to use in this obstacle course have to be designed like so. Here are some that you can use. While one partner starts off at the starting line, the other has to place newspapers at his feet. The other can only step on the newspapers. The duo that crosses the end line first, wins. This game can be played simultaneously with all the teams and is a great indoor obstacle course to choose. Tie the left foot of one and the right foot of the other and then hand them a sack to hop across. Make it more difficult by placing hula hoop jumps in between. Use a skipping rope where one uses a swing and then both of them have to jump together. Have a designated 10 - 20 jumps. One cannot proceed if they haven't completed that.

And there you have it, some of the most fun obstacle course games that you can choose. Now you tell me, these won't be fun! They will and they should. So try them out and you'll see just what I mean. Have fun!