LET THE GAMES BEGIN

FUN GAMES IN THE GARDEN

With the weather warming up (well, the sun comes and goes as it pleases), we’ve started thinking of games to play with friends and family in the garden. What is more is that the summer holiday is around the corner and you would need some ideas to keep those kids occupied.

You have spent a lot of time this year to get your garden and good nick and now is the time to enjoy it and of course show it off a bit to your friends and family. Listed below are some low-cost fun and games that you can use for entertainment in your garden.

  • Swing ball – This is an absolute classic and no garden party is complete without a swing and a lot of misses on a Swing ball.
  • Tug of War – Gather family and friends together for a traditional game of Tug of War. Test your team’s strength against the opposition and have lots of outside fun pulling the weaker team over the line.
  • Boules – As early as the 6th century BC the ancient Greeks are recorded to have played a game of tossing coins, then flat stones, and later stone balls, called spheristics, trying to have them go as far as possible. The ancient Romans modified the game by adding a target that had to be approached as closely as possible. This Roman variation was brought to Provence by Roman soldiers and sailors. A Roman sepulchre (now in the Campana Collection in the Louvre) shows children playing this game and stooping down to measure the points.
  • Badminton – The game is named after Badminton, the country estate of the dukes of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England, where it was first played about 1873. The roots of the sport can be traced to ancient Greece, China, and India, and it is closely related to the old children’s game battledore and shuttlecock. Badminton is derived directly from Poona, which was played by British army officers stationed in India in the 1860s. The first unofficial all-England badminton championships for men were held in 1899, and the first badminton tournament for women was arranged the following year.
  • Croquet – Croquet is a very old game, widely known and practised in France since the XI century under the name of ‘jeu de mail’. Borrowed by the British around 1300, it was modified over the centuries: the Scots made golf out of it, the Irish turned it into croquet.
  • Horseshoe Pitching – Anyone can enjoy this game; you push the target pins into the ground and take turns trying to get your horseshoe to land on them. Perfect for playing in the garden.
  • Garden Skittles – A precursor to Ten Pin Bowling, Skittles is a traditional garden game where individual players, or teams, take turns to knock all the skittles over. You can make your own skittles using sand filled painted cool drink bottles and tennis balls.
  • Limbo – How low can you go? Limbo is a great family party game. Loosen up and “Limbo” down as far as you can go. People of all ages find the game amusing and it’s one of those where children have a distinct advantage! Keep lowering the beam until only the most flexible person – the winner – is left.
  • Giant Chess – Firstly, it’s a beautiful centrepiece and looks the part in any outdoor setting. But more importantly, the giant pieces are so much fun to play with! Both children and adults love to get involved and battle it out on the giant checkerboard, moving with their pieces across the squares. Also, giant chess is certainly not just a game for 2 players like standard chess, large groups can play together and its good fun for a wide range of ages.
  • Quoits – Put your guest’s throwing accuracy to the test with a game of garden quoits. Toss the quoits (typically rope rings) onto the numbered stakes to score points. Again, a simple game for groups that can simply be left around the venue for people to pick and play when they feel like a game – and it doesn’t break the bank either.

Embrace the outdoors this summer with the best garden games. There’s no better way to enjoy the warm weather than spending time with family and friends swinging a bat and ball or throwing a frisbee in the sun. Whether playing in large groups, teams or against one another, outdoor games are a great way to keep the kids entertained, gather the whole family and to give guests something to do at a braai. Of course, there’s no harm in a bit of healthy competition either.

Join us this Friday  18 November 2022 for our FREE online workshop on: ‘Let the Games Begin – Summer games for the Garden’, with Garden Guru Sue Both.

Please use the following login details to join us at 11am sharp over Zoom:

Meeting ID: 863 2568 9794

Passcode: 993030

or use the following direct link: https://bit.ly/3TwjmMx