Not to be confused with I Went to Camp, I’m Going Camping is a a logic game. It is best played in smaller groups of no more than 10 people, although this is up to you. The more players you have, the harder it may be to keep track of what is allowed and what isn’t. The game can be as simple or as complicated as you make it, making it fun for all ages.
How to Play:
One player starts by choosing a theme for the round. The theme can be anything you can imagine. It can be words that start or end with a certain letter, or have double vowels. Things you would find in a house, outside, or perhaps more specifically at an amusement park. It can be related to a colour, texture, or shape. It can be things that smell, or things that have nails, etc…
The starting player starts the game by saying “I’m going camping, and I’m bringing…”. (Fun tip: change it up and say “I’m going to space…”, or “I’m going bowling…”, etc. to create some diversity). Continuing in a circle, or some sort of order, players each ask if they can bring a specific item, trying to deduce what the theme might be. The starting player will either allow them to bring it, or tell them they can not bring their item – depending on whether or not it fits their theme. When play gets back to the starting player, they once again bring an allowable item, in turn giving another clue. Using the information gathered during each round, you can choose on your next turn to try to guess the theme instead of asking to bring something else. You can play where the guess is made out loud, ending the game if someone gets it right – or, by whispering. If you whisper and get it right, you can keep playing and bringing allowable items, to try to help the rest of the players guess it. This is a great way to play, especially if you have smaller kids who may need the extra items to help them figure out what the theme is. It can be fun to see how long it takes everyone playing to guess the theme.
Game example:
P1: “I’m going camping, and I’m bringing an onion“.
P2: assuming the theme could possibly be food, asks… “Can I bring a banana”?
P1: “No, I’m sorry. You can not bring a banana“.
P3: thinking perhaps the theme is related to round vegetables, asks… “Can I bring a potato”?
P1: “No, I’m sorry. You can not bring a potato“.
P4: wondering if the theme is not related to food at all, based on the above, asks… “Can I bring an alligator”?
P1: “Yes, actually you can bring an alligator“.
At this point it is still hard to know what the theme is, but player 4 has earned them another clue. All players now know that the theme somehow connects the word onion and the word alligator.
P1: “I’m going camping, and I’m also bringing eggs“.
P2: noticing that all the words start with a vowel, asks… “Can I bring an umbrella”?
P1: “No, I’m sorry. You can not bring an umbrella“.
P3: realizing that all words start with a vowel, but end in a consonant, asks… “Can I bring an octopus”?
P1: “Yes, you can bring an octopus“!
Player 3 is pretty sure they know the theme, but must wait until their next turn to make their guess.
P4: unsure why they couldn’t bring an umbrella, but P3 was able to bring an octopus, asks… “Can I bring ice cream”?
P1: “Yes, you can bring ice cream“!
P1: “I’m going camping, and I’m also bringing my son Ethan“.
P2: stumped, thinks perhaps it is living things, starting with a vowel, and asks… “Can I bring Ollie, our dog”?
P1: “No, I’m sorry. You can not bring Ollie“.
P3: confidently asks… “Is it words starting with a vowel and ending with a consonant”?
P1: “Correct – you guessed it”!
Player 3 wins the game!
You can play this game in many different ways. You can play where everyone gets a turn to pick a theme, or the winner of the previous game picks the theme for the next game. You can play for fun or for points. If you play for points, you can give a point to the first person who guesses the theme, or assign a point scale based on who guesses the theme in what order.
Have fun!
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