With Labor Day creeping up, it’s time to start planning this backyard affair with your friends and family. Whether you are doing an adults-only party to celebrate or a family do, we’ve got you. Today, we’ve got the 30 best Labor Day games for families, kids, and adults so that the day passes quickly and everyone has fun. We’ve got everything from family-friendly Labor Day games and activities to drinking games for adults. Let’s get into them!
LABOR DAY GAMES FOR FAMILIES
Here are the best Labor Day games that everyone will enjoy, from kids to adults. These are classic Labor Day games for a reason, and they’ll be here to stay for decades still!
1. SCAVENGER HUNT
Starting off with probably one of the most popular games to play on Labor Day, a scavenger hunt. You can be as creative as you want with a scavenger hunt, but to make this game more Labor Day-themed, hide a bunch of objects that are colored red, white, or blue! Hide clues with some of these items to lead the players to the next items. Give every player or team a list of these items that they’ve got to search for in a designated playing area. Give each player or team a unique clue to help them start their search, and the first player or team to find all items on the list wins!
2. GIANT JENGA
We’re a huge fan of giant outdoor games, especially giant Jenga! You play giant Jenga as you would a normal Jenga game, but, you guessed it, the blocks are huge. This game can make a bit of a ruckus, so make sure you have enough space to allow the tower to topple as players remove blocks one by one. Just like in normal Jenga, the player that causes the tower to fall over loses and must build the tower again to get the next game started.
3. TUG OF WAR
The key to playing a good game to tug of war is to divide the two teams equally in terms of sheer strength. The longer the teams can hold on, the better. After all, what’s the fun in a team beating the opposing team if the game only lasts a couple of seconds?
Once divided, put the teams on either side of a long rope. Place a bit of red tape in middle of the rope and designate a middle point that the teams must try to pull the opposing team over. Each player must hold onto the rope, and when the whistle blows, players must pull with all their might! The team that manages to get the other team onto their side wins the tug.
4. KARAOKE
What’s a party without some good old karaoke? Get the music started and sing along to your favorite tunes? Even better if you have a microphone setup that you can bring to the party. Then, simply bring up your favorite songs on YouTube and sing your heart out with your friends and family. If you want, you can turn this into a friendly competition and designate judges to crown the winner of the karaoke night.
5. CORNHOLE
Cornhole is one of our favorite lawn games that everyone will enjoy playing. To play this game, you will need two cornhole boards and some beanbags. Two teams of two will play against each other in a battle to win the most points. If you have more than four players wanting to play, you can easily turn this game into a tournament, with the winner of the first game playing against the next two players.
It’s easy to play cornhole. Simply toss the beanbags with the goal of trying to get them into the hole on the board or onto the board. The first team to get to a predetermined number of points wins the game!
6. BOCCE BALL
Another simple lawn game everyone will love is bocce ball. You’ll need a maximum of 8 players to play this game, with the players evenly divided into two teams. The two teams play against each other with the goal of tossing their bocce balls as close to the pallino as possible. After all 8 balls are thrown, points are calculated according to how many of the winning team’s balls are closer to the pallino than the closest bocce ball of the opposing team. Keep playing until a winner is determined.
7. BACKYARD LAWN BOWLING
Do you love bowling? Then, you’ll love this simplified backyard lawn version of this classic game. Since scoring for bowling can get confusing, simply calculate the number of pins locked down each round. Players roll the bowling ball across the lawn with the objective of knocking down as many of the 10 pins as possible. The player with the most knocked pins over a predetermined number of rounds wins the game!
8. LIMBO
Limbo is a super fun game you can play while mingling with your friends and family this Labor Day. To play, you’re going to need some background music to start. Once the music is on, grab a rope, which two players must hold at a specific height. All the players must then try to go underneath the rope by bending over backwards. But be careful not to touch the rope or fall down! If you do, you’re out! After every player has gone underneath the rope, lower the rope for each round until only one player, the winner, remains.
9. THREE-LEGGED RACE
The three-legged race is a classic outdoor game for a reason. To play this game, you’ll need some rope to tie some legs together. Divide the group into pairs and have them stand side by side. Tie the two middle legs together and have the pairs stand behind the starting line of the race. Then, on the mark, the pairs must race to the finish line before the other pairs by coordinating their legs together to move as quickly as possible! The first pair to get across the finish line wins the race.
10. BASEBALL
There’s nothing more American than playing baseball on Labor Day or even on the 4th of July. If you and your family are huge baseball fans, feel free to play this game as seriously as you want. But if you’re not big sports fan, feel free to simply set up the bases, divvy up the players into two teams, and start batting the balls.
Want a refresher on the rules? Check out our post on baseball rules for a full rundown on how to play this super fun sport!
LABOR DAY GAMES FOR KIDS
If you’ve got a bunch of kids running around this Labor Day, we’ve got you covered with these super fun Labor Day games for kids that’ll help expel some energy and ensure all the kids have a lot of fun this holiday.
11. OBSTACLE COURSE
One of the best ways to get everybody’s bodies moving is to set up an obstacle course of some sort. Set up a start line, a finish line, and create obstacles along the way that’ll make it more difficult to get to the end. If you’ve got some competitive kids, time each child, with the child finishing the obstacle course in record time winning a prize!
12. EGG AND SPOON RELAY RACE
We love a good old relay race, and there’s nothing more classic than an egg and spoon relay race. To play this, divide the group into teams, with the first player of each team getting a spoon and an egg to balance on the spoon. Then, on the mark, the first player of each team must race to the end of the race, turn around, and head back to the starting point to hand over the egg and spoon to the second player of the team. Keep racing with the egg and spoon. The first team to complete the relay wins the game!
By the way, if the egg drops from the spoon at any point in the game, you must stop and put it back on the spoon before you can continue.
If you’d like to check out more games like this, head over to see our full list of awesome kids field day games.
13. WHAT TIME IS IT, MR. WOLF
Looking for a game that involves some running? You’ve got to play what time is it, Mr. Wolf?! In this game, one player acts as Mr. Wolf, who must stand on one end of the playing area, with every other player behind the designated safe line. All of these players must chant together, “What time is it, Mr. Wolf?” Then, Mr. Wolf must give a time, and according to the time given, the other players must walk the designated number of steps. For example, if Mr. Wolf says, “It’s 6 o’clock!” All the players must walk forward 6 steps. Then, players must chant again.
Keep playing in this manner. At any point, Mr. Wolf may say, “It’s lunchtime!” when asked what time it is. If it’s lunchtime, Mr. Wolf must attempt to tag another player. All other players must run as fast as they can to get back beyond the safe line. If a player is tagged before they can cross over, they are the new Mr. Wolf!
14. RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT
Red light, green light is a similar game to what’s the time, Mr. Wolf. But instead of a Mr. Wolf, the player who’s “it” is a Stop Light. The Stop Light must also turn their back to the rest of the players, with the players standing behind the starting line.
The Stop Light alternates saying, “Green Light” and “Red Light.” If it’s a green light, every player must walk toward the Stop Light. But if it’s a red light, everyone must freeze. When it’s a red light, the Stop Light also turns around to see if anyone moves. If anyone moves when it’s a red light and is caught, they must move back to the start line. The first player to tag the Stop Light wins and gets to play the next Stop Light!
15. CAPTURE THE FLAG
There’s no better game to play than capture the flag if you want to get the children running around. In this game, divide the kids into two teams who must hide their team’s flag in their team’s area. Once the flags are hidden, the two teams must battle to grab the opposing team’s flag and bring it over to their side of the game before getting tagged! If you are tagged at any point by an opposing team player, you must go to jail, and you can only be released if you are tagged again by someone on your own team.
16. FREEZE DANCE
Want to get everybody dancing? You should play freeze dance! To play this game, turn on some music and encourage all the children to dance their hearts out. There’s just one rule in this super simple game: dance only when the music is on. Whenever you feel like it, pause the music. When the music is off, everyone must freeze in place! Whoever accidentally moves when the music is off is out of the game. Keep turning the music on and off until one winner remains.
Freeze dance is also a great game to play at school. Check out our list of back to school games for more games like this.
17. SIMON SAYS
Another classroom classic that makes for a great Labor Day game for kids is Simon Says. One player stands in front of everyone else and gives commands. But each command must start with the phrase, “Simon says.” If the commander does not say “Simon says” before a command, don’t follow the command! If you do, you are out.
18. SACK RACE
A sack race is a great way to get everybody laughing out loud. Of course, to play this game, you’ll need a stack of potato sacks or large pillowcases if the children are small enough to fit. Line everybody up behind the designated starting point and have all the children put both feet inside their sack. On your mark, everybody races to the finish line by hopping their way within their sack! The first person to cross the finish line wins the race.
19. DUCK DUCK GOOSE
Everyone has played duck duck goose at some point in their lives. And there’s a reason this is a classic game you can play both indoors or outdoors, perfect for any weather when the weather can be volatile during this time of year. To play, everyone must sit in a circle, with one player playing “it.” It goes around the circle, tapping players’ heads as they say “duck” to each player. However, at any point they want, they may say “goose” instead of “duck.” The goose must then get up and chase the other player around the circle and try to tag them before they can steal their seat!
20. BALLOON STOMP
No party is complete without some balloons. Why not turn the balloons into a game and play balloon stomp? In this game, players must tie a balloon onto their ankles. Then, when you blow the whistle, all the players must try their best to stomp on other players’ balloons. But try not to get your own balloon popped! If your balloon pops, you are out of the game. The last player standing wins!
LABOR DAY GAMES FOR ADULTS
So, we’ve already covered the best Labor Day games for both kids and families, but if you are having an adults-only affair or simply want to keep the adults entertained as the kids play in the background, these are the best adult games to get the party going. We’ve got a mixture of drinking and non-drinking Labor Day games to appease every type of adult.
21. BEER PONG
Starting off with a classic drinking game that involves cups, beer pong is best played by two teams of two. The two teams stand on either end of a long table and set up 10 cups in a pyramid shape. Fill these cups one-third of the way with beer or another drink of your choice.
Then, the teams take turns throwing two ping pong balls into the other team’s cups. If a ping pong ball lands inside a cup, that team must drink the contents before removing the cup from play. The goal of the game? Get rid of all of the other team’s cups!
You should check out our full list of the best Beer Olympics games if you want to turn beer pong into a whole-day affair.
22. KING’S CUP
King’s cup, also called ring of fire, is one of our favorite drinking card games. In this game, you’ll put a cup in the middle of the table and create a ring of cards around it using a standard deck of cards minus the jokers. Before you begin, make sure everyone agrees on the rules for each of the cards, as there are many variations played around the world.
Once everyone agrees, players can now take turns removing one card from the ring. Each card has a rule associated with it that the players must follow. For example, 3 is me, meaning the person who drew the card must take a drink.
23. FLIP CUP
Flip cup is a relay-type drinking game that’ll get everybody’s energy up for the Labor Day party! In this simple game, divide everybody into two teams and have the teams stand side by side on a long table. Each player should have a cup filled with alcohol.
Then, when the game starts, the first player of each team must drink the contents of their cup and their flip their cup by flicking the bottom of the cup on the edge of the table and getting it to land face down. When the cup is successfully flipped, the second player of the team must do the same. Keep going down the table as fast as possible. The first team to finish wins!
24. DRUNK TWISTER
Did you know you can play Twister as a drinking board game, perfect for smaller parties? If you’ve played Twister before, you already know the basic rules of drunk Twister. But there are a couple of other rules to keep in mind:
- Each spot on the mat will have a shot glass or cup.
- Whenever a player occupies a space with a drink on it, they must drink it first before they can use it.
- If you fall, take a shot as punishment!
25. WEREWOLF
A great non-drinking party game perfect for large numbers of people is Werewolf. Werewolf is a hidden role game, meaning each player is given a secret role to play throughout the game. While there are many roles to play, the gist is that the villagers try to kill the werewolves, and the werewolves try to kill the villagers, trying their best not to get caught. This is a really entertaining and social game that you could easily play for hours on end!
26. DIZZY BAT
Dizzy bat is a fun outdoor drinking game that’ll get everyone dizzy, tipsy, and laughing out loud. To play, players quickly finish their drinks and then put their heads on a bat to spin around 10 times! Yikes! Then, to complete the game, another player will throw a ball at them, and they must try their best to hit in their dizzy state.
27. COOK-OFF
Labor Day is a great excuse to do a potluck, so why not turn the potluck into a game and host a cook-off? Either have everybody cook their dishes at home and bring them to be judged by all the other players. Or if you have a large enough kitchen, have everybody battle it out in the kitchen! All players judge and pick their favorite dish.
28. PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT
The photo scavenger hunt is one of our favorite team building games that also work in a Labor Party setting. Just like a standard scavenger hunt, each team will be given a list. But instead of items, each team must complete the photo prompts. Examples include:
- A human pyramid
- Drawing whiskers on someone’s face
- A dog
- Someone swimming in a pool
The first team to complete everything on the list wins the game!
29. LABOR DAY TRIVIA
Who doesn’t love some good old trivia? But since it’s Labor Day, why not make some of the questions Labor Day- or USA-themed? This game is best played in teams of 2 to 5, with the team with the most correct answers winning the entire game.
Having trouble preparing the trivia? Here are 400+ trivia questions and answers you can use.
30. MINUTE TO WIN IT GAMES
Minute to win it games are a great way to pass the time at any party. Here are some of our favorite minute to win it games, perfect for adults:
- Junk in the trunk: Contestants get an empty Kleenex box filled with ping pong balls. Tie the box to each contestant, and they must try to shake out all the balls without using their hands.
- Give me a kiss: Unwrap as many Hershey Kisses as possible.
- Rapid fire: Put 6 cans in a pyramid formation. Players stand 6 to 8 feet away and try to knock down the pyramid using rubber bands.
- Thread the needle: Thread as many needles as possible.
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