Who needs outdoor play time when your fam can take a mystical camping trip into the future?!

The year is 2200. Cars are a thing of the past, space travel is the new norm, and a moon discovered orbiting Mars is the trendiest vacation destination around. We are going camping out there, where trees grow upside down, lakes are bright red, and the only animals roaming around are zorks and blarks (and they're always looking to cuddle). You don’t walk on grass or dirt or pavement, but soft Martian powder that feels like you’re standing on a pillow.

This is one of our favourite stories we tell to start a classic YMCA Camp game, “Going on a camping trip.” It’s part of a wider genre of games, known as “Never Can Tells.” The idea underlying all of the games in this category is that, through storytelling, your “camper” (or, in this case, your kid) has to use their detective skills to figure out the underlying rule driving the story forward.

What you need:

• At least three people to play the game, including yourself. Ideally, you'll have another adult or an older child to help you. If you don’t have that many people in your household, make a video chat date! (We’re going camping in the future, after all…) Playing virtually means you can get your nieces, nephews, grandkids, and other family members in on the fun. Or, you can set up a virtual play date and play with your kids and their friends.


• Your imagination!

Here’s how you play:

1. Before you start, make sure the other adult or older child who's helping you knows how to play.


2. Explain to your child that you are going on the best camping trip ever! Ad lib an extravagant story like the one above — it’s half the fun.


3. Invite your child to come on this special camping trip, but let them know they can only join in if they follow the secret rule about what to pack. You can’t share the rule — it’s a secret! — so tell them they’ll have to figure it out for themselves, based on what the adults are bringing.


4. Start by saying, “When I go on the camping trip, I’m going to bring…” (then say something that starts with the letter A, like apples).


5. Get your helper who’s in on the game to go next. They say, “When I go on the camping trip, I’m going to bring…” (something that starts with the letter B, like baseball cards).


6. Now it’s your kid’s turn. Ask them what they’re bringing. If they say something that starts with the letter C, let them know they can come on the camping trip. It not, tell them it was a good try, but they’ll need to try again while you keep packing.


7. Continue working through the other players, following the rule, to help your kid catch on that you’re following the alphabet. When you come back around to them, they get to try again.

Take it to the next level

The first round is always the trickiest, since it’s all new for your kid. That’s what makes the alphabet rule a great one to start with, since it’s pretty simple. Once your child gets the hang of it, challenge them with some new rules, like:

• Words that start with the first letter of the player’s name.


• Words that start with the last letter of the most recent item mentioned (e.g. if someone says they’re bringing pickles, the next player needs to say something that starts with “s,” like sunshine, for example. Then, the next person would need to say something that starts with an “e,” and so on.


• Words that have a double consonant (e.g. attic, brilliant, bitter)

Or, make up your very own rules! Make sure you get some credit for your creativity; share your new rules with us at @YMCAGTA so you can help other parents get more mileage out of the game.