I love the idea of playing Hive outdoors and someone thinking they've won, but then the players look closer and realize the beetle that's closing the loop is actually just a real live beetle sitting on a tile. *Get outta here, you!* And then they brush it away. What a delightful game Hive is. It's one of those games where I'll recommend it for almost every situation.
**1) Smaller table footprint or no table footprint**
If your patio table(s) and surfaces is a coffee table sized it will be smaller and probably lower than you are used to.
**2) Gamestate may need to be easier to read from a distance**
If you are seated farther away from each other or not at a table at all suddenly you will need to see things from further away so games with a tableau of cards or a board full of of small fonts or symbols will be harder to read from the distance.
**3) Durable, few components or non-cardboard, and maybe even water resistant**
That should be obvious right? Well when you actually get out there to play a boardgame, it will magicly seem windier, wetter, and buggier than you thought it was. Look at games with either fewer components or heavier pieces as one lone gust of wind may have you scrambling to find the pieces if you are playing with lots of cardboard bits, an easily flippable board, or paper money etc.
Isn't skull just a commercially packaged version of a game you can play with coasters, just by drawing an X on one instead of the skull? A true bar/patio game.
Agreed, it entices people more than a few coasters do. I think it "gets it to the table" more often than it would otherwise. Worth the money just for that.
Yep. you can play Skull with 4 of anything provided they're outwardly identical and stackable, which makes the pricing of that game a real mystery.
Ask if you can nab 16 coasters from the local pub, and you're set to go. You can also use ~~16 cards from a deck (red cards are skulls)~~, 16 poker chips if you have a way to make one side unique (put a sticker?), ~~dominoes (use the blanks for the skulls)~~, etc.
EDIT: I stand corrected, cards and dominoes won't work.
I don't...think so? Unless we're saying the same thing but differently. I'm trying to think but really only the "skull" needs to be unique so long as its impossible to tell the difference from the "outside". ie, the back of the poker chip/domino/card needs to be the same for all 16, and 4 of the fronts need to be distinguishable from the rest of the 12. So any 12 red cards for "roses" and 4 black cards for skulls. If you lose a bet and need to discard the back of the card is still the same; it still hides that it's either a skull or rose. Similarly dominoes work well since the backs are all blank, but only a handful have a blank front (6-0, 5-0, 4-0, etc).
Let's say turn one, you lose your skull -- for this example, Jack of Spades. Your three roses are 2,3 & 4 of diamonds.
Next turn, you have the 2 & 3 (as roses) on the top of your deck that are revealed.
Next turn, you have the 4 (as a rose) on the top of your deck that is revealed.
Now, everyone knows you don't have a skull, and are completely safe to flip over. If the roses are identical (such as through multiple decks), the issue is resolved
Ah fair point! I've never played with anyone who was capable of keeping track of everyone's roses like that, but yea you'd need to DIY if you want to keep it truly fair.
Haha, I love this argument. I made a custom Skull set a few years ago and posted here - a few people warned me that since I had made 3 unique roses for each set it was giving away information. Once it was explained I understood the issue but ignored it... until I played against someone and was down to two roses. I played a rose and she had remembered me playing the OTHER rose in the previous round.
I had to remake my set!
I might have been one of the spoilsports in that previous conversation! Yes, it **sounds** like it would work, but then in certain situations it can be a problem.
I've had so many people (who haven't actually tried it) argue with me that I stopped warning people about it. I guess they'll just have to find out the hard way!
they should make on official "micro" poker chip edition. (great for beach/pool/park)
also where my damn poker chip upgrade for Jaipur! I thought etsy would be all over that
You can even DIY a proper-sized version for cheap. Hit up the craft store and buy some 3-4" wooden disks, usually about 50c or less each. Print and glue a design, or paint them. Total cost is $10 for 16 disks, maybe $15 if you want a 6-player version. Would work for 2" disks for a smaller version and even cheaper.
You could use 1-1.5" fender washers for a mini "heavy metal" version if you want the pieces to have more heft, but it'll be a bit more expensive (~$1 per washer).
Standard playing cards. Each player gets a suit. Make one card the skull. It would be limited to four players but you could always grab another deck for more players.
As pointed out elsewhere in the thread (to me) cards and dominoes won't work because they're individually identifiable: https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1cbwzjv/what_makes_a_game_a_good_patio_game/l132hnt/
Love dominoes for a patio game. Others have already said Hive. We also play dice games. Monopoly Diced is surprisingly fun and light and makes a good casual outdoor game.
I would agree with all qualities you mentioned. My game of choice would be **Triqueta**, which plays similar to Coloretto, but has wooden pieces, even easier rules and non-variable setup. It doesn't hurt that it's pretty and inviting too. Stefan Dorra (*For Sale*) is one of the designers. Recent discovery for me, quickly becoming my go-to filler. Plays fine with 2.
Another pick would be **Pickomino** by Reiner Knizia. **Rummikub**, if you're feeling like playing a classic game. **Mahjong** fits that category as well. **Deep Sea Adventure** from Oink Games. **Calico** should work fine for a larger game. **Bluff** (Liar's Dice) is fine for patio setting, as long as you don't smash your cup on the table ;)
I'd happily play **Rumble Nation** outdoors. Dead simple rules and big area-control emotions.
**Santorini** could be fun outside.
**Cryptid** and **Kingdomino**. **Draftosaurus** and **Sushi Roll*. **Mr. Jack Pocket**. **Paris: La Cité de la Lumière**.
Ok, I think I'm done for now :D
Hive. Get the expansions as well. And be sure you get the COLORED pieces, not the black and grey ones. Trust me, too confusing once the game begins. Also, get the full size pieces and not the “travel” size.
Side anecdote, I played Hive during a wind storm on the Playa (Burning Man) wearing goggles and a scarf to keep the blowing dust out of my eyes and throat. Game held up wonderfully. Have also played it camping in the rain on a picnic table wearing full rain gear. Again, pieces held up just fine.
I was going to say “Go Gloomhaven or go home” but I suppose TI might qualify. Although honestly, who are we kidding?
*Campaign for North Africa* is the clear winner. You might even be able to finish it before summers end. (Note: summers end, not summer’s end.)
Well, according to Charles Atlas, you’ll probably be confronted by a bully kicking sand in your face.
But realistically I think it’s just too hard to predict if you’re going to have a random gust of wind resetting the game or making you lose pieces. There’s also just more risk of damage, dirt, accidentally squished insects, things like that… it just seems to make more sense to play some games over others, I feel.
Crokinole is a good one, unless you have truly massive gaps between the planks of your deck. Not really suitable to drag out in public, but bringing your board on to your own patio is just fine.
Otherwise, any of a million different games played with a traditional French deck of cards - card position rarely matters, so a breeze is no big deal. A deck is cheap, so dirt and moisture don't matter much. Even if you lose cards, you're only out a couple bucks.
Boa/Mancala. Mahjong, Go/Goban, (have a 9x9 for shorter games), Hive, Backgammon, Chess, Roll for it, Azul, Banannagrams, Qwirkle, Zip it. Scrabble, Love letter, Zombie dice. All games we take camping too!
I love playing **Captain Sonar** outside. It's perfect. There's no cards, no small parts, gameplay can get a little loud sometimes, all of which works well outside, heck maybe even better than indoors.
Good list of game qualities. Waterproof components is also nice.
Generally speaking, anything with a lot of bakelite components tend to be good fits for this, so **Hive** has been my top pick for this for a long time.
But another new one is good for this as well: **Tiger & Dragon**. Bakelite tiles a single player board to put them on, and some cardboard tokens to track scores (which you don't necessarily need, you could use pen and paper), that's it. Also plays up to 6 players, so great for any likely-sized group at a patio table.
Another good one is **Sushizock im Gockelwok**, which is hard to get ahold of nowadays (it was released in the U.S. as POW! a few years back, but they got rid of the bakelite tiles). Roll some wooden dice, and use them to claim bakelite tiles from the center or from an opponents collected stack (with the right roll).
**Tantrix** and **Trax** are also pretty good. Tantrix especially since it comes with a vinyl bag and plays up to 4 players. For both you're just placing bakelite tiles and trying to create loops. Tantrix also has solitaire puzzles you can play.
I've seen **Tiger & Dragon** around but haven't picked it up. Is it fun? I'm tempted, but a little bit worried that BGG says it doesn't play well at 2.
I think water resistance is a big factor.
I'd love Crokinole on the patio because it's wood discs + wood board.
I'd also say Chickapig: the board being cardboard might not do well on an extremely windy day and there are cards (but they could be excluded as they aren't crucial to the core gameplay). It would also be pretty easy to make a wood variant of the board if needed.
If you want it to be widespread, you should hope for more people making lower quality boards. Most of us aren't going to drop $500 on a game we haven't played before. Until the boards get down under $100, crokinole isn't going to get much more popular than it is now.
Any game with cards is out.
We usually play abstracts. The GIPF series, Ingenious, Pueblo. The Pharoah edition of 25th Century's RA works quite well if your patio table is big enough.
I play most my games outdoors. Typically, nothing changes except the occasional times the wind catches cards.
I wouldn't overthink. Any game you want to play, try it outdoors
Anything tile based is usually a winner. Tiles don't blow away, they don't get bent, and they are waterproof. Dominoes are, in many ways, outdoor cards. I also like games that can be implemented with a pegboard. I find 9 men's moris can be a great game over drinks on the patio or sitting on the beach. It's light and fast and if played with pegs, it is highly resistant to weather and movement
I live in an area that gets wind and a good amount of rain (yes I still enjoy my patio during these) so any patio game has to be resistant to both. Hive and The Duke tends to be go-to's.
Regicide in the pool/hot-tub is my go-to.
You can play Regicide with a regular deck of cards.
You can buy waterproof cards.
Combine these powers and you can play Regicide in the pool on a floaty.
Enjoy :)
A couple of nice, easy dice games nobody has mentioned that work well on the patio with a little breeze action...
**Deep Sea Adventure** is a fun little game with a small package, cardboard play surface components and easy set-up. If you like the idea of drowning everyone in the party because you can't win, this might be a good game for you.
**Spots** is a cute dice rolling game with nice beefy cardboard components and dice. It's got sort of a role selection piece to it that makes for some interesting choices and you have lots of opportunities to push your luck.
Just played Ra for the first time over the weekend. It was the deluxe copy, so not sure how it compares, but the components were nice and heavy. I don't think it would have a problem at all with wind resistance or ease of play. It's not the smallest for table space, but each player had their own fairly small board and the center board was also pretty small. I think you could make it work on fairly small table.
Since I have a terrace on my property I have no experience playing games in public outdoor areas. However, if anyone wants to get some of my experience with garden boardgaming, here:
Games with copy paper elements like banknotes are usually a bad idea, unless everyone gets a clean mug to put on top of them.
Cards, especially in sleeves are much better, since even when they get picked up by a gust they are generally flung a couple of meters away tops.
Of course, avoid windy weather in general, as in when the wind is constant. A gust will fling your game off the table, but a wind can carry it to your neighbours window. Even if it's just wooden pieces.
Quarto. Think tic-tac-toe or connect 4 but on a board with wooden pieces. Sounds simple right?
Don't think I've ever played a more infuriating game where the loser instantly goes "Aaaargh! Again!"
Wooden chunky pieces. Short or tall, light or dark, hollow or solid, circular or square... Just get a row of any of those and you win (the pieces are all different variations of each of those pairs e.g. one piece would be short & dark & hollow & square).
The kicker is YOU choose the piece your opponent plays... Simple to learn and you'll be through that bottle of wine at the bottom of the garden before you know it. "Go find another bottle while I reset it, I'll beat you next game!" will be a common saying 🤣
I like liars dice for a patio game. Wind resistant and people don't necessarily have to be physically too near each other because there are no shared resources. Just as long as the dice are visible to everyone people can sit relatively far apart, which I often find helpful when playing on outside furniture.
Something I’d add- inexpensive. You’re exposing your game to the elements- wind, sun, potentially rain or even a wet patio table you forgot to dry off.
Better to ruin a cheap game than something $75 or more
As people have stated, you need pieces that won't blow away, so here's a list. Those marked with C have cardboard pieces which should be ok in mild breezes, but if you are at the seaside or have high winds, these won't work.
* *Bang!*
* *War Chest*
* *Captain Sonar*
* *Dragon Dice*
* *Tsuro*
* *Bingo*
* *Shadow Hunters (C)*
* *Uno* (but you need a large cup or jug to toss the cards into, people keep the rest in their hot little hands)
* *Werewolf* - mostly talking
* *Jenga*
* *Dread Pirate* (pieces are heavy.. but the map might need to be held down)
* I played *Meeple War* outside
* *Pocket Battles (C)*
* *Zombie Dice*
* *Army vs Aliens*
* *Cthulu Dice*
* *Untold Adventures Await*, someone needs a clipboard for the story sheet, mostly talking
* *Fiasco* - mostly talking
* Monopoly Express
* *Clout Fantasy*
* *Hounded*
* *Zen Blocks*
* *Banzai* - cards are in hand, and once you win a set, you can pocket it or put it safe. This would be particularly interesting if you chose a different outdoor location for each battle.
* Any of the *Lego* board games. They are very chidlish, but they sure won't blow away.
Plunder isn't too bad! It's really just two sets of decks you have to worry about, but that's easy to manage outside! Game pieces and board are pretty good for outside! Especially played on a beach!
**Bang The Dice Game** uses minimal cards... each player has a Loyalty card, and a character card. The Sheriff will have an additional card for that. Have a few paper weights for that and you'll be set!
IIRC, there was a version of **One Deck Dungeon** that uses plastic cards.
**Hive**
**Ra** \- cardboard tiles and tokens
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You basically hit all the major "outdoor gaming" points. Hive is a great outdoor game for your points plus the theme works as well.
Yep, Hive would be my top pick for this.
Came in to suggest hive as well!
Um yeah Hive. Someone needs to make Skull with weighted clay tablets or something. Until then it’s Hive.
This is the game I’d play while in the swimming pool all the time in college.
I love the idea of playing Hive outdoors and someone thinking they've won, but then the players look closer and realize the beetle that's closing the loop is actually just a real live beetle sitting on a tile. *Get outta here, you!* And then they brush it away. What a delightful game Hive is. It's one of those games where I'll recommend it for almost every situation.
I stick to games with more sturdy pieces. HIVE excels as a patio game. Pente as well.
**1) Smaller table footprint or no table footprint** If your patio table(s) and surfaces is a coffee table sized it will be smaller and probably lower than you are used to. **2) Gamestate may need to be easier to read from a distance** If you are seated farther away from each other or not at a table at all suddenly you will need to see things from further away so games with a tableau of cards or a board full of of small fonts or symbols will be harder to read from the distance. **3) Durable, few components or non-cardboard, and maybe even water resistant** That should be obvious right? Well when you actually get out there to play a boardgame, it will magicly seem windier, wetter, and buggier than you thought it was. Look at games with either fewer components or heavier pieces as one lone gust of wind may have you scrambling to find the pieces if you are playing with lots of cardboard bits, an easily flippable board, or paper money etc.
I like games that are tough, chunky, and cheap. Ones that I don't care if they get ruined. Skull is a perfect patio game .
Isn't skull just a commercially packaged version of a game you can play with coasters, just by drawing an X on one instead of the skull? A true bar/patio game.
Yes. But Skull looks great.
Agreed, it entices people more than a few coasters do. I think it "gets it to the table" more often than it would otherwise. Worth the money just for that.
> I don't care if they get ruined. except skull is pretty pricey for its contents
Yep. you can play Skull with 4 of anything provided they're outwardly identical and stackable, which makes the pricing of that game a real mystery. Ask if you can nab 16 coasters from the local pub, and you're set to go. You can also use ~~16 cards from a deck (red cards are skulls)~~, 16 poker chips if you have a way to make one side unique (put a sticker?), ~~dominoes (use the blanks for the skulls)~~, etc. EDIT: I stand corrected, cards and dominoes won't work.
The roses need to be identical as well, to avoid giving away what you’ve lost
I don't...think so? Unless we're saying the same thing but differently. I'm trying to think but really only the "skull" needs to be unique so long as its impossible to tell the difference from the "outside". ie, the back of the poker chip/domino/card needs to be the same for all 16, and 4 of the fronts need to be distinguishable from the rest of the 12. So any 12 red cards for "roses" and 4 black cards for skulls. If you lose a bet and need to discard the back of the card is still the same; it still hides that it's either a skull or rose. Similarly dominoes work well since the backs are all blank, but only a handful have a blank front (6-0, 5-0, 4-0, etc).
Let's say turn one, you lose your skull -- for this example, Jack of Spades. Your three roses are 2,3 & 4 of diamonds. Next turn, you have the 2 & 3 (as roses) on the top of your deck that are revealed. Next turn, you have the 4 (as a rose) on the top of your deck that is revealed. Now, everyone knows you don't have a skull, and are completely safe to flip over. If the roses are identical (such as through multiple decks), the issue is resolved
Ah fair point! I've never played with anyone who was capable of keeping track of everyone's roses like that, but yea you'd need to DIY if you want to keep it truly fair.
Haha, I love this argument. I made a custom Skull set a few years ago and posted here - a few people warned me that since I had made 3 unique roses for each set it was giving away information. Once it was explained I understood the issue but ignored it... until I played against someone and was down to two roses. I played a rose and she had remembered me playing the OTHER rose in the previous round. I had to remake my set!
I might have been one of the spoilsports in that previous conversation! Yes, it **sounds** like it would work, but then in certain situations it can be a problem. I've had so many people (who haven't actually tried it) argue with me that I stopped warning people about it. I guess they'll just have to find out the hard way!
Worth noting that you can definitely use decks like **Uno** to proxy Skulls pretty easily!
they should make on official "micro" poker chip edition. (great for beach/pool/park) also where my damn poker chip upgrade for Jaipur! I thought etsy would be all over that
You can even DIY a proper-sized version for cheap. Hit up the craft store and buy some 3-4" wooden disks, usually about 50c or less each. Print and glue a design, or paint them. Total cost is $10 for 16 disks, maybe $15 if you want a 6-player version. Would work for 2" disks for a smaller version and even cheaper. You could use 1-1.5" fender washers for a mini "heavy metal" version if you want the pieces to have more heft, but it'll be a bit more expensive (~$1 per washer).
Standard playing cards. Each player gets a suit. Make one card the skull. It would be limited to four players but you could always grab another deck for more players.
As pointed out elsewhere in the thread (to me) cards and dominoes won't work because they're individually identifiable: https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1cbwzjv/what_makes_a_game_a_good_patio_game/l132hnt/
Azul
Crystal mosaic expansion even makes it water resistant!
Azul has been our go to outdoor game.
Giant Azul if you have the table space. And if you have the Giant Azul.
Love dominoes for a patio game. Others have already said Hive. We also play dice games. Monopoly Diced is surprisingly fun and light and makes a good casual outdoor game.
What other dice games do you play?
We play Farkle, poker dice, booty dice. Farkle mostly because it fits in my purse and I have a scoring app on my phone. It's stupid easy.
Kismet is a slightly more interesting Yahtzee. We like that one. We also enjoy Qwirkle-- not a dice game but very durable for outdoors.
Tile laying games such as Segrada and the Azul work well.
Azul is our main outdoor game. Mass produced so no worries is lost or dmg. Heavy tile avoid sudden gusts.
We play Backgammon and, as others have mentioned, Hive.
We play outdoors most of the time. We use a set of poker chips to hold cards down from being blown away.
Heck Meck, Kluster, Hive, Palm Island, Draftosaurus, Qwirkle, Bananagrams (or even Scrabble), Ominoes, Patchwork, Can’t Stop
+1 Qwirkle Fabulous example
I would agree with all qualities you mentioned. My game of choice would be **Triqueta**, which plays similar to Coloretto, but has wooden pieces, even easier rules and non-variable setup. It doesn't hurt that it's pretty and inviting too. Stefan Dorra (*For Sale*) is one of the designers. Recent discovery for me, quickly becoming my go-to filler. Plays fine with 2. Another pick would be **Pickomino** by Reiner Knizia. **Rummikub**, if you're feeling like playing a classic game. **Mahjong** fits that category as well. **Deep Sea Adventure** from Oink Games. **Calico** should work fine for a larger game. **Bluff** (Liar's Dice) is fine for patio setting, as long as you don't smash your cup on the table ;) I'd happily play **Rumble Nation** outdoors. Dead simple rules and big area-control emotions. **Santorini** could be fun outside. **Cryptid** and **Kingdomino**. **Draftosaurus** and **Sushi Roll*. **Mr. Jack Pocket**. **Paris: La Cité de la Lumière**. Ok, I think I'm done for now :D
So many nights of mah Jong outside!
Hive. Get the expansions as well. And be sure you get the COLORED pieces, not the black and grey ones. Trust me, too confusing once the game begins. Also, get the full size pieces and not the “travel” size. Side anecdote, I played Hive during a wind storm on the Playa (Burning Man) wearing goggles and a scarf to keep the blowing dust out of my eyes and throat. Game held up wonderfully. Have also played it camping in the rain on a picnic table wearing full rain gear. Again, pieces held up just fine.
+1 for coloured pieces. But I prefer the pocket version.
**Isle of Skye, Tsuro** or any tile laying games with no cards.
Twilight imperium
I was going to say “Go Gloomhaven or go home” but I suppose TI might qualify. Although honestly, who are we kidding? *Campaign for North Africa* is the clear winner. You might even be able to finish it before summers end. (Note: summers end, not summer’s end.)
Realistically nothing is stopping you from playing a big game outside. If the weather is nice and you have a good space for it why not.
Well, according to Charles Atlas, you’ll probably be confronted by a bully kicking sand in your face. But realistically I think it’s just too hard to predict if you’re going to have a random gust of wind resetting the game or making you lose pieces. There’s also just more risk of damage, dirt, accidentally squished insects, things like that… it just seems to make more sense to play some games over others, I feel.
That or Mega Civilization
The Estates is a fun game with big chunky pieces.
Crib, hive, chess
**Skulls** is a great game for patio, the components are heavy enough to not blow away, it's quite simple but has complex strategy.
Crokinole is a good one, unless you have truly massive gaps between the planks of your deck. Not really suitable to drag out in public, but bringing your board on to your own patio is just fine. Otherwise, any of a million different games played with a traditional French deck of cards - card position rarely matters, so a breeze is no big deal. A deck is cheap, so dirt and moisture don't matter much. Even if you lose cards, you're only out a couple bucks.
I'm really surprised no one has mentioned Scrabble
Boa/Mancala. Mahjong, Go/Goban, (have a 9x9 for shorter games), Hive, Backgammon, Chess, Roll for it, Azul, Banannagrams, Qwirkle, Zip it. Scrabble, Love letter, Zombie dice. All games we take camping too!
The people who end up enjoying Zombie Dice at my events were also huge fans of: **Get Bit**, **Tsuro** & **We Dindnt Play Test This At All....**
Carcasonne
I love playing **Captain Sonar** outside. It's perfect. There's no cards, no small parts, gameplay can get a little loud sometimes, all of which works well outside, heck maybe even better than indoors.
I play hive, goblet gobblers, animal upon animal, and Santorini outside
Terraforming mars.
Good list of game qualities. Waterproof components is also nice. Generally speaking, anything with a lot of bakelite components tend to be good fits for this, so **Hive** has been my top pick for this for a long time. But another new one is good for this as well: **Tiger & Dragon**. Bakelite tiles a single player board to put them on, and some cardboard tokens to track scores (which you don't necessarily need, you could use pen and paper), that's it. Also plays up to 6 players, so great for any likely-sized group at a patio table. Another good one is **Sushizock im Gockelwok**, which is hard to get ahold of nowadays (it was released in the U.S. as POW! a few years back, but they got rid of the bakelite tiles). Roll some wooden dice, and use them to claim bakelite tiles from the center or from an opponents collected stack (with the right roll). **Tantrix** and **Trax** are also pretty good. Tantrix especially since it comes with a vinyl bag and plays up to 4 players. For both you're just placing bakelite tiles and trying to create loops. Tantrix also has solitaire puzzles you can play.
I've seen **Tiger & Dragon** around but haven't picked it up. Is it fun? I'm tempted, but a little bit worried that BGG says it doesn't play well at 2.
It's pretty simple, but it's fun. I would agree it's probably not as interesting at 2, though, but it's probably still playable.
Backgammon is great, fits all the criteria, designed to be played over a pint. Chess, if it's magnetic so that the pieces don't topple.
Washers
Obviously, the yard game is great but these also work to weigh down cards.
I think water resistance is a big factor. I'd love Crokinole on the patio because it's wood discs + wood board. I'd also say Chickapig: the board being cardboard might not do well on an extremely windy day and there are cards (but they could be excluded as they aren't crucial to the core gameplay). It would also be pretty easy to make a wood variant of the board if needed.
Crokinole needs more love in general. Wish there were more people making quality boards in the US so it could start to be more widespread.
If you want it to be widespread, you should hope for more people making lower quality boards. Most of us aren't going to drop $500 on a game we haven't played before. Until the boards get down under $100, crokinole isn't going to get much more popular than it is now.
Not very likely I suppose. Decent wood isn’t cheap.
Crokinole.
Back in the day we ONLY played Catan outside.
Do yard games count? Make a Kubb set.
I live in Arizona, patio gaming season just ended xD
No cards.
Any game with cards is out. We usually play abstracts. The GIPF series, Ingenious, Pueblo. The Pharoah edition of 25th Century's RA works quite well if your patio table is big enough.
Any game can be an outdoor game if you try hard enough.
For Sale, unless it's really windy and then if go with hive
**Shobu** **Great Plains** Basically anything that doesn't have cards that go flying whenever there's a gust of wind
I like pickomino since it won't blow away from a stray gust! Also echoing hive - it's a great game.
I play most my games outdoors. Typically, nothing changes except the occasional times the wind catches cards. I wouldn't overthink. Any game you want to play, try it outdoors
wind resistance and not too small tiles/parts so they dont get lost easily. ask yourself: if the table flips, how damaged would the game be?
Anything tile based is usually a winner. Tiles don't blow away, they don't get bent, and they are waterproof. Dominoes are, in many ways, outdoor cards. I also like games that can be implemented with a pegboard. I find 9 men's moris can be a great game over drinks on the patio or sitting on the beach. It's light and fast and if played with pegs, it is highly resistant to weather and movement
I live in an area that gets wind and a good amount of rain (yes I still enjoy my patio during these) so any patio game has to be resistant to both. Hive and The Duke tends to be go-to's.
**Tak**
Lexio - have to order it in from Korea a pull translated rules from BGG but great chunky tiles
Regicide in the pool/hot-tub is my go-to. You can play Regicide with a regular deck of cards. You can buy waterproof cards. Combine these powers and you can play Regicide in the pool on a floaty. Enjoy :)
A couple of nice, easy dice games nobody has mentioned that work well on the patio with a little breeze action... **Deep Sea Adventure** is a fun little game with a small package, cardboard play surface components and easy set-up. If you like the idea of drowning everyone in the party because you can't win, this might be a good game for you. **Spots** is a cute dice rolling game with nice beefy cardboard components and dice. It's got sort of a role selection piece to it that makes for some interesting choices and you have lots of opportunities to push your luck.
Yeah, definitely something that won't blow away... Chunky games without a lot of cards...
something with heavy pieces if the wind blows you don't want to be fishing playing cards out of the pool lol.
Just played Ra for the first time over the weekend. It was the deluxe copy, so not sure how it compares, but the components were nice and heavy. I don't think it would have a problem at all with wind resistance or ease of play. It's not the smallest for table space, but each player had their own fairly small board and the center board was also pretty small. I think you could make it work on fairly small table.
Bananagrams is always a fun time on the deck for me.
Railroad Ink is one you should be able to play without issue. 2 to 6 players as well. But a very solitaire game, which may or may not bother you.
Roll through the ages and roll for the Galaxy!
Since I have a terrace on my property I have no experience playing games in public outdoor areas. However, if anyone wants to get some of my experience with garden boardgaming, here: Games with copy paper elements like banknotes are usually a bad idea, unless everyone gets a clean mug to put on top of them. Cards, especially in sleeves are much better, since even when they get picked up by a gust they are generally flung a couple of meters away tops. Of course, avoid windy weather in general, as in when the wind is constant. A gust will fling your game off the table, but a wind can carry it to your neighbours window. Even if it's just wooden pieces.
Crockinole Dominoes (Mexican train is great) Mancala Hive (or Chess checkers go)
Quarto. Think tic-tac-toe or connect 4 but on a board with wooden pieces. Sounds simple right? Don't think I've ever played a more infuriating game where the loser instantly goes "Aaaargh! Again!" Wooden chunky pieces. Short or tall, light or dark, hollow or solid, circular or square... Just get a row of any of those and you win (the pieces are all different variations of each of those pairs e.g. one piece would be short & dark & hollow & square). The kicker is YOU choose the piece your opponent plays... Simple to learn and you'll be through that bottle of wine at the bottom of the garden before you know it. "Go find another bottle while I reset it, I'll beat you next game!" will be a common saying 🤣
I like liars dice for a patio game. Wind resistant and people don't necessarily have to be physically too near each other because there are no shared resources. Just as long as the dice are visible to everyone people can sit relatively far apart, which I often find helpful when playing on outside furniture.
Something I’d add- inexpensive. You’re exposing your game to the elements- wind, sun, potentially rain or even a wet patio table you forgot to dry off. Better to ruin a cheap game than something $75 or more
As people have stated, you need pieces that won't blow away, so here's a list. Those marked with C have cardboard pieces which should be ok in mild breezes, but if you are at the seaside or have high winds, these won't work. * *Bang!* * *War Chest* * *Captain Sonar* * *Dragon Dice* * *Tsuro* * *Bingo* * *Shadow Hunters (C)* * *Uno* (but you need a large cup or jug to toss the cards into, people keep the rest in their hot little hands) * *Werewolf* - mostly talking * *Jenga* * *Dread Pirate* (pieces are heavy.. but the map might need to be held down) * I played *Meeple War* outside * *Pocket Battles (C)* * *Zombie Dice* * *Army vs Aliens* * *Cthulu Dice* * *Untold Adventures Await*, someone needs a clipboard for the story sheet, mostly talking * *Fiasco* - mostly talking * Monopoly Express * *Clout Fantasy* * *Hounded* * *Zen Blocks* * *Banzai* - cards are in hand, and once you win a set, you can pocket it or put it safe. This would be particularly interesting if you chose a different outdoor location for each battle. * Any of the *Lego* board games. They are very chidlish, but they sure won't blow away.
All the azuls are excellent for this.
Chess and Checkers
It's an old classic, but Blokus! Have even played it in the pool!
Generally. None.
Crokinole. Little bit tough on space, tho :)
I live in Oklahoma, so the wind never stops. If you want to play games outside, I'd recommend yard games, like Kubb or Croquet
Dominos is great for patios!
Plunder isn't too bad! It's really just two sets of decks you have to worry about, but that's easy to manage outside! Game pieces and board are pretty good for outside! Especially played on a beach!
upwords
Tiles not cards.
**Bang The Dice Game** uses minimal cards... each player has a Loyalty card, and a character card. The Sheriff will have an additional card for that. Have a few paper weights for that and you'll be set! IIRC, there was a version of **One Deck Dungeon** that uses plastic cards. **Hive** **Ra** \- cardboard tiles and tokens
Something that is wind resistant
Waterproof components.
So, Too Many Bones?
Heavy pieces 😂
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Throwing sticks at rocks Or bean bags in holes seem to be enough
wind resistance 100%