• Grab your group and head outside for some fun group games.soccer match image by Jakub Niezabitowski from Fotolia.com
  
  Summer is the perfect time to get outdoors and have some fun. This summer get your whole group together and spend time bonding by starting up a group game at your next BBQ. Whether you have three people in your group or twenty, these games all can be modified to accommodate a group of any size and age range.
  
  

Relay Race

• Summer offers the perfect time to put together a relay race. Since you can have as many participants as you want, it's suitable for a group. There are many websites offering suggestions for relay races. You can also use your own imagination to create a course all your own. Divide your group into teams. Set starting and ending points. The first team to make it all the way through the course wins. Incorporate water into the race to help cool off on hot days, or grab a few scarves and make it a three-legged race for extra challenge.
  
  

Baseball

• Grab some friends and hit the field. Baseball is not only a great American pastime, but also a great summer game. You don't need an actual field to play on. As long as you have a ball, bat, and some makeshift bases, you can play anywhere. Play a game for fun or start a tournament to determine the best team.
  
  

Capture the Flag

• Capture the Flag is a classic children's game and a great summer group game. Two groups are formed and given a flag. Each team then tries to cross the other team's border to capture that team's flag. They must then make it back to their own side safely without being tagged. The first team to capture the other team's flag wins. Use water guns or water balloons to add a fun twist. Just be sure to aim below the chest. No one wants a face full of water while playing.
  
  

Beach Ball Volleyball

• Whether you are playing at the beach or on the grass with a net, Beach Ball Volleyball is a lively alternative to regular volleyball. Although it is recommended that you divide the group into two teams of six you can modify the game to play with as many players as you want. Choose who serves first. The player in the back right-hand corner of the court is the server. Teams try to hit the ball over the net and points are scored when the serving team successfully hits the ball over the net and the opposite team fails to return it. Play the best two out of three games to determine the champion.
  
  

Flashlight Tag

• Summertime means warmer nights and warmer nights means more time spent outside when it's dark. One great night game is Flashlight Tag. Combining hide-and-seek with tag, the "it" person is given a flashlight, stands inside the designated "jail" and counts to a predetermined number while the other players hide. When the "it" person has finished counting, he must go in search of the others. When the "it" person spots someone, he must shine his flashlight on that person to tag him. The tagged person is then sent to jail where he must wait until all the other players have been caught. The last person to be caught wins. There are many variations on the game and it can be easily toned down or amped up, depending on your party's age range.