Fun game/activity for hiking kids: Nim

Pebbles - perfect playing pieces for a game of Nim.
Photo courtesy of Photoree.

Generally, exploring and discovery is enough for kids, but sometimes even they can grow bored with that and become restless. Remember that they naturally have shorter attention spans than adults.

Fortunately, there are lots of tried and true activities you can do on the trail that’ll keep kids from getting bored. Among them is Nim.

During the hike, have each person in the hiking party pick up 10 of the same objects – pine cones, pebbles, twigs, etc. During a rest break, these items then become the playing pieces for the ancient game of Nim.

In Nim, two players compete. On each turn, a player may pick up one, two or three objects. The player who picks up the last object wins.

Materials: Found objects on trail

Ages: 7 and up

Learn about more than a hundred other hiking diversions for kids in Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities.