While there’s beautiful scenery along the shores of Missouri’s rivers and streams, paddling and admiring the scenery isn’t the only thing to do on a float trip. There’s also plenty of games you and your friends can play that will not only teach canoe skills but entertain as well. Here are some competitive games for adult paddlers and creative games for younger ones.
A great game for building maneuvering skills and teamwork is “Blowing in the Wind.” This game is best played at the beginning of the trip when people’s energy levels are higher. Before you leave home, gather lots of brightly colored pool floats, Ping-Pong balls and other buoyant objects. When your group casts off from the pier, throw the objects into the water and have canoes compete to see who can gather the most objects. Another variation of this game is to have one canoe at a time pick up all the buoyant objects, timing each team to see who gathers the floating objects most quickly.
Look to your canoe’s gunwales for two more fun games. The first is gunwale racing where two or more people stand on their canoe’s gunwales. Line-up two canoes side by side and race down the river by bouncing up and down. The first canoe to make it to the finish line without losing their gunwale passengers wins. The second gunwale game is gunwale tipping where two people stand on the gunwales of the same canoe. The object of gunwale tipping is to tip the canoe and spill your opponent into the water. The last one to fall into the water wins. Be sure to wear life jackets and take necessary precautions. Gunwale games are best played by folks who don’t mind getting a couple of bruises or the risk of falling into the water.
End Your Float With Fun
Tug of War doesn’t have to be limited to the shore. After a long day of canoeing, tug of war is a great way to blow off steam. Assemble two teams of 3-4 people in two different canoes. Have one person in each canoe hold each end of the rope while everyone else paddles. The first canoe to pull the other an agreed upon distance wins the game. You can also tie the rope to the end of both canoes if you prefer to have everyone paddle.
Don’t Forget the Kids
For the younger members on your float trip Nature Spot is a great game that entertains for a longer period of time than the games described above. Like the game you play on road trips spotting objects from your car, Nature Spot has you spotting natural objects along the river. Each canoe is its own team, competing to spot objects beginning with each letter in the alphabet. Start by looking for ants for the letter “A.” You can skip the letters “q,” “x” and “z” if you prefer. For each spotted object the team earns one point. You’ll need one player to keep track of points and objects seen. The first team to find objects for all the letters in the alphabet wins. As an added incentive, the winning team gets to take a losing team’s supplies and tip their canoe and friends into the water. Choose an area of water that’s deep enough no one gets hurt but shallow enough that you minimize the risk of drowning.
