Most modern yard games, including the ones above, cater to a wide range of ages and activity levels. The best have universal appeal, meaning they can be learned, played, and enjoyed by just about anyone, including younger children to teenagers to adults (with or without a drink in hand). If you’re shopping for new yard games for your next backyard BBQ, the most important thing to consider is the ages of your guests. Young players might gravitate more to simpler games like cornhole and ladder ball. Older guests might prefer those with a bit more strategy like bocce, Spikeball, and KanJam.

Ease of transport and setup may also be factors. If the games you’re buying will rarely leave your backyard, this won’t be an issue. In fact, many are weatherproof (or at least weather-resistant), so they can be setup and left outdoors semi-permanently. If, however, you’re planning to camp with them or take them to your friends’ and neighbors’ houses, you may want to consider games that are lightweight, compact, and easy to setup and tear down. An included carry case also makes toting them around easier as well.

There are thousands of yard games available, with new games and upgraded versions of old games released each year. We researched dozens of the most popular and best-reviewed games to find the best of the best. We compared everything from ease of learning to build quality to fun factor to price. The list above represents our honest picks of the seven best yard games to shop for your next outdoor get-together in 2022.