Top 5

Favorite Summertime Games

06/15/2019

Addicted to your phone? Give your eyes some sweet relief from the screen—and that dangerous blue-light exposure—with some old-school fun this summer. Here, five of our favorite games, whether you're bound for the beach, picnic or BBQ. They're social in the very best way—laughing and hanging out with friends and family IRL.

1. Bocce
Think Italian bowling. One of the world's oldest games, it's seen a resurgence of late, taking it beyond the senior-citizen stereotype. Chances are there's a bar with a bocce court near you, like Brooklyn's Union Hall or Dallas' The Grove at Harwood.

2. Pétanque
Like bocce, but French. Another classic, it's a great anywhere activity and—as actress Elke Sommer shows us here—one you can play while looking consummately stylish.

3. Cards & Board Games
Go for traditional favorites with a childhood nostalgia factor or play a round of the for-adults-only newcomers, like Cards Against Humanity and—for the person going through digital withdrawal—What Do You Meme?

4. Jenga
We have to thank event planner Mimi Brown for this rec—she clued us in to the new trend of ombré Jenga sets. Pretty, chic and fun? Sign us up.

5. Cornhole
An all-American classic, beloved by coeds and Silicon Valley techies alike...

Actress Elke Sommer playing pétanque at Cannes, 1962, photographed by Paul Schutzer/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images