Okay, it’s officially summer, and the livin’ is easy: We’re spending our first weekends at the beach, lazy afternoons in the park, maybe the sprinkler’s on in the backyard–and ooh–playtime! I grew up with lots of siblings who like to play games and have been fortunate to continue to grow up around lots of little ones who also like to play. Here are three no-fail outdoor games for every age from Bobbi Conner’s Unplugged Play: No batteries. No plugs. Pure fun.

Toddlers (age 1-2):

Water Painter (page 72 , in case you happen to be following along in your books) is an activity that’s simple to set up and even easier to clean up. Gather together some small plastic buckets (and a paint tray if you have one), fill them about 2 inches with water, and gather up paint brushes and rollers. Bathing suits optional!

Toddlers love to “paint” the deck, sidewalk, patio, railings, or deck furniture. And they’re very persistent–even when the designs evaporate quickly in the sun. The no-fail element is that this one works wherever there’s a relatively smooth outdoor surface to paint on–whether they’re painting the paved suburban sidewalk or the steps of a city brownstone.

Preschoolers (age 3-5):

Bucket-Head (page 195) requires a little bit of setup, but it’s worth it. Once you have the “bucket head,” the game is pretty irresistible, even for the adults with a silly side (yes, I’ve been known to not only play, but excel at Bucket-Head from time to time). For each bucket head, you need a plastic headband, some sticky Velcro tabs, and a clean 8-oz plastic container (like a Cool Whip tub). Remove the lid from the container and attach a few Velcro tabs in a line on the outside bottom. Then stick the corresponding tabs along the top of the headband. Attach the container to the headband, put on the headband–congratulations, you’re a bucket head! Gather up some small sponge or Nerf balls, or ping-pong balls, and start playing. To avoid getting hit in the face, the bucket head can turn with his or her back to the tosser, but the idea is to get the ball into the bucket. Fair warning: once the bucket heads are on, there’s no telling what new game might be invented. Can you scoop the ball off the grass with your bucket head? Can you toss the ball from your bucket head? No-fail because who doesn’t love a Bucket-Head?!

Gradeschoolers (6-10):

Beanbag Target Toss (page 271) is a combination of two classics: Beanbag Toss and Darts. Grab some sidewalk chalk and draw a circular target split into pie pieces with a bull’s eye in the middle. Assign each section a number of points and draw a “pitching line” several feet away. If there’s a group, simply take turns to see who can score 50 points first. Or, if your kid wants to go solo, add a timer–see if he or she can reach a score of 50 before the buzzer sounds! No-fail because it’s competitive and they get to add (see, you can still brush up on your math skillz even when school’s out for summer!).

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And lest we leave anyone out, here’s a suggestion for the older set (kids at heart and all that–or those who want to mix some cocktails with their play)–check out The Games Bible by Leigh Anderson (I’m especially partial to “Get Down, Mr. President!” on page 310). No-fail element: the tackle. Need I say more?

There’s no denying it: Snow is fun. Especially if you’ve got a copy of  Snow Play by Birgitta Ralston. But even the most devout sledders, skiers, and snow sculptors can get tired of the stuff after a while.While I love a good snowball fight just as much as the next person, sometimes I’d rather get my jollies in the comfort of my cozy, warm living room. Lucky for us, there’s The Games Bible, Leigh Anderson’s awesome guide to having fun the old-fashioned way. Below is an excerpt from the book: one of my favorite games, Four on the Couch. I love it because it’s perfect for when you’ve been cooped up for days and desperately need to move around and act silly, but don’t want to spend an hour pulling on layers of winter gear (only to realize that you have to pee). Stay warm, and have fun doing it!

Four on the Couch

Four on the Couch is a group game of strategy and memory in which two teams shuffle seats until one team gains control of all four seats on the sofa, thereby winning the game. The trick to the game is that you are not you—you are playing the role of someone else in the group, and someone else is playing you. And each time you change seats, your role changes too. This is kind of a grown-up version of King of the Hill, in which (in my household, at least) kids wrestle for control of the sofa, frequently rolling off the top and collapsing in a heap.

Players: 8-14
The Gear: A couch, which counts as four seats. If you don’t have a couch, pretend that four adjacent seats are a couch. Seats, arranged in a circle, one seat per player, plus one empty seat. The couch (or couch-replacement) counts for four of these seats. Slips of paper, pencils.

The Game Plan

• Divide the players into two even teams. One team should distinguish themselves from the other team by wearing hats, rolling up their pants legs or shirt sleeves, etc. Or just pit men against women.
• Instruct the players to write their names on slips of paper and put the slips in a hat.
• Each player draws a slip and examines it, but does not reveal the name to the other players. Each player assumes the identity of the name on his or her slip (not to act like or imitate that person—although you could play that way if you want—just remember that if Eileen’s paper says “Mary,” Eileen will have to move whenever someone calls “Mary”).
• To start the game, have the players sit in the chairs, alternating team members so that no two team members are sitting next to each other. Seat two people from each team on the couch. There will be one empty seat, but not on the couch.
• Play begins with the player to the left of the empty seat, who calls out a name at random. It is permissible to call out either the name of someone on your own team or a member of the other team. (In the beginning, players will not know the “identities” of the other players, so it will be random. If Bob calls out “Mary,” he will not know, at this stage, that Eileen’s slip of paper says “Mary” and that it will be Eileen who moves when Mary’s name is called.)
• Whoever has that name on his or her slip must move to the empty seat. His now-vacated seat will be the new empty seat.
• The player who was called trades slips of paper with whoever called him. The players who have traded slips of paper assume their new roles. Trading the slips of paper every time someone moves makes it more difficult to remember the slips people have.
• Stealth Strategy: If you can’t memorize who’s playing what role, at least try to memorize who’s already on the couch and the roles that those people are playing. Avoid calling out names that would remove your teammates from the couch and do try to call out a name that would put your team on the couch.
• Play always passes to the player to the left of the empty seat.

Winning: When all four people on the couch are from the same team, the game is over and that team wins.

—Avery, who really could’ve used this book when she was a camp counselor.

The holidays are in full swing, but if you’re anything like me you’re probably still struggling to figure out what to get many of the people on your list. Well look no further, because Workman employees have very helpfully told me what they’re getting for their loved ones, and when I put it all together I got (drum-roll please) the 2010 Workman Holiday Gift Guide Extravaganzaaaa!

That’s right—it’s the ultimate gift-giving resource, divided into three easy parts. This morning’s installation is all about gifts for Kids and Kids-at-Heart. So go ahead: Consult the list to find the perfect gift for even your hardest-to-shop-for friends and relatives. Then stay tuned for part two, The Grown-Ups’ Table, and part three, Might-as-Well-Be-Family Friends, coming up later today and tomorrow morning.  Plus, if you’ve got any suggestions for other holiday present-shoppers, leave them in the comments!

For Kids and Kids-at-Heart:

• “I am giving my 1-year-old son Henry Indestructibles: Jungle Rumble! because in the past month he has become a messenger of mayhem. He especially loves ripping up paper, so I’m going to thwart him with this title. Winner: Mama!” —Camille
• “I’m giving Potato Chip Science to my cousins, because they learn best when they are hands-on!” —Cristina
• “My niece is getting Amazing Cows, because she swears by Sandra Boynton, and swears when she doesn’t get Sandra Boynton books.” —Randall
• “My 7-year-old daughter is obsessing over TV ads for the latest toy craze, “Teacup Piggies.” Santa can give her the trashy toy; I’m putting the Pocket Pigs calendar under the tree so she can have real-live cuteness long after the batteries die (and count for herself how many days it is until her birthday!).” —Page
• “My brother gets the Who Farted? Calendar. Yes, he’s in his late 50s, but he’s a pediatrician, so he said he’d put it in his examination room at the hospital and it would really break the ice with new patients.” —Beth
• “I’m giving Doodle: A Chalkboard Calendar to my daughter, to tell her how much I appreciate her goofy creativity. And I Will Teach You to Be Rich goes to my son, who’s just out of college and in a job that pays less than publishing … I’m a Ramit Sethi convert, and I think my son will worry about money less if he automates it more.” —Suzie
• “My youngest sister’s getting a copy of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, because not much rocks harder than a girl drummer. My other sister will love playing all the ridiculous games in The Games Bible with her new college friends.” —Avery
• “I’ll give Generation T and Generation T: Beyond Fashion to my creative niece, who aspires to be a fashion designer. And thought I’d package it with a few blank T-shirts to get her started!” —Kathy
• “I’m giving Beautiful Oops! (not just for kids!) to an aged hippie grandmother friend who relentlessly “embraces” creativity wherever and however she finds it. Which is everywhere.

Keep your eye on this space for Part 2: The Grown-Ups’ Table, coming this afternoon!

Join us and Leigh Anderson, author of The Games Bible, as we play “Triviaphile,” a brand new urban game that will be played for the first time ever on the streets of Manhattan this Saturday, Oct. 30th from 2-4 PM.

Bring your colleagues, friends, and family! The event is free and open to everyone–click here to sign up ahead of time, then meet in front of Le Pain Quotidien at 69th Street and Central Park West, near the Sheep Meadow of Central Park. We hope to see you there!

For more about The Games Bible, read the New York Times’ book section article featuring Leigh Anderson (and a secret game of Ministry of Silence held at a Barnes and Noble).

This weekend the World Maker Faire is coming to NYC for the first time. And Workman will be there! Stop by our “Camp Make” booth in the Craft Corral in Zone B at the former World’s Fairgrounds in Queens to meet and make with some of your favorite Workman authors! Make fashion, make explosions, make puppets, make yourself smarter, make robot art, make a difference, and more!

• Debbie Stoller will be signing books, handing out project recipe cards, and holding a yarn give-away in anticipation of her forthcoming Stitch’n Bitch Superstar Knitting.
• Allen Kurzweil (and son Max) of Potato Chip Science will demonstrate their Potato Propulsion Pipe experiment.
• Noel MacNeal will host a 10-Minute Puppets make-and-take where kids can decorate their own paperbag puppets, fluttery butterflies, and tiny elephants.
• Megan Nicolay will host a T-shirt refashioning demo and mini-workshop and sign copies of Generation T and Generation T: Beyond Fashion.
• Randy Sarafan and his sidekick, the adorable Squiggle Bot (one of the 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer) will be signing books and creating original Squiggle Bot artwork for attendees.
• Do Something will help attendees find that “thing” thing they’re passionate about and design their own personal Do Something! Superhero.
• And more! Play massive games from The Games Bible, fold origami, brainstorm new solutions for Kids Make It Better, take the Bananagrams challenge, experiment with Potentially Catastrophic Science, make-and-take a Papertoy Monster…plus visit our button-making station so you can walk away with your own Camp Make badge of honor!

World Maker Faire is a festival full of, well, making. In addition to the fun at Workman, there will be incredible feats of technology and stunning visual displays (ArcAttack’s Singing Tesla Coil as seen on America’s Got Talent), family-friendly activities (the BioBus!), delightful eats (gourmet truck food, anyone?), live music, and a crafty yarn bomb. If it can be made, it will be there: A 13,500-lb, 40-ft-tall Raygun Gothic Rocket, a life-size version of the game Mouse Trap, a bubbling Coke-Mentos fountain… In other words, it’s going to be epic.

If you are in the NYC area and decide to come (day and weekend passes are available for on-site purchase), please stop by the Workman booth and say hi!

What:

World Maker Faire at the NY Hall of Science at the former World’s Fair Grounds in Flushing Meadows, Corona Park, Queens!

Where:

The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI)

47-01 111^th Street

Queens, NY 11368-2950

When:

Saturday,  September 25 10 am – 7 pm

Sunday,  September 26 10 am – 6 pm

I don’t remember being into car games as a kid, mostly because I was too busy thinking up subtle ways to tick off my sister, and not get caught by my parents. But now that I’m older, I find them endlessly amusing. And unlike some of my more clever peers, I like the silly, mindless games. Somehow being stuck in traffic on the Jersey turnpike doesn’t make me want to get all high-brow and problem solve, I want to be entertained.

Leigh Anderson’s The Games Bible, which is true to its title, offers more games than you can imagine – outdoor games, party games, Victorian parlor games, right-brain games, kid-approved games – with choices for everyone at any skill level.  So if you’re stuck in a car over the long weekend, here’s an easy way to break up the time:

Band Name, Album Name, or Boat Name?

A quintessential road trip activity, it keeps you alert to your surroundings, your creativity pumping, and the conversation flowing. Created by Thi Nguyen, the game’s participants keep an eye out for any unusual words or phrases seen from the road that could be a band name, album name or boat name.  The words can come from anywhere: signs, advertisements, bumper stickers, etc. As you see a word or phrase that catches your fancy, you point it out to your companions, and decide which of the three categories it would best suited.

As an example, on Thi’s road trip, it was decided that “Dave’s Laundry” would be an album name, “Your Money or Your Life” would be a band name, and “Loading Zone” would be a boat name. Your companions may disagree, but mild disagreement can only improve the discussion.