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Summer and Independence Day are great excuses to get outside at night and play some flashlight games with your friends and family. Not sure where to start? We’ve gathered together some of the classics to get you going. Plus we’re tying everything back into the gospel of Jesus Christ and how we can be lights.

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While you can play some games with just one flashlight it’s best to have one for each person who wants to play.

Flashlight Games

Firefly Tag- One person acts as the firefly that everyone else wants to catch. The firefly gets the flashlight and blinks it every 10 or so seconds as they hide and move around. Everyone else tries to be the first person to tag the firefly to win the game.
Light Limbo- Use the beam of your flashlights as a limbo bar and see how low you can go without touching the light.
Freeze Dance- Turn on the music and do some crazy dance moves. One person in the middle of all the dancers turns on the flashlight randomly and points it on someone. They must freeze instantly. If they move while the light is on them, they become the flashlight holder. Not dancers? Pretend to be statues instead. You can only move when it’s dark. Don’t let the museum night guard catch you!
Shadow Dance Party- Turn your flashlights so they shine on a blank wall then enjoy watching your shadows dance as you bust a move.
Shadow Charades- Again, turn your flashlights on a blank wall and play charades using your shadow. It’s a great time to get creative with shadow puppets.
Hide & Seek- Only the seeker has a flashlight, everyone else hides in the dark. If the seeker flashes their light on you (on purpose) you are tagged out and become the next seeker.
Light Stomp- One person shines their light on a safe to reach spot while everyone else races to be the first to stomp on or touch that spot.
Monster in the Dark- One person is the monster who tries to sneak up on the others without getting caught by a flashlight beam. Everyone else has their flashlights out trying to catch the monster. If the monster tags you first, you too become a monster.
Code Relay- Create a Morse code style of communicating then try to send each other messages across the way.
Spotlight Stories- One person starts the story. After 20 seconds, they shine their light on someone else to continue. Story continues until it comes to a natural end or you want to move on.
Hide and Shout- The seeker in this hide and seek twist shouts a question for the hiders to answer. They all quickly shout out an answer revealing their hiding spots. If no one is caught after the first question, a second question is asked. This time everyone must flash their light on and off quickly as they shout.

Print Light Games

Print out the light games to take with you and find some discussion questions you can use as well. Try one and see how it goes. Our favorite question is always asking what parallels they see between what you did and the gospel. We bet your family or church group has some great answers. Talking about the gospel in these fun, safe settings makes it easier to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ in other settings too.

These games are particularly great to enjoy as you wait for the Independence Day firework shows (or laser show now) to start. Then talk about light on your way home as you share your favorite fireworks too.

Looking for More?

Finish the night off with some s’mores! We’ve got some great recipes just waiting for you to try.
Make a paper lantern and continue your discussion on how we can be lights for Jesus Christ.
Enjoying these games on Independence Day? Check out our free coloring pages for the holiday too.
Playing indoors around the Christmas season? Check out our #LIGHTtheWORLD posts for even more fun and service ideas.

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