Lawn Games We Love, Beyond Cornhole

Summary

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The Wirecutter Show

Episode Summary: "Lawn Games We Love, Beyond Cornhole"

Original air date: July 3, 2026
Hosts: Kyra Blackwell, Rosie Guerin
Guest: James Austin (a.k.a. “James Games,” Wirecutter staff writer)

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Episode Overview

This summer-themed episode is a practical and lively guide to outdoor lawn games, perfect for anyone looking to go “beyond cornhole” at their next park picnic, family gathering, or beach hang. Hosts Kyra Blackwell and Rosie Guerin welcome back Wirecutter's James Austin to discuss overlooked, innovative, and strategic lawn games—suitable for a wide range of ages, abilities, and group sizes. The episode is packed with specific game recommendations for every scenario, insightful anecdotes, and actionable tips for making your summer gatherings more fun and less repetitive.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Ubiquity (and Limits) of Cornhole

• Cornhole’s dominance:
  • “If you’ve ever been to a football tailgate or a brewery anytime past, like, 2010, you’ve probably seen cornhole.” — James Austin (03:06)
  • Simple, accessible, but perhaps played out for some.
• History:
  • Origin dates back to mid-1800s; beanbags instead of corn originally. Midwest popularized using corn.

Why Look Beyond the Classics?

• Testing curiosity:
  • “It just became the game that everybody was accessible, could bring out. And it’s fun, but at a certain level, there’s gotta be something else, right?” — James Austin (03:59)
• Observations while researching:
  • Outdoor games have not evolved much conceptually; most are “throw a thing at another thing” (04:29).

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Game Recommendations by Scenario

1. Competitive Groups

Recommended Game: Spikeball

• “It’s essentially a version of on-the-ground volleyball, for lack of a better term … Really fun if you aren’t over the age of 30 and not quite fit … But very fun if you’re really competitive and really want to have like a physical sort of like we’re here to sweat.” — James Austin (05:12)
• Best for teens or adults; not recommended for younger kids due to difficulty.

2. Mixed Ages & Abilities

Recommended Game: Ladder Golf

• Simple set-up; not much physical skill required.
• Unique mechanics: “Most people are not familiar with throwing bolos … you can kind of experiment, but it’s still very much the low level.” — James Austin (06:34)
• Anecdote: Kyra played this on a city rooftop—easy, contained, fun (07:25).

3. Large, Social Groups/Teamwork

Recommended Game: Kubb (aka “Viking Chess”)

• “A little bit of a longer game than your normal, like bag toss or ladder golf ... gives you some more choice in the way to play the game, which I really appreciate.” — James Austin (08:00)
• Encourages strategy and teamwork; great as a recurring group tradition.

4. Portability & Easy Packing (Parks, Camping, Couples)

Recommended Game: String Trees

• “String shuffleboard”—set up between two trees/poles, sliding metal rings along the string to score (11:45).
• Folds up small; convenient for travel. Other Recommendations:
• Hive (or Hive Pocket): A chess-like, two-player “bug tile” game that’s windproof and travel-friendly (12:28).
  • “I call it Fun Chess because I actually hate chess. But I love Hive Fun Chess.” — Kyra Blackwell (12:46)
• Azul: Chunky components, also portable outdoor-friendly.

5. Unexpected Bad Weather (Indoors or Covered Patios)

Recommended Game: Ladder Golf

• As per Kyra’s rooftop story, works great indoors even for inebriated groups (13:26). Other Suggestions:
• Non-lawn party games: Monikers, Codenames.

6. Tailgating (Small Space, Want Variety)

Recommended Game: Can Jam

• Teams throw Frisbees at a can with a slot for scoring; more interactive than cornhole because both teammates are always engaged (13:57).
• “It encourages a little bit more interaction for both sides of the team because you have the thrower and you have somebody who’s trying to bounce in into the target area.” — James Austin

7. Large Park with Room, But No Frisbee

Recommended Game: Kubb

• “You can set up a really big playing area.” Wildcard Idea: Fly a kite
• “Fly a cheap kite. … That’s the most running around in a park I’ve done recently. And it was a ball. It was great.” — James Austin (15:34)

8. Beach, Want to Get Sweaty

Recommended Games: Kite flying or Spikeball

• Sand is ideal for aggressive/safe dives while playing Spikeball (15:42).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s gotta be more to life than cornhole.” — Rosie Guerin (04:23)
• “It’s fun, but at a certain level, there’s gotta be something else, right?” — James Austin (03:59)
• “Nobody did it and, you know, we played it all night. So it was all levels of drunkness.” — Kyra Blackwell about rooftop ladder golf (07:43)
• “Hive is a chess-like game ... It’s really good. The pieces are like plastic, really hard to damage, won’t blow off in the wind. Really great two player game.” — James Austin (12:28)
• “That was the wedding present she gave them … What a great wedding gift.” (Cube sets as a tradition) — Rosie Guerin / James Austin (09:14–09:21)
• “Throw a thing at another thing” — James Austin, summing up most outdoor games (04:29)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:06] — What is cornhole? A quick background on its history and play.
• [04:29] — Outdoor games are often variations on the same theme.
• [05:12] — Competitive group scenario: Spikeball explained.
• [06:34] — Mixed-age scenario: Why ladder golf is great for inclusivity.
• [08:00] — Introducing and explaining Kubb (Viking Chess).
• [11:45] — Portable games for couples or backpackers: String Trees, Hive.
• [13:26] — Weather turns: What can move inside? Ladder Golf & party games.
• [13:57] — Tailgate scenario: Can Jam keeps everyone involved.
• [15:34] — Park with no frisbee: Try Kubb or just fly a kite.
• [15:39] — Beach setting: Kite flying or spikeball for a real workout.

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Episode Takeaways

• There’s a vibrant world of lawn games beyond cornhole—some old, some new—with options for any group, skill, or mood.
• Consider portability, group size, competitiveness, strategy, or even the weather when choosing your game.
• Game traditions (like gifting homemade Kubb sets for weddings) make for memorable gatherings and lasting memories.
• Sometimes the simplest pleasure—like flying a kite—can become the unexpected highlight of your summer.

For more details, recommendations, and product links, check Wirecutter’s Outdoor Games Guide linked in the show notes.

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Transcript

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[Kyra Blackwell]

I'm Kyra Blackwell.

[Rosie Guerin]

I'm Rosie Garant and you're listening to the Wirecutter Show. Hey, Kyra, Rosie.

[Unidentified Female Speaker]

Hey. Hi.

[Rosie Guerin]

We're into summer. Yeah.

[Kyra Blackwell]

It's time to party, I think.

[Rosie Guerin]

Party. We're going to be outside somebody inevitably, whether you're in the park, whether you're at the beach, whatever. Somebody's pulling out a game.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Oh, 100%.

[Rosie Guerin]

Are you a game person?

[Kyra Blackwell]

I love games.

[Rosie Guerin]

Do you love a lawn game?

[Kyra Blackwell]

I do. Except for Cornhole. I feel like it's overplayed.

[Rosie Guerin]

And frankly, what else is there beyond cornhole? Exactly.

[Kyra Blackwell]

And I get it. Everybody knows it. And therefore it's easier to just, like, whip out and nobody has to learn the rules. But Rosie, I'm tired of cornhole.

[Rosie Guerin]

Yeah. And I mean, I guess there's bocce. Old school.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

I guess when we were kids, we had an old croquet set that, like, once a summer we would take out. And that was really fun. How plush of you. It is. Yeah. Trey Posh. Not terribly portable.

[Kyra Blackwell]

No.

[Rosie Guerin]

Not an easy setup. There's gotta be more.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I think I'm ready to try something new. And that is why we're here today. We're going to be bringing on James Austin, AKA James Games.

[Rosie Guerin]

James Games.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Love him. He's a staff writer covering games and hobbies here at Wirecutter. And he actually joined us last year to talk about board games and tabletop games for any kind of game night. Today he's going to tell us about some outdoor games that you've hopefully never heard of that you can just whip out all summer long, get out in the sun away from the screens and play something new. Or maybe you've even got a Fourth of July gathering planned for tomorrow. Now will be a fun time to just run to the store and try one out.

[Rosie Guerin]

I'm always excited to talk to James. And I love that conveniently we have someone to talk about every topic. I know. I love it. James, welcome back.

[James Austin]

Hey, thanks for having me. I'm happy to be back.

[Kyra Blackwell]

James. Games, we're always so excited to have you on, and today we're talking about lawn games. So I think when most people think about outdoor games, they think of things like cornhole, frisbee, or, you know, just, like, kicking or throwing a ball around. And before we even get to the other games that you might recommend, James, we would love for you to actually just explain what cornhole is.

[James Austin]

Yes. So cornhole. If you've ever been to a football tailgate or a brewery anytime past, like, 2010, you've probably seen cornhole. Two boards on either side of the playing field with a hole sort of in the top center. Goal is to try to throw beanbags through the middle of the hole. That's it. We don't really know why it's called cornhole, by the way. It's sort of like we. We assume it's because people in the midwest had corn and filled bags with it. But the history of cornhole, like, games goes back to, like, the mid-1800s, so it's kind of.

[Rosie Guerin]

Oh, really?

[James Austin]

Yeah. Usually beanbags was the, like, main component for a while, and then corn sort of became the medium of choice when the Midwest kind of took it up and it became popular there.

[Rosie Guerin]

I do love a bit of cornhole for this lawton games guide that you wrote, James. You've got cornhole recommendations, But I want to know what intrigued you about looking beyond the classics.

[James Austin]

So I grew up in the shadow of a major college, the university of central Florida. Go, knights. So I went to a lot of tailgates as a child and then as a young adult and then as a college student. And cornhole was inevitable everywhere. It just became the game that everybody was accessible, could bring out. And it's fun, but at a certain level, there's gotta be something else, right? There's gotta be more things. And so that sort of drove a little bit of that curiosity.

[Rosie Guerin]

There's gotta be more to life than cornhole. Exactly what surprised you during the testing, James?

[James Austin]

I think what mostly surprised me mostly in the research and then borne out in the testing, is that a lot of the games haven't really evolved very far from throw a thing and another thing, which is it's a. Can't knock it. Like, it's an easy thing to set up. Exactly. But there's not as much innovation in that, in the outdoors. Games field. As I expected, this started to change.

[Rosie Guerin]

James, Kyra and I are gonna throw out some possible scenarios folks might encounter this summer and we want you to give your best recommendation for meeting the moment.

[James Austin]

Sounds good.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay, first scenario. A group of super competitive people. What's the game you're pulling out and how do you play?

[James Austin]

So my first instinct with this, and this is one of the reasons why it's not a recommended for most kind of game in our guide, is a game called Spikeball, which if you've been in a public park, you've seen this. If you have a group of young people around a circle and they're just manically yelling and hitting a ball towards it, that's spike ball. It's essentially a version of on the ground volleyball, for lack of a better term. The goal is you're supposed to spike the ball against the net that everybody's sort of surrounding and the other team then has to volley it back and then spike it back down and it goes back and forth like a little volleyball match. Really fun if you aren't over the age of 30 and not quite fit like you're tester might be, but very fun if you're really competitive and really want to have like a physical sort of like we're here to sweat.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I could see that getting really intense very fast.

[James Austin]

Very much so.

[Rosie Guerin]

This was brought to a family gathering that I had recently and intended, I think for two four year olds, a five year old and an eight year old. And I don't think it was the one.

[James Austin]

Yeah, I probably wouldn't recommend it under like mid teens. It does require a fair amount of hand eye coordination which again, during our testing I discovered I don't have a lot of. So that was, that was fun.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Okay. So that does lead into our next scenario though. Like what if you do have a mix of ages and physical abilities, but you just want everybody to play and hopefully they can learn it pretty quickly too.

[James Austin]

Yeah. So I think for the record, cornhole's a great version of this. It's very low key, very casual, but if you're looking for something a little bit out of that lane, something that's also you might have seen at barbecues or tailgates, is something called ladder golf. Usually it's a frame of three bars of varying heights, normally made out of pvc, but occasionally you'll find like metal versions. The one we recommend is metal and you're throwing bolos, which are two balls tied with a string to try to get them wrapped around different bars. For a certain amount of points. Yeah. A little bit different. Most people are not familiar with throwing bolos. Like, the physics of it is just a thing they're not used to. And there are a couple different approaches that you can take and try out, which is fun. You can kind of experiment, but it's still very much the low level. You can kind of play with a beer in your hand kind of game, because nobody really starts out being very good with it. You kind of just don't have to be very competitive about it.

[Rosie Guerin]

An even playing field to start.

[James Austin]

Exactly. Yeah.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I actually did play this game last 4th of July on a rooftop. Yeah. And I, you know, I had a drink in my hand and I was throwing it around and it was great. And it was the perfect. Like, you don't need a bunch of space to play this game. And we were never at risk of, you know, like, even throwing it off the roof. It's very contained.

[James Austin]

That was going to be my question. I'm terrified of playing drawing games off the roof.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Nobody did it and, you know, we played it all night. So it was all levels of drunkness.

[Rosie Guerin]

So how about a big group of people that are going to be hanging around for hours. Something maybe with a little bit more strategy and teamwork. Maybe this is played earlier in the evening.

[James Austin]

Yeah. So one of my. The games that I discovered in this testing, which I really came to love, is a game called Kub. K U, B, B. I love Kubb. Kub is so good. It's essentially you have two lines of kubbs, which are small wooden blocks, and each team's trying to throw pins to knock over the Kubbs. And then that team can throw the kubbs back onto the field in strategic places to try to make them more hard to hit. A little bit of a longer game than your normal, like bag toss or ladder golf. Strategic. Feels strong, but it gives you some more choice in the way to play the game, which I really appreciate.

[Kyra Blackwell]

This game has a different name, doesn't it? Don't people call it, like, Viking something?

[James Austin]

It's occasionally called Viking chess, which I looked into a little bit. It does seem to have Scandinavian roots. Whether that you associate that with Viking or not, it's kind of up to you. But, yeah, people do call it Viking chess every now and then. Maybe a little bit simplistic in terms

[Rosie Guerin]

of chess terms, but I used to get together with a big group of friends every Memorial Day weekend. And one year one of the friends brought a cube set and we just took to it and it became a thing that we played every year. So much so that she started to make her own cube sets.

[James Austin]

Oh that's so fun.

[Rosie Guerin]

And gave them to couples like as the couples in in the group got married. That was the wedding present that she.

[James Austin]

What a great wedding gift. That's so nice.

[Rosie Guerin]

So thoughtful.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Okay, we're going to take a quick break and then when we come back, more game scenarios and recommendations from James.

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[Kyra Blackwell]

We're back with James Austin who writes about games for Wirecutter. We're tossing him different outdoor scenarios where we might want to play something new. Okay, so James, next scenario. I'm heading to a park or a camping trip with my partner and I don't want to lug a big unwieldy game Set with me the whole time.

[James Austin]

Yeah. So I will say KUB is pretty good for that. It's pretty contained, easy to travel around with. But one of our picks is called String Trees, which is sort of made for this packability small outdoor game. It's essentially string shuffleboard. You have a string that you put up in between two trees or posts or whatever you have. Convenient. And you try to slide rings, metal rings along it to get them into scoring zones. It's a little bit of like trying to strategically block your opponent to make sure that when they throw their rings down, it hits yours into a more advantageous position. Really fun. Packs up into a tiny little thing. Really easy to travel with. Might also say that more traditional sort of like tabletop games that travel outside are really good for this. So Hive or Hive Pocket, really easy to travel. It's such a good game.

[Rosie Guerin]

I love Hive. What is Hive?

[James Austin]

Hive is a chess like game where you're trying to move bug tiles around to surround your opponent's queen tile. It's really good. The pieces are like plastic, really hard to damage, won't blow off in the wind. Really great two player game. And then Azul is another game that has a lot of very chunky components and travels fairly well.

[Kyra Blackwell]

My partner and I always travel with Hive. Like we played in the airport when we're waiting for our plane and it's just like. I call it Fun Chess because I actually hate chess. But I love Hive Fun Chess.

[James Austin]

I believe the headline for Hive in one of our two player games picks is Chess but fun. Yes, is my pitch for it, which is a little bit nagging chess, which I shouldn't, but yeah, that is so funny.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay, here's a scenario. How about, you know, you're outside, you're having a great time, the weather suddenly turns, but you have a garage or a basement or a covered patio. What game could possibly be played indoors where you still maybe need a little space?

[James Austin]

Yeah. So I think there is some level of how much do you care about damage to your inside space when you're playing these? But as Kyra pointed out, Ladder Golf. Great for this sort of constrained space. Scenari, I have a bias. If I'm being chased back indoors at this point, I'd probably revert to more of my party game stuff. More like monikers, codenames. But if you're still looking for something active and standing up, Ladder Golf really does that well.

[Kyra Blackwell]

So what if I'm tailgating? So I don't have a lot of room, but I want to Mix it up. Instead of playing, you know, beer pong

[James Austin]

or cornhole, I really like a game called can Jam for tailgating, which is you have again, throwing things at other things, but in this case the teams are throwing flying discs. So Frisbees at a trash can sized thing with an open top and a little slot in the front. And the goal is to try to get the Frisbee into the slot in the front. But if you miss, your teammate can kind of bounce the Frisbee to try to score it through the top and you get sort of extra points that way. It encourages a little bit more interaction for both sides of the team because you have the thrower and you have somebody who's trying to bounce in into the target area. Whereas in like cornhole ladder golf, it's sort of you're watching your teammate play for a little while and then you get to play back. So I kind of like that more interactive can jam thing for tailgate specifically because it can get rowdy and that's

[Rosie Guerin]

fun and you don't need that much space for can jam.

[James Austin]

It varies. I have found that depending on the skill of the Frisbee thrower, it can actually be quite a close game. The angle of attack on Frisbee, if you're bad at it, needs to be fairly small.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay. So to that end, a scenario where I'm in a park, I've got lots of room, big lawn, but I don't want to play Frisbee.

[James Austin]

Yeah. So the problem is that a lot of the games when I initially think of for this question, is Frisbee based. So Can Jam, Bottle bash. But if you wanted to avoid Frisbee entirely, I think kub's great. For a large space. You can set up a really big playing area. But honestly, and this is not in any of the guides, but it's something I've done recently that I had a great time with. Fly a cheap kite. It's mostly running in my experience, but that's the most running around in a park I've done recently. And it was a ball. It was great.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Another scenario, what if I'm on a beach and I'm really not afraid to work up a good sweat?

[Rosie Guerin]

I mean, kite number one kite also.

[James Austin]

Yeah, very good at this. But spike ball, I feel like is made for exactly that setting. It sort of encourages you to take suicidal dives into the sand in a way that like, I am less worried about dislocating my shoulder on some soft sand than I am on, like turf or pavement. And so you can get a little bit more into the physicality of spike ball if you're at a beach setting. Plus when you get hot and sweaty, you just, just dump into the ocean and then come back out.

[Rosie Guerin]

James, thank you so much for joining us. We always have fun when you're here.

[James Austin]

Happy to help. I always have a good time too.

[Rosie Guerin]

We're going to link to James's reporting on outdoor games in the show notes. And of course you can always find more on our website. The Wirecutter show is executive produced by me, Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Kiel. Engineering support from Matty Mazziello and Nick Pittman. Today's episode was mixed by Katherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Alicia Beteup, Rowan Namisto, Katherine Anderson and Diane Wong. Cliff Levy is Wirecutter's deputy publisher and general manager. Ben Fruman is Wirecutter's editor in chief.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I'm Kyra Blackwell.

[Rosie Guerin]

And I'm Rosie Guerin. Thank you for listening.

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This year's girls trip to Telluride was the best. We one upped ourselves with my Sapphire Preferred card and with 5 times points on Chase Travel, plus 3 times points on vacation homes with top brands. We got this incredible cabin.

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It was a mansion.

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And with three times the points on dining, we ordered a wagyu steak dinner

[James Austin]

and that pistachio gelato was too good.

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So where should we go next? Next year?

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