Turn your favorite digital games in to real-world fun
Armed with our smartphones and tablets, we’re spending more time than ever running, jumping, exploring mazes and solving puzzles—all without leaving the couch.
Many of the most popular game apps are about motion, but not the kind that keeps us fit. Those digital favorites, however, can be a great source of inspiration for real-life activities, allowing you to get outdoors, work up a sweat and maybe even discover some new skills.
To get started, take a swipe through the apps on your phone and start brainstorming.
Call of Duty
Hooked on the war games of Call of Duty? Enlist some friends and plan a trip to a paintball facility. You’ll get a great workout dashing through the course to avoid your opponents’ incoming fire, and you’ll get to show off those marksmanship skills you’ve been perfecting in your hours of game play. In many cities, you can find both indoor and outdoor courses and even sign up for leagues, if you want to make it a habit.
Temple Run
Hooked on the endless challenge of escaping that monkey and snagging more coins in Temple Run? Consider signing up for an obstacle course or adventure race, like the Tough Mudder or an event that requires you to combine running and picking up items on a scavenger hunt. They’re increasingly popular and available in more areas. Just use your device to browse for local options. Many can be done either as an individual or a group, making it a perfect way to get your pals involved, too.
Kids can also get in on the fun with an at-home scavenger hunt. Set up an obstacle course in the backyard or at a local park, and they’ll have a chance to get creative and burn off some energy trying to beat their best times.
Cargo Bridge
Addicted to the challenge of building bigger and better bridges with Cargo Bridge? Try your hand at real-life construction and help your community by signing up to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. You’ll get a chance to learn some new skills, meet people and get in a bit of a workout without even noticing. If Habitat isn’t building homes nearby, consider pitching in with other volunteer groups or offering to help out an elderly neighbor around the house.
Clash of Clans
When the kids are spending hours building up an army and perfecting their strategy skills with Clash of Clans, let them round up their friends and play an old-fashioned game of capture the flag.
Hide a flag or prize in two spots in the backyard or the park and let them map out how to capture the opposing team’s treasure without getting caught. But be warned—once the game gets going, they may want to keep it up for hours.
Plants vs. Zombies
If you enjoy the campy weirdness of using plants to ward off creepy looking invaders in Plants vs. Zombies, try growing a garden of your own or snagging a plot in a community garden. You may not get the adrenaline rush of using a pea plant to shoot at zombies, but you can use all those skills you’ve honed figuring out which plants need sunlight.
Tending to a garden provides a perfect excuse to get outside and soak in some much-needed vitamin D, and provides plenty of fresh, tasty veggies to use in your kitchen.