Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
Trending
  • Best Games of 2025
  • Fallout Season 2
  • Gift Guides
  • New Games for 2025
  • The Forge codes
  1. Games
  2. Action

How to make outdoor summer activities more like video games

Features
By David Houghton published 2 August 2013

Video games and sunlight need not be mutually exclusive

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Cruel summer

Cruel summer

Summer. It should be the optimum time for gaming. The annual games drought has started, leaving a few solid months of play-time in which to clear up last year's Christmas backlog before the autumn release schedule starts kicking in like an angry mule with a hangover. But there's a problem with summer. It's summer. The weather is great, there's plenty going on outside, and thus you're irretrievably drawn to the outside world, devoid as it is of TVs, monitors and convenient power supplies.

But there's a solution. Gamify all of those outdoor summer activities. Modify them so that they provide the same core experiences that video games furnish. Do that, and although you might be far from a controller or a mouse, you'll never be away from the gaming you crave. We've worked out nine such options, and if you click on we'll happily explain how they work.

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Simulate an MMO...

Simulate an MMO...

...by going to a sunny beer garden alone, befriending a few random strangers, and persuading them to go on a pub crawl with you. Just make sure to refer to it as a raid, and for extra authenticity try to communicate with your new friends only via text message.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Simulate FPS...

Simulate FPS...

...by painting your barbecue red, soaking the coals with petrol, and then lighting it with a burning match fired from a Nerf gun. Extra points if you have time to construct a home-made barbecue out of an actual barrel.

And as a follow-up barbecue activity, once the food is ready to go why not...

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Simulate reading game reviews...

Simulate reading game reviews...

...by asking a friend if they like their burger. If they say "Yes", tell them that they're an idiot for liking that burger, as the relish is clearly more cheap and commercial these days. Exclaim that they're obviously being paid by the burger manufacturer to promote their burgers. If, however, they say "No" (like for instance, if their burger is burnt), call them an idiot for not liking it, on the grounds that you happen to really like burnt burgers and thus they are inalienably wrong. Make sure to also accuse them of taking bribes from sausage manufacturers for bad-mouthing burgers.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Simulate an Elder Scrolls game...

Simulate an Elder Scrolls game...

...by going to the beach and fighting a crab. And while you're at the coast, why not...

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Simulate GTA III and early Assassin's Creed...

Simulate GTA III and early Assassin's Creed...

...by simply sitting down and staring at the sea in primitive dread.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Simulate draw distance...

Simulate draw distance...

...by going on a ramble through the countryside wearing powerful convex lenses. Usually used to treat long-sightedness, these will blur out everything in the distance by focusing the incoming light nearer to your eyes, thereby creating an authentic distance-fog effect. If you're already short-sighted, just take your glasses off. Use of convex lenses will give you the extreme PS1 experience, but you'll have to be very careful around cliffs.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Simulate old-school arcade gaming...

Simulate old-school arcade gaming...

...by having a picnic consisting only of whole roast chickens and fruit. For ultimate authenticity, serve all the food out of a bin.

And as an additional picnic activity, why not...

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Simulate survival horror...

Simulate survival horror...

...by shooting the inevitable wasps with a Super Soaker. If you want an extreme challenge, pour a ring of fruit juice around the picnic area once the first wasps arrive in order to initiate your own Horde Mode.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Simulate a water level...

Simulate a water level...

...by going swimming and making resolutely sure not to enjoy yourself. Make a point of trying to do normal, everyday, land-based activities in the pool, and complain that none of them work very well once water-resistance comes into the equation. Spend the rest of your week doing fun things, while occasionally thinking back and complaining to friends about "that one water day".

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Off into the sunset?

Off into the sunset?

So there's our guide to keeping summer gamey, whether there are games to be had or not. But have you got any other suggestions? Any ways you're finding to stop the summer fun from stopping your gaming? Let us know.

And while you're here, check out some of our other variously related stuff. Maybe try The Top 7... Games that deserve their own theme park attractions, and then give 11 random objects that look like gaming executives a go.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming Wii-u Nintendo PlayStation PS4 Xbox Xbox One Platforms
PRODUCTS
Grand Theft Auto V The Elder Scrolls Online The Evil Within Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Grand Theft Auto 3 World of Warcraft The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Resident Evil 6 Dead Space 3 Streets of Rage The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Virtual Console Doom
David Houghton
David Houghton
Long-time GR+ writer Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.
Share by:
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Whatsapp
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Latest in Action
On Sempiria in an Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet PS5 screenshot, Jodran leaps towards a robot with her glowing red sword
Naughty Dog devs reportedly in mandatory overtime to complete Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet internal demo by December
 
 
Metal Gear Solid movie
Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima wants to make "a game that delights an AI" and "a game played in weightlessness"
 
 
lea seydoux as fragile smoking a cigarette
Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding 2 is easier because of two "major drop-off points" that stopped fans reaching the end
 
 
GTA 6
Delaying GTA 6 is the "smartest thing" to do, Elder Scrolls 6 lead says, because fans want a game to "meet expectations"
 
 
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild artwork of Link looking over his shoulder as he stands on a hilltop overlooking Hyrule
Nintendo wants a Zelda: BotW and TotK support studio to take a "central role" on a "unique title in the series"
 
 
Silksong
Hollow Knight: Silksong gets first expansion, as the original Metroidvania heads to Nintendo Switch 2
 
 
Latest in Features
Phantom Blade Zero Game Awards trailer
Phantom Blade Zero devs want their kung-fu game to shake up the action genre, and I'm already spellbound
 
 
Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys in Weapons.
Weapons' Aunt Gladys is an instant horror icon – and 2025's best movie villain
 
 
Solo Leveling
2025 was anime's biggest year yet – and may have provided the blueprint for a decade of domination
 
 
Fallout 4 screenshot with a GamesRadar+ On the Radar overlay
Bethesda reflects on 10 years of Fallout 4: "You have to accept the creative choices you make on every game"
 
 
Timothée Chalamet as Marty Supreme, holding a ping pong paddle and pointing
Timothée Chalamet on dreaming big and his “vastly different” roles in Marty Supreme and Dune: Part 3
 
 
GamesRadar's best of 2025 series featuring Blue Prince
Blue Prince is a "true hybrid" of video and boardgame genius, and its creator thought it'd be "niche of niche"
 
 
  1. Key art for Skate Story showing the glass skater boarding through a dark underworld filled with spikes towards a door of light
    1
    Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
  2. 2
    Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"
  3. 3
    Sleep Awake review: "An all-timer horror premise is let down by tired stealth that I feel like I'm sleepwalking through"
  4. 4
    Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review: "The series' atmosphere has never been better, while being dragged down by a boring overworld and clunky psychic powers"
  5. 5
    Routine review: "This imperfect but wonderfully atmospheric moon-based horror leaves a strong impression"
  1. Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash
    1
    Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
  2. 2
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  3. 3
    Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
  4. 4
    Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"
  5. 5
    The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"
  1. Power Armor in Fallout season 2
    1
    Fallout season 2 review: "A hell of a lot of fun despite being overcrowded and convoluted"
  2. 2
    Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review: “Can the Duffer brothers stick the landing? It’s sure looking like they will”
  3. 3
    Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"
  4. 4
    The Witcher season 4 review: "The Henry Cavill-less fourth season is the best yet"
  5. 5
    IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...