• Toss the shuttlecock and play badminton with a beach ball.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  For centuries, families and friends have headed outside to play challenging games on their lawns. Playground games, such as tag and hide-and-seek, can be played in almost any yard, but many formal games have equipment that require large, level yards. While playing by the rules offers hours of traditional fun, variations can be made to accommodate an uneven landscape and to add zany twists to informal game play.
  
  

Crazy Croquet

• Toss out the official rulebook to incorporate croquet into a combination race and obstacle course. Establish six areas separate areas around the yard with hoops and stakes, setting one croquet ball and mallet at each station. Between each station, set up various obstacles such as tunnel crawls, tire hop and rope swings. Next, create six signs with a different zany activity on each, such as whistling Dixie after eating three crackers or spinning around five times fast, and set them at each station.
  
  As the game begins, the players must first complete the crazy task on the sign before attempting to hit the croquet ball through the hoop or to the stake. If a player misses the hoop or stake, he must perform the relay task again before making a second attempt. If he misses three times, he must give up and move through the obstacle course to the next section. Players must come back to complete any croquet section they've missed after finishing the rest of the course. Whomever successfully completes the obstacle course and all six stations first wins the game.
  
  

Horseshoes Horse

• Liven up a standard horseshoes game by throwing a horse into the mix; not actually a live horse, but the same-named game H-O-R-S-E that's often played with a basketball. Incorporate the variation by giving each player one horseshoe and establishing a lineup in which the players will toss their shoes at the stake.
  
  The game begins when the first player throws his horseshoe at the stake in a creatively difficult way, such as from a great distance or with her eyes closed. If the first player hooks her shoe around the stake, she remains the leader. Each subsequent player must then make the exact same toss; if they miss, they earn their first letters. If the first player misses, she does not earn a letter, but moves to the back of the lineup while subsequent players attempt to make a successful toss in order to become leader. Players who earn all five letters in the word H-O-R-S-E are eliminated from the game; the last player standing wins.
  
  

Beach Ball Badminton

• A centuries-old lawn game that bears similarities to both tennis and volleyball, badminton uses a slender racket to bat plastic or feather shuttlecocks across a net at a similar height to those used in volleyball. For a playful variation on the game, set aside the shuttlecocks and substitute in beach balls.
  
  The light-as-air beach balls provide a unique challenge to players as they have a tendency to fly high and are difficult to aim. Because of this, it is recommended that the bounds of the court be expanded or dropped altogether. Points are scored for the opposing team each time players allow the beach ball to touch the ground or if they fail to get the ball across the net. For an added challenge, put two beach balls in play at the same time.