The kids camped in tents in our backyard with a bunch of their 4-H friends two nights ago and had a great time (and their parents are still catching up on sleep).

One of the games we played was flashlight tag. When I was little I used to play the game around my grandmother's postage stamp yard with my cousins. And that small loop of space wrapping around her house actually had a lot of advantages. Running around a corner made it harder to get caught in the flashlight beam and kept the game going for a long time.

When I suggested flashlight tag to our visiting campers, they loved the idea. What kid doesn't love to run around hours after bedtime playing with flashlights?

So someone volunteered to be "it" and the others scattered in our yard's open field.

The game lasted about 5 seconds.

Since the kids' tent was set up close to the house and the ongoing shed construction tools and materials took up some space, the kids couldn't run completely around the house. And that made tagging everyone with the flashlight beam a piece of cake. There was nowhere to hide in the field.

We decided to move the game to a small forested area in our front yard. That made things a little more challenging but after a few rounds, the kids decided it was time for the next activity, making s'mores around the campfire.

What I found funny was that a group of urban kids growing up just north of Boston, could have more fun playing flashlight tag than my country-raised kids.

There must be a different way to play flashlight tag when you have more open space. If you have a suggestion, let me know. I'm all ears in anticipation of our next camping night later this summer when our city cousins come to visit.