The sun sets before seven now, and it will be before five by December. That does not have to end backyard season — it just means the games have to work in the dark. These six do, with almost no equipment beyond what you already own.
1. Cornhole with LED strips
Clip a battery-powered LED strip under the front rim of each board, pointing down. It lights the surface and the hole without blinding the person throwing at it. Do not put lights behind the board facing the pitcher — you will not be able to see anything.
If you want the full setup, run a second strip around the underside of the frame. Costs about fifteen dollars per board and completely changes when the game is playable.
2. Glow ring toss
Glow bracelets, connected into rings, thrown over a garden stake. It costs almost nothing, packs into a drawer, and is the one game on this list that is genuinely better in the dark than in daylight.
Use a stake tall enough to see — three feet minimum — and mark a throwing line so it does not slowly migrate closer.
3. Giant Jenga by lantern
Put a lantern at the base of the tower rather than above it. Lighting from below throws long shadows up the stack, which makes the blocks easier to read and the whole thing considerably more dramatic as it gets tall.
4. Lawn bowling with glow sticks
Drop a glow stick inside each pin. Standard plastic bowling pins are hollow and take one perfectly. The pins become the only thing you can see, which makes the game feel oddly focused and stops people wandering into the play area.
5. Flashlight tag
The only game here that requires darkness. One person has a torch; catching someone means putting the beam on them and calling their name. It needs a reasonable amount of space and cover, and it is by far the best way to get kids to run themselves tired before bedtime.
6. Ladder toss under string lights
Ladder toss needs less dedicated lighting than most games because the target is vertical and catches overhead light well. If you already have string lights across the patio, you can likely play without adding anything at all.
Lighting the play area itself
Whatever you are playing, one principle applies: light the target, not the players. Anything pointed back toward where people are throwing from ruins their night vision and makes the game harder than it needs to be.
Two uplights at the far end, or string lights overhead, will cover almost any game. A floodlight on the house pointed down the lawn will ruin all of them.
Our backyard games range covers most of what is above, and the lighting collection has the overhead layer that makes the whole yard playable after dark.