Different camps operated differently but most used the same group games.
Remember any of these?
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Scavenger Hunt or treasure hunt
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games
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drop penny into bottle
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dunking for apples
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leap frog
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marshmallow "fights"
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dodge ball
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tug-of-war
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tag
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marble tournament (boys); jacks tournament (girls)
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Hula-Hoop contests (girls)
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hide-and-go-seek
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Olly, Olly Oxen Free
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Blindman's Bluff
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skipping; skipping rope (with songs)
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leap frog
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hopscotch
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red rover
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hopscotch
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Catching fireflies in jelly jars
Inside games:
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charades
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guessing games
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coloring "contests"
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pillow fights
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Paint by Number (if available)
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table tennis or ping pong
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yo-yos
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paper dolls, dressing paper dolls
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Games for 1 or 2:
Bilboquet, a game with a ball attached by a string to a handle with a cup-shaped end. The object of the game is to hold onto the handle, swing the ball up and try to catch it in the cup.
Camps in the 1940s to 1970s had not expanded much from the late 1880s thinking that children needed to exercise their bodies. Most camps through the 1960s were run like military camps, especially boys' camps. Girls' camps began moving from 'ladylike' games to versions of boys' activities.
See http://www.faqs.org/childhood/So-Th/Street-Games.html
