Goodtalk
Goodtalk

Campfire Questions for Scouts

The best scout talks happen around the fire after a long day. These cards start with campfire food, wild weather and knots, then turn to trust, courage and what it means to look after each other in a patrol. The last few are for quiet evenings when the fire has burned down.

Good for: Scout patrols, troops and leaders at meetings, on hikes and around the campfire.

Play 70 cards

Tips for playing

  • Start with the light cards while the fire gets going.
  • Let the patrol leader pick the cards now and then.
  • Keep the deep cards for small groups and a calm evening.

Depth: lightLight questions

Easy to start with. Good for warming up.

  1. What's the best meal you've ever cooked over a campfire?
  2. Which job in the patrol are you best at, and which would you like to learn?
  3. What's the funniest thing that's gone wrong on a trip?
  4. What should you always remember to pack, and what have you forgotten yourself?
  5. Which campfire song do you like best, and why that one?
  6. What's the wildest weather you've been out in on a trip?
  7. If you built the perfect campsite, what would it have?
  8. Which knot can you tie with your eyes closed, and what is it used for?
  9. What's the best thing about sleeping in a tent, and what's the worst?
  10. What animal have you seen on a trip that you never expected to see?
  11. What's the best game you've played at a scout meeting?
  12. If your patrol got a new name, what should it be?
  13. How do you get a fire going when all the wood is wet?
  14. What's the first thing you do when you get back from camp?
  15. Which badge would you like to earn, and what do you have to do to get it?
  16. What's the best thing to roast on a stick over the fire?
  17. If you could take only three things on a hike, what would they be?
  18. What's the longest hike you've done, and how did your feet feel afterward?
  19. Which camp would you go back to tomorrow?
  20. What does your patrol do when it rains all day?
  21. Which place in nature have you been to that you'd like to show others?
  22. What's the coolest thing someone in your group has built with poles and lashings?
  23. What's the hardest thing you've tried to cook over a fire?
  24. If you could teach a new scout one thing on their first day, what would it be?
  25. What's your best trick for staying warm in the tent at night?
  26. Which camp job would you rather skip, and which do you happily take on?
  27. What do you like about being outdoors when it's dark?
  28. Which constellation can you find in the sky, and how do you find it?
  29. How do you find your way on a trip without a phone?
  30. What has a leader done on a trip that you still talk about?
  31. What tradition does your group have that other scouts probably don't know about?
  32. What would you like to try in scouting that you've never tried before?
  33. If your patrol could go on a dream trip, where would you go?
  34. What's the strangest thing you've eaten on a trip?
  35. What sound makes you think of camp?

Depth: mediumA bit more personal

For when the conversation is flowing.

  1. Tell us about a night hike or trip where you were a little scared. What kept you going?
  2. What does it mean to be someone the patrol can count on?
  3. When did you last take responsibility for someone younger than you?
  4. Which part of your Scout Law do you find hardest to live up to?
  5. Which part of your Scout Law comes naturally to you, and why?
  6. What does your patrol do when you can't agree?
  7. When did your patrol pull off something none of you could have done alone?
  8. What can you do if someone in the patrol seems a bit left out?
  9. When have you done your best, even though it didn't work out?
  10. What can you do to take better care of nature when you're on a trip?
  11. When have you helped someone without being asked?
  12. What's the difference between being bossy and being a good patrol leader?
  13. What have you learned in scouts that you also use at school or in your free time?
  14. How do you make a new scout feel welcome?
  15. What did you do the last time a trip didn't go as planned?
  16. When have you been proud of your patrol?
  17. What's the hardest thing about being the oldest in a group?
  18. If you got to plan the next camp, what would you change?
  19. Why is it important to hear everyone's opinion before the patrol decides something?
  20. Which decision on a trip would you make differently today?
  21. What makes someone a good friend on a long, wet hike?
  22. Why do you think scouts care so much about leaving a campsite better than they found it?
  23. What could your group do for others in your community?
  24. When have you learned something by trying it yourself, not because someone explained it?
  25. What would it take for you to speak up against the rest of your patrol?
  26. Which scout skill do you think you'll need when you're grown up?
  27. How does a patrol make up after a day when everyone was grumpy?
  28. What's the best thing about being part of something that exists all over the world?

Depth: deepDeep questions

Take your time. These are the ones people remember.

  1. What have you learned about yourself out in nature that you couldn't have learned indoors?
  2. What gives you calm or meaning when you sit by the campfire in the evening?
  3. Which leader has meant something to you, and what do you want to pass on yourself?
  4. When has being responsible for others felt heavy, and what helped you?
  5. What do you believe in or hold on to that scouting has made clearer for you?
  6. What would you like the younger scouts to remember you for?
  7. If you set out to leave the world a little better than you found it, where would you start?

70 cards in this deck.