It’s the third consecutive day of rain on your ultra-fashionable British camping holiday and your satisfaction at being at the cutting edge of the holiday zeitgeist is being drowned out by the need for a squelchy walk to the toilet block and a good sob.

Despite the evidence, your holiday isn’t a washout. Instead, this is an opportunity for you and your family to indulge in a few character-building games to pass the time. Forget singing rounds of Frère Jacques or London’s Burning and go for a bout of thumb wrestling or practise your range of rude sound effects. These games are fun with kids, but even funnier with a group of friends and a glass or two of wine.

Ding Dong Splat Have some rounds of Ding Dong Splat. One of you tells a story and everyone else provides the sound effects. It doesn’t matter what your story is about, but tales of spooky houses or farmyards work especially well. Include lots of noisy things such as owls, pigs, cockerels, footsteps, thunder, doorbells, cackling witches and creaky floorboards. Make sure everyone has a go at being the storyteller. Stories set in a zoo often provide the most potential for younger players to ham it up.

Newsflash Assuming someone’s remembered to bring pen and paper, have a go at Newsflash. Tear a sheet of paper into ten or so pieces and roughly divide up between players. Everyone then writes down a silly headline on a slip and puts it into a bowl. For example, “The prime minister resigned today after complaints that his burps were too smelly” or “Scientists have discovered that cows produce more milk when they wear lipstick and high-heeled shoes”. Take turns to remove a slip of paper from the bowl, put on a pair of glasses (sunglasses will do) and a serious face, then pretend to read the news. Start by saying, clearly and solemnly, “Good evening. Here is a very important newsflash . . .” and then read the headline out loud without laughing or smiling.

Wrestling Need to burn off some energy? Hold a wrestling championship inside your tent. Don’t just go for traditional arm-wrestling, but try some thumb and leg wrestling, too. For Thumb War, opponents make a thumbs-up sign facing each other, and then grasp their fingers together, leaving their thumbs upright. Keeping their linked hands on the floor, they must now wiggle and wriggle their thumbs around trying to pin down their opponent’s thumb for a count of three. For leg wrestling, opponents lie down on their backs next to each other, with their heads at opposite ends and hips touching. They both raise their inside leg and link it with their opponent’s raised leg. On the count of three, both wrestlers then try to roll each other over by pulling with their linked leg. Whoever ends up on their side loses the round.

Alphabet Conversations Enjoy some Alphabet Conversations. Decide on a scenario — let’s say a camping trip. Then take it in turns to start a short phrase with the letter A, then B, then C, etc, keeping the thread of conversation flowing. So the first person may say, “Anyone fancy a toasted marshmallow?” and the next person may add, “Brilliant idea! I’ll have five please.” Follow on with “Charred or lightly browned?” and continue all the way to Z, allowing xylophones and zebras to enter the storyline near its end.

Fill ’em Up For some wet fun outdoors, Fill ’em Up is good in a downpour. Get everyone into waterproofs and give each player or team a mug. Everyone then collects as much water as possible using just their hands, whether it’s from puddles, dripping tents or falling rain, and pours it into their mug. Whoever fills their mug first gets the first hot chocolate.