JUST BECAUSE YOU don’t possess a sprawling, perfectly manicured lawn that rolls out behind your family’s mammoth marble mansion down to the rugged ocean shores of Newport doesn’t mean you have to feel outclassed in the world of summer pastimes. Surely you know of some modest, out-of-the-way grassy lot, and certainly you can persuade your not-quite-high-society pals to leave the cool refuge of their air conditioners for a little outdoor fun. All you lack is the right equipment.

Somewhere between tag and Tuesday-night poker, you forgot that the best games restore memories of childhood, when you were never tempted to say, " I’ll see your $20 and raise you my Rolex. " Restoration Hardware stocks such innocent diversions as Capture the Flag ($29.99), which offers nostalgic opportunity for all kinds of outdoor shenanigans. Check out this handsome set in a presentation box boasting cheeky Dick-and-Jane-like graphics, complete with beanbags, bandannas, and instructions. As always, the object is to stay out of jail. Or trot out St. Pierre’s sturdy, no-nonsense horseshoe set ($49), crafted of forged steel and approved by the National Horseshoe Association. If you blew it at the Kentucky Derby, here’s your chance to get even with a game of pitch and toss.

Such happy memories may not attend your early forays into the polite art of badminton, particularly if for you the game largely consisted of you trying to clobber the daylights out of friends and siblings with flimsy rackets. But you’re older now and can appreciate the subtle history of this sport, which began in Asia as ti jian zi, later appeared in 16th-century France as jeu de volant, and finally found its current name when the Duke of Beaufort introduced the sport at his estate, Badminton House, in 1873. Head to Brine’s Sporting Goods to upgrade your game with a competition-style Carlton titanium racket ($119) and real feathered shuttlecocks ($25). Then, expand your summer-recreation roster with a What’s Next lawn-bowling set ($28), available at Games People Play. The dark-green, zippered case includes six brightly colored die-cast metal balls, a wooden jack, and a measuring device for those close calls — all the trappings you need for the perfect warm-weather diversion. Now get rolling!

For the more sophisticated, the effete and exclusive — remember those nasty girls in Heathers? — the game of croquet is still the quintessential summer pastime. While we can’t help you out of a sticky wicket, we did find some accouterments to make your path through the hoops or hooks a bit more upscale. Brine’s Sporting Goods sells Bar Harbor’s heirloom-style, four-player croquet set ($119.95), furnished with gracefully turned hardwood mallets, lustrous polymer balls, and heavy-weather wickets. It’s your summer — go make the most of it.

• Brine’s Sporting Goods, 29 Brattle Street, Cambridge, (617) 876-4218; www.brines.com/brdomain

• Games People Play, 1100 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 492-0711

• Restoration Hardware, 711 Boylston Street, Boston, (617) 578-0088; www.restorationhardware.com

Issue Date: August 2-9, 2001