A beach is a place we go to relax, to have fun, to share romantic moments. A beach day is a day we learn to dance, do yoga, play ball games, or play with bean bags. There are so many things one can do at the beach that you will never be bored.
Yet, how many times do you decide you are going to the beach and not know what to do? What are some of the best beach games families are playing today? Where can I get some great game sets for my families beach activities?
Never fear for some ideas are here!
So grab your sunscreen, your beach towels , your beach tote, and get ready to head down to the beach to play some amazing outdoor games with the whole family.
Build a Sand Castle
1 player and up.
You cannot go to a beach without making a sandcastle. If there is a lot of you divide into groups, set a timer, see who can make the most elaborate sandcastle.
Now, this might mean using several little buckets to make the tallest tower, digging into the sand to have your castle rise out of it, or burying one of your teammates so they can be part of the finished piece. Whatever the plan, when building sandcastles, the options are endless. You will be having fun in no time.
The thing about this great beach game is the number of things you need to bring for it in your beach bag. Absolutely nothing. Of course, you can bring buckets and premade shapes for the younger ones, but you are at the beach! All you really need to make a sandcastle is sand and a pair of hands.
If you want to look at some amazingly creative sandcastles, check these out.
Volleyball Beach Game
2 to 8 players or more if you start a tournament.
To start our fun beach games selection, we have chosen volleyball. For a game that has been around since the 1890s, it is well-loved. Throughout the ages this game has been associated with summertime fun, rated as one of the best beach games.
It is a simple game to play. All you need is a net and a ball, volleyball preferably as they are generally after then a football and easier on the hands. The idea of the game is to keep the ball in the air as you pass to each other. It’s like tennis, without a racket. When that ball hits your ground, the other side of the net wins a point.
The volleyball set in our amazon link comes with a very handy beach carrying case, so you can transport that net and its poles with a limited amount of fun and effort. Very handy if you have to park the car a little ways from the beach.
Frisbee at the Beach
2 players and up. A doggo counts as 1 player.
For as long as humans have walked the earth, we have enjoyed throwing things at each other. Balls, keys, spears, have been tossed around throughout history. This is how you know you will love playing Frisbee.
To play Frisbee you need only stand apart, opposite each other or in a circle, depending on how many of you are playing. Then throw the Frisbee and watch it soar. The idea then is to catch it, before your dog does, and throw it back.
While this game sounds simple, it is delightful to play it for hours on end.
There are also many other frisbee games to consider, like frisbee golf where you have to throw the frisbee into a net or other pre-destined area. Draw a circle in the sand or make one out of pebbles and see how many of you can get that frisbee to land right where you want it.
Tug of War
2 players and up.
From the 12 Century AD comes a game of strength and passion. Tug of War.
The beach is the perfect place to play this game as you are likely to be pulled over, the sand will give you a soft landing and a lot of laughs.
Set a line in the ground and split your players in half. With half pulling on one side of the rope and the other half pulling on the other side of the rope, both sides pull until the opposite team is pulled across the line.
Remember, when buying that rope, a 25ft rope accommodates up to 12 players. So, if you have more than 12 people in your beach party you will either need to buy another rope or take turns. Have your first team go against the second team, then get your winners to go against the other team.
If you are after a simple beach game that is going to improve teambuilding and family bonds then this is the perfect beach game.
The Wave Stopper Beach Game
1 player and up.
A simple game, but nonetheless lots of fun. This is a great game for when the tide is coming in. Create your water barrier out of the sand, driftwood or seaweed, anything you find on the beach.
Relax where you can see your creations. Enjoy your beach snacks or host a tic-tac-toe competition in the sand while you wait.
Now watch as the water takes on your barriers. See whose barrier goes down first. The water barrier that lasts the longest against the all-powerful nature of the ocean is the winner.
Alternatively, you can write deeply n the sand, wait until the tide has come in and gone out. Then see whose writing was deep enough to stay readable. These kinds of beach activities are great as a teambuilding game or a bit of family fun.
Bocce Ball Set
2 to 8 players.
Talking about ancient games, this one goes back as far as 5,000 BC. Bocce Ball was found painted on an Egyptian tomb, it is also known to have been enjoyed in both Greece and Rome.
The idea behind this game is to roll your ball across the sand, trying to get yours closest to the Jack (the small ball). Once all balls are thrown you measure the distance of the balls to the Jack and add up the points. The team with the most points wins.
Some Bocce Ball sets come with only two different coloured balls and a jack. The game set in our Amazon link has four different colored balls, allowing for more teams to play together at once. It also comes with a decent-sized carrying case that makes transporting and storing the set very easy indeed.
While we are talking about beach games, this game is also a great party game that can be played on grass, concrete, or even snow, so it can be used all year round!
Badminton
2 to 4 players. More players are possible through homemade tournaments.
Another game set with a net, except this time you have bats and shuttlecocks.
To play Badminton; set up the tent, then use the bats to knock the shuttlecock over to the other team. To win the game you keep doing this until they fail to knock it back to you. To lose the game you fail to knock the shuttlecock back to them.
The style of the ball in this game is a shuttlecock, this makes all the difference to how you play. Hitting the shuttlecock on the feathered side instead of the rubber side will make it less likely to go over the net to the opposite team.
To add that extra little challenge to your game of badminton, draw a line in the sand to mark boundaries, or use bean bags around the edge. If the shuttlecocks land outside of the boundary it is out and the team that sent it that way does not score a point.
With the added fun of having a net, this game is one of the best beach games for a family to play together.
Jazzminton
1 player and up. Depending on your creativity.
This is Badminton without the hassle of setting up a net. Create your own boundaries or have none, make a line down the middle to serve as a net or play freestyle. Have rules in order to score points or see how long you all can keep the shuttlecock up in the air. In Jazminton, the rules are yours!
Some sets come with multiple types of shuttlecocks for you to experiment with. It also comes with a couple of balls, so you can take the game to the next level with a whole variety of ball games that exist. Start a game of tennis or ping pong.
Alternatively, each of you takes a ball and a bat then take it in turns to see who can make that ball stay in the air the longest. Seriously, you have so many gameplay options with this set, you are certain to find a game that will give you fun for the whole family.
This game comes with lots of versatility for your beach time fun.
Fly a Kite at the Beach
1 player and up.
This is something you can do almost anywhere, but with all the space at the beach, the breeze you get off the ocean and clear blue skies, they are the perfect places to fly a kite.
Make one at home as a family, or buy one ready for your beach adventure, the fun everyone gets from flying a kite with a long tail in the sky is unreal. There is a reason this worked to cheer everyone up in the hit musical Mary Poppins.
While it may seem like a simple, or even childish, thing to do, flying that kite can lead to a tremendous amount of fun for the whole family! And you don’t need to stand that watching it soar up above, take turns to run it up and down the beach. Hold races where you run with the kite while trying to keep it up in the air. See how many kits you can get flying in formation as a family.
It is a kite, let it bring out your inner child and have fun.
Waboba Ball Games
1 player and up.
The ball that bounces on water. Imagine bouncing a ball to each other while standing at the beach, in the ocean! That is the point of the Waboba ball. You have a substantial ball that is not going to sink, making it perfect for beach ball games.
The games you play are limited only by your imagination. Water dodge ball, pass, ocean basketball with imaginary goals. The fun comes from bouncing a ball on the ocean.
Then, when you are done playing in the water, the ball still works on the sand. Just because the tide has gone out doesn’t mean the games have to stop.
There exists a whole host of party games that you can play with nothing but a ball. Race with a ball between your knees, swim a race with the ball between your knees, throw the ball to each other in a circle with a never-ending game of keep-it-up. With this great beach game, the fun never ends.
Amazon holds a whole selection of Waboba balls in many different fun styles and colors to suit you and your family.
Tidal Ball
1 player and up.
Tidal ball comes with 1 rule. Have fun.
Easy to set up: Dig a hole in the sand, dig a trench around the hole. Aim to get the ball in the hole. So it’s like Cornhole, just without the board and using balls instead of bean bags. This is a quicker set-up than Cornhole with less equipment to tote onto the beach.
By adding extra trenches, hills and obstacles you change the rules of the game to add that extra slice of fun. This game can be as hard or as easy as you like for hours of family fun and laughter at the beach.
Easy to Carry: The balls in the linked amazon game set come with their on beach bag.
Kan Jam Fun
Kan Jam is a flying disc game, much like a frisbee. Except in this world of beach fun, you work with a teammate to get your disc into the bucket.
Team 1 will consist of 2 players. 1 who throws the disc, and one who tried to redirect the disc into the bucket. The 2 teams take turns and the team with the highest points win. It is one of many fun beach games involving a throwing disk, and as this one requires teamwork it is a great game to help your family create teambuilding skills while enjoying a beach day out.
More Fun Beach Games
This is just a shortlist of many 100s of beach games in existence. Still looking for something new? Look up Cornhole, ladder toss, spike ball, or limbo for other great beach activities that bring fun to the whole family.
For a family of adults, you may want to try some drinking games in the sand, like beer pong, or a toss game with a beach ball where you have to take a shot every time you drop the ball. This tactic can easily be used in any of our beer games and adds a whole new level of insane crazy and fun on your beach day.
If you are heading to the beach alone there is still plenty of things you can do. Grab a hacky sack and teach yourself the art of juggling, improve your sandcastle building skills, put a pool noodle over some beach rocks and do the limbo to some tunes or try your hand at a game of Frisbee golf.
Really, with a beach spread in front of you, an ocean as far as the eye can see, you are in the home of inspiration. Just have fun.
