Let’s go to the beach! Let’s play on the beach!
Just being at the beach has countless benefits.
That vast natural space, the endless views, the fresh sea breeze, and even the soothing sound of the waves… it all helps you relax almost without realizing it.
If we add a bit of physical activity, even if it’s just walking along the shore, the benefits multiply.
Sharing that time with friends, a partner or family? Now that’s almost the perfect plan.
And yes, it can get even better.
And it can still get even better. How? By playing games together right there on the beach. Whether you’re with your partner, friends, family, or kids… there are suitable beach games for everyone
And that’s why we have created this page, to offer you a good list of games to choose from. Some of them are classic beach games that you surely already know, but others we hope will surprise you and also encourage you to try them. Sometimes the simplest game turns out to be the most entertaining!
When we think of beach games, most of the games that come to mind are those that are played on the sand.
But you will agree that it is not the same to be on a beach with soft, dry, fluffy sand as it is on a beach with hard, wet sand like the one that remains when the water recedes at low tide. Right?
Well, we have even thought about that and we are going to suggest games suitable for each type of sand: soft sand and tidal sand. Let’s go!
Beach games suitables for soft sand
Spikeball
We want to start by recommending Spikeball.
Maybe you have seen a group of friends playing this game in a park, in the countryside or at the beach. You probably thought the same thing everyone does the first time they see it: “Wait, is that… a round net?” Yup, that’s the one! The key element of this game is a round net on which players bounce a ball, trying to prevent the other team from returning it. That’s why some people call it Roundnet, although most know it as Spikeball, which is the pioneering brand that has made the game known worldwide.
It is an active game, although not at the level of other games like volleyball, because it is based more on reflexes and skill than on strength or endurance. It is played in teams of up to three players. 100% recommended. It’s one of the hottest outdoor game trends, and perfect for the beach!
You will find more information, the rules of the game and some buying tips at Spikeball Roundnet.
Aim games
But we don’t need to spend money to have a good time at the beach, we can improvise games using items that we can find for free on the beach.
Look at this picture.
Most people will see a stick stuck in the sand at the beach. We see an endless source of fun and a chance to win a free drink from that friend who thinks they have better aim than you. (Spoiler: they probably don’t.)
All you have to do is draw a throwing line in the sand and look for some small objects like stones or clam shells to use as projectiles. In less than a minute, you’ll be playing stick hitting.
If you place the throwing line too far, the game is won by the first player who manages to hit the stick.
If you place it at a reasonable distance, the first player to hit the stick three times wins.
Another option, which was our favorite and we played many times whit kids, is to create multiple throwing lines spaced about 50 cm apart, with the first line very close to the stick and the following lines gradually farther away. Everyone takes turns throwing from the
first line, and if they succeed, they move on to the next throwing line in the same turn until they fail. The first player to reach the last throwing line wins. Pretty fun, right?
And the same goes for this other image this picture
What do you see? A circle drawn in the sand? We see a target and a fun competition with friends or family. Setting the throwing line at least 5 meters away makes it a challenging and fun activity. You can take turns throwing and the first player to get 5 stones inside the circle wins.
To increase the difficulty, you can make the circle smaller or move the throwing line further away. Or both!
Beach volleyball with or without net
If you are a large group, you can consider playing the well-known beach volleyball.
A simple option is to play volleyball without net by hitting the ball with your hands and keeping it from touching the ground. Try counting the number of hits and see if you can beat your own record. This can be a fun collaborative game to play with friends.
If the beach you are visiting already has volleyball nets set up, all you need is to bring your ball and you can start playing a volleyball match. However, bringing and setting up your own net might be a bit too complex, and we recommend it only for experienced players who plan on playing for an extended period of time.
5 kicking ball options
If you feel like kicking a ball, you have several options.
The first and most obvious is to play a Soccer match, a game that everyone knows and that only requires a ball and a few objects to act as goals.
You can also play Rondo soccer, a game in which one player stands in the middle of a circle, while the others pass the ball around quickly, trying to prevent the center player from touching the ball. If the center player touches the ball, they join the circle and the player whose pass was intercepted by the center player becomes the new center player. It is a common game in the training sessions of professional soccer players, especially in teams that base their game on touch and ball possession, such as FC Barcelona.
Another option is to play Aerial touches, a game where the objective is to keep the ball in the air. Players form a circle and pass the ball to each other, hitting it only with their feet, legs or head, just like in soccer, trying to make as many touches as possible without letting the ball touch the ground. You can count the number of touches and try to beat your record.
If you’re good at juggling the ball with your feet, you can take the game to another level if you have a volleyball net available by playing Soccer volley. This game is played with the same rules as beach volleyball, but instead of hitting the ball with your hands, you use your feet, legs, or head, just like in soccer.
Finally, we suggest a more relaxed and less tiring game to play kicking a ball: a Round of penalties. You can set your own rules.
Frisbee games
The Frisbee — a true beach classic — is always a great way to have fun.
Although you can play many different games with a Frisbee for a fun time, the challenge of throwing it and making it fly to its destination is enough, as well as catching it without it falling to the ground. For more, here are 10 games with Frisbee: Circle Frisbee, Double Disc, Guts, Bowling Frisbee… Discover them all!
Racket games
Beach rackets are another classic on the beach
Although there is beach tennis, a competitive game played with a net and on a well-defined playing field, it is more common to see people playing Frescobol, the classic paddle game in which two, three, or four players repeatedly hit a ball back and forth until one player fails to return the hit and the ball falls to the ground. The challenge is to keep the ball in play for as many hits as possible and try to beat your own record.
Try playing Frescobol right at the shore with your feet in the water — even more fun if the waves let you! Or even better, in the water if the depth of the beach allows it.
We suggest some goals for you to play with a clear and motivating objective from minute one. Your first challenge is to reach 10 consecutive hits, an easy goal for most people, but it will require minutes of practice for beginners. Be patient with them. From there, the next goal is to reach 30 consecutive hits, which is no longer so easy for many players. And from there, we go to 60 consecutive hits. If you achieve it, it means you are very good! In that case, you have to go for the round number that is the dream of all Frescobol players: reaching 100 consecutive hits will put you in a league of your own.
Beach games suitables for tidal sand
Throwing balls
Petanque is a pefect game for the beach. It can also be played on soft and dry sand, but in that case, the petanque balls can hardly roll, and the game changes a bit because the throws have to be almost aerial until their destination and when the ball lands, it gets “stuck” in the sand. On the other hand, wet and compact sand allows petanque balls to roll, creating the perfect playing field.
Bocce is another option as it is actually a game very similar to petanque. Both share the same game mechanics and objective: to throw balls so that they stay as close as possible to a smaller ball. Although Bocce balls are larger and heavier and therefore less portable and less suitable for taking to the beach.
Golf
You can also improvise a game of golf! No need to go to the beach with professional golf equipment, just a small ball, a stick that can be used for putting and a little bit of imagination.
The simplest option is to play “putting on the green“. Just dig a small hole in the sand, pick a starting point that’s far enough away and play to see who can get the ball in the hole with the least number of shots.
The next level would be to add obstacles between the starting point of the shots and the hole. You can create mounds of sand, ditches, add objects to prevent a direct hit…. Just like a miniature golf!
And if you have time, desire and enough space you can create a mini golf course with several holes. Who says it can’t be done?
Bowling
Why not bring your backyard or lawn bowling game to the beach? And if you don’t have one, You can easily improvise pins with plastic bottles or even sticks in the sand. All you’ll need are some appropriately sized balls, or you could use some petanque balls.
WATER: beach games for adults to play in water
Balance games
If you have a large and sturdy inflatable beach matress, you can play a game to see how many of you can get on the inflatable beach mattres without the waves making you capsize. And if you all manage to get on, let’s see how long you can ride the waves without falling off.
You can also play a game to see who can stand up on the inflatable beach mattress, which is almost impossible if the waves are big, but in any case, very fun.
TOWELS: games to play for adults on beach towels
Conversation games
For those chill towel moments, conversation games like Two truths and a lie, or Would you rather…? are perfect.
Card, board and party games
You can also bring a deck of cards to the beach and play your favorite game. You can even bring party games that don’t require a big setup or for players to sit around a table, like Cards Against Humanity.
Waterproof board and card games
If you’re not convinced about bringing board games to the beach because they can get damaged by sand or water, you should know that there are waterproof versions of some games. Have you heard of the game Dobble? Well, there is a waterproof version perfect for the beach. You can find more information and a buying guide on our page: How to play Dobble?
Pen and Paper games
If you pack some notebooks and pencils or pens in your beach bag, you can also play pencil-and-paper games like Tic Tac Toe, OSO, Dots and Boxes or Bulls and Cows. Although being on the beach… why not use the sand as the paper and any stick or your finger as if it were a pencil? It will probably be easier to draw on the shore!
PEBBLES: games in pebble beaches
And what about those beaches where instead of sand there are pebbles?
It seems that they are not the most suitable for many of the games we have proposed so far, but it is possible to play them. You know, If you can’t fight the stones… play with them!
Aim games
The target games we mentioned before can also be played on beaches with little stones.
Skipping stones
Skipping stones is a game where you throw a flat stone across the surface of a body of water, like a lake or a river, and try to make it skip or bounce across the water as many times as possible before it sinks.
Find a flat, smooth stone, round or oval works best. The flatter and smoother the stone, the better it will skip. Look for a calm, flat section of water with a good throwing distance. Stand near the water’s edge with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the stone between your thumb and middle finger, with the flat side facing outward. Your index finger should be curled behind the stone for support. Flick your wrist and arm forward in a smooth, level motion, aiming for a spot on the water just in front of you. Release the stone when your arm is fully extended. Give it a little spin by flicking your wrist. This will help it bounce or skip across the surface of the water. Try to keep the stone low and parallel to the water’s surface.
Count how many times the stone skips before it sinks. Try to beat your own record or compete to see who gets the most skips after several throws.
Make sure there’s nobody in the water before throwing a stone!
Do you know the current world record for stone skipping is 88 skips? Don’t you believe it? We didn’t believe it either but we searched on YouTube and found a video demonstrating the incredible feat:
We were skeptical too and thought it could be a fake video. So, we decided to look up the record on the official Guinness World Records website, and guess what? We found the certificate for the record of Most Skips of a Skimming Stone. It’s a real record and the video is genuine. It’s amazing!
Cairns
In this game, the goal is to build the tallest stone tower possible. You can use any type of stones you find in the area, but they must be balanced on top of each other without any additional support. The player who builds the highest tower without it falling over wins the game. It’s important to choose a stable base stone and to stack the stones in a way that distributes the weight evenly to prevent the tower from toppling. Players can take turns adding stones to the tower, or everyone can build their own towers and the tallest one at the end wins. Remember, it’s not just about speed, but also about technique and balance!
Just remember to play safely — and avoid stacking stones in ways that could disturb nature or wildlife.
And that’s it — which is actually quite a lot!
Thanks for reading.
Have a great day and enjoy the beach playing with friends and family!
