Beach Party Games

Most need only a bucket, a shovel, a towel or a ball: press Pick 3 new games.

Beach Party Games

  1. Heel Sketch Guess1. Split into two teams and smooth a patch of sand as big as a parked car. 2. A drawer hears a word from the other team and draws it with one heel only, as large as the patch allows. 3. Their own team has one minute to guess. 4. Unlike the paper game, the drawer may not lift the heel, so every picture is one line. Smooth the sand and swap. Players: 4 to 14 in two teams. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
  2. Three-Wave Sea Wall1. Each team stands a paper cup on the sand just below the wash line: that is the village. 2. Teams have three minutes to build a wall of wet sand in front of it, using hands and shovels. 3. Then everyone steps back and counts three waves. 4. A cup still standing scores. Move the villages one step closer to the sea and build again. Play only where the water is ankle-deep and calm, with an adult standing at the edge for the whole game. Players: 4 to 16 in teams. Time: 15 min. Props: a paper cup and shovels for each team.
  3. Under the Sand, by Touch1. One player buries five small things from the beach bag in a bucket of dry sand while the others look away: a key, a coin, a hair tie. 2. Each player in turn pushes one hand into the sand for ten seconds. 3. They whisper to the hider what they think is in there. 4. Most right wins and buries the next five. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: a bucket of dry sand and small things from a bag.

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How it works

These beach party games use what is already in the beach bag. They are beach games to play on real sand: courts drawn with a heel, relays with a bucket and a towel, and quiet games for the shade.

Read the full guide

Games to play in the water at the beach, ankle-deep only

Choose Ankle-deep games at the water line in the All games menu. Nobody swims in any of them: players jump ripples, build a wall against three waves or pick up pebbles with their toes. Each one names an adult at the edge.

Plan by the sun

Run the relays before the sand heats up, keep Quiet games under the umbrella for the middle of the day, and finish with After sunset, no fire, which needs a flashlight and a few glow sticks.

Tips
  • The luau list, linked below, has beach themed party games for a living room or a yard.
  • Fill every hole and channel before you leave, so the next walker does not find it in the dark.

Questions and answers

What games can we play on the beach with nothing but sand?

Plenty. Shrinking Sand Island, One-Breath Heel Line and Heel Sketch Guess need no gear at all, and Beat the Wave Line needs only a finger to draw with. Choose More filters at the end of the menu and press No props to see the rest.

Which beach party games for adults are worth packing a ball for?

Over the Umbrella, Soft Landing Catch and Bucket Off the Mound each need one soft ball. Shovel Putt Clock adds a shovel, and Sculpt in the Dark, Reveal by Flashlight fills the hour after sunset without a fire.

Which beach games stay on dry sand, away from the water?

Everything in Games drawn in the sand and Bucket, shovel and towel relays is played on dry sand. Sandcastle Bowling and Ten-Second Dig Relay suit mixed ages, because the sand does half the work.

What can a big group play on a beach?

Relays scale best. Towel Stretcher Carry and Roll, Run, Unroll take up to twenty players in two teams, and Shrinking Sand Island has everyone playing at once with no teams to pick.

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All 48 games

Games drawn in the sand 8

  • Heel Sketch Guess 1. Split into two teams and smooth a patch of sand as big as a parked car. 2. A drawer hears a word from the other team and draws it with one heel only, as large as the patch allows. 3. Their own team has one minute to guess. 4. Unlike the paper game, the drawer may not lift the heel, so every picture is one line. Smooth the sand and swap. Players: 4 to 14 in two teams. Time: 15 min. Props: none.
  • One-Breath Heel Line 1. Everyone stands on the same start line, well apart. 2. On go, each player takes one breath and walks backward, dragging a heel and humming aloud. 3. When the hum stops, the player stops. 4. The longest unbroken line in the sand wins. A second round is walked in a spiral. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Sand Grid Four in a Row 1. Draw a grid of six squares by six with a stick, each square as wide as a foot. 2. One side plays shells, the other pebbles. 3. Take turns pressing one piece into any empty square. 4. The first side with four in a line, in any direction, wins. Smooth the grid with a towel and swap who starts. Players: 2, or two teams. Time: 10 min. Props: a stick, shells and pebbles.
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Games drawn in the sand, continued

  • Sandcastle Bowling 1. Draw a lane six paces long with two heel lines. 2. At the far end, turn out six small towers of damp sand from a cup or a small bucket, set in a triangle. 3. Each player rolls a ball down the lane twice. 4. Score one for each tower knocked flat. Rebuild the towers between players. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 15 min. Props: a cup or small bucket, a ball and damp sand.
  • Shovel Putt Clock 1. Dig a hole the size of a cup and pat the sand flat for two paces around it. 2. Press twelve marks in a ring around the hole, like the hours on a clock. 3. Each player rolls a ball toward the hole with the back of a shovel from one o'clock, then two, and so on. 4. Count every push. Fewest pushes around the clock wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 15 min. Props: a shovel and a small ball.
  • Shrinking Sand Island 1. Draw a circle big enough for everyone to stand in with room to spare. 2. A caller counts to ten while everyone walks around outside it, then shouts island. 3. Everyone must get both feet inside the line. 4. Redraw the circle one step smaller each round. The round the group cannot all fit is the score to beat next time. Players: 5 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • Three-Ring Shell Target 1. Drag a heel around in three circles, one inside the other, and mark a throwing line five paces back. 2. Each player collects five shells or pebbles. 3. Take turns lobbing them underhand: the middle ring scores 5, the next 3, the outer 1. 4. A shell on a line counts for the lower ring. Highest total after two rounds wins. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: five shells or pebbles each.
  • Winding Track Flick Race 1. Sit down and drag your heels to carve a winding track about ten paces long, with banked bends and one bridge. 2. Each player sets a small ball or a marble on the start. 3. Take turns giving your ball one flick with a finger. 4. A ball that leaves the track goes back to where it was flicked from. First past the finish line wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 15 min. Props: a small ball or marble each.

Bucket, shovel and towel relays 8

  • Bucket Stack Shuttle 1. Stand three buckets upside down in a stack at the far line for each team. 2. The first runner unstacks them into a row of three and runs back. 3. The second runner stacks them again, and so on down the team. 4. A bucket that tips over is set right before the runner leaves. First team through wins. Players: 6 to 18 in teams. Time: 8 min. Props: three buckets for each team.
  • Castle Row Assembly Line 1. Mark a building line for each team and set a bucket and a pile of damp sand beside it. 2. Each runner fills the bucket, turns out one tower on the line and runs back. 3. The fifth runner adds a feather or a stick as a flag on every tower. 4. A tower that slumps must be rebuilt by the next runner. First finished row wins. Players: 6 to 15 in teams. Time: 12 min. Props: a bucket for each team and damp sand.
  • Roll, Run, Unroll 1. Each team starts with one towel laid flat. 2. The first player rolls it up tight, tucks it under an arm, runs to the far line and unrolls it flat. 3. They sit on it for a count of three, roll it again and run it home. 4. The towel must lie flat with no folded corner before the next player may start. Players: 6 to 20 in teams. Time: 10 min. Props: one towel for each team.
  • Shell Line-Up Relay, Small to Large 1. Scatter the team's twenty shells at the far line. 2. Runners bring back one shell at a time. 3. Everyone waiting arranges the shells in a row from smallest to largest. 4. When all twenty are home, the other team checks the row: each shell out of order costs five seconds on the finishing time. Players: 6 to 16 in two teams. Time: 12 min. Props: twenty shells or pebbles for each team.
  • Shovel Line Sand Pass 1. Each team stands in a line with a shovel or a cup for every player and a bucket at the end. 2. The first player scoops dry sand and tips it into the next player's shovel, and so on down the line. 3. Nobody may move their feet. 4. After two minutes, the team with more sand in its bucket wins. Players: 6 to 16 in two teams. Time: 5 min. Props: a shovel or cup each and two buckets.
  • Shovelful Bucket Fill Relay 1. Each team has one shovel, and an empty bucket ten paces away. 2. Runners carry one shovelful of sand at a time, tip it into the bucket and bring the shovel back. 3. When the bucket is full, the last runner pats it down and turns it out. 4. The first team with a castle that stands for a count of five wins. Players: 4 to 16 in two teams. Time: 10 min. Props: a shovel and a bucket for each team.
  • Ten-Second Dig Relay 1. While teams look away, the host buries a tennis ball a hand deep somewhere in each team's marked square. 2. One digger at a time gets ten seconds with a shovel, counted aloud by the other team. 3. Then the shovel passes to the next digger. 4. The first team to lift its ball out wins. Fill the holes in before the next round. Players: 4 to 12 in two teams. Time: 10 min. Props: two shovels and two tennis balls.
  • Towel Stretcher Carry 1. Pairs hold a beach towel flat between them with a ball resting on it. 2. They walk it around a marker ten paces away and back, then hand the towel to the next pair. 3. If the ball rolls off, the pair stops, puts it back and counts to three before moving. 4. First team home with every pair done wins. Players: 8 to 20 in two teams. Time: 10 min. Props: a beach towel and a ball for each team.

Throwing and catching on dry sand 8

  • Bucket Off the Mound 1. Pile sand into a mound as high as a knee and stand an empty bucket on top. 2. From a line six paces back, players take turns throwing a soft ball underhand at the bucket. 3. Knock it off and you score, then move the line back one pace for everyone. 4. Reset the bucket each time. Most hits after five rounds wins. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: a bucket and a soft ball.
  • Five Hollows Lob 1. Scoop five hollows in a line running away from the thrower, each as wide as a plate. 2. Players lob a ball to land in a hollow and stay there. 3. The nearest hollow scores 1 and the farthest 5. 4. A ball that bounces out scores nothing. Five lobs each. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: one small ball.
  • Hat on the Shovel 1. Push a shovel into the sand so the handle stands upright. 2. From four paces, players take turns spinning a sun hat toward the handle. 3. A hat that lands on the handle scores 3, and one that touches the shovel scores 1. 4. Three throws a turn. First to 10 wins. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: a shovel and a soft sun hat.
  • Miss and Kneel, Catch and Rise 1. Stand in a circle and throw one ball to anyone you like. 2. Drop a catch and you go down on one knee. Drop again and it is two knees, then one hand behind your back. 3. Each clean catch wins one step back toward standing. 4. Play for five minutes. Whoever is standing on two feet at the end shares the win. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: one soft ball.
  • Over the Umbrella 1. Two players stand on opposite sides of an open beach umbrella, where they cannot see each other. 2. One calls ready and lobs a soft ball over the top. 3. The other tries to catch it before it lands. 4. Count the catches in a row. Other pairs try to beat the total. Players: 2 to 8 in pairs. Time: 8 min. Props: a beach umbrella and a soft ball.
  • Shouted-Hand Catch 1. Pairs stand six paces apart on soft sand with one ball. 2. While the ball is in the air, the thrower shouts left or right. 3. The catcher must take it one-handed with the hand that was called. 4. A clean catch scores 1. After ten throws swap roles, and the best pair total wins. A second round adds a third call: both. Players: 2 to 12 in pairs. Time: 10 min. Props: a soft ball for each pair.
  • Soft Landing Catch 1. Smooth a patch of soft, dry sand and check it for stones and shells. 2. A thrower stands five paces away and lobs a ball just short of the catcher. 3. The catcher dives onto the patch to take it before it lands. 4. A clean catch scores 1, and 2 if both feet were off the sand. Five lobs each, then rotate. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: one soft ball.
  • Three Towel Landing Zones 1. Lay three towels in a row at four, seven and ten paces from a throwing line. 2. Fill a sock with dry sand and knot it. 3. Each player lobs the sock three times: it scores 1, 2 or 3 if it comes to rest on the near, middle or far towel. 4. Play to 12. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: three towels and a sock filled with sand.

Ankle-deep games at the water line 8

  • Beat the Wave Line 1. Everyone watches three waves wash up the sand. 2. Each player then draws a short line where they think the highest of the next ten waves will reach, and stands behind it. 3. Count the ten waves aloud together. 4. The closest line that stayed dry wins. Play only where the water is ankle-deep and calm, with an adult standing at the edge for the whole game. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • Channel Dig, First Wave In 1. Each team digs a pool on dry sand, three paces above the wash line. 2. On go, teams dig a channel from the pool toward the sea with shovels and hands. 3. The first pool to fill when a wave runs up its channel wins. 4. Fill the pools and channels in again afterward. Play only where the water is ankle-deep and calm, with an adult standing at the edge for the whole game. Players: 4 to 12 in teams. Time: 15 min. Props: shovels.
  • Drip Tower Contest 1. Each builder sits just above the wash line with a bucket of very wet sand. 2. Let the wet sand dribble from your fingers so that it sets in blobs, one on another. 3. You have three minutes to drip the tallest tower. 4. Measure against a shovel handle. A tower that falls is measured where it stands. Play only where the water is ankle-deep and calm, with an adult standing at the edge for the whole game. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 8 min. Props: a bucket each and a shovel for measuring.
  • Footprint Trail Before the Wave 1. A leader lays a trail of ten footprints on the wet sand: a hop, a wide step, a turn. 2. The others follow, placing their feet in the same prints. 3. Any print the sea has washed away must be done from memory. 4. The leader watches and names the best copy, who lays the next trail. Play only where the water is ankle-deep and calm, with an adult standing at the edge for the whole game. Players: 3 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Three-Wave Sea Wall 1. Each team stands a paper cup on the sand just below the wash line: that is the village. 2. Teams have three minutes to build a wall of wet sand in front of it, using hands and shovels. 3. Then everyone steps back and counts three waves. 4. A cup still standing scores. Move the villages one step closer to the sea and build again. Play only where the water is ankle-deep and calm, with an adult standing at the edge for the whole game. Players: 4 to 16 in teams. Time: 15 min. Props: a paper cup and shovels for each team.
  • Toes-Only Stone Pick-Up 1. The host drops ten smooth pebbles into clear water no deeper than an ankle. 2. Players stand among them with their hands on their heads. 3. On go, pick up pebbles with your toes and drop them on the dry sand, one at a time. 4. Most pebbles landed wins. Play only where the water is ankle-deep and calm, with an adult standing at the edge for the whole game. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: ten smooth pebbles.
  • Wave Jump Chain Count 1. The group stands in a row at the water line, facing the sea and holding hands. 2. As each small wave arrives, everyone jumps it together. 3. Count aloud how many waves in a row the whole chain clears with nobody's feet touching the foam. 4. A touch resets the count to zero. Play only where the water is ankle-deep and calm, with an adult standing at the edge for the whole game. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • Wet Edge Tightrope 1. As a wave slides back, it leaves a dark edge on the sand. 2. Players walk that edge heel to toe, arms out, one behind another. 3. Anyone who steps off the edge, or is caught by the next wave above the ankle, starts again from the back. 4. Count the steps: the longest walk wins. Play only where the water is ankle-deep and calm, with an adult standing at the edge for the whole game. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 8 min. Props: none.

Quiet games under the umbrella 8

  • First to Five on the Horizon 1. Each player claims one thing to watch for and nobody may share: kites, dogs, sails, red umbrellas, coolers. 2. Sit facing the same way. 3. Call out each one you spot; the others must agree they see it. 4. The first player to five wins and everyone picks a new thing. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Last Grain Falling 1. Each player takes one fistful of dry sand and holds it out over the towel's edge. 2. On go, let the sand run out in the thinnest stream you can. 3. You may not close your fist to stop it. 4. The last player with sand still falling wins. Play again with the other hand. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Odd Find Out 1. One player lays four beach finds on the towel: three share something and one does not. 2. It might be color, hole or no hole, rough or smooth. 3. The others each point to the one they think is odd and say why. 4. Any true reason scores, but the reason the setter had in mind scores double. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: shells, pebbles and other finds.
  • One More Stone 1. Gather a pile of flat stones and choose the widest as the base. 2. Take turns adding one stone to the stack. 3. You may steady the stack with one finger while you place yours, then you must let go. 4. Whoever makes it fall rebuilds the base. The record height is the number to beat. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: flat stones.
  • Pebble Portraits 1. Everyone gets five minutes to collect pebbles, shells and seaweed. 2. On a smoothed patch beside the towel, each player lays out a portrait of someone else on the beach trip. 3. Walk around the gallery together. 4. Guess who each one shows, then vote for the best likeness by pointing on three. Players: 3 to 10. Time: 15 min. Props: pebbles, shells and other finds.
  • Shovelfuls to the Brim 1. Hold up an empty bucket and a shovel. 2. Everyone says how many level shovelfuls of dry sand they think will fill the bucket to the brim. 3. One player fills it while the rest count aloud. 4. The closest guess wins and picks the next thing to guess: cups to fill a sandal print, or handfuls to bury a foot. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 5 min. Props: a bucket and a shovel.
  • Three Finds, One Story 1. Each player puts three beach finds on the towel in front of them. 2. The player to the left has thirty seconds to tell a story that uses all three. 3. The owner of the finds decides whether each one really mattered to the plot. 4. A point for each find that did. Play once around the towel. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: three finds each.
  • Under the Sand, by Touch 1. One player buries five small things from the beach bag in a bucket of dry sand while the others look away: a key, a coin, a hair tie. 2. Each player in turn pushes one hand into the sand for ten seconds. 3. They whisper to the hider what they think is in there. 4. Most right wins and buries the next five. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: a bucket of dry sand and small things from a bag.

After sunset, no fire 8

  • Afterglow Silhouettes 1. Teams take turns standing between the others and the bright strip of sky left after sunset. 2. In thirty seconds the team forms one outline with their bodies: a teapot, a camel, a sailboat. 3. The watchers, who see only dark shapes against the glow, get three guesses. 4. A right guess scores for both teams. Players: 6 to 16 in teams. Time: 12 min. Props: none.
  • Air Writing With a Glow Stick 1. One writer stands ten paces from the group with a glow stick. 2. They write a word of five letters in the air, one letter at a time, in capitals as tall as themselves. 3. The group sees it back to front, which is the puzzle. 4. First to call the word writes next. Longer words score double. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: one glow stick.
  • First Star, Four Quarters 1. Lie back on towels with heads together, so that everyone looks at the same sky. 2. Agree on four quarters of sky: toward the sea, toward the land, left and right. 3. The first player to point out a star in a quarter claims that quarter. 4. When all four are claimed, the player with most quarters wins. Play again when the sky is darker and count ten stars a quarter. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: towels to lie on.
  • Glow Pattern Recall 1. The host lays five glow sticks on a towel in a pattern, crossing some and bending others. 2. Everyone looks for ten seconds, then a second towel covers it. 3. Each team rebuilds the pattern from memory with its own five sticks. 4. Lift the cover and compare stick by stick. Closest copy wins and lays the next pattern. Players: 4 to 12 in teams. Time: 10 min. Props: glow sticks and two towels.
  • Last Pink in the Sky Guess 1. Just after the sun has gone down, everyone names the minute they think the last pink will leave the clouds. 2. Write the guesses in the sand. 3. Keep one phone clock in view and watch the sky together. 4. When most hands agree that the pink has gone, read the clock. The closest minute wins the first pick of the next game. Players: 2 to 20. Time: 15 min. Props: a phone clock.
  • Sculpt in the Dark, Reveal by Flashlight 1. Give every pair a patch of damp sand and a subject drawn from a hat: a turtle, a sofa, a slice of cake. 2. Lights stay off for three minutes while pairs sculpt by feel. 3. Then walk the row with one flashlight and light each sculpture in turn. 4. The other pairs guess the subject before the builders say it. Players: 4 to 16 in pairs. Time: 15 min. Props: a flashlight, slips of paper and damp sand.
  • Track the Footprints by Flashlight 1. Smooth a wide patch of sand with a towel while one player hides their eyes. 2. Three others each walk across it in a different way: backward, on tiptoe, with a hop. 3. The tracker gets the flashlight and thirty seconds to study the prints. 4. They must say which trail belongs to whom and which way each was going. Players: 4 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: a flashlight and a towel.
  • Two Stones, Point to the Sound 1. Mark a square of sand twenty paces across and gather the group in the middle with eyes shut. 2. One player walks quietly to any spot on the edge and clicks two stones together twice. 3. Everyone points to where they think the sound came from, then opens their eyes. 4. The straightest arm takes the stones next. Players: 4 to 15. Time: 10 min. Props: two stones.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions, written for this site for a day on a sandy beach. The wording is ours, and player counts and times are our estimates. Nothing here needs a pool, a boat, swimming or a fire. Each water game is played ankle-deep at the water line on a calm day and names an adult at the edge in its steps. No outside source was used. Licence: own work