Beach parties are full of fun in the sun, but also in the sand and in the water. Partying on the beach also offers plenty of opportunity (and room) to play some outdoor games that you usually cannot play indoors or at regular party gatherings. Try out some fun new games the next time you host a beach party.
Wet Games
The beach is a great setting for a water balloon challenge. Have players pair off and take a full water balloon, standing a few feet apart, facing one another. Players throw the balloon to each other, taking a step backward every time they catch it. If a player drops the balloon or it bursts, the pair is out of the game. The winner is the last pair remaining.
Any game that involves somebody getting water tossed at them is perfect for a beach setting. For the Splash Game, let's say you have 12 players. Take 12 small cards and write each individual number from 1 to 12 on each card, putting them in a bag or hat afterward. Have one player pick a number out of the bag and fill up a small container with warm water, then proceeding to stand in the center of a circle, surrounded by the other players.
Have each player choose a number between 1 and 12; if someone says the selected number, the center player throws the container of water at the player who guessed the correct number. If you get around the circle with none of the players guessing the correct number, the center player throws the water over himself.
Though it may be more difficult to play in beach water because of all the open space, you can play longtime popular pool game Marco Polo at the beach. In this aquatic version of tag, the person who is "it" must close his eyes and call out "Marco," to which other players respond, "Polo." Marco must feel his way around with the hopes of tagging the next player to be Marco.
Races and Relay
You have space for relays at a beach party, so initiate a game of Poop the Potato (or Fruit). Divide the group into two teams and give everyone a potato (or fruit). After placing a bucket for each team down the beach, have players place the potato between their thighs, waddle down the beach (without using their hands), drop the potato in the bucket and run back to tag their next teammate. A team wins when every potato is in the bucket and the last person has returned to the starting point.
Another relay game is Turtle Relay, for which you need about two dozen eggs and two large plastic cups, the latter which you will place at the finish line (you can decide how much space there is between the start and finish lines). After dividing players into two teams, give each player an egg and have players get down on hands and knees (like a turtle). Using their heads, players will roll the egg to the finish line and proceed to roll the egg into the cup (a helper will remove the eggs upon completion). The team that gets all of its eggs into the cup the fastest wins the game.
Keep Your Bottle involves a couple of players being "good sports" by sitting cross-legged with an empty plastic bottle on their head. After dividing the group into two teams, have them form two lines and give a small plastic cup to the first players in line. Place a few large buckets full of warm water between the team members and the good sport. Upon start of the game, players run to fill up their cup and then pour it into the plastic bottle, proceeding to run the cup to the next player in line. You can play this game until you have a team that filled a bottle, or you could end the game and whichever team has collected the most water wins.
Sporty Beach Games
Volleyball remains a beach party game tradition. However, you will run into more challenges, as the sand could impact your ability to run and return balls. You also could play a variation of beach volleyball, called Nukem. After dividing the group into two teams, have players throw any-sized ball over the net. If the other team does not catch the ball, either the last person touching the ball or the one closest to the ball when it hit the ground exits the game. The team left with the most players wins the game.
Try playing coconut bowling, an alternate to the conventional game. Use coconuts in place of bowling balls and try to roll the coconut into a hula hoop without knocking over a bowling pin that's sitting within the hoop. You also can play a traditional game of bowling by using a coconut as your ball and plastic bottles as pins (with some sand to weight them down some).
Frisbee remains a popular beach activity, whether you're playing with Wham-O's trademark disc or other flying discs. You simply can throw the disc back and forth between players, or try a variety of disc challenges. You can see who can land the disc closest to targets set up in the sand, see who can knock over plastic bottles on the sand, or make a course in the sand and play flying disc golf.
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