13 Beach Games to Make Your Summer Vacation Even More Fun

Heading to the beach for a week or more? If you're worried that boredom may hit after a few days of riding the waves or chilling under a beach shade, you're in luck. There are a ton of beach-friendly games and toys out there to help you have a ball, or otherwise, at your favorite beach vacation spot.

Whether you're looking for beach ball games to keep your kids entertained or a fun beach drinking game for your crew, borrow our ideas to make your getaway even more memorable. As a bonus, most of these games work really well for having fun in your backyard, too!

Best Beach Games for Kids

These family-friendly beach games are fun for kids as well as the young at heart, so don't discount any of them, even if your beach buds are over 20.

Tidal Ball

This fun fusion of cornhole and bocce ball uses special wooden balls that are perfect for rolling on the sand. They float when one inevitably hits the surf, and the set comes with a sand scoop to help you set up the playing field. Everything weighs under a pound, including the fishnet bag, so it's easy to haul the whole set down to the beach. ($30, tidalball.com)

Tug of War

This classic camp favorite is perfect for beach play, because the team that fails is guaranteed a soft landing on the sand. ($34, target.com)

Kubb

This game—allegedly descended from a Viking competition—involves a little strategy. To win, you have to knock down the other team's blocks, and then their king. ($71, target.com)

Relay Beach Games

Divide your crew into teams and have them compete to see who can bring the most water or sand from one location to their bucket somewhere else. First team to fill theirs wins! ($15, target.com)

Sand Castle Contest

Divide into teams, set a time limit, and see who can craft the most epic castle. Make sure both teams have access to next-level tools, like this sand castle tower maker. ($50, fatbraintoys.com)

Limbo

All you need is a taut rope, a stick, or even an oar to play this iconic "how low can you go" game. This game pairs particularly well with music.

Catch

Playing catch is a time-honored beach game, but the Waboba Pro ball kicks it up a notch. This squishy ball bounces off the water surface, allowing you to play easily in water. ($10, wabobapro.com)

Best Beach Games for Adults

Don't let kids have all the fun! These beach games require skillsets that make them more adult- or at least big kid-appropriate.

Bucket Ball

This jumbo-sized version of beer pong is the perfect beach drinking game for you and your crew. Sure, with a slight change-up of beverages, the kids can play, too. ($60, amazon.com)

Card Games

If your summer read gets stale, pull out this set of waterproof playing cards. Whether your game is poker, solitaire, or President, this deck opens you up to countless fun adult games. ($7, amazon.com)

Scatter

This fun Finnish game seems easy to start: Throw a baton at numbered pins and tally up the score of the ones you knocked down. Here's the catch: To win, you have to score exactly 50 points and, if you go over, you revert to 25 points and try again. We recommend a dry-erase board to keep score without the shore breeze blowing paper everywhere. ($80, uncommongoods.com)

Jazzminton

This combo of paddleball and badminton uses traditional beach paddles with two kinds of birdies: one for slow play and one for fast play. Made of water-resistant materials, you don't have to worry if a birdie—or a paddle—lands in the surf. Bonus: You can play indoors on rainy days. ($16, walmart.com)

Night Beach Volleyball

Continue your match after hours with an LED light-up beach volleyball. It's perfect for gameplay near your next beach bonfire. ($32, target.com)

Kan Jam

The objective is simple: Toss the frisbee into the can. As you can imagine, a breezy beach can make this more challenging than it sounds. ($40, target.com)