The beach is an amazing place to spend time with family and friends in hot or even cooler weather conditions. There are a lot of fun beach games for adults and kids alike. While for kids it may be easy to find an ideal game to play with a few other kids, and sand games are ideal for kids on the beach.

Whether it is just an ordinary day at the beach or you are celebrating the kid’s birthday, you can plan a few games to get the kids active and engaging.

Some Fun Beach Games for Kids

1. Sharks and Minnows

This is a beach game that can be played in the shallow, still water or on the shore. One child is designated as the shark with all the others playing the winnows. For older kids, you can blindfold the shark to make the game more interesting. As the minnows run around the shark, the shark is required to tag one of them. When a minnow is tagged, it becomes a member of the shark’s family and helps the shark in tagging the remaining minnows. The last person to be tagged is crowned as the fastest minnow.

2. Fill the Bucket

This is a beach version of a party game. You are required to use 2 big buckets and 2 small buckets. Separate the kids into two teams and place the buckets at least 50 feet from the water. On the count of three, a player from each team races to the water edge and fills the small bucket with water and runs back to pour it out into the larger bucket placed 50 feet away. Once done, the player hands the small bucket to the next member of the group to do the same. The idea is to beat time limits for filling the large bucket. The group that takes the least time wins.

3. Sorting Shells

Sorting shells can be a great way to make a collection and also to teach the kids a few things. Make the kids run around the beach to gather different types of shells. Draw a grid on the sand to assort the different shells in different categories. They can be sorted by color, size, and even type.

4. Treasure Hunt 

The beach is a perfect location to search for buried treasure. You can make this game as complicated or as simple as possible. Simply place a costume jewelry or coin in a small bucket and bury it in a location that can easily be remembered. Write down some clues for the players to use as a lead to the treasure. For more fun, you can include other beachgoers or vendors in the treasure hunt clues.

5. Sand Darts

There are different ways of playing beach darts. The easiest way involves sketching a circle in the sand with concentric circles inside it. Players are required to stand a distance from the circles and toss shells or pebbles in the dartboard trying to get as close as possible to the center (bulls eye).

6. Musical Towels

Simply lay out musical towels on the beach. Just make sure there is one less towel than the number of players. Get the players walk or dance in circle beside the towels when the music is played. The players must stand on the towel when someone turns off the music. The person who cannot stand on a towel has to be out of the game. Remove one more towel and play the music. Repeat this until only one player left. You can change the music so that the people can dance to different tones.

7. Sandcastle Sculpting

When it’s time to settle down and look for a relaxing activity for the kids, sandcastle sculpting can be a great activity. Simply ensure that your kid has the right tools to make this activity fun for them.  This is a great way of teaching kids arts too. Apply enough sun block and let your kid wear a hat in order not to be sunburned.

8. Beach Bowling

Use a kid’s shovel to dig up a few holes in the configuration of a pyramid. Give out tennis balls to act as the bowling balls. The kids should aim to get the balls in the holes to win.

9. Water Balloon Toss

This is a fun game that involves balloons filled with water. The balloons are tossed by the kids until they bust and pour out the water in them. They will like the water since they are in their swimming suits.

Want to know more about fun beach games for kids? Watch this video: