May 29, 2019
Courtesy of BULZiBUCKET/for PhillyVoice
What is that beach game these people are holding, and why do they all seem so happy about it?
For some folks, the beach is the perfect place to kick back and relax while soaking in the rays and letting the cares of the world drift away. For others, it’s the perfect place to play games.
Neither approach is bad, but this post is geared toward those who enjoy the latter, and there are many games that can be played near the ocean.
While this list ostensibly qualifies as one in which these pursuits are ranked, it's not definitive since all the games listed below are good. It comes down to personal taste and competitive interests.
One interesting wrinkle is the onslaught of new games in recent years. The entries below will not only bring you up to speed with the rules of games with which you may not be familiar, but places where the necessary equipment can be purchased.
With no further ado, here are 15 (well, actually 18) of the best games to play at the shore, listed in order from enjoyable to best.
If we missed any (such as Mashball, which seems like a really good way to play Beer Pong for those of you so inclined to do so), don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments.
This is a traditional beach-sport mainstay with roots on the sands of California, and one which rose to the level of an official Olympic competition in 1996. At that level, it's a two-versus-two match, but games can obviously include more players.
You need a volleyball and a net to play, and some shore towns have the latter installed for public use. You can always bring your own, though, and nets range in cost from $79.99 upwards of $250.
Now, let's enjoy the beach-volleyball scene from the classic 1983 film "Top Gun."
This "outdoor game of skill" involves two or more competitors testing their accuracy at throwing washers into recessed cups contained in "washer pits" stationed roughly 25-feet apart.
The downside? Finding washers that missed the aforementioned pits and get buried in the sand. Still, our own Matt Mullin ranked washers as his second-best beach game.
An original "washers" set runs $44.95 (plus shipping and handling), but there are cheaper versions available via Amazon or local sporting goods stores. A do-it-yourself? Well, here's a video with the steps necessary to make your own.
This classic game needs no introduction, and drew several votes amongst PhillyVoice folks when asked to pick their all-time favorites.
However, as it pertains to beach play, it's hemmed in by the difficulty of blowing winds and finding enough open space to compete in a non-disruptive way.
You can get a wiffle ball bat-and-ball set for around five bucks. Should this be your pursuit of choice, you might want to load up on extra wiffle balls, 12-packs of which can be procured for less than $20.
Also, the kids seem to enjoy it.
As long as you aren't on a beach with stickler-lifeguards, tossing a football around at the water's edge, and diving into the waves to catch it, is a distinctly summer-American pastime.
The Nerf (or other variety) Aero Howler football is the G.O.A.T. of the field. Distance. Don't hurt as bad as a traditional football should a player or innocent bystander get stuck by an errant toss. They cost around $10-$15 with a $6 upgrade for the Howler Accelerator add-on.
Here's how our Adam Hermann described the allure: "This is extremely old school, and maybe a bit boring, but tossing a football (when the lifeguards aren't being obnoxious) on the sand and in the shallow water is delightful."
Embedded below are a commercial from the 1990s involving G.O.A.T. NFL quarterback John Elway, and the seminal beach-football scene from the wonderful film "Point Break."
Elway, Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves: they're just like us!
This is that jawn that depends upon Velcro on the ball and paddles for the game's success. It's simple, friendly for players of all ages and available for less than $10 at a variety of locations.
Below is a video involving the game, with dramatic music.
Two wooden paddles. One ball. Loads of fun. Paddleball has long been a beach-game mainstay, and one that PhillyVoice's Jon Tuleya deemed the best of all.
It's such a mainstay that recent years have seen variations of the game arrive on the scene. They range from Pickleball, which was somehow deemed the fastest growing sport in America in 2015, to Jazzminton, which is a mashup of Paddleball and a version of Badminton adapted for the beach because of weighted "birdies."
Six-packs of Paddleball rackets can be purchased for roughly $35 or less, with Pickleball sets available in the same price range. Jazzminton, the new kid on the block billed as the "paddle game to rule them all" are even less expensive, and birdies that take wind interference into effect are available.
Just keep in mind that "aggressive" games of paddleball have drawn some pushback from non-players who find themselves in proximity to the games.
Also, here's a video of women playing Jazzminton in the hallway at work.
Nobody should need a refresher about what Frisbees, or flying discs, are. But in the course of researching this story, we stumbled upon a very cool variation of the age-old game that looks like a heck of a lot of beach fun. (And not just because it involves red Solo cups which are ever-present at the Jersey Shore.)
Folks, meet Flick N Sticks. It involves one Frisbee and four sticks emerging from the sand in sets of two some distance apart from each other. Atop those sticks are Solo Cups, and the purpose of said competition is to throw the flying disk in a fashion that knocks one or two of the cups from those perches, challenging opponents to catch them before they hit the sand.
See, it looks like a lot of fun (and inexpensive):
The patent obtained by Pennsylvania mailman Robert G. Reid in 2001 for a "ball and ladder" game describes the game as such:
A tethered ball toss game is described in which a number of tethered balls arranged at both ends of a series of cords and secured to the ends of the cords by knots are tossed from a prescribed distance toward a number of horizontal bars positioned between upright supports which are retained in perpendicular angularity to the underlying support surface by bottom supports.
Each of the horizontal bars are relocatable in a vertical direction along the side supports to other pre-determined points for engagement with the side supports by engaging a retractable latching member into a cooperating hole so that the bar is secured in the desired position.
In this fashion the distance between the bars can be altered to vary the difficulty and skill levels of the game. Alternative embodiments of the game are also contemplated where the length of the bars is varied by changing the shape of the side supports to accommodate shortened horizontal bars.
Enjoy with that official-ese speak, though.
This game is all about having two three-rung ladders and three sets of "bolas" for each team. The bolas (balls attached by an interconnected cord) are then tossed toward the ladders, placed 15 feet apart, with scoring dependent upon which (if any) of the rungs the bola wraps itself around.
Sets can be purchased from anywhere around $33 and a waterproof variety for $41, up to a new tournament version that runs $130.
This all-time classic competition is easily adaptable to the beach. After all, there's sand in many horseshoe pits even if they're not at the shore.
The rules are straightforward, and the game is cheap and easy to transport to and from the beach. Here is a breakdown comparing various beach-horseshoe sets, and here is an expert discussing nuances for the serious player:
This one isn't specific to the Jersey Shore, and not by a longshot. The beautiful game is played on beaches across the globe. All you need is a ball, bare feet and, should you not have nets, four items to put down to represent a pair of goals. (If you want nets, though, you can get a set of two collapsible goals for as little as $19.99 to $36.99 complete with a carry bag.)
The harder the sand (as in closer to the water line), the faster the game.
This June and July, the Cape Express Beach Blast Soccer Tournament returns to the area near Morey's Pier in Wildwood, attracting hundreds of youth players (from U8 to U18) and adults to the resort town for a two-day celebration of five-versus-five soccer. It's the 10th year and this time, there are two separate events.
It is, as advertised, a blast.
These three games are relatively similar, so we'll group them together for the purposes of this post.
In fact, the rules of Baggo and Cornhole are the same, but the boards are different insofar as Baggo's folding up like a mini-table or large briefcase which holds the bean bags inside.
Meanwhile, there's a Cornhole board that doubles as a beach chair, and that's a pretty awesome idea.
Where TidalBall (which bills itself as Cornhole "reinvented for the beach") differs is that it uses weighted wooden balls instead of bean bags, and in lieu of a board, players just dig a pair of trenches and holes and let the games begin.
As far as costs go, a Baggo game can be purchased for roughly $100, and Cornhole runs about the same, though Dick's Sporting Goods has a nice sale price on an All Weather Stars and Stripes variety right now.
With its lack of a board, TidalBall is much cheaper to get up and running, with a six-ball (three per team) starter set running about $20.
This relatively-new-kid-on-the-beach-game block was originally created in 1989, but took off promotionally about 20 years later. These days, you probably see it just about any time you go to the beach.
Also known as "roundnet," it's been called the "love child between volleyball and four-square." Spikeball involves a "taut hula-hoop sized net" with legs placed on the ground between two-person teams.
The game starts with a player serving the Spikeball down onto the net so it bounces in the direction of the other team, which has up to three hits before sending it back down onto the net and over to the foes. There are no boundaries, which means Spikeball can involve a lot of diving into the sand, a la beach volleyball.
It's an active, engaging game worthy of its rise in popularity. The standard three-ball kit starts at $59 from Spikeball itself, with glow-in-the-dark-ball add-ons taking that up to $99. (You can see the offerings via this link.)
Below are videos about the game's basics, and some highlight-reel plays. If you want to see it in action, there's a big tournament scheduled for Point Pleasant, N.J. on July 13.
Fresh on the heels of a Memorial Day Weekend regional tournament in Northeast Philly, the creators of this "next-generation Cornhole bringing hackysack back to a new level" game are dutifully preparing to crown their first-ever National Champions this August.
BULZiBUCKET, pronounced "bullseye," is essentially a three-bucket tower into which players try to throw hackysacks from a distance of 12 to 15 feet. (The top tier draws the most points in the game played to 21. You can score if you hack a thrown ball into the buckets.)
For $60 you get the buckets (which attach into one another easily), six "hack it" bags and a carrying case.
You've probably seen beach people throwing a Frisbee between what appear to be two mini-trashcans and trying to dunk the thrown disc into said receptacle from 50 feet away.
Yep, that's Kan Jam, and it drew several votes for inclusion among the top beach games.
Among the more popular beach games in recent years is KanJam, which involves frisbees and two 'goals' that resemble trash cans.
PhillyVoice's Sinead Cummings lauded the easy through which it can be carried to the beach, set up and played, while Jeff Douglass noted that, "Who doesn't like throwing a Frisbee at a glorified plastic trash can? It's a great game that anyone from kids to even Brian Hickey can play."
Aw. Thanks, Jeff.
Kan Jam players are called "throwers" and "deflectors," and though games can be played to 21, there's an "instant win" opening on the front of the "goal."
You can grab everything you need to play for $49.99 and it's available at numerous locations in the area.
Despite the influx of cool new games to play on beaches, we're topping it off with a game so classic that its roots trace back to the Roman Empire.
Simplicity is part of the charm, as is how the two-to-eight person game involves some elements that make Skee Ball so great.
All you need is bocce balls (prices for sets range from around $10 to luxury versions at $100 or $150), drawing a "throwing circle" in the sand (the more packed, the better for ball movement), good aim and the strength to throw or roll the balls.
Good times will be had by all.
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