Seaside And Beach Games: 22 For A British Beach

A British beach day is rarely about sunbathing. It's about filling six hours of wind, sand and one warm patch behind a windbreak, and that's what games are for.

Most of these need a ball, a bat or nothing at all.

Sand games

• Sandcastle competition with a judging time announced at the start.
• Bury a parent, which is the single most popular beach activity in the country.
• The moat race: dig a channel to the sea and see if the water comes.
• Sand sculpture - a mermaid, a car, a crocodile.
• Draw a giant noughts and crosses grid with a stick, or a hopscotch.
• Sand darts: rings drawn in the sand, throw pebbles for points.

Games with a ball or a bat

• French cricket, which is the best beach game there is and needs one bat and one ball.
• Beach cricket with a stump made of driftwood.
• Rounders with jumpers for bases.
• Frisbee, catch and keepie-uppie.
• Beach volleyball over a line drawn in the sand.
• Boules with pebbles and a marker stone.

Water and rock pool games

• Rock pooling with a list: a crab, an anemone, a limpet, something you can't identify.
• Jumping the waves and the classic 'don't let the water touch you' chase up the beach.
• Stone skimming, with a count and a champion.
• Racing sticks in a stream running down to the sea.
• Building a dam, which will occupy children for three hours and adults for longer.

Beachcombing and quiet games

• Beach bingo: a sea glass, a shell with a hole, a feather, a crab claw, something plastic that shouldn't be there.
• Pebble art - a face, a pattern, a spiral, photographed then left.
• The alphabet game with things you can see.
• I spy, seaside edition.
• A two-minute litter pick, timed, with a winner by weight. Genuinely fun and it does something.

When it's grey, windy and cold

• Kite flying, which actually needs the wind you're complaining about.
• A windbreak fort and a card game inside it.
• The arcade: 2p machines, air hockey and a bag of change makes an hour.
• Crazy golf, which was invented for exactly this weather.
• Walk to the end of the pier and back as a race, with chips at the end.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• One bat and one ball covers the whole day.
• Announce the sandcastle judging time at the start.
• A windbreak is a room. Treat it like one.

Where to shop next

• Traditional British party games explained
• Victorian and vintage parlour games
• Church hall and village fete games
• Wartime and 1950s party games
• Irish, Scottish and Welsh party games
• Clapping games and skipping rhymes
• Card games your nan taught you
• Dice games explained
• Pen and paper games
• Playground games we all played
• Board games hub
• Kids' party games by age
• Nostalgic quiz questions
• Free feel good tools
• Shop cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Birthday cards for kids
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What games can you play on the beach?

French cricket, rounders, beach volleyball over a line in the sand, boules with pebbles, a sandcastle competition and rock pooling with a spotting list. Most need a ball or nothing at all.

How do you play French cricket?

The batter stands with the bat in front of their legs and can't move their feet. Fielders bowl underarm from wherever they catch the ball, aiming at the batter's legs. Hit the legs and they're out - it needs one bat, one ball and no stumps.

What beach games need no equipment?

Sandcastle competitions, burying a parent, stone skimming, beach bingo with things to find, hopscotch drawn with a stick and jumping the waves.

What can you do at the seaside when it's cold?

Fly a kite, build a windbreak fort and play cards inside it, walk the pier, hit the 2p machines in the arcade or play crazy golf. Then chips.

Do you sell games?

No - we make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. Every game here needs a pack of cards, some dice, a pencil or nothing at all, and the only products on this page are our own cards.