Beach Games
Planning a beach picnic? Damp sandy beaches make perfect game boards - with no game pieces to lose! If your hands and feet have turned pruny from all those swimming pool games, then it's time to get out of the water and try some of these slightly drier beach games. Note that many of these games originated as school playground games.
Drip, Drip, Drop Did I say "drier games"? For this beach game you will need a pail full of water - and be prepared to get wet! Choose one player to be "It". All others sit in a circle on the sand. "It" slowly walks around the outside of the circle spilling a drip from the pail on each players head. Everyone says "drip" for each drip. Eventually "It" is going to dump the entire pail of water on someone's head shouting "drop"! It must then drop the pail and run as fast as he can around the circle. The wet player jumps up and runs around the circle in the opposite direction. The first person back to the empty space gets to sit down, and the person left standing is "It". Refill the pail and start all over again!
Four Corners Four Corners is a classic school yard game which can be easily turned into a beach game. A very large square is drawn (approx. 25 feet, 8 m). "It" stands in the middle, all other players stand in each of the four corners. "It" calls out "I want a corner - Give me yours" and points at one of the corners. All the corner players must run to another corner before "It" gets there. If "It" gets to a corner first, the player without a corner becomes the next "It". Variations:
Sand Bull's-Eye Draw a circle in the sand about the size of a large bike tire. You then need to draw another three circles in the middle, equal distances from each other, getting smaller and smaller (hence, a bull's-eye). From the outside, the rings are worth 2, 4, 6, and 10 points (in the center). Make a starting line in the sand a good 10-12 paces away from your bull's eye. Each player will need three small equal sized stones or sticks. Players take turns throwing all three stones at the bull's eye - you could choose to do this all at once, or one stone at a time. Add up the score after each turn (keep score in your head or keep a tally in the sand). The first person to score 50 points wins.
Soccer Golf Okay, I admit it ... we made this game up. And it has become our favourite beach game! We were kicking around a soccer ball on the beach with our kids and it had rolled into a hole in the sand (the remnants of a sand castle). After that our kids kept trying to get the ball into the hole again - thus a game was born! You can choose your tee-off spots from anywhere you wish. The kids liked to kick off from the driftwood and from the water's edge. Our husbands thought it was quite fun to kick the ball off from the bellies of their sunbathing wives! And don't forget to yell... "Fore!"
Wedge of the World Draw a circle in the sand about the size of a big bicycle tire. Divide the circle into four equal wedges, then draw a smaller circle in the middle. This will be the centre of the world. Find five playing pieces or markers (seashells, small rocks, or bits of driftwood) for each player. Make a line in the sand about 10-12 paces away from the circle. The object of this beach game is to toss your playing pieces into each of the four wedges, and then land the last one in the centre of the world. Players take turns, throwing one piece at a time. If your marker lands in a wedge where you already have a piece, or it lands in the middle before you have a piece in each wedge, you take it back and wait for your next turn. The first person to land all five of their markers correctly wins. Return to Outdoor Games
|
