Classic Beach Games (Part 1 of 3)

There are dozens of trendy new beach games and activities that come each year, but most of them are simply a new variation on one of the classics.  Many of the newcomers are great games, and some would even argue that they are better than their predecessors.  But not me.  I'll stick with the original.  Horseshoes, bocce ball, paddle ball, volleyball, and football were the pioneers in beach gaming.  Lets take a look at each of these classics.

The game of tossing horseshoes was probably not originally designed for some friendly competition during a relaxing day at the beach.  Most likely it came from bored ranches killing time and doing a little wagering on the side.  Regardless of it's origin, throwing horseshoes could not be a better fit for the beach.  Traditionally there are 4 metal shoes, and 2 metal stakes in a set.  The Franklin Sports set, seen to the left, is great standard set at an incredible price.  Typically categorized with other beach games for adults, horseshoes can be altered to become family friendly.

To get started you'll need to drive the stakes in the sand 37' apart, official "pitching" distance for adults according to the National Horseshoe Pitching Association (NHPA).  At the regulation distance horseshoes is strictly an adult beach game.  By placing the stakes closer together it can become a family beach game.  No need to pull something while "horsing" around on the beach!  Either 2 or 4 people can play at a time.  With two players each of you will toss two horseshoes from the same end, and after throwing walk to the other stake, check the score, and repeat.  Playing with 4, there is one team member standing at each stake, players at one stake will throw, the other players will score the results and then take their turn throwing back.  For official rules check out the NHPA website.

Horseshoes is mostly categorized as a beach game for adults because the weight of the shoes.  Recently some more family friendly sets are made of plastic and other lighter materials have become available.  There's even LED illuminated sets for playings at night, as seen to the left.  The broadest assortment of different horseshoe sets can be found at this link:   Search Amazon.com for horseshoes game (this will take you directly to all the horseshoe listings).

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