It’s been 12 years now since I entered the outdoor game market , so I think I am well positioned to select the top beach games of the year, and here's why... In 2003 I invented the Ladder Golf brand game and have been manufacturing, marketing and selling this game ever since. In 2012 I launched Tosso.com, a company that is obsessed with finding the highest quality outdoor games on the planet. At Tosso.com we locate, market, warehouse and sell only the best and highest quality outdoor games from dozens of different manufactures from all over the world.
Now let’s get on with the best beach games of 2015!
SPIKEBALL
In 1989 Chris Ruder bought a Spikeball game from a local store in his hometown and played it off and on for almost 2 decades. Every time he would play Spikeball he was asked 3 questions: What is that? How do you play? and Where can I get one? The first 2 questions were easy to answer, but answering where people could purchase the game was a problem. You see, the game was only available for a short time in retail and then it disappeared. After 2 decades of telling people that the game was not available anywhere, he decided to do something about it.
In 2008 he bought the rights to the Spikeball game, with the help of some family and friends. Chris began to market and sell the new and improved version of Spikeball from his basement as a part time gig. By 2013 he was able to quit his day job and focus on Spikeball full-time. Fast forward to 2015, he has 8 employees and has been featured in Esquire Magazine, Fox, The Wall Street Journal, ESPN2 and even on Shark Tank!
The game plays similar to 2-man beach volleyball, but instead of a large court and net you have a small round trampoline type net, about 8” off the ground, and a palm sized rubber ball. Just split up into 2-person teams and spread out around the circular net. Each team can hit the ball up to 3 times before it has to hit the net again. After bouncing off the net the other team gets 3 hits to send the ball back down into the net. The goal is to hit the ball into the net so the other team cannot return it. The first team to 21 wins!
Chris and his team dream about making Spikeball the next great American SPORT instead of just a game. They have a National ranking database for Spikeball players and will have over 300 National Tournaments in 2015 alone. It looks like Chris and his team are well on their way to achieving this dream!
WABOBA BALLS
A ball is one of the most universal toys on the planet. You can play dozens of different games with a simple ball. Well, the Waboba ball is a bit different because you can actually bounce this ball on water! The name is short for WAter BOuncing BAll. This opens up a whole new realm of opportunity at the beach, because let’s face it, a ball that bounces on water is just plain cool!
A Waboba ball will turn a simple game of catch into an epic event. You can bounce the ball off the waves for a more unpredictable outcome. The Waboba Ball was invented in Sweden by Jan Von Heland after getting the idea from tossing a frisbee around in the ocean in the early 80’s. After decades of testing different shapes and materials, the original Waboba Ball made it’s debut in 2005 and has been expanding its reach and its product line ever since.
In the 10 years since the Waboba Ball was invented they have rolled out several different types of balls that all have a unique type of action when bounced on water. They now have the Extreme (the most wild version), Professional, Surf (for beginners), Blast (for the pool), Big Kahuna, and they even have one called the Fetch (for your dog)! You can currently find Waboba Balls in North America, all European Countries and all Continents except Antarctica.
KAN JAM
Frisbees and the beach go hand in hand, but it seems like we are getting more and more competitive as a culture and Kan Jam is the perfect combination for competitive fun. This game started out with 2 friends Charles Sciandra and Paul Swisher playing garbage can frisbee. It evolved over the next three decades into the patented game that you see today, and is sold all over the world.
To play Kan Jam just space the goals (Kans) out 50 feet, split up into teams and start tossing the disk. Each team will have a disk thrower and a disk deflector. 2 points are awarded for hitting the Kan directly, 1 point for hitting the can after your teammate deflects the disk, and 3 points for deflecting the disk into the top of the Kan, or in the front slot. This game can get competitive and no team is ever out of sight of winning due to the instant win! To win instantly, just get a direct toss through the front slot or into the top of the Kan. Only an unassisted direct toss can win the game, but it adds a little hint of hope even for the beginners that are getting blown out!
Glow in the Dark Bocce
Bocce Ball has been around in some form or another for thousands of years, but now with the addition of some LED lights, you have a whole new perspective on Bocce Balls. Glow in the dark bocce ball is a casual game that was destined to top the list of best beach games this year.
These LED Bocce Balls have a unique water resistant plug that houses the batteries and the LED light. You can turn the LED lights on, off and can even make them blink. But please use the blinking sparingly unless you want to use the balls to guide a small plane in for landing. Bede Kortegast invented these glow in the dark bocce balls after fielding constant inquiries from customers at his specialty bocce ball website asking for something that would glow in the dark and allow them to play late into the night. Several iterations and a couple patents later, Bede has the glow in the dark bocce ball set that his customers have been dreaming about. In fact I am dreaming of a bonfire at the beach and a game of glow in the dark bocce ball as well.
Ladder Golf
The concept for Ladder Golf was developed at a beach campground in San Diego over 12 years ago by me (Brent Doud). I developed the first prototypes for the Ladder Golf game in my parents garage with my father’s help.
I took these prototypes to a few summer parties over a decade ago and was bombarded with requests on where they could be purchased. Demand for the game was instant, so with the help of a couple friends, we launched the Ladder Golf company in 2003 and started manufacturing, marketing and selling the Ladder Golf game online and in specialty retailers.
To play, just setup the game Ladders, space them out about 5 paces and start tossing the bolas. To score points, wrap your bolas around the rungs and make sure they stick, so that the other player doesn’t knock them off. You get 3 points for the top rung, 2 points for the middle and 1 point for the lower rung. The first player to score exactly 21 points wins.