Play like a pro: Beach games to try at the Jersey Shore

If you love hanging out at the beach with friends and family, you already love fun in the sun. But do you know how to enjoy it like a pro?

There are some fun games that are popular among the locals and lifeguards at the Jersey Shore. Many of them involve easy an set-up and two to four players.

Nick Georgio is a regular at Belmar Beach and has noticed a few favorites this year.

"I think you're seeing more  out there now — definitely Spikeball and things like that are staring to pop up," said Georgio.

The object of KanJam is pretty much what the name implies. Players score points by aiming a flying disk or frisbee into portable goals, resembling garbage cans, that are spaced apart. The game was created in the 1980s and originally was called Garbage Can Frisbee. When one player throws the disk, the other acts a a "deflector" to try to block it.

Seaside Park Lifeguard Captain Michael Veracierta sees beachgoers playing Cornhole a lot. He explained it involves two boards used as targets that are spaced apart, "and you get bean bags and just try to get it in the hole."

Spikeball involves a small trampoline-like object with string netting and a small bouncing ball — "kind of like volleyball rules but actually in reverse, where you have to hit it off the net on the ground instead of over the net," Georgio said.

All three games are usually played to 21 points, with two to four players.

Some other sand games with a twist include BucketBall and Beach Skee-Ball. BucketBall is played like Beer Pong, but on a larger scale. Buckets are filled with water, instead of alcohol. Players try to throw a ball into the other team's buckets. If the ball goes into a bucket, it's removed until one team eliminates all of the other team's buckets.

Beach Skee-Ball is the sand version of the popular arcade game. All you have to do is dig holes in the sand and roll a ball for points.

Kids can be easily entertained at the beach with musical towels. Just like musical chairs, place towels in a circle and use a radio or a smartphone for the music.

For those that really want to be creative and test their athletic skills, there's beach Olympics. You can set up a series of events or obstacles, such as a 40-yard dash, a discus throw and even objects to hurdle over.

For the sedentary, a fun challenge among the Lifeguards in Seaside Park, since they can't leave their stands, is to count boats on the horizon.