Of course, it doesn’t always work out that you are actually carrying a set of horseshoes or a game of washers with you to the beach each day.

This is where years of wisdom and your parent ingenuity kicks in – let’s play a game of Shell Horseshoes! The rules for shell horseshoes are a combination of sorts between horseshoes and washers, but with some minor differences in the playing gear.

Shell Horseshoes

First, find yourself four hardy shells along the beach; shells that are strong enough and can withstand being tossed around the beach for the next 30 minutes or so.

Once you’ve found your four playing shells, dig two holes in the ground, roughly the same distance you would have dug the stakes in the ground if you had a set of horseshoes.  Viola! Instant shell horseshoes.

Not only do you have a game for yourself and the other adults, but it’s a game the kids love more so than the actual horseshoes game because it seems more clever to them – you’re an instant hit with the kids too!