Pool Game Ideas
Tired of the same old Marco Polo? Check out our list of fun swimming pool games to keep kids and adults entertained for hours.
Atomic Whirlpool
HOW TO PLAY:
- Tell players to get in the pool and line up in a single-file line along the edge of the pool.
- First, tell the players to walk around the edge of the pool.
- After about 30 seconds of walking, tell them to jog around the edge of the pool.
- After about 30 seconds of jogging, tell them to start running. By this point, there should be a strong current pulling them along.
- Tell the players to stop and walk in the other direction. It’ll be almost impossible to move against the current!
Tip: The more players you’ve got, the stronger the whirlpool.
Bumper Balls
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- A beach ball
- A cord or rope
HOW TO PLAY:
- Place the cord or rope across a section of the pool.
- Give each player a beach ball.
- When you say “GO,” players use their beach balls to bump each other into the rope. Any player who touches the rope is “out.” The last player in the pool wins!
Duck Push
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- Rubber ducks (one per player)
HOW TO PLAY:
- Starting at one end of the pool, give each player a rubber duck.
- When you say, “Go,” the players must push their duck to the other end of the pool.
- They can push the ducks with their noses, blow on them, or bump them with their foreheads – whatever it takes to get the duck moving. But they cannot use their hands.
Tip: Make the game more challenging by allowing players to distract each other by splashing water at each other or try knocking their opponents’ ducks off course. No hands may touch the duck.
Freeze Tag
HOW TO PLAY:
- Choose one player to be “it.” That person tries to tag the other players.
- Players who are tagged must stand frozen like a popsicle until another player “thaws” them by jumping up to high-five them.
- A player cannot be tagged while they are underwater.
Tip: This is best played in shallower areas where each player can stand comfortably in the water.
Invisi-Bottle
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- An empty plastic water bottle or 2-liter soda bottle with the cap on and the label removed
HOW TO PLAY:
- Fill the 2-liter bottle with pool water and close it tightly.
- Divide players into two teams, and have the teams move to opposite ends of the pool, facing away from the water.
- Randomly throw the bottle into the water.
- When they hear the splash, the teams can turn around and try to find the bottle. The first team to find it wins!
Tip: For best results, use a clear bottle with a white or clear cap. The clear bottle will blend in and become almost invisible at the bottom of the pool.
Noodle Joust
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- Two pool noodles
- One pool floatie/rafts, large enough for two swimmers
HOW TO PLAY:
- Pick two players, put them on the pool floatie or raft in the middle of the pool.
- Give each player a pool noodle and let the joust begin!
- Players joust with the noodles until one player is knocked off of the floatie. The remaining player is the winner.