Fun games to do in a swimming pool

To play, you will only need two players and any type of medium to large floating balls. Beach balls are an excellent choice for this game. You can have more than two players, but remember that each of the players will need their own ball. Just like a dolphin.

Submarine Sweep is a great and easy game for your imaginative kids. Submarine Sweep requires at least two players, but many more can participate. The game requires nothing except for the players and a swimming pool. Watermelon Push is one of the more challenging swimming pool games. You can also play with more than two people.

At least two watermelons will be required. The game requires two players, duct tape, and at least twenty noodles. That means there will be ten pool noodles per player.

Players can get more creative with their rafts if there are more noodles for them to use. Sharks and Minnows is one of those classic swimming pool games that comes in many different forms.

This version of Sharks and Minnows requires nothing but a swimming pool and a group of enthusiastic players. Try to beat your score from the last round. As a kid, I was absolutely fascinated by the power of water. One of the things we loved doing was to get the water moving in a whirlpool and then fight the current. The more kids that can play, the better results. The smaller the pool, the better. Or stay in the shallow end of the pool. To play: Everyone starts in a large circle.

Begin walking slowly in the circle, all in the same direction. Start walking faster and faster until everyone is running in the water. Continue running until a whirlpool is formed! Laughter and chaos are sure to ensue!

Everyone loves a good belly flop! This game is sure to bring the laughter and a good way to get everyone big and little involved in the action. To play: Let each player take a turn jumping into the pool, showing off their biggest, loudest, most awkward belly flop. The diver who gets the most applause or laughter for their belly flop wins! Biggest splash wins! You can play with any number of players. The more players, the more fun! This certainly makes things more fun and challenging.

My kids love playing chicken fight in the pool, but we do have some ground rules to make sure no one gets hurt. They have to stay away from the edge of the pool and keep their hands off hair, heads, and necks. You need at least 4 kids to play this game. To play: Divide up into teams of 2 players.

The water must be shallow enough for the standing player to have their shoulders and head out of the water. Whoever falls into the pool first, loses. Everyone else is a bobber and lines up in a single file line at one end of the pool. The bobbers have to bob up and down as they make their way to the other end of the pool. Team sports in the water are always a bit hit with my competitive kids.

We love dividing up and challenging each other to a half-court game of pool basketball! To play: Divide into teams and start shooting some hoops. Point values go up the farther from the basket you can get. See who can get the highest score! Freeze tag is another absolutely classic summertime pool game. Water polo is a favorite sport in our house. Small soccer goals work great for this.

To play: Water polo is a lot like ice hockey or even soccer. The objective is for your team to get the ball into the goal. Divide everyone up into 2 teams and choose a goalie for each team. The goalie guards the net. This is one of the simplest games for kids of any age and can easily be adapted for whatever skill level your kids are.

Younger kids love this one. To play: One person is the leader and calls out the actions. Then the leader has to try and get everyone to do an action without saying Simon says. If someone does the action and the leader did not say Simon says, that person is out and the game continues. Other fun pool activities are: do jumping jacks, do a flip, spin around 3 times, underwater tea party, etc.

To play: Get a couple of super soakers or foam water cannons and let the fun begin! Divide up into 2 teams, position yourselves at opposite ends of the pool and put a beach ball in the middle of the pool. This is a fun game for little kids. Fox or What Time is It, Mr. We always used to play this after swim team and it brings back so many great memories. Shark stands facing away from the shallow end of the pool with all the little fishies in it. Shark, what time is it?

When Mr. Shark can turn and glance where everyone is before turning his back again. Play continues until the fishies are very close to him. That person becomes Mr. This game is great for kids who want to practice their diving skills and kids that are learning how to count money.

Kids can play this alone or take turns. To play: Simply toss some loose change into the pool and let the coins sink. To make it a bit harder, try spreading the coins out. A child can play alone, simply diving down to collect the change as if hunting for treasure. More than one child can play and compete in this treasure hunt. You can play again and again.

Whoever gets the most coins or the highest value of all the coins added up , wins! And, I hope these pool games inspire YOU to get in that water with your kids!

For example, if the first player does a handstand in the water, the other players take turns attempting handstands, too. If someone cannot perform the task, he or she earns the first letter in the word fish. Whoever "spells" fish first, loses. To keep things fair, you may want to make a rule that players can only select a particular task once so that someone doesn't keep repeating tasks that no one else can do.

You might also need an objective judge to determine whether one's stunt earns him or her a letter. Instruct players to get on their floaties and line up at one end of the pool. Choose someone to be the referee. Players who fall off of their floaties are disqualified. The first player there wins! Tip: This game works best in a longer pool, and can also be played as a relay race with two teams.

The leader should be in the center of the pool. The watcher should be out of the pool, standing where they can see everyone. The rest of the players should line up behind the leader. The leader can do anything they want: dog paddle, do a backstroke, swim underwater — nothing is off limits. Eliminated players must leave the pool. The last player in the pool is the winner — and they become the new leader. This modified version of freeze tag is best played in a shallower area of the pool where every player can stand with their heads above water.

Players who are tagged must stand frozen like a popsicle with hands straight in the air until another player thaws him or her by swimming between his or her legs. A player cannot be tagged while underwater. In this game, the first team to thaw out a frozen T-shirt wins! Divide players into two teams. Give each team a frozen T-shirt and tell them they can use any means necessary to thaw the shirts: the garden hose, the swimming pool, the hot pavement — you name it.

Empty Water Bottles work great too! 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. Throw the bottle into the water.

Once each standing player has their teammate on their shoulders, the two top players basically engage in upright wrestling. Whoever falls into the pool first, loses the round. The defending champs then go up against a new team. Safety Tip: Establish ground rules ahead of time such as keeping hands off heads, necks, and hair or staying away from the edge of the pool deck so that no one gets hurt. Number of Players: Ideally 6 or more. You can always sub in and out. Equipment: 2 small goals street hockey size works well and a water polo ball or similar.

How to Play: Most of us have probably seen water polo on TV. The point of the game is simple: score by getting the ball into the net! Whoever scores the most points wins! Safety Tip: Playing side to side in the shallow end works well for swimmers not strong enough to tread water.

If you do play in the deep end, make sure swimmers are strong enough to tread water for a long period of time. Give breaks as needed. Number of Players: A large group makes this lots of fun! How to Play: Similar to Sharks and Minnows, this game gets progressively harder as it goes on.

Anyone who does get tagged by the Octopus joins the Octopus by holding hands. The Octopus then swims together to continue tagging more swimmers during each round. On the flip side, it will get more and more difficult for the other swimmers to make their way around the ever-growing Octopus es.

The last one swimming is the winner! Safety Tip: Though this game is very fun with large groups, it can be a safety issue when too many people are holding hands swimming together. Limit each Octopus to 4 people. Number of Players: Get as many people as you can to join the fun! Equipment: None, but this game will need to be played in the shallow end of the pool.

How to Play: Begin by having everyone start in a single file line, designating one person in the front as the leader. The leader then begins walking slowly in a large circle towards the end player, while everyone else follows behind forming a circle.

Once the circle is formed, the leader will begin running in the water. Everyone else begins to run as well. Continue running until a whirlpool is formed. Players will notice themselves being picked up off the ground at this point while being carried by the current of the whirlpool.

Laughs will be had as everyone realizes how difficult it is to run against the current! Safety Tip: Since this is in the shallow end, keep an eye out for little ones. Make sure they are away from the whirlpool area.