Remember, safety comes first! Always keep a close eye on kids near a pool or lake. Set the rules for pool play before getting started. We’ve included how many people and any equipment you’ll need for each of the swimming pool or water games listed below.

Swimming Pool Games You Can Play Anywhere (No Equipment Required!)

1. Marco Polo

Minimum number of players: 2

This classic game practically dates back to the days of Marco Polo, but it never gets old! One player closes their eyes (you can use a blindfold) and calls out "Marco," while the others respond with “Polo." The person with their eyes closed has to rely on sound to determine where the other players are and tag them! Last person to be tagged wins, and is the next person to be blindfolded.

 
Get parents involved in the fun with a family Chicken Fight! Photo by Joe Shlabotnik, via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

2. Chicken Fight

Minimum number of players: 4

Chicken fights are played with a minimum of four participants (two people on the bottom and two “chickens” who climb onto the other player’s shoulders). A chicken can push, pull, tickle, tackle, or splash each other with a goal of getting the other chicken to fall into the water.

Tip: With younger kids, you really want to set rules for what’s allowed and what isn’t before getting started. Some kids don’t like getting pulled into the water! This game is a fun one for parents to play with kids, and having grown-ups involved helps keep it safe and fun.

3. Sharks and Minnows

Minimum number of players: 4

One player is the "shark" and tries to tag the "minnows" as they swim from one side of the pool to the other. Once tagged, the minnows join the shark team. The last minnow standing wins.

4. Colors

Minimum number of players: 3

This is another version of tag, and is fun for kids of all ages! One person is "it" and gets out of the pool and turns their back to the pool. Everyone else wades in at the end near them and chooses a color. (You can stick to the rainbow colors for younger kids, or get creative for big kids and use any color imaginable.)

"It" starts yelling out colors and if your color gets called, you have to swim to the other end of the pool as fast as you can. If you can swim to the other end before "it" can jump in the pool and tag you, you stay at that end, safe. If you're tagged, you're the new "it." One of the fun things about this game is the strategy. You want to swim as quietly as you can, so "it" doesn't know you're on the move, and it buys you more swim time!

5. Atomic Whirlpool

Minimum number of players: You’ll need 4+ kids for this to really work, but the more the merrier

Part science, part magic, this game is all fun. Get the kids to stand in a line in the pool but along the edge of the shallow end. Have them walk, then jog, then race as fast as they can—still in single file—around the perimeter of the pool, then yell “Switch!” When they turn to run in the opposite direction, the current will keep them from being able to run! Like magic.

Also, it’s like the whirlpool in a bottle trick, which you can try once the kids are dry!

6. Popsicle

Minimum number of players: 3

This is basically frozen tag, pool style! If you're tagged, you have to stand frozen in place in the pool, with your arms in the air, like a Popsicle stick. You can be untagged by other players swimming underwater.

7. Submarine Races

Minimum number of players: 2

Who can swim the furthest in the pool without coming up for air? Great for practicing underwater swimming!

RELATED: 57 Alternative Activities to Screen Time

What's your craziest, splashiest dive? Photo courtesy of Nelly Aran via Pexels

8. Olympics of Jumps

Minimum number of players: 2, plus at least one adult to help judge

Kids simply take turns in the pool, making the craziest jumps they can think of. Adults, or other kids who aren't playing, rate the jumps on a scale of 1 to 10. Kids can take turns determining what kind of jump to make, which can be as general as "silly jump" or as specific as "cannonball" or "belly flop."

This game really encourages creativity and builds water confidence.

9. F-I-S-H

Minimum number of players: 2

If you've played H-O-R-S-E in basketball, this is pretty similar! Each player takes turns making a move in the water that everyone else has to copy. It can be as simple as a spin, or as tricky as an underwater handstand or backflip! The next person tries to copy them. If they do it, play moves on, with players trying the move until someone can't. That person gets an F.

Now the next person in line tries a move and play continues. First person to earn the letters F-I-S-H loses the game!

10. Octopus

Minimum number of players: 4, but the more the merrier

Yet another version of water tag! The game starts with "it" trying to tag another player. The tagged person must link arms with "it" and grow the octopus. Now both players can tag someone, who must join the chain. It gets harder and harder to avoid the many arms of the octopus!

11. Mermaid Splash

Minimum number of players: 2

Little mermaids dive underwater and rocket out of the pool with their arms in the air (like Ariel in The Little Mermaid) to see who can jump the highest out of the water.

12. Slingshot

Minimum number of players: 2

I definitely remember being catapulted out of the water by my mom and making the biggest splash I could. It's a fun parent-child or sibling bonding game, and if you have multiple pairs of people, you can turn it into a competition to see who can go higher, further, or do the craziest splash landing.

13. Water Ballet/Splash Dance

Minimum number of players: 1 (!)

Challenge kids to choreograph a water ballet to a favorite song. Kids can do this alone, with a friend, or with a whole group (think synchronized swimming). When they're ready to perform, get your phones ready to record it!

14. Fish-Fish-Shark

Minimum number of players: 4, but the more players you have, the more fun it is

Remember duck duck goose? It’s harder to play in the pool!

RELATED: Backyard Water Games for Kids

 
Pool keep-away is a classic pool game. Photo by Sergey Novikov courtesy of Canva

Swimming Pool Games That Require Equipment

15. Fishy in the Middle

Minimum number of players: 3
Equipment: A soft ball you can throw and catch. This spiky sensory ball is just the right size to catch in one hand, and is also fun outside the pool.

If you’ve ever played “Monkey in the Middle,” this is the same game, but played in the water. You can play it in the shallow end of the pool where kids can stand, or in the deep end for a challenge for stronger swimmers. Play keep away from the fishy in the middle, and when they manage to catch the ball, whoever threw the ball becomes the new fishy!

16. Noodle Jousting

Minimum number of players: 2
Equipment: Pool noodles and pool floats, one each per player. We recommend using these curved noodles to use as floats, as they're small enough so you can get close to each other and tricky to balance sitting on, which adds to the fun. And these pool noodles come in a set of 5 so you have plenty, in case any get torn up.

It's the knights of the round pool! Kids balance on pool rafts, kickboards, or pool noodles and try to knock each other off with a noodle lance.

17. Duck Push

Minimum number of players: 2
Equipment: Rubber ducks, one per player

Kids use their noses to push a rubber duck from one end of the pool to the other.

RELATED: Best Pool Floats for Kids and Babies

Get a crazy assortment of rubber ducks so every kid can pick a favorite. Photo courtesy of the Dreidel Store on Amazon

18. Duck Racing

Minimum number of players: 2
Equipment: Rubber ducks and squirt guns. You can get a whole slew of different ducks, so it’s easy to tell them apart. And having tested many, many squirters, these are my favorites. They have the force to really propel anything, and also don’t look like weapons.

For this duck race, you can sit at the edge of the pool, and squirt the ducks with water to get them to move across. Believe it or not, this game is great for eye-hand coordination!

19. Inflatable Relay Race

Minimum number of players: 2, must have an even number of players
Equipment: 2 inflatable rafts, this two-pack of inexpensive pool rings is perfect.

Split your group into two teams, and give each an inflatable raft. Relay style, each member of the team takes a turn swimming on the raft from one end of the pool to the other and back, passing the raft to the next team member. First team to have all members complete the race wins.

 
Pool volleyball is loads of fun for the whole family. Photo courtesy of the Go Sports Store on Amazon

20. Pool Volleyball

Minimum number of players: 2
Equipment: Yeah, for this you’re going to need a pool volleyball set, but we promise, it’ll get tons of use from kids and adults alike! This inflatable volleyball net is easy to set up and store.

Set up a mini volleyball net in the shallow end of the pool. It's fun to have a game that relies on teamwork. Plus, we pretty much guarantee that grownups can't resist taking a turn when kids get out of the pool...

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