POOL GAMES FOR THE FAMILY

Need some ideas to help keep your kids busy this summer? Pool games will not only entertain your kids, but will also put your backyard pool to great use. Here are some fun pool games that your entire family can enjoy:

Octopus

One person starts out as it. Everyone else starts at one side of the pool and waits for the person who is it to say go. On go, those that are not it try to swim from one side of the pool pass the person who is it and reach the other side before they are tagged. Once everyone has either been tagged or made it to the other side, the round is over. Those that have been tagged join the person who is it in the middle and join hands, forming an octopus. The people who are it then say go and those left start swimming to the other side again. The game continues this way until 1 person is left and they are deemed winner.

Colors

One person is it and faces the gutter. At the beginning of each round they hold their breath underwater for 10 seconds as the others players say a color of their choice out loud. The round begins when the person who is it starts calling out colors while still facing the gutter. If a player’s color is called they must try to cross to the other side of the pool without the person who is it hearing them. If they are heard, the person who is it can leave their spot and try to tag the player before they get to the other side. If the player is not tagged, the person who is it returns to the gutter and continues calling out colors until he or she is able to tag a player while crossing to the other side, or until all the players make it safely over. You may also choose to pick other categories like ‘sports’ or ‘brands’.

Duck Push

Give each person one rubber duck apiece. When you say go, each person must use their nose to push or their mouth to blow the duck to the other side of the pool. They are not allowed to bite the duck and swim it forward or use their hands or feet. You can up the difficulty by allowing splashing toward the opponent’s ducks or faces, but never may they touch other people’s ducks. The first one to get their duck to the other side wins.

Numbers Crunch

Divide players into two teams, and have them line up on opposite sides of the pool. Give each team a plastic bucket, and scatter 25-30 ping pong balls with numbers on them in the pool. The numbers on each ball represent point values. Once all of the balls have been collected, have each team add up the point values of the balls that they have in their own buckets. The team with the highest score wins!

Do you have any other pool games that your family loves? We would love to hear about them and all the fun you have with your family in your backyard pool.