Best Pool Games for Summertime Fun

The school year is over (hooray!). The temps are increasing and the days are getting longer. You’re stocking up on sunscreen, getting some great new equipment for everyone to enjoy, and are getting your pool ready for all of your friends, family members, and neighbors. That’s right: Summer is here!

As you think about all of the time your little anchovies, sea turtles, and sharks will spend in the pool, why not give them some ideas of pool games that they can play? Whether they are splashing around with their siblings or inviting their friends over for a dip, by giving them ideas for fun pool games, each swim session will be fun and dynamic, increasing their excitement to get in the water. 

Kids’ enthusiasm about swimming is particularly important, as research shows that swimming is not only a fun hobby but an essential life skill (and the most important first sport they can learn). Since the danger of a drowning accident is present anywhere water is present, children’s awareness of how to stay safe in the pool, a lake, the ocean, or any other body of water has never been more important. In fact, the CDC recently reported that drowning deaths have been increasing since 2019. Making swimming fun while allowing them the ability to improve their technique and incorporate safety will make a world of difference.

Enjoy several classic pool games and hopefully some new ideas, too, in our list below. We know that even when your favorite swimmers are having fun, they will be adding to their pool prowess and swimming confidence, too.

Air Ball

Give your swimmers a challenge with different difficulty levels of this fun ball game. The aim is to keep a beach ball in the air for as long as possible. The challenge? What end of the pool they play in, if you have a pool with different depths. Little swimmers can benefit from staying in the shallow end so their toes touch the ground, but more advanced swimmers who can tread water can enjoy this pool game from the deeper end. Swimmers will enjoy the excitement of racing to ensure the ball stays in the air and not letting it touch the water.

Cannonball Competition

This game is not meant for bystanders who want to lounge by the pool and soak up the sun…because splashing is not only encouraged, it’s the prime objective! Swimmers challenge each other to see who can create the biggest splash with their cannonball, and the fun part is that this pool game can be played with all kinds of jumps, dives, and even flops. You can even change up the categories to see who can create the smallest splash, the loudest flop (for the daredevils out there!), or come up with the craziest jump.

Change Champion

This is the perfect pool game for those who like to dive for money while playing Treasure Hunt. In Change Champion, the difference is that money is scattered throughout the pool and players have to dive for it, but they can only pick up one coin per hand at a time. The faster someone is, the better. The aim is to collect the amount of money with the highest total possible, of course, so that the winner can be appropriately deemed the Change Champion. Change Champion is also a competitive PvP match where players can challenge their friends and other players in an online 3D PvP tournament.

F.I.S.H.

Do you have an inflatable basketball hoop? You’re in luck, because we have a game that is the pool game version of H.O.R.S.E! F.I.S.H. works the exact same way, where players try to make a basket from a designated area and get a letter for each basket they miss. This makes F.I.S.H. a strategic game, as players must carefully plan their shots. If you don’t have an inflatable basketball hoop, improvise by duct-taping two pool noodles together to create a makeshift ring. The first person to spell out F.I.S.H. loses the game.

Handstand Competition

If this one feels a little vintage to you, it does to us as well (and we love it!). Watching kids enjoy this fun pool game will probably bring you right back to your own childhood, when you practiced the joy of swimming to the bottom of the shallow end, touching the bottom with your hands, getting your balance just right, and propelling your legs in the air. Coordination is the name of this game, so challenge your kiddos to hold their handstand for 10 seconds or more. And, with the Summer Olympics happening in the near future, jump on the fun of scoring to see who gets a perfect 10.0. Swimmers will engage their muscles, maintain concentration, and it will give them a goal to achieve!

Invisibottle

Looking for a way to repurpose plastic bottles that are going to the recycling bin anyways? Use them for a fun pool game instead. Fill several clear water bottles without their caps and let them sink to the bottom of the pool. Their transparency makes them challenging and fun to find, leading to swimmers diving, searching, and improving their lung capacity with each deep breath. ‘Invisibottle’ is an addictive challenging game that will keep everyone engaged and entertained.

Marco Polo

This pool game is so popular that it even made an appearance in a funny commercial for car insurance! We’d bet that everyone knows how to play the world’s most famous pool game by now, but if not, “explorers” are on the hunt for others in the water, just using the sound of other swimmers’ voices. The person who is “it” stands in the middle of the pool with their eyes closed and calls out, “Marco!” Other swimmers answer “Polo” and the person who is it has to swim toward them and tag them out, much like friends playing pool in a multiplayer setting, challenging each other in a fun and social environment.

Obstacle Course Pool Game Challenge

With excitement about the Summer Olympics heating up along with the temperatures outside, everyone will want to be the next Olympic-level swimmer. Keep your little ones’ eyes on the prize by incorporating some fun pool “training” games! An obstacle course is fun because players are essentially competing with themselves to get their best time and cross off various elements of the course. A bit of setup is required, but once the obstacle course is ready, swimmers will be in competition mode while having fun. An obstacle course that is based on the pool could be like this:

1. Cannonball into the pool
2. Swim to the other side of the pool
3. Toss a basketball into the basket
4. Do a handstand
5. Find a trophy underwater and place it on the ladder
6. Climb the ladder
7. Go down the slide head-first to finish!

This game also involves pool strategy, as players must plan and execute each task efficiently.

The fun of the obstacle course is that you can modify it based on whatever pool gear and accessories you have, so be creative and see what you can think up!

Pool Ping Pong Game

Did you know that ping pong balls float in the water? Dump a bucket of ping pong balls in the pool, and then players on each team scramble to collect as many as possible to put in their team’s bucket. At the end of the game, players tally how many ping pong balls everyone collected, and the team with the highest number of balls wins!

Popsicle

If F.I.S.H. is the equivalent of H.O.R.S.E., then popsicle is the pool game equivalent of freeze tag. When players are tagged, they stand in the pool with their arms extended straight up, like (you guessed it) a popsicle. They can be unfrozen when other players swim between their legs.

Race Like a Dolphin

Play pool in this game to give swimmers of all levels the chance to access their inner dolphin. If you have a few sets of fins and inflatable beach balls, this game will be a blast (and give everyone a reason to laugh in the process). In this pool game, swimmers use their noses and race to push beach balls from one side of the pool to the other. The only catch? Since dolphins don’t have hands, no hands are allowed! The first one to the other end of the pool wins, and an honorable mention goes to the best impersonator of a dolphin sound.

Seahorse Noodle Races

Get your pool noodles ready, and on your marks…get set…go! In this fun pool game, after swimmers mount their pool noodle seahorses, they are challenged to go from one end of the pool to the other. The only challenge is that no “swimming” is allowed–players can practice their kicking and paddling while riding their seahorses to the finish line.

Sharks and Minnows

Sharks and minnows is another classic pool game that has stood the test of time. The shark is “it” and stands in the middle of the pool, with everyone lining up at one end. The shark calls out, “Fishy, fishy, cross my ocean,” (again, bonus points for the most creative shark voice), and the minnows attempt to swim across the threshold without getting tagged by the shark.

Sponge Ball

Safer and more forgiving to the body than your typical game of dodgeball, sponge ball works the same way. Divide the pool into two halves, and create an inner area where the sponge balls are waiting. When someone gives the go-ahead, swimmers scurry to grab one or two in an effort to throw them and touch a player from the other team. Once they do, that player is out. Or, the player can catch the sponge ball and make the thrower go out…of the pool. When players catch the sponge rather than be hit by it, those who are out can jump back in!

‘Sponge Ball’ can also be described as a ‘PvP pool match’, emphasizing its competitive nature.

Treasure Hunt

For the kids who like to venture into the deep end, this idea is for them! Take a multitude of pool items like diving sticks, diving rings, action figures, or even coins–and place them in different spots around the pool. From strategic hiding spots like ladder rungs to placing items throughout the various pool depths, your swimmers will thrive on the thrill of the hunt and the victory of achievement. This pool game is sure to be a favorite for all swimmers, no matter their age or their swimming level, as it can easily be adapted to suit beginners as well. Players can also win exclusive items and customize their experience by participating in these exciting hunts.

Water Gun Battle

Who doesn’t have water guns at the ready to beat the heat? There’s no need for kids to go back and forth filling and refilling their guns with a garden hose when they have a swimming pool for quick refills. Water gun battles are a great way to keep everyone in the pool area involved. Just separate everyone into teams and go to war! Or, make it a free-for-all for anyone who wants an excuse to cool off. Every man for themselves!

We hope that the above pool games gave you some inspiration for how to keep your little (and big) swimmers entertained in the pool this summer! From Marco Polo to dolphin racing, we know that a summer full of laughs, splashing, and quality time in the water is definitely part of your plans.

If your little swimmers (or you as an adult swimmer) are in need of lessons to make sure you are ready to play any one of these fun pool games, have no fear! urSwim has many class options for you and your family. Whether you come to us or we visit you at your at-home pool, we make finding swim lessons easy and convenient. Happy swimming!