Good Times: 9 Super Pool Games to Play With Your Kids in Your Home Pool

There are many great reasons to install a pool in your backyard.

Not only do pools increase the value of your home and provide you with an opportunity to exercise, but they also give you the opportunity to spend extra quality time with your family.

In addition to lying on inflatable mattresses and chatting with family members, there are also plenty of fun games you can play in the pool with your kids.

Check out this guide to learn about the top super pool games to play with your kids at home.

1. Popsicle

If your kids have ever enjoyed playing freeze tag on dry land, then this is the game for them.

To play popsicle, you start with one person who is “it”. The person who is “it” will attempt to tag other players who are swimming in the shallow end of the pool.

Once tagged, a player must then stand frozen (like a popsicle) until they’re “thawed” by another un-tagged player swims underwater between their legs.

To prevent pouty popsicles, make sure you change the person who is it every so often.

2. Atomic Whirlpool

Who needs a real whirlpool when you can just play atomic whirlpool?

With this game, have your kids get in the pool and line up along the edge. Then, have them walk around the edge of the pool for about 30 seconds.

Then, have them jog around the edge of the pool for another 30 seconds. After this, tell them to start running.

At this point, there should be a strong current pulling them along.

Then, tell your kids to stop and walk in the other direction. They’ll be absolutely tickled when they realize that walking in the other direction against the current is nearly impossible!

3. Air Ninja

For kids who have a lot of energy, air ninja is the perfect game.

Have your kid stand at the edge of the pool, ready to jump in. Then, after counting to three, yell out an animal or an inanimate object.

When your kid leaps into the air, they’ll strike a pose in the shape of that animal or object.

Some objects that they’ll certainly love to imitate include turtles, tigers, lions, and trees.

4. Volleyball and Basketball

If your kids are a bit older and aren’t as into the imaginary games, then playing water volleyball or basketball is a great idea.

For this, you’ll need either a volleyball or basketball, plus a net or a hoop for playing.

You can play with your kids one-on-one, or if you have more people, you can divide into teams and keep score.

Or, if you want to keep things from getting too competitive, you can just shoot hoops with your kids in the pool or volley back in forth over the net.

5. Cardboard Boat Race

If you’d like to incorporate some arts and crafts into your pool games (without getting too messy), a cardboard boat race is the perfect idea.

Here’s what you’ll need for a cardboard boat race:

• Cardboard boxes
• Packing tape
• Scissors
• Colored paper
• Stickers and Markers

With this game, you can either divide players into teams or have it be every man for themselves.

Either way, give players an hour to build the best boat they can out of the given materials. Encourage them to get creative with their designs, and have everyone give their boat a name.

Then, have the players put their boats in the water when the time is up. The team whose boat stays afloat for the longest wins!

6. Treasure Dive

Not only can diving sticks and torpedos be incredibly expensive, but they can also be very easy to spot for a lot of kids.

So, to kick things up a notch, we suggest having your kids dive for real treasure (aka, some coins).

To make the treasure dive more exciting, divide your kids into teams. Then, have them sit outside the pool and close their eyes as you drop coins throughout the water.

Then, at your go, have the kids jump into the pool and collect as many coins as they can in a given amount of time.

If you’d like to add a little math practice into the game, you can have your kids count the money themselves at the end to see who wins.

7. FISH

FISH is basically the aquatic version of Simon Says.

During this game, there will be one leader who the other players must follow. The other players must do exactly what the leader does, whether that’s performing a choreographed move underwater, jumping to one side, or treading water.

If a player doesn’t follow the assigned task, then they’re given the letter “F”. Gameplay continues until a player loses by spelling out the word “fish”.

8. Duck Push

While swimming races can be a lot of fun, duck push races are even more fun.

With this game, each child receives a rubber duck and starts at one end of the pool.

At your go, players must move their rubber duck to the other end of the pool. But, there’s one catch- players cannot push their duck using their hands. They can blow on the ducks, push them with their noses, or push them with their foreheads- whatever it takes to get their duck moving!

The first player to reach the other end of the pool without using their hands wins the game.

9. Marco Polo

Of course, no list of pool games would be complete without talking about Marco Polo.

For this game, choose one player who is “it” and have that player close their eyes. Have the “it” person count to a certain number while the other players scatter around the pool.

Then, when the counting is up, the “it” player will keep their eyes clothes and try to tag the other players by only following the sound of their voice.

The “it” player will call out “Marco” while the other players will respond with “Polo”.

Once someone gets tagged, that person becomes “it” and gameplay continues.

Are You Ready to Try These Super Pool Games?

As you can see, there are many fun super pool games to try with your children.

If you still need a pool to play all these games in, then be sure to check out our selection today.