10 Pool Games for Kids

Sharks and Minnows is basically tag in the pool, but there are ways to spice it up and make it even more fun than plain old tag! Start the game with one shark and a group of minnows, and then every time one shark captures a minnow, that minnow also turns into a shark. By the end of your pool games it will be on minnow being chased by a group of sharks!

Originally created by Marco Polo the Italian traveler back in the late 1200’s. Not many know the true origin of how this classic pool game made its way to our shores. For those who don’t know, Marco Polo was notoriously bad with directions. On one of his last voyages he was lost at sea and knew the only way to find his way home…was luck. He closed his eyes, spun around 5 times in a circle then pointed, eventually leading them to land, and beginning the classic game Marco Polo. Today we honour his efforts by closing our eyes, spinning around and having the person who is ‘it’; call out ‘Marco’ while the other players yell out ‘Polo’ to help the player capture the other players.

*Please note, many if not all of these facts have been created solely for this article. We do want to note however, Marco Polo is an incredibly fun game!

Without a doubt, this is the most painful but rewarding games in a swimming pool. The belly flop has been around for centuries but has recently come back in a big way. The idea is to create the biggest splash, much like a cannonball, but by jumping into the pool with your arms and legs out, and falling straight onto your stomach and chest. Go right to the edge of the pool jump as high and as far out as you can and flop directly onto your belly. From pain comes pleasure!

For a good chicken fight we usually recommend having parents as both bases. The kids can then climb on the parents shoulders and battle it out to see who lasts the longest on top of the parent’s shoulders. No punching or kicking, but a good shove here and there will do the trick!