Playtime

Find a game for any group or occasion, from classic games and travel games to summer activities for the whole family!

It's blazing hot outdoors...What can the kids do to find relief and cool off? Just add water to these games for fun in the sun.

Speedboat Relay

This is one bucket brigade that, instead of putting out the fire, is guaranteed to fan the flames of hot competition. The object: players try to deliver their watery cargo without spilling the goods.

Soak-O-Meter Rating: Drenched

What You Need

Pool
4 Buckets or similar Water Containers

2 Flotation Devices (for the speedboats), such as rafts, or noodles, or boogieboards
At least 2 Plastic Cups

Instructions

Divide everyone into 2 teams. At one end of the pool, set up 2 buckets full of water; at the other end, set up 2 empty buckets. Both teams line up by the buckets containing water.
The first player in line for each team has to fill his cup from the bucket, ferry it across the pool using his team's speedboat, pour the water into the empty bucket, and return. He then passes the speedboat to the next team member, who again fills the cup from the bucket and delivers it, just as the previous player did.
The game ends as soon as one team completes the race. However, it's not all about speed, since it's the team that transports the most water that wins.

PASS-THE-BALL RELAY
Take a dry-land party game and give it a dunk in the pool
Two teams each form a line. At "Go," the player at the front of each line passes a ball over his head to the player behind him, who then passes it between his legs to the person behind him, who then passes it over his head, and so on. When it reaches the last player, he swims the ball to the front of the line (either through the legs of his teammates or next to them) and starts the relay again. The first line of players to return to their original order wins.

HIDE THE BALLOONS
Can you catch -- and keep -- more than your opponents?
Place a dozen or so inflated balloons in the shallow end of a pool. Players compete to see who can grab and hold the most balloons under their bodies in 30 seconds. Our bet? It will be hard not to laugh as the balloons come flying out of the pool! But we'll let you make the call on whether stuffing balloons into bathing suits is cheating. (When the game's done, be sure to pick up any popped pieces.)

BOTTLE BRIGADE RACE
Turn empty plastic bottles into instant pool toys
It doesn't get much simpler than this. Contestants race across the pool while pushing an empty plastic bottle with their feet.