List of water games

Water games are games played in a body of water, such as a swimming pool, pond, lake, or river.

Chicken fight

Two person teams: one team member sitting on the shoulders of his or her teammate or riding piggy-back. The object of the game is to knock-down or separate an opposing team through a team effort.

Gator

One person is chosen to be the first Gator, and treads water on one side of the playing area. The remaining players stand on the pool deck on the side opposite the Gator. These players are prohibited to enter the water until the Gator says the word "gator". Once the word has been said, the players are free to enter the water whenever they wish. Once they enter the water, they must swim to the other side. If the Gator touches (more commonly "tags") any part of the player's body before he touches the other side, he is caught. After all players have crossed to the other side safely or have been caught by the Gator, the round is over. The free players get out of the water and the Gator and whomever he caught swim to the opposite side of the playing area.

Marco Polo

One player is chosen as "It". This player closes their eyes so they can't see and tries to tag the other players. The player who is "It" shouts out "Marco" and the other players must respond by shouting "Polo", which "It" uses to try to acoustically locate them. If a player is tagged then that player becomes "It". If "It" suspects that a player has left the pool, they can shout "Fish out of water!" and the player who is out of the pool becomes the new "It".

Sharks and minnows

One person selected as the shark and the rest as the minnows. The shark starts in the water on one side of the pool and typically shouts: "Who wants to get eaten by a shark?", at which point the minnows may begin to dive in to swim to the opposing wall. If the shark manages to grab a minnow up to the surface, the minnow becomes a shark in the next round. After all the minnows have either reached the wall or been brought up to the surface, the shark(s) swim to the middle and the cycle starts again.

Colors

One person is "it" and that individual stands outside of the pool at the edge with their back to the other players who are in the pool below them. The "it" person begins to call colors, and if a player's color is called, they must silently start swimming towards the other end of the pool and try to touch the wall without being tagged. If the "it" player hears them swimming, jump into the pool and try to tag the players before they get to the other wall.

Cannonball Contest

Participants take turns jumping into deep water to make the biggest splashes possible. The winner is the person who generates the largest splash, as determined by the consensus of the group or a judge. Before the contest begins, come to a majority agreement on the judging criteria for splashes. A “winning” splash can be determined by the height, width, or overall impact and the ripple effect of the jump. Participants can also decide to expand the cannonball categories each round, judging for best performance, smallest splash, or most unique.

The Dunking Game

There are two players in the dunking game: the dunker and the dunkee.  The dunker thinks of a category that doesn't have an endless amount of options, like a color, state, or vegetable. The dunker communicates what the category is and chooses a secret example that the dunkee will try to ascertain. In the pool, the dunker holds the dunkee in their arms like a baby while the dunkee guesses what the answer might be. If their guess is incorrect, their head gets dunked underwater by the dunker.  When the dunkee finally guesses the dunker's answer, they win and become the next dunker.

See also

• British bulldog (game)