Fun Water Games to Play with Kids

Plenty of fun can be had in the summer. What better time of the year to combine outdoor games and water? Having a birthday party? How about a summer get-together or family reunion? Try out these fun water games with the kids, and you are guaranteed to be the hit of the day.

Splish-Splash 3D Kickball

What you need for this game are three small kiddie pools, three kick balls, one Slip ‘n Slide (a long plastic sheet on which you run and slide on your stomach) and enough people to make good-sized teams.

Divide the kids (and grown-ups who want to play) into two teams. The three kiddie pools need to be filled with some water, and they become first, second and third base. The Slip ‘n Slide is set up to where the players need to slide home in order to score. You will have three pitchers roll the balls to three kickers at the same time. Make sure to keep foul lines in check. There should be six to nine outs per team for however many innings you want to play. Numerous people are allowed to be on (or in) a base at any given time. They are also allowed to stay at a base.

The overall concept is the same as regular kickball. Get all of the outs and the teams switch positions. You may, however, want to change the rules depending on the age group you are dealing with. This game does work best with a larger number of participants.

Over-Under Sponges

This game is fairly simple, but a lot of fun. You will need two sets of buckets (or three, or however many teams you might have) and the same number of sponges. The type of sponges that work best are the large ones with which many people use to wash their cars. And, oh yeah, add the water!

You put one bucket-full of water at one end of the line and the empty bucket at the other. Set a time limit, such as one or two minutes for the race to take place. The first person will soak the sponge in the water then hand it over their head. The second person takes the sponge and passes it to the next in line under their legs. Have the team alternate this pattern until the sponge gets to the last person. The last person in line rings out the sponge in the empty bucket and passes the sponge back up to the first person in line. The team that has the most water in their bucket by the end of the race wins.

This is a great game to play with any age group. You can even switch it around and have the last person run to the front of the line to start the next round.

Sponge Wiffle Ball

You will need the same items that are needed when you play regular Wiffle ball — with a few exceptions. For the ball, use a Nerf sponge ball. The kind that would work best are the ones that are supposed to be used for the pool. You can still use the big orange bat to hit with. It would also be a good idea to place small buckets of water around the field. After soaking the ball in water, it makes it easier to throw. For the bases, you can use the kiddie pools from Splish Splash 3D Kickball. Use the same rules as you would for Wiffle ball. Depending on the age group, you can even let batters get hit with the ball to be out.

One of the things to be worried about is the random buckets of water on the field. You may want to keep just a bucket by the pitcher and the pools to soak the ball to reduce the risk of injury.

Balloon Obstacle Course

This is a fairly simple game. Set up obstacles that you would normally have in a course. A crawl tunnel, small hurdles, and tires are some options to use. Make sure to set up the course to suit whatever age group you are dealing with. The catch with this game is that those who are running the course must hold a water balloon throughout the whole thing without it busting. If it breaks before making it to the end, give them another balloon and have them start that leg of the course over. For the older kids, you might also want to give them a time penalty. The person who makes it through the course the fastest wins.

You can make the last part of the course more challenging for the older kids. Have all the other kids make a lane with half the kids on one side and half on the other side. The last leg of the course could be the person running down this lane, protecting their balloon while all of the others throw water balloons at them. This keeps the other kids in the game while one person is running the obstacle course.

So, when you whip out these games, be prepared to have a lot of fun and get completely soaked! You can even make a game of cleaning up. Have the kid who picked up the most balloon pieces get a prize at the end of the day. Oh yeah — don’t forget the sunblock!