Pool games for adults that need nothing but the water

The best pool games for adults need no gear at all, or only what's already in the garage. Every game here is for adults who can swim, in water where everyone can stand or reach the side. Each game says what to bring, how it goes and about how long one round takes.

An example: Jonah stood in the middle of the pool with his eyes shut and both arms spread wide. "Marco," he called. "Polo," came back from two sides at once. Kemi slid along the wall with one hand on the warm stone edge and didn't make a ripple. Gail stood a few feet from him with a hand pressed over her mouth, because the sight of Jonah grinning at nothing made her want to laugh out loud. Nobody had brought a float or a ball. The water came up to their waists, and they played like that until the shade reached the pool.

Games with nothing but the water

These work in any backyard pool, or in the shallow end of a public one.

• Marco Polo. You need nothing. One player keeps their eyes shut and calls "Marco," and everyone else has to answer "Polo" from wherever they are. The caller follows the voices and tags someone, who shuts their eyes for the next round. If the caller thinks someone has climbed out to escape, they shout "fish out of water," and whoever is out takes over. About 10 minutes a round.
• Tea party on the bottom. You need nothing. Two players sink down to sit on the floor of the shallow end and act out a very polite tea party, pouring and sipping from cups that aren't there, then come up whenever they like. The friends above vote for the funniest one, and staying down longer earns no points. About 10 minutes.
• Handstand scores. You need nothing. One player at a time does a handstand in the shallow end, and the others hold up fingers to score it out of ten for straight legs, pointed toes and the splash on the way down. The judges score style only, never how long it lasts. About 15 minutes.
• Bubble words. You need nothing. One player ducks under, says a short word into the water and comes straight back up. The others guess the word from the bubbles and the muffled sound, and the first right guess takes the next turn. About 10 minutes.

Pool games with a ball you already own

An old volleyball, a soccer ball or a tennis ball from the garage is enough. A soft, light ball is kinder to faces than a hard one.

• Hundred touches. You need one light ball. Stand in a circle in the water and tap the ball to each other with open hands, counting every touch out loud. A catch or a ball that lands on the water sends the count back to zero, and the group tries to reach a hundred. About 10 minutes.
• Wall ball. You need one ball. Two teams each guard one end of the pool, and a team scores by touching the ball to the other team's wall. The player with the ball has three seconds to pass it, and nobody grabs, holds or pushes another player under. About 15 minutes.

Race games for the competitors

Some friends want to know who touched the wall first. These three give them a winner.

• Switch race. You need one person to call. Swimmers race across the width of the pool, and every few seconds the caller shouts a new way to move: backstroke, sidestroke, one arm only or walking backward. Anyone who misses a switch goes back to the wall and starts again. About 10 minutes.
• Nose race. You need one tennis ball for each player. Line up at one side of the shallow end with your hands behind your back and push the ball across with only your nose or chin. The first ball to touch the far wall wins. About 10 minutes.
• Spoon hunt. You need a dozen metal spoons from the kitchen. One player scatters them across the floor of the shallow end while the others face the hedge, and on "go" everyone wades in and ducks down to pick them up. The most spoons wins, and nobody dives in. About 10 minutes.

Calm pool games for the floaters

Not everyone wants a race. These are for the friends who'd rather lie back and drift.

• Float train. You need nothing. Everyone floats on their back in a line and holds the ankles of the person in front, and the person at the front paddles with both arms and steers. Swap the driver after each lap, and see how far the train gets before it comes apart. About 10 minutes.
• Copy the splash. You need nothing. One player slaps a short rhythm on the water with flat hands, and the next player repeats it and adds one more beat. Whoever gets the rhythm wrong sits out, and the last player left starts the next round. About 10 minutes.
• Guess the float. You need nothing. One player floats in a shape, like a starfish, a raft or a sleeping cat, and the others guess what it is. The first right guess takes the next turn. About 10 minutes.

Pool games for two

Two people can play these in a quiet corner of the pool.

• Step-back catch. You need one ball. Stand close together in the shallow end and throw the ball back and forth, and after every clean catch you each take one step back. A drop sends you both back to the start, and your farthest catch is the score to beat next time. About 10 minutes.
• Finger flash. You need nothing. One player holds up some fingers under the water, and the other ducks under to look, comes back up and calls the number. Three right calls in a row wins the round, and then you swap. About 10 minutes.

Pool party games for adults

With eight or more people in the water, team games and a show for the people on the edge work best.

• Sharks and minnows. You need nothing. One shark stands in the middle of the shallow end, and the minnows try to cross from one side to the other without being tagged. Everyone tagged joins the sharks, and the last minnow left is the first shark of the next round. About 15 minutes.
• Synchronized swim show. You need nothing, or a speaker for music. Teams of three or four get ten minutes to make up a short routine with turns, kicks and a big finish, then perform it while everyone else scores it out of ten. Lifts stay out. About 30 minutes for the whole show.
• Toe pass. You need a wet washcloth for each team. Teams sit in a row on the pool edge with their feet in the water and pass the washcloth down the line using only their feet. If it falls in, it goes back to the start, and the first team to get it to the end wins. About 10 minutes, and it's a poolside game for guests who'd rather not get all the way in.

For the dry part of the yard, summer party ideas has themes that run from the afternoon into the evening. If the swim falls on the holiday, 4th of July games has races for the lawn while the pool is busy.

Competitors and floaters in the same pool

Every pool has someone racing to the wall and someone floating on their back with their eyes closed. Here are seven of the 16 types:

• Vitalizer gets the quiet guests off the steps and into the water, then shouts loudest for whoever is losing.
• Analyst settles the wall ball rules before the first pass and keeps them the same all afternoon.
• Commander plays every switch race to win and asks for a rematch before the water goes still.
• Dreamer drifts at the shallow end and joins the float train only when it floats past.
• Entrepreneur turns the spoon hunt into a record and keeps track of it all summer.
• Guardian keeps the games fair and steps in when someone gets dunked once too often.
• Encourager adds a new rule to Marco Polo every round and somehow gets the shy guest to be the caller.

This is type theory and a bit of fun. The friends in your pool may play nothing like it, so read it as a guess, not advice about anyone.

The racer, the floater and how they get along

A friend who races you to the wall and a friend who floats beside you can both be close, in different ways. Typeza is built around how two people get along, what each one brings and where the two of you tend to rub. Take the friendship compatibility test for free, then send it to whoever's first in the water.

Questions people ask

What games can adults play in a pool?

Marco Polo, handstand scores and a tea party on the bottom need nothing but the water. Add an old ball from home, and you can play wall ball or try for a hundred touches in a circle.

What are good pool party games for adults?

Sharks and minnows and a synchronized swim show work well for eight or more people. For guests who'd rather stay on the edge, a toe pass race is a poolside game anyone can join.

What pool games can two people play?

Step-back catch and finger flash both work for two. A nose race with two tennis balls is good for a pair who like to compete.

How do you play Marco Polo?

One player shuts their eyes and calls "Marco," and everyone else answers "Polo." The caller follows the voices to tag someone, who becomes the next caller. Many groups add the "fish out of water" rule for anyone who climbs out.

Written by Virko Kask, founder of Typeza
Written with the help of AI tools.