11 Best Games With Water for Super-Soaking Summer Fun

Splashing, splashing, fishing, sliding or shooting? Kids love water games! And as soon as it’s warm enough, there’s no greater fun than these 10 great games with water. 

Skill, movement, team spirit, imagination and learning through play: these 11 games with water are intentionally quite different and some of them are great fun not only for children. The big water fight, ping pong splash, sponge throw and treasure hunt in the ice are great family or pool party games that are also great fun for teenagers and adults. All the other games with water, such as the water balloon obstacle course, the water balloon piñatas and the treasure hunt in the dark, are aimed at children from 4 years and older. The rules can be super adapted and tightened or simplified and toned down according to the age and the group.

All water games are great for children and families to play in the garden. They are ideal for children’s birthday parties, garden parties, play afternoons or just to have fun on a summer’s day!

Are you looking for more games with water that involve team spirit and skill, and where the kids can really let off steam? Then take a look at our Water balloon games for kids!

The 10 Best Games With Water for Kids, Teens and Families

Sponges, water bombs, squirt guns, sprinklers, garden hoses, paddling pools, balloons – you don’t need much for most of these games with water. The main ingredients are water and fun and players who want to get wet. If you’re planning a pool party or garden party, it’s worth borrowing play materials from neighbours and friends in good time. You can find a large selection of inexpensive water balloons, sponges and guns on amazon*.

For some games you should allow some time for preparation!

1. Big Water Fight – One of the Best Games With Water That Even Teenagers and Adults Will Love

Preparation

Scatter bowls, buckets, water guns and water balloons around the garden. Fill a paddling pool with water and float a few bowls and cups in it. Set up the sprinkler and connect it or prepare the garden hose ready for use. Children over 6 can also be encouraged to bring their own water guns and paddling pools, as long as they are careful with each other, to have lots of play equipment!

Gameplay

Form two teams. If not everyone knows each other well enough, then you do not need head or arm bandages, otherwise the teams each mark themselves with a colour. Each team is allowed to find a point as a team base, which is marked by a flag (stick to which a bandage in the team colour is knotted). There, the team has the possibility to hoard captured ammunition and equipment in a warehouse.

The aim of the game is to get the other team as wet as possible. To do this, everyone collects the playground equipment distributed in the garden and splashes each other. At the same time, the teams try to loot the opponent’s camp and bring as many attractive toys as possible into their own possession in order to get less water. The game is over when the ammunition is used up!

What Do I Need?

• Dishes, cups
• Bucket
• Baby bath
• Water guns
• Water bombs
• Paddling pool
• Garden hose
• If applicable, sprinklers if present
• If necessary, head bandages or armbands in 2 colours
• 2 sticks with a tied bandage in 2 colours

Important: The Great Water Battle is one of the games with water where no one stays wet. You should make sure that everyone is up for it and that no one wants to join in.

2. Water Balloon Obstacle Course – Skill Game for Children From 4 Years

Preparation

First set up an obstacle course with a level of difficulty that corresponds to the age of the children. Mark the start and finish with chalk spray or coloured tape. Each child gets a water balloon and a ladle or sand scoop.

Gameplay

The water balloon obstacle course works like the egg race, except that instead of eggs, water balloons have to be balanced on a ladle and sand scoop. The children run through the obstacle course one after the other, while you time each one.

If a water balloon falls from the ladle or bursts, the child has to run back to the start, gets a new water balloon and has to start all over again while time continues to run. The winner is the child who runs through the obstacle course the fastest.

What Do I Need?

• Scoop ladle or sand shovels
• Water bombs
• Hurdle course
• Coloured tape or chalk spray
• Stopwatch / smartphone with stopwatch
• If applicable, prize for the winner(s) and consolation prizes (for small children, the winning child may choose a prize first and then all the others)

3. Ping Pong Splash – A Water Balloon Throwing Game the Whole Family

For this throwing and catching game, form pairs and line up opposite each other. All rub soap on their hands until they are slippery. Now each pair gets a water balloon, which they throw to each other on a start signal.

As soon as a bomb bursts, the team is eliminated and everyone stops by throwing back and forth. The remaining pairs take a step backwards and throw the water bombs at each other again. This continues until only one team is left. Now, after each throw, the thrower has to take a step back and the pair moves further and further away from each other until the bomb bursts. The winner is the last person to catch the bomb in one piece.

What Do I Need?

• soap
• Water bombs

4. Water Balloon Piñata – The Absolute Children’s Birthday Party Hit Among the Games With Water

Preparation

Stretch a clothesline. Fill water balloons with water and, if necessary, sweets and tie the balloons to the line at even intervals.

Gameplay

One after the other, the children may now each hit the water piñatas 3 times with the stick. When a water balloon bursts, the child may take the sweets that have fallen out.

What Do I Need?

• Washing line
• Cord to hang the water piñatas
• Stick or rod
• Water balloons
• If necessary, sweets – e.g. waterproof sealed packets with gummy bears, sweets, etc.

5. Apple Snatching – The Classic Game With Water

Fill a large bucket with water and let an apple float in it. Now the first child clasps his hands behind his back and tries to grab the apple with one bite and get it out of the water. This continues in turn until one child has managed to get the apple out of the water twice with one bite and thus wins.

What Do I Need?

• 1 apple
• Bucket with water

6. Treasure Hunt in the Dark – Who Hides the Most Treasures?

Sink treasures into the paddling pool, swimming pool or tub. These can be small toys, sweets or simply different coloured rings that sink to the bottom. Now each child in turn has 10 seconds to get into the water blindfolded and dive or reach for treasures and retrieve as many as possible. The winner is the one who retrieves the most treasures! At the end, everything is divided fairly among the children.

Alternative for older children: If you have a swimming pool, sink different coloured rings. The colours give different numbers of points, which you announce at the beginning. For example: Red: 1 point, yellow 2 points, green 5 points. The winner is the one with the most points.

What Do I Need?

• Paddling pool, large tub or swimming pool full of water
• Treasures (e.g. small toys, shrink-wrapped sweets) alternatively rings left on the floor
• eyepatch

7. Swim or Sink – Guessing Games With Water for Children From 6 Years

Preparation

Fill the tub 2/3 full with water. Think of at least 20-50 things to put in a box or an opaque bag.

Gameplay

All the children sit around the tub. Now, one after the other, objects are pulled out of the bag or box and asked whether the object will float or sink and each child gives a hint. Now the object is carefully placed on the water and everyone watches anxiously to see whether it floats or sinks. Whoever was right with their guess gets a point.

The winner is the one who was right the most times and thus collected the most points.

What Do I Need?

• Large tub with water
• An opaque bag or box with things
• Stroke list

25 Ideas for Things to Do Around the House

• Piece of dry wood
• Duplo piece
• Moss
• Small glass bottle
• Piece of styrofoam
• Walnut
• Plastic lid
• Shish kebab
• Dried noodle
• Floating candle
• Flummi
• Magnet
• Pencil
• Cork
• Beer lid
• Springs
• Eraser
• Piece of wire
• Spoon
• Paper clip
• wet sponge
• Lego figure
• Leaf
• Stone
• Piece of paper

8. Sponge Throwing – Games With Water With Throwing and Catching

Preparation

Place the two beer tables opposite each other at least 8 metres apart.

In the middle of each table, build a pyramid of 9 cans with first 4, then 3, then 2 and finally one can. Alternatively, you can also line up 9 plastic bottles next to each other. Now each team lines up behind a table and gets a bowl full of water and 10 sponges.

Gameplay

On the start signal, the players try to shoot all the targets with the water-soaked sponges off the table as quickly as possible. At the same time, the opposing team tries to protect their targets as best they can and catch any sponges that fly towards them. The team that hits all the targets of the opposing team first and throws them off the table wins. If the targets only fall over, they are hit but not yet out of the game!

What Do I Need?

• 18 cans or plastic bottles
• 2 tables – beer tables are best
• 20 sponges
• 2 bowls with water
• alternatively water guns

9. Treasure Hunt in the Ice – Ice-Cold Competition

Preparation

The day before you want to play this game with water, clear two compartments in the freezer. Line each compartment with a sturdy rubbish bag with the excess walls rolled down and fill the rubbish bags with water until the compartments are both full. After a few hours, place a rubber animal or treasure of about the same size in each drawer. After about 24 hours, the ice blocks will be frozen in any case and you can take them out of the bags. The easiest way to do this is to wait until they have thawed, then they will slide out by themselves!

Gameplay

Form two teams. Each team gets a block of ice, a hammer and a chisel and tries to tap the ice as quickly as possible. Two players are always tied together at the wrists and have to knock together. They have 1 minute to do this. As soon as the time is up, the next duo quickly wraps the bandage around their wrists and has another minute to free the treasure.

What Do I Need?

• 2 sturdy trash bags
• 2 empty ice trays
• water
• 2 treasures (For example, one rubber animal or play money coins each), hammer and chisel, bandage

10. Building a Water Park in Your Own Garden – Water Games for the Little Ones

You don’t have a slide in your garden? Then read on at 11. How you can also build a water slide like this!

Is there a slide in your garden? Perfect! You can easily turn it into a water slide. To do this, attach a garden hose to the top of the slide so that it gets nice and wet. Now all you have to do is turn on the tap and you have a great, fast water slide in your garden!

It’s even more fun when the slide ends in a paddling pool full of water!

What Do I Need?

• Slide
• Paddling pool
• Water hose

11. Build a Water Slide for a Fun Slide

Lay out a long plastic sheet on the lawn. The ideal situation is on a slope if your property is not level. Now attach the garden hose to the top of the tarpaulin until it is wet and off you go for the fun run-up slide on the tarpaulin.

What Do I Need?

• Tarp
• Garden hose
• Perhaps slope

We wish you a gigantic summer and lots of splashing fun with our games with water!

Find even more ideas for games and summer activities on Abenteuer Freundschaft! From beautiful game ideas and tips for kids’ parties, scavenger hunts and more! Get inspired by colourful tips for leisure activities for families, friends and couples!

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