Pool Hockey (and other cool pool games!)

Today was my first official day as Katie's full time babysitter. It was a blast! Katie is just like me (only a little more energetic haha) and and loves to be outside and craft. We made bracelets all day with my floss and her yarn. I also got quite an education on all important 9-year-old things, including the dangers of city smog, what's in smog, her personal theories on why the US got involved in the Korean War, where cats scent glands are...oh and how important it is to dress like your American Girl doll so she feels like part of the family. But between all that, we squeezed in time to hit the pool so she could teach me a game she loves to play: pool hockey.

Turns out, pool hockey has nothing to do with actual hockey (to my relief) and is quite fun. All you need is a pool, some pool toys (such as pool noodles and kick boards), and a beach ball. 

         

(Sorry guys, no actual pictures of us playing....cameras and pools don't mix too well)

The object of the game is to get all the opposite team members out! 

Here's how you play:

Separate into two teams and give everyone a noodle (like a hockey stick). Designate opposite corners of the pool to be the two teams goals, and one person from each team to be the goalie (or not...this is totally optional, I prefer to play sans-goalie). Place the ball in the middle of the pool, and on the word 'go', everyone tries to get the beach ball and score in the other teams goal using only the noodles- no hands allowed! Whoever gets to five points first wins! 

You may be thinking, 'wait...what about the kick boards??'  Well, here's Katie and I's one-on-one super way to play (only use one kick board):

In our version, you're the goalie, the goal, and every other team member! You each start with a noodle, with the ball in the middle. On 'go', you use the noodles to try and maneuver the ball so that it touches the other player. If you make the ball touch the other person, you get your 'hockey stick' upgraded to a kick board.  This obviously makes it much harder for the noodle person to win! If the noodle person makes the ball touch the kick board person, you switch 'sticks.' (So the person who hits the other person with the beach ball always gets a 'stick' upgrade.) The first person to make the ball hit their opponent twice in a row wins! (The winner must always have the kick board).

Here are some other easy group pool games:

~Colors: 

Have one person stand at one end of the pool to be the Guesser, while the others stand at the opposite end with their eyes closed. Everyone thinks of a color, and the Guesser guesses a color. Once someone's color has been called, they can try to swim their way across the pool to the Guesser. Whoever touches the Guesser first wins and gets to be the new Guesser.  But wait! There's a catch! Once one person's color has been guessed and they start swimming, everyone can start racing towards the Guesser too! That's where the challenge is...the person who's color was chosen has to swim as quietly as they can to not alert the others. 

~Movies

This one is set up just like Colors. The Movie Master (the lone person) thinks of a movie and the group at the opposite end asks questions to try to figure out what movie it is. When someone thinks they know it, they swim up to the Movie Master and reveal their guess. If it's right, they become the new Movie Master. If it's wrong, their out!

~Copy Cat 

This game requires a diving board and is better suited for older kids or teens. One person is chosen to be the Diver, and everybody else are the Copy Cats. The Diver gets to jump or dive off the board any way they like, and the Copy Cats have to copy it for the Diver (or judges if there are moms around the pool). Whoever can't copy the dive is out, and the Diver selects a new dive. The last one standing with the Diver wins! 

~Splash Contest

Cannon ball! This game is and oldie, but a goodie (yeah, I can't believe I just typed that haha). It's pretty simple: whoever makes the biggest splash wins! 

Enjoy your pool time :)