Pack up the air mattress, pool noodle and floaties! These swimming pool games for adults and teens are perfect for a pool party, or the pool in the backyard and provide the most fun of the summer.
Have you ever played a real water fight? Whether it’s with water balls or inflatable lances, it’s tremendous fun. The best swimming pool games for adults and teens (or families with kids teenager and up) have simple rules and are still hours of fun. Since it’s not easy to know from the start what everyone will enjoy, you should plan on having at least two different swimming pool games if possible. Among our favorites with the best swimming pool games for adults you’ll find entertaining, simple and quick games that are also great for a pool party. There are also team games that are among our favorites, if you can find enough players who really want to play.
When choosing the swimming pool games you want to play, take into account how many players want to participate and the size and depth of your pool. Be sure to always start with a simple game, you will see, your friends or the party company will want to play more.
You are also looking for game ideas for kids? Here you can find great game ideas for water balloon games for kids from 4-12 years!
The Best Swimming Pool Games for Adults and Teenagers

1. Tame the Bull!
This funny rodeo is definitely one of the funniest swimming pool games for adults for a pool party. The best thing you need for this is the bull in the hoop, which is inflated and lowered into the water. Then a rider sits on the bull and tries to stay on top as long as possible. The more water movement, the harder it is to stay up. There are also loops in the ring around the bull that up to three players can grab to make the bull buck harder.
The game is simple and can be played super everyone against everyone or in teams. Children from about 9 years can join in. We have made the experience that especially children are not easily thrown off and are the champions!
This Is What You Need
- Bulls
- Alternatively, you can also take a large swimming animal such as shark or crocodile, whose head and tail is shaken in each case by fellow players. Does not work quite as well as with the bull in the tire, but also goes.
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2. Tournament in the Water – Who Will Win the Water Battle?

This Is What You Need
- Pool tournament set
- alternatively pool noodles and air mattresses, floaties and whatnot
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3. Collect Glow Sticks – Ideal as a Swimming Pool Game for Families When It Gets Dark
When it’s dusk on a warm summer evening or you’re having a pool party at night, collecting glow sticks is a great pool game for adults. It’s very easy to do. All you have to do is throw glow sticks into the pool. Everyone can now jump into the pool and collect as many from the bottom of the pool as they can. The winner is the one with the most glow sticks.
This Is What You Need
- Glow sticks
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4. Royal Race – Why Swimming Pool Games for Adults Are Also Something for Royals
You can play this game in 2 variants – as a team game or a race between two players. In the race, two players compete against each other, each sit on a chair, put on the crown and move forward with hands and feet to reach the finish line first. If the crown falls into the water, you have to go back to the start and start again.
I find the team variant even better and it is especially suitable for larger pools super. You form 2 teams and pile up the water balls on one side of the pool. One player puts on the crown, takes a seat on the chair and tries with the help of the team to get to the other side of the pool as quickly as possible without the crown falling off the head. There the king or queen climbs off the chair, grabs a beach ball and gets back on the chair and brings the wall to the other side. Then the next person from the team is king or queen and secures the next ball. The team that captures 5 balls first wins.
Whenever the crown or the beach ball falls into the water, the king must return to the starting line, hand over the beach ball and start again! You will see that the royal race is one of the swimming pool games for adults that is incredibly fun and brings out the child in the adult.
This Is What You Need
- 2 inflatable armchairs
- 2 crowns
- 10 water balls
5. Fun Battle With Water Balls
Lay the rope across the width of the pool or enclose an area with it, for example, with the help of small buoys. Now each player gets a beach ball. At the start signal, the players push each other with the beach ball and try to push each other to the side. As soon as a player touches the rope, he is eliminated from the game. The winner is the last player left.
This Is What You Need
- A rope
- if necessary, small buoys
- Large beach balls (one per player)
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6. Watermelon Polo – Water Polo as a Fun Pool Game
A funny variation of water polo is watermelon polo. For this you use a watermelon instead of a ball. Watermelon polo is played in 2 teams, each of which has one side of the pool as their field. The goal of the game is to push the watermelon rubbed with cooking oil to the end of the opponent’s field with your hands. If it gets there, the team gets a point. The winner is the team that gets 10 points first.
Rules
- To begin, someone throws the watermelon rubbed with oil into the center of the pool as much as possible.
- Players may only move the watermelon forward with their hands and pass it
- It is forbidden to lift or throw the watermelon out of the water
This Is What You Need
- Watermelon
- vegetable oil or petroleum jelly
7. Water Polo – The Classic Swimming Pool Game for Adults

Set up the goals at opposite ends of the pool and appoint a goalkeeper for each team. The other maximum 6 players per team try to score goals by tactics and skillful throwing and intercepting the ball.
Water polo is an absolute classic of swimming pool games for adults, where you can also choose the team size smaller and simplify the rules.
The Rules in Water Polo
- The goalkeeper must always stay in his own half of the field.
- All players except the goalkeeper may only touch the ball with one hand or arm at a time
- It is forbidden to play the ball with your fist, only the goalkeeper is allowed to do that for saves within his five-meter field.
- The ball may be touched with all parts of the body.
- If a player who is not in possession of the ball touches an opposing player it is a foul and the opposing team gets a free throw.
- When a player is held, dived or pulled back, that player must leave the field for 20 seconds. Exception: the player is in possession of the ball, then this is allowed.
- Three personal mistakes will result in the player having to leave the field and the team playing shorthanded until the end of the game.
- A goal may only be thrown if the ball has been touched by at least 2 players beforehand. Exception is a free throw.
- After a goal, each team repositions itself in its half of the game. A player of the team against which the goal was scored plays off the ball.
- You may change as often as you like by high-fiving.
This Is What You Need
- 2 goals
- water polo
- If necessary, swim caps or sashes in two colors to identify the teams
8. Water Basketball – Shooting Baskets in Water

On the opposite long sides of the pool, place an inflatable basketball hoop about 1m above the water. When a team throws a basket, it gets a point. Each game lasts 2 x 5 minutes – the team with the most points wins at the end of the game.
The Rules in Water Basketball
- When throwing a basket, the team receives a point.
- When the ball is pressed under water, the possession changes.
- It can be changed as often as you like by high-fiving.
- Fouls: dunking, kicking, pulling, holding or hitting the opponent’s player.
- A foul results in a change of possession, in case of serious or multiple fouls. possibly penalty minutes or suspension of the player.
- If a clear scoring chance is thwarted by a foul, this results in a free throw.
- The basket walls must not be touched during a throw and holding on to the basket and net is forbidden.
- Possession changes on defense
This Is What You Need
- 2 water baskets
- 1 beach ball
9. Water Volleyball For 2 – 8 Players
Water volleyball is a simplified form of volleyball in waist-high water. Your pool or playing field should have a size of at least 3 x 2m. Stretch a net centrally across the width of the court so that the courts of both teams are the same size. Each team should consist of at least 1 to a maximum of 4 players.
The coin toss decides which team starts the first set. The ball is passed back and forth over the net until one team has won 11 points. If there is a two point difference in the number of points earned by the teams, they have won the set. If not, the game is played until there is a difference of two points or 15 points are reached and the team wins the set. Now, the team that won the coin toss has the lead in the next set. A game consists of 5 sets. The team that wins more sets is the final winner!
Rules
- A rally starts with the indication of a player standing at the furthest point from the net and playing the ball over the net.
- The players play the ball back and forth over the net until it falls into the water.
- Whenever the team wins the exchange of the ball, which was opened with an indication in their own team gets a point.
- The ball may also touch the net (roll off)
- Position changes with ball are not allowed, i.e. the ball must always be thrown exactly from where it was caught.
- You may throw the ball while jumping, but this must be done before the feet touch the ground again.
- Catching the ball in the jump, it can still be thrown in the process or when hitting the ground.
- If you catch the ball, you may also bring it underwater.
- The ball must be thrown so that it rises, with downward trajectory it must not be thrown.
- If the ball falls into the water without being caught, the rally is over.
- If the ball flies out of the pool / playing field or touches the side of the pool the rally is over.
- After catching the ball, you must throw it in no more than 3 seconds.
This Is What You Need
- Net
- Ball
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10. Throw Master – The Swimming Pool Game for Adults, Which Is All About the Bottle
Throwing master is a funny throwing game for the pool that you can play with and also without alcoholic drinks. The water should go to the players’ chest at the maximum. It is a game variant of horseshoe throwing, for which you can buy game sets (for example, this set from Bottle Bash) or you can assemble it yourself. You will need poles, a Frisbee and 2 objects, for example plastic bottles or cans. Attach one pole to each long side of the pool and put the empty bottles upside down on top. However, it works even better with the purchase set, where the poles are on height-adjustable tripods and can be positioned super in the last third of the pool on both sides.
Now form two teams of equal strength. The teams take turns throwing the Frisbee and try to hit the bottle or the pole and knock it over. The defending team tries to prevent this and catch the frisbee. A funny handicap is that all players must always hold a drink in one hand. Points are awarded for successful throws. The winner is the team that first has 11 or 21 points (depending on the agreement at the beginning).
Rules and scoring
- The frisbee must be thrown in such a way that the throws are easy to catch.
- The defenders must not block the bar and stand in front of it to catch it. If this happens repeatedly, you can credit the attacking team 3 points.
- If a throw is not catchable, no points are awarded and it is the opposing team’s turn to throw the next throw.
- The defenders must not the frisbee in front of the bar.
- To score a point, you can hit the bottle directly and throw it from the bar, or hit the bar and thereby make the bottle fall down.
- Only the throwing players can score.
- 2 points: Hit the pole and the bottle is dropped without the defense catching bottle or frisbee
- 1 point: hit the rod or bottle and the defense catches frisbee or bottle.
- 0 points: Hit the rod or bottle and the defense catches frisbee and bottle.
- 3 points: Hit the bottle, it falls from the bar without the defense catching bottle or frisbee.
- 2 points: Hit the bottle, it falls from the bar and the defense catches Frisbee or bottle.
- 1 points: Hit the bottle, it falls from the bar and the defense catches frisbee and bottle.
- 1 point: The defense fails to catch a throw that could have been caught
This Is What You Need
- Game set for throwing game
- alternatively 2 poles, frisbee and empty bottles or cans and fasteners
- If necessary, weights to weigh down the tripod feet
- Drinks for all players
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Did these swimming pool games for adults make you want to start playing right away? On Greatime you will find many game tips for outdoors and indoors to play right away. For example, do you know these fun throwing games? On our ideas portal you can find even more tips and ideas for games, fun, party together with friends, partner and family.
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