10 Awesome Water Balloon Games For Kids

Have you ever met a kid who doesn’t love water balloons?

Didn’t think so!

Seems like as soon as winter is over my kids start begging me to buy them. When your kids start asking too, bust out one of these super fun water balloon games your kids will love!

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I HIGHLY suggest purchasing Bunch O Balloons. Filling up water balloons is one of my least favorite activities ever. This ingenious product fills 100 water balloons in seconds. (The other day I realized that I didn’t have anymore and my daughter brought out some regular water balloons. I think I cried a little).

10 Water Balloon Games for Kids

Water balloons make the perfect summertime toy. They are affordable, fun and keep the kiddos cooled off when it’s hot.

And even better…they get the kids to go outside and be active!

Chances are, your kids will be excited just to fill up the balloons and toss them at each other.

But why not make it even more fun by setting up one of these fun games to play?

1. Back to Back Water Balloon Race

Directions:

You’ll need to have partners for this one.

Designate a starting and a finishing line. Two partners with stand back-to-back with a water balloon wedged between them.

The object of the game is to see how fast you can make it to the finish line without popping the balloon. If the balloon pops you can to go back to the start and get a new balloon.

Try to be the fastest team, or beat your best time.

2. Water Balloon Volleyball

We played this at a birthday party recently and it was an absolute blast.

To be honest, you don’t even need a net, but if you have one go ahead and use it.

Directions:

Partners on each team will be given a beach towel. Each partner will hold on to the two corners on the short ends of the towel, creating a hammock for the water balloon.

Working together, they will use the towel to launch the ballon over the net (or just in the direction of) the opposing team.

The opposing team will then attempt to catch the water balloon in their towel and launch it back.

This game is challenging and hilarious – sure to become a summertime favorite!

3. Colander Head

What makes this water balloon game so fun, is that everyone looks ridiculous and you are pretty much guaranteed to get soaked.

Directions:

Gather up all the colanders you can find. If you plan ahead you can also get them at the Dollar Store to have enough for a group.

Each person will find a partner and decide who is going to be the “colander head” first. That person will hold the colander on top of their head and face their partner who should be standing 10 to 20 feet away.

Their partner will then begin tossing water balloons into the colander. The team gets a point for each water balloon they can catch in the colander in a minute that doesn’t pop. LOL! Good luck!

After each round the partners will switch jobs.

4. Water Balloon Little League

If you need a fun game to play with a crowd, this activity is perfect! Split everyone into two teams and play ball!

Directions:

The set up is exactly the same as a baseball game, only instead of a ball, the pitcher will be tossing water balloons….and you probably won’t need any outfielders.

Each “slugger” will get three swings at bat. If they hit the balloon they get to run the bases. Most likely the balloon will pop, so the runner is out if they get tagged by any of the infielders.

5. Sidewalk Chalk Target Practice

Directions:

Grab some chalk and start drawing circles on the concrete. Be sure to draw circles of different sizes; small, medium and large.

Each circle will be given a point value between 5 to 25 points depending on how difficult it would be to land a water balloon inside from the starting line.

Give each participant four water balloons each round and add up their points. The player with the highest score wins!

6. Hide-n-Seek

Directions:

Fill a small plastic or inflatable kiddie pool with water balloons.

At the same time, take some of the water balloons and blow them up with shaving cream instead of filling them with water. You can make the game even more fun my putting a small prize in these balloons like money or some candy.

Place the shaving cream filled balloons in the pool with the water balloons. Have the players kneel around the outside edge of the pool so they can easily reach in with their hands. Place blindfolds on the players and give them one minute to pop as many balloons as they can to see who can find the most shaving cream filled balloons in the pool.

7. Water Balloon Kung-Fu

Kids will have a blast channeling their inner Kung-Fu Panda and showing off their ninja skills with this game.

Directions:

Fill and hang a bunch of water balloons from a clothes line. Tying the balloons up with string tends to work best.

Give each player one minute to karate chop and kick the balloons in an effort to pop as many as possible.

8. Fill the Bucket

Directions:

Start out with a ton of water balloons, like enough to fill up a kiddie pool.

Split everyone into teams and line them up. Each team will have their own bucket at the opposite end of the yard. The buckets will have a fill-line that you can draw on with a sharpie.

In relay fashion each teammate will grab a water balloon and run down to their bucket and pop the balloon trying to get all the water inside. The first team to fill their bucket wins!

9. Water Balloon Stomp and Freeze

Summer fun doesn’t get any easier than this!

Directions:

Fill a kiddie pool with water balloons and have 2 to 3 kids play at a time.

Turn on the music and have them step into the pool and start stomping their little hearts out. Whenever you pause the music they have to stop stomping and freeze. Keep on going until all the balloons are popped and the kids are worn out (you’re welcome).

Related: Awesome Activities To Tire Your Kids Out

10. Water Balloon Paint War

Warning: This one is messy!

Directions:

Give each player a plain white t-shirt to wear over their swimsuit. Goggles aren’t a bad idea either.

When you fill the water balloons put a few drops of food coloring in each one. Disclaimer – this is why I recommend the white shirts, clothing will be stained – but it’s so fun that it’s worth it!

The game is played just like a regular water balloon fight, but it’s so much more fun because as the water balloons pop the white t-shirts are left covered with the bright colors from the food color.

It’s like a paint-ball fight without all the fancy equipment.

I hope your kids have a blast this summer playing these water balloon games!

See more of my simple summer activities for kids.

Related Post:

• Simple Outdoor Activities For Kids

This is a guest post, written by Lauren of Simply Well Balanced.

Lauren Tingley is a formerly stressed out mama and elementary teacher who shares practical strategies for parenting, homemaking and fun family activities on her blog Simply Well Balanced. Her goal is to help you simplify motherhood so you have time for what you enjoy most! You can follow her on Instagram @simplywellbalanced