Ready to have the best Summer ever? Enjoy Super-Soaking Summer Fun with these amazing Water Balloon Games for the whole family.
Kids love playing with water, especially during hot summer days and you can count on these Water Balloon Games to provide some cool summer fun for all ages.
The whole family will have hours of fun with these games and they’re fantastic for parties, summer barbecues and family get-togethers. Plus they will keep the kids active, happy and outdoors. And that’s what we want, make the most of summer days in the sun and fresh air.
All of these games require filled water balloons to play and are super easy to set up so you’ll be ready to play in no time. If you’d love an alternative to water balloons we also love to use sponge balls for water games that you can easily DIY.
Ready to have some fun and beat the summer heat? Scroll below to get inspired!
1. Water Balloon Volleyball
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons, towels, game net
How to play:
- Split players into pairs of two with a towel for each pair
- Players on each team work together using the towel to catch the water balloon and send it back over the net
Water Balloon Volleyball is such a fun game that I learned about from It’s Always Autumn. Make sure you check out the full details of this fun summer game.
Learn more: It’s Always Autumn
2. Back to Back Water Balloon Dash
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons, a large tub filled with water, rope or spray paint to mark starting and finish lines
How to Play:
- Mark starting and finish lines
- Split players up into two teams and team two players in each team
- Players need to stand back-to-back with a water balloon between their backs
- To play each pair has to run to the finish line without popping their balloons
- If a balloon is popped, they must go back to the start line and start again
- Keep going until all pairs had a go
- The first team to cross the finish line wins
Back to Back Water Balloon Dash is a fun relay race using water balloons between players’ backs. The object of the game is to keep the balloon from popping and the first team who finishes wins. Find out more about this game via the link below.
Learn more: Kid Friendly Things To Do
3. Water Balloon Ring Toss Game
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons, pool noodles, heavy-duty tape
How to Play:
- Prepare the rings by shaping the pool noodles into circles and securing them with tape
- Lay the rings flat in a straight line
- Toss the balloons into the rings
This Water Balloon Ring Toss Game is a fun game to play with as many players as you have. To make it more competitive you can also assign a point value for each ring and have prizes.
Learn more: About a Mom
4. Water Balloon Pinatas
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons, rope, sticks
How to Play:
- Secure the filled water balloons with strong rope between two strong posts or branches
- Players take turns trying to burst the water balloons with their sticks
We love Water Balloon Pinatas and it is definitely a soaker. This game will cool everyone off quickly this Summer! Check out the full details of how to set it up via the link below.
Learn more: Hello Wonderful
5. Cannonball Water Balloon Game
What you’ll need: Black balloons, pirate coins, plastic baseball bat
How to Play:
- Place coins in at least half of the balloons, leaving some balloons empty, fill them with water and tie them.
- Hang them outside on sturdy branches.
- Kids take turns choosing which balloons to whack with the baseball bat, bursting them open so that water will splash on them and some of them will have a surprise coin hidden inside.
This Cannonball Water Balloon Game is similar to a Pinata game but with a Pirate theme. The trick of this game is finding the balloons that have the treasure inside. Find out the full details for this fun game below.
Learn more: Kid Friendly Things to Do
6. Milk Jug Water Balloon Toss
What you’ll need: Empty milk jugs for all players, scissors, tape, filled water balloons
How to Play:
- Cut the bottoms off of all of the milk jugs
- Cover the cut edge with masking or duct tape so it isn’t as sharp
- Players start by standing close together
- Use the milk jug to toss and catch the water balloon from player to player
- Players slowly take steps back to increase the distance between themselves and make the game more challenging
Cool off this summer with this Milk Jug Water Balloon Toss game. It’s easy to set up with simple supplies and super fun to play.
Learn more: Kid Friendly Things To Do
7. Water Balloon Hunt
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons, buckets, permanent marker
How to Play:
- Pick as many shapes as you have players and draw them onto balloons and corresponding buckets
- Each child has a bucket with a shape on it and they can only pick up the balloons with that shape
- Hide the ballons and you’re ready to start the hunt
This Water Balloon Hunt is great fun for the younger kids who will love going on a hunt around the backyard collecting their water balloons. Check out the details for this game below.
Learn more: Mess For Less
8. Water Balloon Spoon Race
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons, spoons
How to Play:
- Create a start and finish line
- Players have a filled water balloon and a spoon at the start and end of the race
- When the race starts, the players must get from the start to the finish while keeping their balloons on their spoons without using their other hand
- If your balloon falls and doesn’t burst, you must pick it up and go back to the start
- If your balloon falls and bursts, you’re out
- Can be played as a relay-race
Water Balloon Spoon Race is a great game for summer parties. Kids will have fun playing this water balloon version.
Learn more: Nifty Mom
9. Water Balloon Dodge Ball
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons
How to Play:
- Create two teams
- Create a playing area with a center-line
- Place a big bucket of filled water balloons at the back of each team’s playing area
- Players try to knock off members of the opposing team by hitting them with a water balloon
- If a player is hit and the balloon pops, that player is out
- If a player is hit and the balloon doesn’t pop, the player is still in
- The last team with players left wins
This Water Balloon Dodge Ball is an exciting team game with the objective of the game knocking players out with burst water balloons.
10. Water Balloon Fight
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons
How to Play:
- Players throw filled water balloons at opposing players while trying to stay dry
Can’t have this round-up without mentioning the good old Water Balloon Fight! Read all the tips and advice on how to have the best-ever Water Balloon Fight via the link below.
Learn more: Get Your Holiday On
11. Fill The Bucket Water Balloon Relay
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons, tape or marker, buckets
How to Play:
- Have an empty bucket at one side of the yard and a bucket of filled water balloons on the other side
- Put a line of masking tape near the top of the bucket as the “fill line”
- Players line up behind the empty bucket, run to the bucket of filled water balloons, grab one balloon, then run back
- The runner then tries to pop the water balloon into the bucket
- The next team member in line then repeats the process
- The first team to fill their bucket wins
Fill The Bucket Water Balloon Relay can be played in different ways. The one above or like the traditional relay race with players successfully passing water balloons back and forth without breaking them during the race.
Learn more: Mommy Made That
12. Bucket Guard Water Balloon Game
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons, buckets, a large tub of water, plastic baseball bats
How to play:
- Set up two teams – half will be throwing in, and half will be guarding
- Players take turns launching as many balloons as they can into the opposite buckets
- The guards are ready with their bats to hit the balloons so they pop and don’t make it into the bucket
- The team with the most balloons in the bucket wins
This Bucket Guard Water Balloon Game will soon become your favorite summer game to play! It’s perfect for outdoor parties and you can play it with small or large groups. The objective of the game is to use baseball bats to guard the buckets from water balloons. For the full instructions visit the link below.
Learn more: Kid Friendly Things To Do
13. Water Balloon Tag
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons
How to play:
- One player is “it” and has a filled water balloon
- The player who is it uses the water balloon to tag the other players
- Another player becomes it when a water balloon hits them and bursts
- If a player is hit with a balloon but it doesn’t burst, they are not it and the play continues
This Water Balloon Tag is a fun twist on a traditional tag game. Add this one to your list for super-soaking summer fun.
14. Water Balloon Stomp Battle
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons and string for each team member
How to Play:
- Create two teams
- Tie a filled water balloon onto everyone’s ankles
- When the game starts, players try to pop the balloons of the opposing team
- Players are “out” when their balloons are all popped
- The team with the last balloons wins
When the sun is out enjoy playing this fantastic Water Balloon Stomp Battle. This one is a fun game for kids and adults alike.
15. Water Balloon Stomp
What you’ll need: Filled water balloons
How to Play:
- Fill a large plastic tub or a baby pool with filled water balloons
- Get the kids to jump in and stomp the balloons until they burst
Here’s another variation of Water Balloon Stomp that is wonderful for the younger kids who will enjoy this simple balloon-popping game.
Learn more: Sunny Day Family
Safety Tips For Water Balloon Games
We all know how quickly fun games can go wrong when someone gets hurt. Remind kids to keep water balloons away from their faces and try to throw them below the shoulders.
Also, one of the big drawbacks to using water balloons is the mess they sometimes leave behind. It’s so important to make sure any small pieces are picked up and discarded so small animals don’t ingest them.
More Summer Fun
If you love spending time and having fun with your family outdoors, make sure you check out these other ideas that I know you’ll love!