One of my favorite pool games when I was younger was Marco Polo. When we were making our “old school” summer bucket list I realized we had never taught the kids how to play! So this weekend we taught them the rules to Marco Polo and had lots of fun playing in the pool.
How to Play Marco Polo
1. Choose one person to be “it”.
2. That person closes his eyes and counts to 10.
3. The rest of the players swim away from him.
4. The person who is “it” keeps their eyes closed and yells Marco!
5. The other players have to answer Polo! (Unless they are underwater.)
6. The person who is “it” uses the sound of their voices to try and find them in the pool.
7. Whoever gets touched first become “it” next.
Fish Out of Water Variation: The person who is it can call “Fish out of water!” and anyone outside of the pool has to jump back in.
We played for hours this weekend and I look forward to a summer full of pool game fun! My three year old liked it so much that she even got the kids to play with her in the house. Although try that one at your own risk…kids running around inside with their eyes closed is not necessarily an idea I’m recommending if you have lots of breakables!
Marco Polo is on our “Old School” Summer Bucket List and is part of a weekly series I will be sharing this summer as we introduce our kids to some of the fun games and activities we remember from our childhoods.
Check out the “Old School” Summer Bucket List for all the activities we plan to do!
Mandy says
June 14, 2013 at 10:44 amWe take a pair of goggles and spray paint the outside for Marco-Polo = no peeking!!!
Megan Sheakoski says
June 14, 2013 at 10:58 amOh my goodness! Mandy that is an AWESOME idea! Thanks for sharing!!!
Frankie says
October 2, 2016 at 3:50 pmMarco polo is perfect for the old school bucket list! I remember playing that every time I was in the pool during the summer. We even played fish out of water but that one is a little more challenging!
Megan Sheakoski says
October 2, 2016 at 9:09 pmYes! Me too!!!!