HT Games
Marco Polo
A popular children's water game is Marco Polo. The game requires at least two players and can be played in salt water. One player is required to be blindfolded or keep his eyes closed, feeling his way around with his feet and hands. This player yells "Marco!" Other game players are required to respond with "Polo!" so that the seeker can gauge with his ears how close or far away the players are in an attempt to catch them. Another player, if caught, must change places and become the seeker.
Paddle Ball
Some paddle ball games are designed to be played in water. Paddle ball games are particularly challenging when played in conjunction with the rise and fall of the ocean, which makes the game slightly more difficult. Players are given plastic paddles that they use to bat a ball back and forth through the air. The ball floats when a player misses the ball. The ball also soaks up the water, so that when a player hits it with her paddle, she gets splashed with water from the ball.
Basketball
Another salt water game to play is floating basketball. The game can use one or more players. The players compete by tossing a small basketball into a floating basketball net. The ball can also float on the water. Players can run with the ball, steal it from each other, and dunk in the same spirit as they can compete in a land-bound game of traditional basketball. When playing this game in the ocean, players must keep an eye on the net so that it does not float away on the waves.
Body Boarding
Another salt water game to play in the ocean is body boarding. Competitors must take a body board, generally made out of Styrofoam covered in woven plastic or canvas out into the ocean just beyond the place where the waves break. Players wait for a wave to come and jump on their stomach on to the board facing the shore to ride the wave in. In this alternative to surfing, players can compete to see who rides the wave the furthest or catches the most waves.