For this week’s addition to our collection of youth group games, we have another water game for you – Water Balloon Hot Potato.
Here’s how to play it:
Resources
- Water balloons
- Bucket(s)
Preparation
Fill up the water balloons and store them in a bucket(s) of water to help ensure that they don’t burst early. You’ll need one balloon for each young person, plus a few extras in case any do end up bursting early.
Your youth may want to play this more than once (or you may want to play one of the alternate versions below), so if you do, you’ll need far more balloons.
Location
It’s best to play this game outdoors, as it’s going to get pretty wet.
Water Balloon Hot Potato Rules
Get your youth group to stand in a large circle with 2 feet between them, provided there’s enough space.
Explain that one of them will start with one of the balloons. They have to toss it to the person on their right, who tosses it to the person on their right, who tosses it to the person on their right, etc.
Let them know that they’re not supposed to catch it, pause and then throw it on – they have to imagine it’s a hot potato, so it has to be tossed on to the next person immediately.
Soon enough, the balloon will burst – the person who it bursts on is then out. Have the circle move in slightly and then carry on with another water balloon starting from the next person in the circle.
Continue playing hot potato until there’s only one person left.
Alternate Versions
Here are a few different ways you can play this youth group game:
- Random Passing – Instead of having the young people toss the water balloon to the person on their immediate right, allow them to pass it to anybody in the circle. This is a harder version, so might be worth trying after playing the original version first.
- Staying Still – Rather than having the circle get closer when a balloon bursts, have everyone stand in the same place. This means that as the game goes on, there will be some sections of the circle closer than others, making it a little more difficult.
- Ultimate – Make sure your youth are paying attention at all angles by using two or more balloons and combining this with the random passing option above.
If you liked this idea, you might like all of our other game ideas.
Question: What other ways of playing Water Balloon Hot Potato can you think of? Let us know in the comments below.
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