


What Makes It Great: Exceedingly simple to organize - and, as it’s all about stealth, kids tend to stay pretty quiet. No getting out of the pool, you dirty cheaters. Whomever he or she catches becomes the next Marco, and the game starts anew. That person then says, “Marco.” Everyone then yells “Polo!” The Marco child pursues the fleeing Polos with his or her eyes closed periodically calling out, with the other participants responding. How to Play It: Everyone in the pool! One person closes his or her eyes and counts to 10.

It can be played with virtually any number of players and can be adjusted for myriad age groups based on the height of the hoop. What Makes it Great: It’s horse! It takes a classic activity like shooting hoops or playing catch and leaves tons of room for creativity, which might be why you’ll see pros playing it whenever human-interest stories are produced. The last person standing without making it to horse wins. Fail and you earn a letter, beginning with H and progressing to HORSE. If he or she is successful, everyone else has to replicate the shot. If they miss, it’s the next person’s turn to make up a crazy shot. How to Play It: The first person does anything they want, from spinning around to closing their eyes, before shooting a basketball into the hoop.
