How to Play Marco Polo – The fun pool game!
Marc Our Words
Marco polo is a great game to play during the summer. It’s a fun game for people of all ages, and it requires no tools! You just need a group of fun family and friends and a body of water, most typically a pool. The game is based on the famous explorer, Marco Polo. Marco Polo is historically known as one of the first and most famous European explorers to venture to Asia during the late 1200s. In China, he spent 24 years, exploring the entirety of the land and mapping out the Silk Road for all travelers and traders to use. Needless to say, both Marco Polo the figure and the game are great things to learn about! So without any further ado, let’s jump right in!
Materials Needed
As mentioned previously, all you truly need for Marco Polo is a body of water. Most people play in a pool. We believe that the larger the pool, the better the game will be, but don’t overdo it with an Olympic sized lot. If you are playing with smaller children, consider getting flotation devices to help the swimming process and thus even the playing field!
How to Play Marco Polo
Another bonus of this family pool game is that the rules are super simple!
- Designate one player as the “tagger” aka “Marco”, who must swim through the water with his/her eyes shut, using only the sense of touch and hearing to guide him/her.
- All the rest of the players are “Polo”, and must avoid “Marco” at all cost.
- When Marco calls out “Marco,” players must respond by shouting “Polo”. This alerts the Marco player of the other’s position so that they may track them down via hearing, and therefore Polo players must be nimble and fast swimmers to avoid Marco’s touch because once they tap you, you’re the new Marco!
- Marco may also call out “Fish out of water” if s/he hears someone out of the pool. If someone truly is out of the pool, then they are it i.e. the new Marco!
- The game is over once Marco gives up or after an agreed amount of time.
Team Size
You can play Marco Polo with as little as two people, which is one of the coolest things about this game! That’s it–the only maximum on team sizes are limited by the space of your pool and willing players! This makes Marco Polo the perfect summer pool game for both small families as well as the large party event!
Time Required
The time needed for each Marco polo round is all dependent on the amount of players involved as well as the size of the pool. For a two player game in a medium size pool, the rounds can range for five minutes to fifteen minutes. For a five player game, expect about twenty five minutes. No game should take longer than half an hour. Most players will quit after a few rounds as it’s a very active game.
Marco Polo Video Tutorial
