Save the Squids

This is a game I made up one year because we didn't want to play Sharks and Minnows anymore. You have to gather up all the squids before the whale gets you. You can find squid toys here.

The Story

The squids lay on the bottom of the ocean hidden in the sand. The killer whale loves squids, but he cannot see them. We must save the squids from the killer whale. There's only one problem; if we pick up the squids the killer whale will them and come after us. We must get the squids and swim as fast as we can to the safe zone.

The Setup

• You can only have 1 swimmer per squid toy.
• Then you will have one person be the killer whale (you can also just say "whale" if you're worried about scaring little kids).
• The killer whale will swim around in the middle of the pool.
• The swimmers will line up on the wall and wait for the instructor to say "go."
• On "go" the swimmers will try to pickup 1 squid and continue to the other side before getting caught by the killer whale.

The Rules

• You can only pick up 1 squid.
• After picking up 1 squid you must swim to the other side of the pool.
• There is underwater safety.
• If you get caught by the whale (tagged) you must drop your squid and swim to the side. You are now out of the game.
• The game is over when
  • All of the squids have been rescued
  • Only one swimmer is left
• If only one swimmer is left, s/he becomes the next killer whale.

This game can go on and on and on forever because there is no real winner. Technically if there is only one person left and the squids have not all been collected then the killer whale has won. And then, of course, if the all the squids are collected the swimmers have won.

You can play this game either by having the swimmers swim across the pool or by having a safe zone where the killer whale cannot enter which the swimmers will always swim back to.