fun in hot tub

Hot Tub Games, 10 Fun Things to do in the Hot Tub, for Adults and Kids

Hot Tub Games

The 10 Best Hot Tub Games to Have Fun with Friends and Kids. 10 things to do in a hot tub + a Selection of the Must Have Accessories for Your Hot Tub!

Let’s dream together. Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Imagine you are in front of the beach, in a hotel that overlooks the ocean and the cliffs.

There are lounge chairs around a swimming pool, bartenders with trays full of snacks and cocktails, and do you see it? Right in the corner, overlooking the garden below and filled with bubbles. There is a hot tub. Isn’t it relaxing just to think about it?

Hot tubs are as old as time, even the Greeks knew their restorative and relaxing powers. Then of course came the Japanese with their steamy and quiet onsens. But the fun in a hot tub is the sharing, isn’t it?

Sharing it with your family, your friends, and your partner. And there isn’t a better way to experience a hot tub than by playing games. 

What games, you ask? The first rule is: phones off and the second rule is, no scuba diving allowed. Here are fun games you can play in your home hot tub, your homely slice of SPA heaven. 

Disclosure: Some of our articles contain affiliate links (as an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases).

The Classics

These games don’t require any objects and, at some or another, we’ve all played them, perhaps during a long road trip. It’s time to test them in the hot tub and they are perfect with the kids. 

1. Who am I?

  • One player thinks of one character, someone famous or known to the whole family. They don’t reveal anything to the other players, just one single clue. The clue can include the title of a movie (if the character is famous) or the description of a distinctive sign (such as a scar). 
  • The next player asks one question and one question only, which can only have a “yes or no” answer. If they guess the character, they have won, otherwise the game moves on to the next player. 

This game ends when one of the players has guessed the character. 

2. The Alphabet Categories 

  • Choose a category and some ideas for it are: food, cities, singers. 
  • Start with A and work your way down the alphabet.
  • When one of the players can’t come up with a word for the category, the player is out. 

3. The Counting Game 

Ready, set, go.

  • One random player says out loud the number one. 
  • From there, the players keep counting, up to 20. 
  • If two players say the same number at the same time, the count starts over. 

The goal is to get to 20. 

4. 21 Questions

  • Choose one player to be the first one to go. 
  • The other players ask 21 questions and the players who have to answer can only refuse to answer two. 

The roles reverse when the 21 questions are answered. 

5. Never Have I Ever

What have you never done? What have you done? Are you lying or in denial? This game is designed to reveal secrets.

One player comes up with a statement such as “never have I ever eaten pineapple pizza.” The players who have eaten it, have to acknowledge it one way or another.

They might drink or share the story of their experience. 


Buy the Never Have I Ever Party Game on Amazon


Take it up a notch

hot tub games

Adding an object to the games in the hot tub can be a fun change of pace. Make it more engaging by adding an object! 

6. Waterproof Playing Cards

Waterproof playing cards are a thing and they are fun things to do in a hot tub, indeed. One of the most appropriate games is Go Fish, just the name says it.

There is even an Uno game version, the UNO Splash, perfect to make your fellow players sweat. Another deck of cards that you can get for your hot tub games is Spot It! Splash and the Hoyle waterproof cards, with clear face cards. 


Buy UNO Splash on Amazon


7. Floating Boards

Floating checkers and waterproof chess take the hot challenges up a notch. The floating version includes a reversible board, all game pieces, and a pair of dice, and doubling cube. Players can also enjoy backgammon and chess. 


Check this Waterproof Swimline Game Station on Amazon


8. Ping Pong 

Ping pong balls are perfect to play in a hot tub and these are only three games that you can try out: 

  1. For this hot tub game, you need five ping pong balls. The goal is to avoid using hands and keep both feet inside the tub. Throw the balls into the water and don’t let them touch you. If one does touch you, then you sit on the border of the hot tub, waiting until there is only one player left. That last player in the hot tub is the winner. 
  2. Another game you can play in a hot tub with ping pong balls is “stay away.” This time, divide the players into teams and the goal is to make the balls touch one of the opponents. The ping pong balls can only move through air (for example by fanning air) or through the jets. You can’t make waves nor touch the balls. 
  3. The Splat Shot game. Divide the players into teams with the goal of making the ball touch your opponent’s side of the hot tub. As long as you don’t touch the ball, anything is fair game. Decide what score you want to reach to pick the winner. 

9. Musical Jets

Have you ever played musical chairs? This is it, only in a steamy, relaxing hot tub and with the added fun of jet skis. Someone will have to be on stereo duty, stopping and starting the music as they please. 

Move-in a clockwise motion and, when the stereo stops, it’s time to freeze. If you stopped in a place of the hot tub where a jet isn’t blowing, you are out. To make it work, just shut down some of the jet skis in the hot tub, so you are ready to play the game. 

10. Chill It Out

Is the hot tub too hot? Time to chill it out with this game! Fill a balloon with ice-cold water and all the players should stand around the hot tub. Start passing the balloon which each player should hold on top of the head for five seconds. Once you have counted up to five, if the balloon hasn’t popped, it’s time to pass it to the next (unlucky?) player. At some point, someone will get an ice-cold shower. 

Fun Accessories For The Hot Tub

Fun games in the hot tub make the experience unique and unforgettable. These accessories will make your games even better. 

The Floating Duck Radio

These gadgets are cute, waterproof, and fun. They catch both AM and FM radio waves, the volume is on the duck’s head, and the radio tunes in the duck’s tail. 


Check the Floating Duck Radio on Amazon


Colorful Lights

Colorful lights make everything better, don’t they? They add ambience and they can instantly change the mood, perhaps of the sore losers of the ping pong games. There are submersible LED lights with magnets that attach to both dry and wet surfaces. There even are lotus-shaped floating lights for the hot tub, to make everything look and feel better. 


Check these Bluetooth Speakers with Colorful Lights


Inflatable Drink Holders

These are not simple floating tables for drinks and beverages. They come in all shapes, from tropical islands to flamingos. Inflatable drink holders look just as fancy as any inflatable toy for the pool, with the added benefit of holding your favorite sip. 


Check these Inflatable Pool Drink Holders on Amazon


The Cushion 

Removable and machine washable, this cushion is perfect to be comfortable in a hot tub. Especially for waterproof card games or floating chess, a submersible booster cushion is comfortable and stylish. Even better to pair its color with the LED lights. 


Check on Amazon


One Last Must Have

Once you have the hot tub fun sorted out and you have all the floating accessories possible, it’s time to get this last gadget: the Absorbing Scum Sponge. It might sound weird, but it’s useful.

As the name suggests, this sponge cleans the hot tub by absorbing: suntan lotion, body oils, make-up and cosmetics, and pollen. They are easy to set up too: just place one in the skimmer and let two more roam freely in the hot tub. 


Check This Turtle Oil Absorbing Sponge


The hot tub is a slice of SPA heaven in your house. It’s a moment to relax and to gather with your favorite people. Playing games and setting the mood with the right accessories and decorations ensures your experience is unique. 



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