Jennifer Garner’s fun pool game requires spoons and goggles: ‘kid not required’
If you’re lucky enough to enjoy a day or two by the pool this summer, leave it to Jennifer Garner to have the most genius—and entertaining—way to spark a little competitive spirit amongst your crew. The actress recently shared her family’s go-to pool game on Instagram, proving that you can find the “recipe for a good time” right in your cutlery drawer.
In the clip, Garner was splashing around with one of her kids, introducing fans and followers to her favorite game. “If you have access to a pool, spoons and goggles—please borrow my recipe for a good time,” she wrote in the caption of her post. “Kid not required.”
Setting the scene, she held up three metal spoons and told the camera, “It’s the best game. We throw our spoons, three spoons each and we start the stopwatch. We each have to go and collect three spoons but in different parts [of the pool] and come back and turn off the stopwatch.”
“We’d love to show it to you,” she added before throwing a spoon.
“There’s strategy, Mo,” the mom of three quipped. “I’ll go that way,” she told one of her children to which they replied, “No, I’ll go that way.”
“Okay, I’ll go that way,” she said, changing direction.
“We have to zig zag back?” she asked. “Oh my gosh, the course keeps getting harder and harder.”
She then peeked at the stopwatch, seemingly dismayed by the amount of time it was taking to find the spoons. “You’ve really set this up to be a tricky one,” she told her child. We have to go at the same time.”
“Wait, you’re going which way? Lord, have mercy,” she added before setting the stopwatch.
“I got it, go,” she joke-yelled before looking at the stopwatch time of 00.29.32. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” she said with a sigh.
The 52-year-old shares daughters Violet, 18, and Seraphina, 15, and son Samuel, 12, with ex-husband Ben Affleck, though it’s unclear which of her kids was up for a little friendly competition with their mom in the pool on this day. Still, it seems like a fun, low-stakes (yet not at all low-effort) way to spice things up with a splash… all without having to buy new pool toys that’ll end up stashed away for much of the year. A win-win all the way around, we’d say.
Timeless pool games for kiddos of any age
Marco Polo
One player is “It” and closes their eyes, calling out “Marco!” Other players respond with “Polo!” as they swim around. The “It” player tries to tag others based on their voices. When someone is caught, they become the new “It.”Treasure Hunt
Scatter waterproof or sink-able objects around the pool. Kids dive and swim to collect as many “treasures” as they can within a time limit. The player with the most items wins.Sharks and Minnows
One player is the “shark” who starts at one end of the pool. Other players (“minnows”) try to swim across without being tagged. Tagged players become sharks and help catch remaining minnows in subsequent rounds.Pool Volleyball
Set up a low net across the pool. Divide into two teams and play volleyball using a beach ball. Adapt rules for shallower water if needed.Freeze Dance
Play music while kids swim freely. When the music stops, swimmers must freeze in place. Anyone who moves is out. Last player remaining wins.
