When playing with a lot of people in a large area, you can play with more than one Shark. 10 Minnows to 1 Shark is a good ratio. If many people want to be the Shark you can decide by flipping a coin, or playing rock, paper, scissors.
Experienced swimmers can challenge themselves by requiring players to dive, cannonball, or can-opener into the pool.
If the Shark tags a Minnow, that Minnow becomes a Shark[2] X Research source and joins the Shark’s team. They now begin tagging Minnows to turn them into Sharks. When the Minnows have made it to the other side of the pool without being tagged, they wait. The Shark calls “fishy, fishy. . . ” again and they try to return to the other side of the pool. The original Shark calls, “Shark Attack” and the process repeats.
If you started out with more than one Shark, the last two Minnows become the next Sharks.
Make it a rule that the Shark can only tag Minnows who have their head above water. It’s fun to challenge yourself but never put your life in danger. Be cautious and make sure swimmers can make it from one side of the pool to the other in one breath.
Cones, tape, or basketball court lines are used to mark the boundaries. These will be the spots where players will start and end. [4] X Research source [5] X Research source If you want to minimize contact, you can have players tuck a towel into their shorts, to act as a “tail. ” Instead of tagging players, the Shark will pull their tail.
In this version, Minnows can exit the pool and try to walk to the other end of the pool without being seen or heard. If the Shark does hear them then the Shark will yell, “fish out of water” and the Minnow must start over. [6] X Research source
If a seaweed touches a Shark, it turns back into a Minnow and can continue swimming to the end of the pool.
