9 Super Fun Under the Sea Party Games

We love an Under-The-Sea theme for a party, it’s such a creative and imaginative theme, and most importantly, lends itself to some fantastic sea themed games! 

At Parties Universe, we have years of experience as professional kids’ party hosts, bringing your little deep-sea explorers into an immersive fun adventure that they will love!

At Parties Universe, we believe the best parties focus on fun, creativity, and quality time with loved ones—without the stress of complicated setups.

Here are our top 9 game ideas for an under the sea themed birthday party. If you get some great ideas from this post, be sure to check out our full under the sea themed party plan with loads more ideas for games and activities.

Under the Sea Game 1: Swim to shore! (Four Corners)

An underwater version of “Four Corners”! Label four corners of the room as different ocean locations (e.g., Coral Reef, Sunken Ship, Mermaid Lagoon, Shark Cove). You can take them on a deep-sea tour to familiarize them with the layout!

Children dance around, and when the caller shouts, “Four Corners!” they must swim to one of the four areas.

The caller, with eyes closed, spins around and points to a corner, and whoever is there is sent on a long swim through the ocean. Instead of sitting out, eliminated players “swim to the shore”—pretending to swim away while making funny fish movements!

The winners of the game are those children lucky enough to evade the chosen corner for each round!

Under the Sea Game 2: Captain’s Orders

In this fast-paced action game, the leader calls out different ocean themed commands, and the children must quickly follow the instructions. The last ones to react are out, and the game continues!

• Swim to Shore! – Run to touch one of the walls in the room.
• Dodge the Jellyfish! – Pretend to duck and weave.
• Flip Like a Dolphin! – Jump and spin in the air.
• Wave Like Seaweed! – Wiggle your arms and body.
• Dive Deep! – Drop to the floor as if exploring the ocean depths.

For younger children, you can remove a few actions or reward the fastest player instead of eliminating participants.

Top tip: We love creating a story around sending kids “off to the shore” when they are out of the game! It adds a bit of fun and lets kids do a dramatic “swim away,” making them more likely to join in and not get upset about being called out!

Under the Sea Game 3: Whale, Whale, Shark!

This game is an underwater-themed version of “Duck, Duck, Goose.” It’s perfect as a familiar game for kids to get immediately stuck into when they arrive or for them to join in if they are a little shy and don’t know many people.

Children sit in a circle. One child (Child A) walks around the outside of the circle, tapping the other children on the head while saying, “Whale, whale, Whale…” When Child A taps someone and says “Shark!”, that child (Child B) jumps up and chases Child A around the circle.

Child A must swim all the way around and sit in Child B’s spot before getting tagged. If successful, Child B becomes the new runner. If not, Child A plays again.

Sometimes familiar games like these are the easiest for shy kids to join in with, and it’s also one that parents can join to help kids warm up if they need some extra support at the start.

Under the Sea Game 4: Mermaid Freeze Dance

This game works like “Musical Statues.” Children dance while music plays, and when it stops, they must freeze in place. Super simple but also always a crowd winner!

Encourage silly underwater-themed movements while they dance, like gliding like a stingray, swishing like a mermaid’s tail, or snapping like a crab.

Typically, any kids to wobble are sent out, but for a party, you don’t have to send people out—you could also award prizes for the funniest frozen poses!

If you send kids out, the winner is the child left dancing in the final round after all other kids have been sent out.

Under the Sea Game 5: Captain’s Call

An oceanic version of “Simon Says,” where one player, the “Captain,” gives commands that begin with “Captain says…”

• Captain says touch your fins! (Everyone must touch their arms like fins.)
• Captain says jump like a dolphin! (Everyone jumps.)
• Swim in circles! (If anyone swims without “Captain says,” they’re out!)

To make the game more fun, instead of eliminating players, send them to “Off to the shore” Where they can do a dramatic swimming exit to the corner where kids wait when they are out. It puts focus on the funny and keeps energy a little more lighthearted for those kids still learning how to lose.

This is a great game to get a bit of fast-paced focus in the group if they are being a little too high-energy or need a little more structure! Use it to your advantage. 🙂

Under the Sea Game 6: Ocean Relay Race

A classic relay race with an underwater twist! Relay races are a brilliant addition to any party. They add a super fun energy and touch of competitiveness that gets kids really engaged.

Divide kids into teams and have them pass an ocean-themed baton (like a toy shark or a model boat) from teammate to teammate until the whole group has completed the course! The fastest team to complete the course wins.

To avoid a win/lose aspect, you can assign each finishing team a sea creature badge (like a trophy), largest to smallest, to show some level of winning but keep the energy fun.

To make the relay races even more fun, give them a challenge for how to get from start to finish. Instead of running, have the kids waddle like penguins, swim like mermaids, or scuttle like crabs!

To add excitement, give each team matching pirate bandanas for some extra team spirit! You can have them name their oceanic crew as their team name. All of this adds excitement and great fun!

Under the Sea Game 7: Sea Slugs!

This game is similar to “Musical Bumps.” While music plays, children dance around doing all sorts of sea creature moves!

When the music stops, they must drop to the floor like a sea slug wriggling on the bottom of the ocean floor! 

This is a great game to get the children to burn up a bit of energy….if there is excess energy keep them dancing!

Under the Sea Game 8: Sleeping Sea Creatures

This is a perfect game to get all the kids giggling! It’s an underwater twist based on the classic game “Sleeping Lions.”

Pretend the caller is exploring a quiet lagoon and has heard some strange sounds coming from the sleeping sea creatures! They want to find out who has been making noises and disturbing the ocean’s peace!

Children pretend to be sleeping fish, mermaids, or sea turtles, lying still on the floor. One child plays the Diver and walks around, trying to spot any movement. If a “sea creature” moves or giggles, they’re out!

However, when the Diver’s back is turned, players can quietly make funny underwater sounds—the funnier, the better! Kids will usually get more and more giggly as the caller gets more and more pretend frustrated, and as the sea sounds get wilder!

The Best Under the Sea Birthday Party Games

The best under-the-sea-themed games let kids unleash their imagination, get active, and most importantly, have fun! For all of these fun party ideas, we encourage you to take our game ideas and keep creating and evolving into something perfect for your little birthday kiddos.

We hope these ideas help you create an unforgettable under the sea themed adventure for your little birthday ocean lovers. If you try these games, we’d love to hear how your under the sea themed party turns out. Check out more under the sea theme party ideas in our full be sure to check out our full under the sea themed party plan.

Remember, the best birthday celebrations are about fun, imagination and quality time together!