'Splash' is a fun and energetic game that can go on and on for hours. You can have as many players as there are people and, as long as you know where your towel is and don't go too mad, it's perfectly safe.

Equipment

• A writing pad or sheets of paper
• A pencil or something to write with¹
• A large jug of water (or a nearby tap)
• A small plastic or polystyrene cup
• Bath towels
• A change of clothes

How to Play

First, arrange all the players in a circle, either seated on the floor or on chairs, if you have enough to go round. One person will be the master/mistress and it's their job to set the first round of the game. The master must think of a subject that everyone in the room should be quite familiar with (for example, they might choose colours, breeds of dog, or - for the purposes of this entry - songs by the Beatles). They then choose an element from that subject (such as 'purple', 'Alsatian' or 'Hey Jude') and write that answer on a piece of paper (which is kept outside the circle of players) just in case someone accuses the master of picking on them or changing their answer to deliberately wet someone. The master then tells the players the nature of the game subject, and while everyone silently considers all the possible options, half-fills the plastic/polystyrene cup with water.

Stepping back into the ring of players, and reminding them of the topic, the master picks a person at random and asks them to name an item from the topic. If they fail to pick the exact item written on the piece of paper, the master moves clockwise to the next person in the circle and asks them to have a guess. If a player fails to give a guess within an agreed time, they are out, so they must leave the circle. The guessing continues to move from person to person until someone guesses correctly, at which point the master splashes them in the face with water. SPLASH!

The now-dripping winner takes the place of the current master and thinks up a new topic for the game. The game then continues until all bar one person is out, or until everyone is too wet to continue.

Warning

As water is thrown into the face, make sure the players are warned beforehand to keep their eyes tightly closed as they answer or injuries to the players' eyes might occur.

A Typical Game

Okay, so the master has chosen 'Songs by the Beatles' as his subject. The players have already agreed that Jon will be the first to guess and he goes for 'She Loves You' and clenches his eyes tightly in anticipation. He only knows he is safe when he hears the master move on to Sally and she guesses 'Lady Madonna'. She too guesses safely and the master moves on to Darren who is too young to be able to know of any Beatles songs. After ten seconds, he is told to leave the circle. After moving on around the circle, the 'Cup of Doom' comes to Billy who guesses 'Helter Skelter' - the answer the master wrote on the paper - and is rewarded with wetness. The master then hands Billy a towel, Billy stands up and the master - Gary - sits in his (hopefully wet) seat. Billy announces to the room that the next topic will be 'American football teams' and while his players struggle to remember a proper American football team name, Billy goes to write down 'San Francisco 49ers' (because he knows that's the only team Jenny knows and he wants to see if her T-shirt is transparent when wet) and the game continues...

Splash is a great way of getting to know people as well as allowing people who might not want to play a team game a way of getting involved - after all, it'll be the over-competitive 'winners' who end up soaking wet.