Fun First Aid Training Games for Aquatic Teams

Kate Connell
Sep 15
7 min read

Training aquatic teams in first aid and rescue skills is a must for keeping everyone safe in and around the water. The challenge? Traditional drills can get a little repetitive -- and sometimes even boring. To keep training fresh and engaging, it helps to add some fun. Games not only lift team morale, they also sharpen real-world response skills in a low-stress, high-energy way. And the best part? They work for everyone on your team—lifeguards, swim instructors, and even front desk staff who need to practice first aid, CPR, and AED skills.

From brushing up on CPR with a round of First Aid Uno to testing injury management in a fast-paced game of First Aid War, these activities make training both memorable and effective. They’ll help your staff build teamwork, communication, and quick decision-making—all while reinforcing the lifesaving skills that matter most.

First Aid Jeopardy

Objective: Test knowledge in a fun, quiz-style game.
Setup: Create or buy a reusable Jeopardy board with categories like "Sudden Illness," "Head and Spine Injuries," and "Burns,". Each question can increase in difficulty and points.
Rules: Teams choose questions by category and answer as they would in a typical Jeopardy game.
Goal: Teams earn points for correct answers, with bonus points for detailed explanations.

Gamified Twist: Add a "Risk or Rescue" square where teams can perform a quick demo of a rescue or first aid technique for double points.

First Aid Capture the Flag

Objective: Combine first aid training with strategic team play.
Setup: Each team has a "base" with first aid items and a flag. Scatter other first aid items or “injured” mannequins around the play area.
Rules: Teams work to retrieve the other team's flag while stopping to perform correct first aid steps on "injured" patrons as they encounter them.
Goal: The first team to capture the flag without missing any first aid steps wins.

Gamified Twist: For each skipped or incorrectly performed step, add a penalty like retrieving an item (like a shadow or manikin) from the water or performing a quick skill demonstration on land.

First Aid Monopoly

Objective: To navigate through a series of first aid scenarios, gaining “skills” instead of properties.
Setup: Customize a Monopoly board by replacing properties with different first aid topics or skills such CPR, Sudden Illness, and Wounds. Instead of Chance and Community Chest cards, use Skill and Scenario cards that detail different first aid actions or emergencies.
Rules:
- Players advance around the board and land on various first aid scenarios.
- They can buy a skill by correctly demonstrating or explaining the appropriate first aid response (like placing someone in the recovery position or describing CPR steps).
- When players land on a scenario card, they must act out or describe how they’d respond to the specific emergency detailed on the card.
Goal: The player with the most “skills” (replacing properties) by the end of the game wins.

Gamified Twist: Instead of money, players earn additional resources or equipment like gauze, bandages, or gloves, which they can use to treat more complex scenarios.

First Aid Operation

Objective: To practice basic anatomy in a playful way.
Setup: Use a traditional Operation board game but add new injuries with a focus on first aid scenarios, such as splinters, bee stings, broken bones, and head injuries. You can even modify existing pieces or add custom ones that represent real-life first aid challenges like adding a swollen hand to represent sprains or adding choking hazards in the mouth area.
Rules:
- Players take turns operating on the patient. For each body part or injury, they must describe the first aid step associated with that injury before attempting the removal.
- For example, if they’re treating a broken bone, they could explain how to immobilize it with a splint.
Goal: The player with the fewest mistakes wins, but they only get points if they accurately describe the first aid procedure as they operate.

Gamified Twist: Add new wounds by hiding small items that represent choking hazards or foreign bodies, and players earn extra points if they successfully remove all items without setting off the buzzer.

First Aid Uno

Objective: To reinforce basic first aid responses and teamwork skills.
Setup: Create a customized Uno deck with cards representing first aid action like Stop Bleeding, Perform CPR, Immobilize Limb and others for different injuries or situations like Heart Attack, Broken Leg, or Head Injury. You can also add special helper cards to simulate calling for backup or an ambulance.
Rules:
- Each color represents a category (such as blue for breathing emergencies, green for burns, red for cuts, yellow for drowning care).
- Players take turns and must match injuries with the correct first aid card to treat them.
- For example, a Broken Leg might be matched with Immobilize Limb.
- Skip and Reverse cards can be used to change play order, while Wild cards represent calling for help or using an AED.
Goal: The player who successfully treats the most injuries wins.

Gamified Twist: If a player doesn’t have a matching first aid card, they must answer a first aid question or perform a skill (like showing how they’d position a patient) to avoid drawing extra cards.

First Aid Trivia Pursuit

Objective: To test and reinforce knowledge on various first aid topics.
Setup: Customize a Trivial Pursuit board with categories like CPR, Wound Care, Heat-Related Illnesses, Head and Spine Injuries, Fractures and Sprains, and Water Rescues.
Rules:
- Players advance by answering questions in each category. For example, questions under CPR could ask about compression depth or breath timing, while Fractures and Sprains might cover immobilization techniques.
- Each correct answer earns the player a pie piece in that category, and when they complete all categories, they win.
Goal: The first player to complete all categories with correct answers wins.

Gamified Twist: Have Rescue Cards that players can use if they miss a question. These allow them to demonstrate or describe a skill related to the question they missed for another chance.

First Aid Guess Who?

Objective: To help lifeguards practice identifying symptoms and conditions through descriptive clues.
Setup: Modify a Guess Who? game board with different first aid scenarios instead of faces. Each “character” card could depict an injury or condition, like Sunburn, Hypothermia, Allergic Reaction, or Broken Bone.
Rules:
- Players ask yes-or-no questions to guess the injury or condition the other player has chosen. For example, Is this a heat-related injury? or Does this involve difficulty breathing?
- They narrow down possibilities until they can accurately guess the first aid situation.
Goal: The player who identifies the injury with the fewest questions wins.

Gamified Twist: If a player can correctly name the first aid steps associated with an injury, they earn a First Aid Card, which can be used for bonus guesses in future rounds.

First Aid Clue

Objective: To practice assessment and problem-solving skills for identifying injuries or symptoms.
Setup: Customize a Clue board game by creating “rooms” where various incidents or injuries happen such as “Shallow End” for drowning risk or “Locker Room” for slips/falls. Replace characters with injuries or emergencies and weapons with causes or specific symptoms like “overheating” or “fractured arm”.
Rules:
- Players move around the board, collecting clues to figure out which injury happened, where, and how.
- For example, they might discover it was a “Heat Stroke” that happened at the “Pool Deck” due to “Extended Sun Exposure.
Goal: The first player to correctly identify the scenario and first aid steps wins.

Gamified Twist: Players can earn extra clues by performing first aid skills or answering questions about conditions related to their suspects.

First Aid War

Objective: To reinforce quick recognition and reaction to different injuries or rescue situations.
Setup: Divide lifeguards into pairs and distribute a custom deck with cards representing various first aid scenarios or emergencies such as unconscious swimmer, burn injury, spinal injury.
Rules:
- Both players reveal a card simultaneously, and each must explain the first aid response for their card. The player with the most accurate or fastest response wins that round.
- In cases of a tie where both players have equally good answers, they go into “War” by drawing three additional cards and responding to a more complex scenario that combines all three.
Goal: To win the most rounds and solidify their knowledge of responses under pressure.

Gamified Twist: Add a time limit to increase urgency, awarding extra points for faster responses or more detailed explanations.

First Aid Go Fish

Objective: To build knowledge and recall of different emergency responses through matching.
Setup: Use a custom deck where each set represents a complete first aid procedure such as CPR, Bleeding Control, or Choking Care.
Rules:
- Players ask each other for specific cards to complete their first aid sets, using phrases like, “Do you have the rescue breaths card for CPR?” If the other player doesn’t have it, they reply with, Go Fish, and the player must draw a card from the pile.
- When a player completes a full set, they must explain the first aid steps to the group to keep it.
Goal: The player who completes the most first aid sets by the end of the game wins.

Gamified Twist: Add “rescue gear” cards (like “gloves” or “bandages”) that can act as wild cards, allowing players to complete a set when they don’t have the exact card.

First Aid Sequence Solitaire

Objective: To build a step-by-step understanding of emergency sequences, such as CPR or wound care.
Setup: Use a deck of cards with each card representing a different step in a rescue or first aid procedure. For example, hearts might be CPR steps, while spades represent injury care steps.
Rules:
- Players arrange the cards in the correct order to complete the sequence, like how Solitaire is arranged.
- They must place the cards in the correct sequence suit from start to finish including Check Scene Safety, Check for Breathing, and Begin Compressions.
Goal: To complete all the sequences, reinforcing lifeguards' familiarity with each step in the process.

Gamified Twist: Players can draw an additional card as a time crunch, requiring them to explain the steps faster and adding a timed element for urgency.

Gamification is an important tool to use while crafting and conducting activities for aquatic team trainings. Try these gamified favorites during your next training!

Adding games to your first aid training isn’t just about keeping things fun—it’s about making sure your aquatics team is confident, prepared, and ready to act when it matters most. By blending skill-building with engagement, you create a stronger, more connected staff that can handle emergencies with ease. Want to take your training and team management to the next level? Explore how the HydroApps Staff Manager module can help you track certifications, schedule in-service trainings, and keep your team rescue-ready year-round.