Do you need an excuse to get out and enjoy the warm summer weather? Probably not. A lot of you are probably itching to get outside and catch some sun or hang at the pool with family and friends.

But as enjoyable as that may be, a few new and popular toys made for the pool, for the lawn or for your next water battle can make this warm weather season even more entertaining. Here are just a few of the toys of summer.

FOR THE P0OL

Bullzeye Pool Archery Game

$39.99

Available at www.toysplash.com

What can make swimming in the pool more adventurous? How about a little target practice? This is exactly what the Bullzeye Pool Archery Game gives you. Shoot three foam arrows at a target to see who can get the highest score and claim to be the Robin Hood of the water.

Swimways ESPN Swimming Challenge

$39.98

Available at www.amazon.com

You can claim all you want to be Michael Phelps or Aquaman in the pool, but if you want to accurately prove it, Swimways ESPN Swimming Challenge is the solution. With two touchpads that you can mount on a wall or lay on the side of a pool, you can record your times and number of laps if you swim solo or compete with your friends. The display records the winning time, and just in case you need extra validation, it also is equipped with a crowd noise function.

FOR THE LAWN

Ladder Golf Tossing Game

$64.95

Available at www.lad dergolf.com

Horseshoes. Bean bag toss. Washers. All very popular summertime lawn games. But they have all been getting some tall competition as of late with the emergence of ladder golf.

“Some people call it the poor man’s horseshoes or hillbilly horseshoes,” says Jim Fisher, district manager at MC Sport in St. Joseph.

Legend has it that the game originally started in the American West, where cowboys would toss live snakes or cow-wrangling bolas at split fence posts. Today’s version requires you to toss bolas with colored balls onto three ladder rungs to rack up different point combinations, which Mr. Fisher says is a great alternative to horseshoes.

“It would be similar to horseshoes without the wrist involved. And it’s something that all ages can do,” he said.

While the product featured here is the patented version, instructions to build your own ladder golf game can be found online, while other versions of the game can be found at several popular stores, including Target. But you better be quick to snatch them up. Shawnda Embrey and Jamie O’Neal, senior team leaders at Target in St. Joseph, say they’re hard to keep in the store.

“They sold out all the way across in all the brands that we had,” Ms. O’Neal said.

Slip ‘N Slide 16-foot Double Wave Rider

starting at $14.99

Available at www.toysrus.com, www.amazon.com and Target

It’s a toy that’s personified summer and the unfortunate grass stain since the 1960s, but the Slip ‘N Slide is still around as a go-to activity for slippery craziness. But if you’re feeling a bit competitive, you can get the Slip ‘N Slide 16-foot Double Wave Rider, where two people can compete for sliding greatness. Target in St. Joseph has a version that includes two boogie boards for the same price. Just make sure you check for rocks before you lay it down.

Banzai’s The Plunge

$399.99

Available at Target, www.target.com and www.amazon.com

Instead of spending money on travel to take the family on vacation to a water park, you could just buy your own waterslide to open every year in your own backyard. Banzai’s The Plunge is a nearly 10-foot tall inflatable waterslide with a 12-foot diameter pool to splash in to. Target in St. Joseph has already sold three of them, which Ms. O’Neal is pretty impressed with.

“If you consider that price point, three is a big deal,” she says.

FOR BATTLE

Tarantula Water Warrior

$29.99

Available at www.amazon.com

Water pistols used to be plastic, see-through and didn’t pack a punch. But in today’s world of water gun artillery, you need every advantage you can get. And the Tarantula Water Warrior seems to be the gun to beat.

Tested as a top water gun at www.slate.com, the Tarantula Water Warrior holds 57 ounces of water. It includes a rechargable battery pack and charger (no pumping required) for a continual blast and can shoot up to 35 feet.

Super Soaker Aqua Shock Arctic Blast

starting at $19.99

Available at www.toysrus.com, Target and www.target.com

For 20 years, Super Soaker has built up a reputation for innovating air-pressurized squirt guns and producing some of the most popular water guns around. And with the Super Soaker Aqua Shock Arctic Blast, you can give opponents a cold-blooded blast.

Through built-up pump action, you can build up pressure to shoot water through two firing modes. As for the water, it can be served super cold from a 35-ounce water tank thanks to a wide-mouthed loading nozzle that allows you to add ice cubes.

Lifestyles reporter Blake Hannon can be reached

at blakehannon@npgco.com