Games Kids Play
By way of Geof Nieboer
<[email protected]>
Games
Kids Play
Chinese School
The teacher stood before the
students and said "Chinese school has just begun. No ore laughing, no more
fun. If you show your teeth or tongue, you will have a penality done."
The teacher then preceded to do silly things to make the students laugh.
The kids that laughed hard enough that their mouths opened, exposing teeth
and/or tongues, had to do whatever the teacher told them to do. For instance,
we would run around the house however many times we were told, or hop on
one leg maybe around the car, or do so many jumping jacks, etc. It was
whatever silly thing the teacher made us do. There was really no "winner".
(Vichi)
Come a Little Closer
Best played at night when it
is dark or where there are a lot of hiding places
One person is 'it' the person
that is it finds a base not too big or too small, set boundaries but don't
make the boundaries too big, the person that is it should be able see comfortably
all four corners of the boundaries. The person that is 'it' shuts his eyes
and counts to 20 while the other people hide. When 'it' is done counting
he opens his eyes and says, for example "Jim behind the shed" or "Sally
at the side of the white fence." Or wherever he thinks the people are.
If he can't find anybody 'it' says "come a little closer 1,2,3,4,5," with
his eyes closed. While he dose that the other people that are hiding come
a little closer, or if you thing you can't make it to the base before 'it'
counts to 5 you can try to make a mad dash for the base. And you just keep
doing that over and over until everybody's caught. Oh I almost forgot the
'it' has to have one part of his body on the base he cannot let go of it.
(Stephanie)
DeadBox
To play Deadbox, you either
chalk or paint a large box in the street. In the center of this box was
a smaller box with the picture of a skull and cross bones in it. Along
the inside of the outer box were 13 small squares, one inside each of the
four corners and the rest along the sidelines. The playing pieces were
bottle caps, the small flat ones with the ridges.
The object of the game is
to flick the bottle caps into each numbered box in order from 1 to 13.
However, if you landed in the center box which was the deadbox, you were
either out of the game or you had to start back at square 1, depending
on which set of rules you decided on at the beginning of the game.
When you number the squares
you try and do it so the bottle cap has to cross the deadbox as many times
as possible. (Moose)
Dodgeball
This requires a long wall or
side of a house and a big rubber or kick ball. Everyone lines up and one
person throws the ball at the wall in an attempt to hit a part of someones
body. If they do, then that person is it and must now throw the ball. The
object is not to throw the ball hard, but accurately in order to catch
someone trying to dodge the ball. (Laura J. Rhinehart)
OR
Kids would form two teams. One
team would form two lines facing each other. They had playground balls
for ammunition (two balls was the norm.) The other team would scatter about
between the lines of the first team.
The first team would then
throw balls at team two. If a member of team two was hit below the shoulders,
s/he was out and had to stand aside. If a player on team two caught the
ball in the air (not after a bounce), s/he received a free "life" (ie-if
s/he is hit again, s/he has used up a "life" and is not out.) A player
may not receive more than three "lives." The fourth, fifth, etc. time a
player catches the ball, s/he may bring players who were out, back into
the game by calling a name. If and when all players of team two are out,
the teams switch places.
VARIATION: If a player on
the opposite team catches a ball you threw before it bounced, the thrower
is 'out'. (Sarah Buhman)
OR
We played Dodgeball in a circle
(the circles were actually painted onto the blacktop on the playground).
However many kids wanted to play, were divided up into 2 teams. One team
was inside the circle and the other half spread out around the outside.
We used a red rubber playground ball (about 14 inches in diameter) and
threw it at the players inside the circle. The kids inside were allowed
to run around where ever they wanted, but could not go out. We could only
throw the ball to hit the kids inside below the waist. If a ball was thrown
and hit someone above the waist, the thrower had to stop playing. If a
kid in the center was hit, they became one of the players outside the circle.
The game was over when only one person was left inside the circle. (Cherie
Robinson)
OR
This version could have come
from Japan, although I've also seen it played in the US. This is the version
of dodgeball that I've learned from students in Japan. Players are divided
into two equal teams. The playing area is a big rectangle, divided in half.
Each team gets one half. All but one player from each team starts in that
team's half. The extra player starts outside the rectangle, behind the
other team's side (thus, there is one player from the other team behind
each team). The teams "janken" (rock-paper-scissors) to see who gets the
ball first -- only one ball. The usual play -- try to hit a player from
the other side (generally, head shots are not allowed). Any player who
is hit must go to the outside, joining the original "extra" player from
his side. The outside players can also try to hit people, but they must
be behind the back edge of the rectangle. If an "outside" player hits someone,
he gets to go back in for his side. Last team with any players "in" wins.
The interesting thing is that all players are always active, and the "in"
players spend a lot of time running forward and backward. (Andrew Hughes)
OR
This is an indoor variation
on the dodgeball theme. You form a circle and choose a person to start.
That person tosses a ball (preferably a soft one, like Nerf) to someone
across the room. If you catch it, you toss it to someone else. If you drop
it, you sit down. Last person standing is the winner. It's a good rainy
day game and nobody gets hurt, and hopefully nothing gets broken. (Jennifer
Smith)
OR
Variation 1: Setup: You need
a large open space and at least enough soft-medium hard balls to have one
team have enough balls to have one per player. You can have a lot more,
or a lot less. You divide into equal teams.
Playing area: Mark a large
rectangle with a line through the middle. Rules: You throw the ball trying
to hit one of the members of the other team. If they catch the ball, the
person is out. If the ball hits a person in the head, the person is out
who threw it. That all happens before the ball bounces. If the team with
a person out hits a member of the other team, all their members are in
again. If it bounces, the ball does not follow any of the above rules.
Variation 2: The only change
of rules is that the team with the person out must hit the player of the
other team to get the team member in. (Tom Bowersox)
OR
You divide up in two teams.
Drag a garden hose or other similar divider between the yard. The
teams each go to their own side, and may not cross the divider. Gather
as many balls as possible and split them up between the two teams to start.
You throw a ball at the other team, if you hit them below the head, they
are out. If they catch the ball, you are out. The last person
in is the winner. (Kari Busch)
OR
Frisbee War: This was Dodgeball
played with frisbees instead of balls. Usually there were two teams
and a boundaries that you had to stay inside of. We usually had a
few frisbees, 2, 3 or 4, depending on how many kids were playing (sometimes
up to 15 or 20 at a time). We always played that if you caught someone's
thrown frisbee then the thrower was out. You played until one person
or team remained. (Brian Litteral)
OR
One team is against a wall and
the other team has playground balls at least 10 meters or so away from
the other team. The throwing team can't cross the line and they begin throwing
the balls at the other team. The throws work like this:
Hit in the arm-arm
behind back
Other arm-both arms behind
back
Hit in the leg- one leg
up
Other leg-one your knees
In the head or body-your
out till next game
If you catch the ball you
get a piece back
If no pieces are missing
then someone who went out can come back in. (Mark Gronotte)
OR
Doctor
and Spy
This game is very similar
to the 2 team Dodgeball listed in your games but it has a variation. Each
team gets into a secret huddle before the game starts and decides on a
"Doctor" and a "Spy". The game goes along as usual-with a line and throwing
balls back and forth. If you get out (by getting hit or someone catches
your ball), you stand to the side. The Doctor of your team can secretly
walk by and touch your hand to get you back in the game. The facilitator
of the game can at any time yell, "SPY! 10 Seconds!" and then slowly counts
to 10. The designated Spy on each team is allowed to take a ball across
the line and try to get the other team out. That person must be back over
to his side before the ten seconds is over. This game can be played outside,
in a gym, or even in a large indoor room (you can use crumbled paper instead
of balls so you don't loose your lamps!) Which ever team gets all the other
players out is the winner. I found that this game promotes a great deal
of team working because the team tries to protect its Doctor and Spy. (Deanna
Grygiel)
Dow, Down, Down
This game comes to us from Australia.
You start off with a tennis ball and throw the ball continuously back and
forth until somebody drops the ball when someone drops the ball you say
"Down on one knee". Then you say the same person drops it a second time.
"Down on two knees" then if the same person drops the ball again you say
"Down on one elbow" and again you say "down on two elbows". Then chin and
then you're out but remember you have to stay in the position you're in
to catch the ball and throw the ball. (Jenny Treleaven)
A.K.A. Telephone
or Telegraph
This game is intended for a
large group, kids and adults 15 or more, the more the better. The
group sits in a large circle. The kids should be spaced about arms length
apart. The way we did it was to hold hands in a circle and gradually
spread out until our arms were stretched. Now everyone takes a seat.
The "originator", usually the one who organized the game, or the bossiest,
starts a message. The originator whispers a short message into the
ear of the person sitting to the right of them. The message is whispered
once. The new messenger then whispers the message into the ear to the one
to their right, and so on and so on. When the message reaches the
person sitting to the left of the originator the message is announced out
loud. Seldom does the message arrive in its original form.
The person to the right gets to be the next originator.
A variation of the game
is to start one message to the right then start a message to the left and
see what happens. Tongue twister are really fun messages to send.
(Kenneth Hutchinson)
Head Catch
The way you play is: many people
line up against a wall. A chosen player goes to the front of the line with
a ball. Then he or she either shouts "Head" or "Catch!" while throwing
the ball. Whatever the person calls, the first has to do just the opposite;
if the thrower calls "Head!", the first person has to catch the ball, and
if the thrower calls "Catch!" the first person has to head the ball. If
the first person either misses the ball or does the wrong thing, he/she
is out and the play continues. But if the person does the right thing,
he/she is still in, and the play still continues.
Whoever is in last wins.
Another version: Everyone
lines up against a wall with their hands behind their backs. The chosen
thrower either throws the ball or fakes throwing it. If the thrower throws
the ball, the catcher must catch it. If the catcher misses, he is out.
If the thrower fakes the throw, the catcher is not allowed to jerk, move,
or make any move that shows that he thought the ball was thrown. If he
does, he is out. Whoever is in last wins. (Brian Rothenberg)
Hide the Button
This game is normally played
inside the house. It was a game taught to my sisters and I by the babysitter.
The babysitter or whoever the group decides, will be first to hide the
button. The rest of the group "the hunters" will go into another room or
hide their heads on a couch so as not to see where the "Hider" is putting
the button. Since the button is small, it is easy for the Hider to walk
around the room pretending to be putting it one area, then placing it elsewhere.
The Hunters are listening to the Hiders directional footsteps. After the
button is hidden, the Hunters come out and start their search. The Hider
will help the group with phrases such as: "Susie is getting warm, warmer,
hot!" "Billy is getting colder, cold, ice cold." Of course when one person
is getting warmer the rest will normally all gather around that person.
The person who finds the button is the new Hider. It's a great indoor game.
Have Fun! (Caryn Davis)
Kings and Queens
One unusual feature was the
ritual, which began the game. We are stood in a circle and the facilitator
closed his eyes and dropped the ball on someone's shoe and that person
was IT right then and there. IT could throw the tennis ball directly at
any one at any time, and if the second person was hit on any part of the
body except the fists, that second person was automatically then part of
IT's team. The IT folks could of course pick up the ball with bare hands
and then run with the ball or toss to each other in order to position to
get more ITs.
Another unusual feature
of the game was the way in which the ball could be legally carried by non-ITs
between ones fisted hands and also "batted" around to any part of the field
with a fisted hand. Non-ITs sometimes displayed excellent form in keeping
the ball away for the ITs by batting it to each other quite deftly. Touching
the ball with an open hand put you on IT side but no one was ever really
"out" in the sense of just sitting around… it was just a superior game
which continued until the second last person was hit. The very last non-IT
person surviving was then hauled up on mates' shoulders and duly celebrated
as either the "King" or "Queen."
There is no way to really
appreciate this game without actually playing it and I remember large numbers
of both girls and boys coming out of nowhere to play this game. (Rabbi
Monty, South Africa)
Wolf and the Easter
Eggs
This game is usually played
at Easter time, but could be played anytime. You play a game of "Who's
It" and whoever is "it" has to be the Wolf. Everyone else is "Easter Eggs."
The "Easter Eggs" get in a huddle and pick what color Easter egg they want
to be. When everyone has picked his or her color they all turn around and
line up facing the wolf from a agreed upon distance. Then the wolf starts
to guess colors. If he guesses your color you have to step forward one
step and spell out your color (if the color is yellow you have to spell
out Y-E-L-L-O-W) before the wolf gets to you and tags you. Then you have
to run around an (already mapped out) "Obstacle Course" before the wolf
tags you and make it back to the "Basket" (or home base) with the rest
of the eggs (but you can not leave the "Basket" to run until you spell
out your color). If you make it back to the "basket" with the other eggs
then you! Huddle again and the one that ran chooses another color. The
game goes on until the wolf tags someone, and that person is then it, or
you could play it where you eliminate players as you go until one person
is left, and that person is it. This is a game where kids have to think
fast on there feet, and also teaches smaller kids how to spell their colors.
Usually if there are smaller and bigger kids playing the bigger kids take
the longer colors, and leave colors like "red" and "blue" to the littler
kids. (Susan Sanchez) |
