British Bulldogs (game)
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British Bulldogs (often used in the singular - British Bulldog - or simply Bulldog[s]) is a tag-based game somewhat similar to Red Rover, played mainly in Britain, Australia, and other Commonwealth countries by children at school.
The play area is usually a large hall or large area of a playing field. There are no limits to the size of the pitch nor the number of players as long as there is enough space for the players to manoeuvre and enough players to have fun.
One or two players are selected as the Bulldogs, and they stand in the middle of the play area. All remaining players stand at one end of the area.
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[edit] Rules
As is usual with children's games, the particular rules applied vary from location to location, but generally the most recent loser is able to call out the name of one of the people not yet tackled to make the rush on their own. If that person succeeds in reaching the opposite line then a bullrush occurs whereby all the remaining non-losers rush together.
The game is initiated with a single person selected in some manner to be the first person to stay in the middle (of the open space). This person of course usually selects the weakest person on the line to make the first rush in the hope that they will lose and thereby join the middle.
The purpose is to get from one end of the pitch to the other (home) whilst avoiding the bulldogs in the middle. The game is initiated by the bulldogs calling "British Bulldogs 1, 2, 3" (although this may vary from school to school). As the non-bulldog players run from one end of the pitch to the other, the bulldogs must catch as many of them as possible. Once caught the runner then becomes a bulldog and attempts to catch the runners. Once at the home end of the pitch a player is safe. The game then starts another round, home shifts to the opposite end of the pitch and on the call of "British Bulldogs 1, 2, 3" the round begins. The first two caught or last two caught in each game become the Bulldogs for the next one.
The method by which a runner is caught varies according to local custom, but can involve physically tackling the runner to the ground, or lifting the runner off the ground; in more supervised games the runners are simply tagged, as obviously unsupervised games can become extremely violent. The physicality of the game caused it to gain some notoriety and to be banned in a number of school playgrounds.
[edit] Background
The game is normally played by children and offers an interesting means of letting off energy and involves rugged physical contact. It appeals to competitive spirits but at the same time produces ad-hoc team activity with all the "losers" endeavouring to bring the "non-losers" to the ground. Mothers tend to deplore the game since it results in muddied and even torn clothes, bruises and sometimes tears but both boys and girls participate in it.
As a game of physical contact that results in a mêlée of people attempting to drag others down to the ground, Bullrush bears some similarity to a rugby scrum which may explain the presence of the game amongst children in a nation beloved of the sport of rugby.
[edit] Variations
In Rochester, NY at P.S. #23 (Francis Parker) we played this game on the playground but it was called "Russian Bulldog" and, in my day, Danny Mustaca was the best Russian Bulldog player of all time. He was small, but strong and tenacious. Once you were caught in his grasp, you knew you were going down... hard!
A variation of the standard Bullrush game is Tag Bullrush, sometimes known as "French Bulldog". This plays the same as the regular version, but you only need to be tagged by someone to lose, as opposed to tackled. This is a much safer version and is less likely to result in injury.
Sharks and Minnows is a common name for a version played in swimming pools and other bodies of water.
Octopus is a common name for the tag variation where all but the original "non-loser" must chose a pivot foot which cannot be moved for the remainder of the game. They may pivot around their chosen foot so as to attempt to tag others attempting to pass by. This variant is generally ineffective in wide, open areas and so is more commonly played in gyms.
British Bulldog On Ice
Same game, same rules, + Ice skates,and funnily enough an Ice rink.
