Playground games

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Playground games are physical and verbal outdoor games which have been devised by groups of children for their own entertainment. These may be adaptations of existing sports or they may only exist informally in children's play areas such as parks, school playgrounds and streets around where children live.

As the rules and names of these games are passed down orally, there are many regional and generational variations. For example the game tag is variously known as 'it', 'tig', 'catch-as-catch-can', 'he' among others. Then there are variations on this basic theme such as 'off ground tig', 'budge' etc.

Many of these games are extremely old and have been played in one form or another for centuries. Others arise as a product of popular culture in a particular era or due to a particular toy or piece of equipment such as the skateboard, yo-yo, Rubiks cube or Scoobies.

Contents

[edit] Types of playground game

[edit] Selection methods

See also Counting-out game

These are mini-games which are played to determine the initial set-up of a game, e.g. who is 'it' or which players are on which team.

[edit] Tag

Probably among the oldest games played all over the world. One person is 'it' or 'on' and is up against the remainder of the players. Hide and seek is a universal example.

Within this category a distinction can be drawn between games where there is always only one person who is 'it' at any time and games where more than one person can be 'it' at the same time. British Bulldogs and 'Chain tig' are examples where more and more players become 'it' until one winner is left un-caught.

[edit] Manhunt

Possibly derived from the adult game of the same name, this game is where one or two people are designated as 'it' or 'on', and the others must hide or escape from those who are 'it'. Some ingenious methods of hiding include disguising themselves as bags of rubbish or even a tree, although break times often do not last long enough for such devices to be implemented.

To catch someone, you must hold the player and say "Manhunt 1 2 3 Caught" and doing so that player becomes it as well as the rest. This can cause contraversy because some people could get hurt being pulled down and some could use the infamous "you didn't grab me properly or say it properly" line.

To get to base, you must shout "Manhunt 1 2 3 home!".

[edit] Physical Contact Games

Group games played without a ball where the objective involves physical contact with the participants. Examples are Buck buck and Pile-on. Many of these games, including Tag, are now outlawed in schools. So more and more of these games are played by older participants in unregulated settings.

[edit] Line Tig

A variation on 'tig', this game is most commonly played on grounds which have some form of markings, such as basketball courts or football pitches. one person is designated as 'it', and others must escape from that person, all while keeping to the markings.

[edit] Ball games

Not necessarily using a ball as such, but rather any object which is considered as a ball for the purposes of the game, i.e. thrown, kicked, batted etc. For example, stones, tin cans, scrumpled paper etc.

Ball games are often derivatives of more formal sports such as Football or can be a kind of tag as above. Notable examples include:

[edit] 'Donkey' and 'Spot'

The ball must be kicked, hit or thrown against an agreed length of wall by each player in turn. Every time the ball hits the wall the next player must attempt it from where it rebounds to. If a player misses the wall they are out (in 'Spot') or lose a life (in 'Donkey' they get a letter towards spelling out DONKEY) until they have lost all lives and are out. This is also known as wallie.

[edit] Fumble aka Wall Ball, Murder, Butts Up

In this increasingly popular playground game, a tennis ball has to be thrown or kicked at a wall. When it bounces off you have to catch it/pick it up and throw/kick again, however, if the ball hits you and doesn't hit the wall, you have to run and touch the wall. If another player returns the ball to the wall by throwin/kicking it before the 'fumbler' has touched it, then the 'fumbled' player has to run the length of the wall, while the person who fumbled him, has a free chance to throw the ball and hit him. The game continues, until you decide to finish.

Another variation of Wall Ball is that once the ball bounces back off the wall, a player must try to catch it (or stand aside to let someone else have at the ball, although this is seen as cowardly). If the player touches the ball but fails to catch it, drops it, or is hit by it while it is bouncing/rolling, the player must run to touch the wall before another player throws the ball at the wall. If the player fails to reach the wall before the ball is thrown he/she gets a point. After a player receives three points they must then get face up against the wall and spread their limbs for a "pegging" with the tennis or raccquetball. Each player (excluding the one on the wall) then throws the ball at the player on the wall as hard as they can, aiming for the person (except for the head) on the wall. If the player is hit in the head, the thrower then goes up for a pegging. This version is extremely painful and most players will "chicken out" and decide not to play.

Also known as Redass or Red-A. Also known as "Murder".

[edit] Square

This game uses a small ball, such as a tennis ball; the smaller the ball the more challenging the game. It is played within a marked-out rectangular area, usually a tennis court or a basketball court – hence the name “Square”. The game is played by two or more players; the more players there are the longer the game lasts. The game has no set time limit although it is usually stopped by the ending of the break and the need to return to lessons!

The object of the game is to remove your opponents from the game area by making them break one of the rules. The rules are:

  • Do not kick the ball outside of the playing area
  • Do not touch the ball more than once
  • Do not kick the ball off the ground
  • Do not deliberately avoid the ball

When there are many players, a successful player will usually employ the tactic of rebounding the ball off an opponent to go outside of the playing area; the player to last have contact with the ball before it left the playing area is “out” and leaves the playing area (usually to remain on the sidelines to shout encouragement to their friends or to ridicule others). To counter this rebound tactic, players usually try to stop the ball dead with their foot but they must be careful not to touch the ball more than once.

The rule to not deliberately avoid the ball is controversial as its interpretation is subjective. If the ball is kicked towards an opponent, passes within their reach and they make no attempt to touch the ball then they would fall foul of the rule. If the opponent has to run to touch a moving ball, the ball goes out of the playing area and the opponent had no chance of reaching the ball then they would usually be safe and the kicker would be out.

Groups of players may choose to act as a team if they wish although it is usually played as a game of many individuals. Discussions during the game on the interpretation of the rules is usually lively.

The winner is the last person remaining who has not broken the rules.

[edit] Skipping games

These involve jumping over a rotating rope or several ropes and often use Skipping rhymes: rhythmic chants which determine the tempo of the jumping.

A variation on skipping games is "elastics" (sometimes known as Chinese jump rope), in which a loop of elastic (about 1cm wide, 3m long) is held by two people about 1.5m apart and a third person jumps in and around the elastic to set rhymes and patterns. The elastic begins at ankle height and should width. If the jumper completes the rhyme at a certain height, the elastics are moved up from knees, to "under-bums", to hips, waists, under-arms, necks and even "sky" or "tree-tops", which is as high as the holders can reach. When the rhyme has been completed at all levels, the game is made more difficult: skinny (using only one foot to hold the elastics), wide (legs as far apart as possible), blind (jumper's eyes closed), cross-over (the elastic closest to the jumper is crossed over the far elastic and the rhyme completed in the resulting triangle of elastic) etc. The game can also be played in teams, where, if the first jumper makes a mistake, the second jumper must complete the rhyme twice.

One popular rhyme is: England Ireland Scotland Wales Inside Outside Puppy Dogs Tails

[edit] Word games

For example I spy, naming things starting with all the letters of the alphabet, linking words (e.g. "ball game", "game show", "show off"...)

[edit] Races

For example running, hopping, climbing.

[edit] Acrobatic and agility

For example hopscotch, limboing, handstands also running jumping soccer (depending on age) etc.

[edit] Performing games

In performing games, players act out agreed parts (for example: cops and robbers or doctors and nurses).

[edit] Other Games

[edit] Ball Games

  • Kerby

The object of Kerby is to reach a chosen amount of points chosen by the 2 players using a ball. One must throw the ball at the other side of the Kerb and attempt to hit it. If you are sucessful at hitting the Kerb and providing the opposition player didn't catch the ball as soon as it hit, you have to stand inbetween the two Kerbs and aim and throw the ball at the Kerb again. You score 10 points for the first initial throw and another 10 for each throw in the middle.

  • Scoring in Kerby

Scoring stays the same when you stand inbetween the Kerbs but is only different for standing on your own Kerb.

10 points for a throw 50 for a backwards throw 30 points for a kick

If your first initial throw bouces of the kerby and you catch it, you get 20 points. But when you are stood in the middle and you take a shot and miss, if the opposotion player hits you before you get back in time, the opossition player gets half of your points.

Some players like to make small point bets in the game, by saying something like "If I throw the ball over the car I get 50 points?" and some like to make a bets like saying "If I throw the ball from here, I win the game?".

  • Contraversy

The game is quite contraversal since any misthrows and balls bouncing off a Kerb can easily injure someone or hit nearby cars, and a misthrow could smash a window

[edit] External links

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