05 Sep, 2007
The games we play: an archive of playground games
Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Archive of playground games
I was teaching the girls how to play 7-Up (rules to follow) and it occurred to me that these games are (a) fun (b) a part of our culture and (c) in danger of being forgotten.
I have decided that I’m going to try to archive the outdoorsy games that I used to play as a little kid.
Regular readers probably know how I feel about unstructured outdoor play. I truly believe it is a critical part of growing up. Kids are increasingly overscheduled and are spending way too much time in front of the screen. They are getting less and less time just to play and be kids.
Anyway, this is the beginning of my virtual collection of playground games. I’m hoping that it spurs some good memories, some good ideas, and that the parents and caregivers out there, (not to mention grandparents and aunts and uncles!) decide to give some of these a try.
If you have anything to add, let me know and I will happily create a new post for each game.
Here’s the first. It was a regular game of ours on the street where I grew up.
7-up
Equipment needed: a ball. We always used an Indian rubber ball. It does increases the injury factor, but that’s up to you.
Players: any number
One “first” player secretly assigns all the players a number, including him/herself. So if there are 8 players, the lead player will use all the numbers between 1 and 8.
All of the players stand around the first player. Holding the ball, the first player throws it vertically, up in the air as hard as physically possible and calls out a number (from 1 to 8) at the same time.
The other players scatter and run off in all directions, but the player whose number was called has to catch the ball. Once the ball is caught, the catcher of the ball yells “FREEZE” and everyone has to stop running. The player who caught the ball chooses the closest person, takes seven giant steps towards him/her, and throws the ball. If the player hits that person (who, if they’re smart, are crouched down on the ground in a fetal position), that person is now “it” and it becomes their turn to throw the ball up in the air and call a number.
