Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium by Jessie Hubbell Bancroft (top novels of all time .txt) π
In the arrangement of material there has many times been a strong temptation to classify the games by their historic, geographic, psychologic, or educational interests; by the playing elements contained in them; or by several other possible methods which are of interest chiefly to the academic student; but these have each in turn been discarded in favor of the original intention of making the book preΓ«minently a useful working manual for the player or leader of games.
[Sidenote: Varying modes of play]
The same games are found not only in many different countries and localities, but under different names and with many variations in the form of playing them. This has necessitated a method of an
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The action of the game may be slightly quickened by having the running row divide, half running around the room in one direction and half in the other. For instance, if the players in the right-hand row have been displaced, half of them may run to the rear of the room to reach the rear half of the outer row of seats on the opposite side, and the other half run across the front of the room to the forward half of this row of seats.
CHARLEY OVER THE WATER10 to 30 or more players.
Parlor; gymnasium; playground.
One player is chosen to be Charley, and if there be more than twenty players there should be two or more Charlies, to make the action more rapid. Charley stands in the center; the other players join hands in a circle around him and dance around, repeating the rhyme:β
Charley over the sea.
Charley catch a blackbird,
Can't catch me!"
As the last word is said, the players stoop, and Charley tries to tag them before they can get into that position. Should he succeed, the player tagged changes places with him.
CHICKADEE-DEE5 to 10 players.
Dark room.
This game is a good one for the loft of an old barn on a rainy day. The writer obtained the game from a group of boys, who found it one of their chief sports used in this way.
It is necessary to prepare in advance a rather large, soft bag; an oat sack or potato bag may be used. This should be nearly filled with dry leaves or some substitute, and the end gathered up and tied with a string, so as to leave quite a hilt or handle for a firm grasp. All light is shut out of the place, so that the sense of hearing will be the only guide in the game.
One player, who is It, is seated on the floor in the center of the loft or room, and holds the sack. The object of the game for this player is to tag or touch any of the other players with the sack without leaving his sitting position on the floor. The object of the other players, who are scattered promiscuously, is to approach as near as possible to the center player, taking him unaware, with a taunting cry of "Chickadee-dee!" close to his ear.
The game starts in perfect silence and darkness. A player steals up to the center man, calls "Chickadee-dee!" and darts back again as quickly as possible, the center man whirling his bag around in a circle and hitting out with it in the direction of the voice, trying to hit this player. While he is doing this, another player from some other direction repeats the call of "Chickadee-dee!" close to his ear, and darts back or dodges. Any tactics may be used for dodging, such as dropping to the floor, jumping, or the more usual modes of dodging.
Any player hit with the bag exchanges places with the one in the center.
CHICKEN MARKET5 to 20 or more players.
Indoors; out of doors.
This is one of the traditional dramatic games.
One player is chosen to be market man and another buyer; the rest of the players are chickens; they stoop down in a row and clasp their hands under their knees. The buyer approaches the market man and asks, "Have you any chickens for sale?" The market man answers, "Yes, plenty; will you walk around and try them?" Whereupon the buyer goes up to different chickens and tests them by laying over the head his clasped hands, palms downward and pressing inward. The buyer pretends to be dissatisfied with some of the chickens, saying, "This one is too tough," "This one is too old," "This one is too fat," etc., until at last he finds one that suits him, the chickens being supposed to go through this ordeal without smiling.
When a chicken is found that appears to be satisfactory, the buyer and the market man take him by the arms, one on either side, he still remaining in his first position with hands clasped under the knees, and swing him forward and backward three times. Should he stand this test without loosening his own grasp, he is supposed to be all right, and the buyer leads him off to the opposite side of the playground, or home. The game continues until all of the chickens are sold. Any chicken that smiles, or whose arms give way in the swinging test, must pay a forfeit, all of the forfeits being redeemed at the close of the game. Where there are more than ten players, there should be two or more buyers and sellers.
This game is played in various countries: in England as a "Sale of Honey Pots," in China as a "Fruit Sale," etc. The version here given is from Italy.
CHICKIDY HAND5 to 30 or more players.
Playground; gymnasium.
One player is chosen to be It, and stands near a post with the fingers of his hands interlocked. The other players, each clasping his own hands in the same way, crowd around the post and touch it with the clasped hands. The one who is It counts ten, whereupon the players all run, the one who is It trying to tag any of them. None of the players may unclasp their hands until they are tagged, whereupon they are prisoners and clasp hands with It, forming a line which thereafter is the tagging line, though only the original It may tag the other players. The game is a contest between the tagging line, which tries to recruit and retain its numbers, and the free players, who try (1) to avoid being captured for the tagging line, and (2) to reduce the tagging line by breaking through it; but the players in the line must resist this. Each time that the line is broken, the one of the two players (whose hands were parted) who stands toward the head of the line is dropped out of the game. A free player may not be tagged after he has thrown himself upon (touched) a pair of hands that he is trying to part. The last player caught by the tagging line is the winner and becomes It for the next game.
CHINESE CHICKEN5 to 30 or more players.
Playground; gymnasium; schoolroom; seashore.
This game is played with small blocks of wood or bean bags. Stones, or, at the seashore, bathing slippers, may be used instead. These are placed in straight rows of five to fifteen each, with intervals of about ten inches between them. The players are divided into groups numbering from five to ten each, and line up as for a relay race, each before one row of blocks or bags.
The game is played in the same way by each row of players, and while the game may be competitive between the different groups, in its original form it is for one group only. The first player in a group represents a "lame chicken," and hops on one foot over each bag until the end of the line of bags has been reached. The last bag is then kicked away by the "lame" (lifted) foot, after which it must be picked up and carried back over the same route to the first end of the line, when the same player hops back on the opposite foot, kicks away a second bag, picks it up and returns, and so on until he fails. Only one foot may touch the ground at a time, and may touch it but once in each space between the bags. No bag may be touched except the one at the end of the line, which is afterward picked up, and this must be secured without putting the lame foot upon the ground.
When the "chicken" infringes any of these rules, he must at once give place to another. The winner is the player who has at the end of the game the greatest number of bags.
This is a Chinese game, taken by kind permission of the author from Miss Adèle Fielde's A Corner of Cathay. The Chinese children play it with their shoes in place of the bean bag or block of wood.
CHINESE WALL10 to 60 or more players.
Playground; gymnasium.
The Chinese wall is marked off by two parallel lines straight across the center of the playground, leaving a space between them of about ten feet in width, which represents the wall. On each side of the wall, at a distance of from fifteen to thirty feet, a parallel line is drawn across the ground. This marks the safety point or home goal for the besiegers.
One player is chosen to defend the wall, and takes his place upon it. All of the other players stand in one of the home goals. The defender calls "Start!" when all of the players must cross the wall to the goal beyond, the defender trying to tag as many as he can as they cross; but he may not overstep the boundaries of the wall himself. All so tagged join the defender in trying to secure the rest of the players during future sorties. The game ends when all have been caught, the last player taken being defender for the next game.
This is a capital game for both children and older players, as it affords opportunity for some very brisk running and dodging, especially if the playground be wide. It differs from Hill Dill and several other games of the sort in that there is a more limited space in which the center catcher and his allies are confined.
CIRCLE RACE10 to 30 or more players.
Playground; gymnasium.
The players stand in a circle a considerable distance apart and face around in single file in the same direction. At a signal all start to run, following the general outline of the circle, but each trying to pass on the outside the runner next in front of him, tagging as he passes. Any player passed in this way drops out of the race. The last player wins. At a signal from a leader or teacher, the circle faces about and runs in the opposite direction. As this reverses the relative position of runners who are gaining or losing ground, it is a feature that may be used by a judicious leader to add much merriment and zest to the game.
CIRCLE RELAY9 to 60 or more players.
Playground; gymnasium.
The players stand in three or more divisions in single file, facing to a common center. In this formation they radiate like the spokes of a wheel. On a signal from a leader, the outer player of each file faces to the right. On a second signal, these outer players all run in a circle in the direction in which they are facing. The object of the game is to see which runner will first get back to his place. The one winning scores one point for his line. Immediately upon the announcement of the score, these runners all step to the inner end of their respective files, facing to the center, the files moving backward to make room for them. The signals are repeated, and those who are now at the outer end of each file face and then run, as did their predecessors. The line scoring the highest when all have run wins the game.
CIRCLE SEAT RELAY10 to 60 players.
Schoolroom.
This game starts with the players all seated, and with an even number in each row. At a signal, the last player in each row runs forward on the
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