Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium Part 27

_Buz._ To build a fire.

_Hen._ What are you building a fire for?

_Buz._ To broil a chicken.

_Hen._ Where are you going to get the chicken?

_Buz._ Out of your flock!

The buzzard, who keeps a crouching att.i.tude with face downcast during this dialogue, suddenly rises on the last words and chases the players, who scatter precipitately. When a player is captured, the buzzard brings him back, lays him down, and dresses him for dinner, while the rest of the players group around. The buzzard asks of the captured chicken, "Will you be picked or sc.r.a.ped?" and goes through the motions of picking feathers or scaling fish, as the chicken decides. The buzzard then asks, "Will you be pickled or salted?" "Will you be roasted or stewed?" each time administering to the rec.u.mbent chicken the appropriate manipulations. At the end he drags the victim to a corner, and the game goes on with the remainder of the players.

OLD MAN TAG

_10 to 60 players._

_Schoolroom._

The players are in groups of two rows each, which play together. These two rows face away from each other. Thus the first and second row will turn respectively to the right and left, with their feet in the aisles, toward which they then face. This will leave a free aisle between them, in which the "old man" may run about. The third and fourth rows play together, facing away from each other, and leaving a free aisle for their old man or tagger. This will bring the second and third rows with their feet in the same aisle.

[Ill.u.s.tration diagram: OLD MAN TAG]

For each group one player is selected to be old man or tagger. The teacher gives a signal, whereupon all of the players stand. The object of the game is for the old man to tag any player who is standing. The players may avoid this by sitting whenever the old man approaches them. Should he succeed in tagging any player, that player must remain seated until the end of the game, but any player who sits to escape tagging must rise again as soon as the old man has moved away from his vicinity. The player is considered to have won who longest avoids the old man.

Children are very fond of this game in many grades, and it may be made very lively, the old man dodging rapidly up and down his aisle, and the other players bobbing quickly up and down from their seats.

OLD WOMAN FROM THE WOOD

(For boys, see _Trades_.)

_10 to 60 or more players._

_Parlor; playground; schoolroom._

The players are divided into two even parties, which face each other from a short distance. One party advances toward the other, remarking, "Here comes an old woman from the wood." The second party answers, "What canst thee do?" whereupon the old woman replies, "Do anything!"

The second party then says, "Work away!" whereupon all the players in the first party proceed to imitate some occupation in which an old woman might engage, and which they have previously agreed on among themselves, such as sewing, sweeping, knitting, digging a garden, chopping wood, kneading bread, stirring cake, washing, ironing, etc.

The opposite party tries to guess from this pantomime the occupation indicated. Should they guess correctly, they have a turn to perform in the same way. Should they be unable to guess correctly, the first party retires, decides on another action, and returns. This form of the game is generally played by girls. Boys play the same game with different dialogue under the name of "Trades."

When played in a playground or gymnasium, where there is free s.p.a.ce for running, a successful guess should be followed by a chase of the actors by the guessing party, any players caught before a designated goal line is reached having to join the party of their captors. The party wins which secures all of the players.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OYSTER Sh.e.l.l]

OYSTER Sh.e.l.l

_10 to 100 players._

_Playground; gymnasium._

Two parallel lines are drawn across the center of the playground, with a s.p.a.ce of ten feet between them, which is neutral territory. At a considerable distance beyond each line, and parallel to it, a second line is drawn, the s.p.a.ce beyond being a refuge for any players of the party belonging to that side. This second line should preferably be at a considerable distance from the starting line, so as to give plenty of opportunity for a good chase during the game.

The players are divided into two equal parties, which take place one on either side of the neutral territory. Each party chooses a color, light or dark, corresponding to the light or dark side of an oyster sh.e.l.l or some other small object which is used in the game.

A neutral odd player who acts as leader takes his place in the center of the neutral territory and tosses the oyster sh.e.l.l into the air. If there be no such leader available, the parties may choose captains to toss the sh.e.l.l alternately. The sh.e.l.l is allowed to fall on the ground. If the light side falls upward, the light party must turn and run for the goal at the opposite end of the ground, the other party chasing them. Any one captured (tagged) must carry his captor back to his home goal on his back. A party scores one point for each prisoner caught. These may be easily counted, as the prisoners carry their victors home pick-a-back. The party first scoring fifty or one hundred points (according to the number of players) wins the game; or the winners may be determined by the largest score when the game ends.

Because of the carrying home of the victors by the players who are caught, it is advisable that some means be adopted to have opponents of nearly equal size. This is easily done by having the players line up according to size at the opening of the game and a.s.signed alternately to the different sides. In any event, the tall players should be placed opposite each other, and the smaller players _vis-a-vis_.

This game is from the ancient Greeks, and is said to have arisen from a custom of exiling wrangling political opponents by writing their names on an oyster sh.e.l.l and sending from the city the one whose name fell uppermost when the sh.e.l.l was tossed. Some modern adaptations are here given.

PAR

_10 to 30 or more players._

_Playground; gymnasium._

This is a leapfrog game in which the distance of the back from the jumping line is advanced after each round a "foot and a half,"

measured in a certain way called a "par." The game starts with the back at a given distance from the line. After each player has "overed," the back places one foot with the outer edge on the line on which he has been standing, puts the heel of the other foot against the instep so that the second foot will be at right angles to the first, and marks a new line at the point where the toes come. The new line is thus the length of one foot in advance of the first line, plus the width of the other foot at the instep. The players then leap again from the starting line, and as the back moves farther away, they add to their leaps each time, as becomes necessary for the greater distance, as follows: (1) leap; (2) hop and leap; (3) hop twice and leap; (4) hop three times and leap; (5) hop, skip, jump, and leap.

Any player failing to "over" changes places with the back.

PARTNER TAG

_4 to 100 players._

_Indoors; out of doors; schoolroom._

All of the players but two hook arms in couples. Of the two who are free, one is It or chaser, and the other the runner. The runner may save himself by locking arms with either member of any couple he chooses. Whenever he does so, the third party of that group becomes runner and must save himself in like manner. If the runner be tagged at any time, he becomes It or chaser; and the chaser becomes runner.

To get the proper sport into this game, the couples should run and twist and resort to any reasonable maneuver to elude the runner, who is liable at any time to lock arms with one of them and so make the other a runner.

For large numbers there should be more than one runner and chaser.

PEBBLE CHASE