Gwyn ap Nudd       

               Ancient British God & Hero

Please look through these  games  and teach a child one, a  few or  all  of

them. Take copies and  hand  them out to schools. If children cannot  play

safely on their streets anymore there may be schools, parks, gardens and

play areas where they can.

Dips:

Before  a  game begins  it  is  often necessary to pick out

a side, leader, or simply  the format in which turns  will  be

taken. The  idea  of  dipping is  to  allow for fairness in the

decision process.

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Participation Dips:

For everyone to join in.

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Chasing Games:

Ball He (Kingy): 

• Game requires a light ball

• 6 to 20 players

• A large levelled area of ground, then

• Someone who has been chosen to be chaser bounces ball ten times whilst others run off

• The chaser has to bounce the ball while running but after catching someone, who then joins him, he has to stand still whilst holding the ball

• He can run when he has passed it on to another and whilst throwing it

• A player is out when the ball hits him between the neck and knees 

• Players being chased can use ‘fisting’ to fend off the ball

• They may also pick up a ball between fists and throw it away but if a chaser catches it or touches a player whilst holding the ball in his fists, they are out

• Kicking the ball and handling it in any other way than between fists is a disqualification 

• Running out of bounds is also not allowed

• The last player is the new ‘King’ and can choose the next chaser

Poison: 

• Players hold fingers of chaser

• The chaser has to say “I went to a shop and I bought a bottle of vinegar ... etc, continue to make a list of items until he includes the word POISON

• When everyone hears the word, POISON, they have to run

• An alternative to ‘I went to the shop etc’ is for everyone to say ‘What is in the bottle when the cork goes pop?’

• The chaser replies with a list of items until he reaches POISON!

• If anyone run before the chase word is said that player becomes the new chaser

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French Touch: 

• When a chaser catches a player, their positions get swapped over and the new chaser must keep a hand on the area where he was touched. For extra fun make the area touched an awkward one for the touched player to keep their hand covering it! 

Off Ground He: 

• Players are safe if they can stand on an object that is off the ground

Line Touch: 

• Usually played on chalked/painted out courts, ie tennis, netball etc

• Ends of lines, previously decided, are the home ground to head for

• Players have to keep going directly in a straight line, including catchers

• Semi circles are safe ground to collect in when catchers have you blocked off 

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Cross Touch: 

• Game starts like ‘Touch’

• However, when the chaser is running after a player and another crosses between, the chaser has to run after that one, and so on.

Stuck in the Mud: 

• Players touched have to stay ‘stuck’ with their arms raised

• The have to shout ‘Releaso! Releaso!’ or ‘S.O.S!’ until a free player touches them.

• The game ends when the chaser catches all the players or if a player is caught a third time.

Underground Tig/Sticky Glue: 

• Player is released by another player crawling between his legs.

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Tunnel Touch: 

• As ‘Tig’, but players have to stand with an arm raised against a wall or tree for free players to pass under and release them.

Ticky Leapfrog: 

• Players caught have to crouch until another has freed them by leaping over him.

Witches in the Gluepots/Release: 

• Players caught are put in marked out circles (gluepots)

• They can only be rescued if someone touches them. 

• Free players have to be careful not to enter the circle or they will become sticky too and therefore caught.

• An alternative is that captives stretch out of their circles to grab at others running by, if they touch anyone they have to join them in the pot or go to another one.

• The last caught is the chaser next time.

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Cat & Mouse:

Cat:            Is the mouse at home?

Mouse:       Who wants to know?

Cat:            The cat wants to know.

Mouse:       Yes, the mouse is at home.

Cat:            What o’clock is it?

Mouse:       Time the mouse was gone! 

• One player is chosen as ‘cat’ and one ‘mouse’

• The rest form a circle holding hands

• The mouse within the circle and the cat without!

• The cat attempts to catch the mouse, but the players forming the ring are on the mouse’s side

• No one wants the cat to get into the ring so whenever he attempts to break through they push up against each other to stop him

• If the cat succeeds and breaks the link, the mouse is let out and then the cat is kept in the ring until he breaks out

• Now the circle has to let the mouse back in and so it goes on until the game is over, ie if the cat finally gets bored or catches the mouse!

Running Across: 

• Players split into two groups, one group going to one side of the road or playground and one to the other with a catcher in the middle. 

• When the catcher shouts ‘Change’, the two sides rush across the ground to change places

• Players often get in each other’s way or get caught

• Eventually all those caught become the new catchers

• They form the thickest line and the game ends when the last player is caught

• The first player to be caught is the new catcher in the next game.

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Chinese Wall: 

• Two parallel lines, a yard wide, are drawn across the middle of a play area

• The lines are the Chinese wall

• One or two players stand in-between and do not go outside.

• All the other players have to run across the wall without being touched

• If anyone is touched while crossing through they have to become catchers or ‘sit-outs’ in that they sit on the wall until the game is over

Wall to Wall: 

• Players first agree on boundaries the game is to be played in.

• One player stands in the middle of two walls

• All the other players line up at one wall and have to run across to the other keeping within the boundaries

• If a player touches another while running from wall to wall he has to join the catcher in the middle

• Players running can only stay at a wall side for less than ten seconds

• Players cannot return to a wall they have just left until they have been to the other side

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Stag: 

• Like ‘Wall to Wall’, but when the catcher shouts ‘Cross’

• When the catcher has caught a player they hold hands until they catch another, growing into a line as all the  players get caught

Black Peter: 

• Like ‘Wall to Wall’, but the catcher is known as ‘Black Peter’

• Black Peter has to stand in front of the wall and players run past him when he says: 

BP:                       Who’s afraid of Black Peter?

Response:           Not I!  

BP:                       Who’s afraid of Black Peter?

Response:          Not I!

BP:                       Who’s afraid of Black Peter? 

• Players then rush to the other side of the play area.

British Bulldog: 

• Players line up on a pavement within agreed boundaries and on a quiet road

• A strong player or two people, face the other players who are in the middle of the road

• When signalled to, the players rush across the road to the sanctuary of the other pavement and the ‘bulldog’ tries to stop one of them

• Players are only caught when they lifted off the ground

• The catcher also has to say: ‘British Bulldog, one, two, three!’ or an agreed number.

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Walk the Plank or Join the Crew: 

• One player stands in the middle of the road

• The remaining players stand on the edge of the pavement

• The player in the road calls out a name of a player and asks them ‘Walk the plank or join the crew?’

• If the named player agrees to ‘join the crew’ they go to the middle and another player is then asked to choose

• If a player is confident that they can make it they may reply ‘Walk the plank’

• They then have to run fast to reach the other side of the road without those in the middle catching him

• Players who succeed in getting across shout ‘Schoolie’ or ‘Overboard’

• Everyone then rushes over the road to catch the escaped player

• If that player is caught, he is ‘tortured’ by the first middle of the road player until he agrees to be a crew member 

Kings, Queens and Jacks: 

• The catcher has to stand in the middle of the play area and call out ‘Kings’, ‘Queens’ or ‘Jacks’

• If he calls ‘Kings’, players run across to the other side without being grabbed and dragged back to the place where they started

• If the catcher shouts ‘Queens’, players hop across with the catcher hopping after them

• If the catcher shouts ‘Jacks’, players who move have to join the catcher in the middle

• The remaining player is the winner

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Prisoner’s Base or Chevy Chase or Chivy: 

• For this game there are 2 bases on one side of the play area

• On the other side, about twenty yards away, there are two prisons mirroring the bases

• All 4 are outlined in chalk or sticks etc

• Two captains choose teams and each takes ownership of a base, but it is the prison where they will take their captives on the other side and diagonally opposite

• The captain of one team begins the game by sending out one of his players into the middle to taunt the others

• The captain of the other sends out one of his players to catch him

• The first player has to get back to his own base and gets helped by a fellow team player who has been directed to chase the chaser of the other team

• Each player ends up chasing whilst they are also being chased.

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French and English: 

• Two leaders choose their teams

• They agree the boundary lines that divide their territories

• Each player places a possession like an article of clothing

• Something has to represent a flag

• Players of each team then make attempt to get the other team’s possessions, one at a time

• As players have to invade their enemy’s territory, they can use all means to distract, allowing for a less noticeable member to rush forward

• Single players may attempt to penetrate the other team’s side and they may do it in small group or altogether

• When a players cross the boundary lines they can be caught and kept a prisoner in the enemy’s camp, together with their possessions

• A player can only get freed if a member of his own team rescue him before more possessions are taken

Bar the Door: 

• The catcher has to stand in the middle of a very quiet road or an open space

• The game begins when the chaser challenges a player to run across on his own

• The remaining players are on the pavement watching the runner attempt to dodge the catcher

• If the runner succeeds in getting across he has to shout ‘Bar the Door’

• The rest who have been watching all have to rush after him without getting caught

• If anyone is caught they join the catcher in the middle and challenge another player to make the crossing

• Eventually as all the players but one end up in the middle, the last to be caught is the winner

• The first who was caught is the catcher next time

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Cocarusha: 

• As ‘Bar the Door’, but everyone hops

• The ‘Cocker’ is the player who has to go into the middle of the road and stand on one leg with their arms folded

• He has to challenge another player to cross the road

• The player challenged has to fold their arms and hop, trying to get past the challenger and over to the other side

• If the cocker knocks a player over or caused them to put their raised foot down, the player has to assist the cocker from then on

• However, if the cocker puts their own raised foot down the player can continue across

• Players who get across shout ‘Cockarusha’

• The shout ‘Cockarusha’ is a signal to all the remaining players to attempt the crossing on one leg

• A Cocker can now hop again and knock into anyone to over balance them, raising allies

• The game is over when one player remains to push his way through all the other players. If he succeeds he is declared a ‘double winner’   

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Farmer, Farmer, May We Cross Your Golden River: 

• One player names the farmer and stands in the middle of a quiet road or play area

• The remaining children line up on the pavement or play area

• The players call out ‘Farmer, Farmer, may we cross your golden river?’

• The farmer, choosing a colour, replies ‘You may not cross my river unless you have blue’

• If a players is wearing blue they can walk across

• Players without the colour have to run

• Anyone caught joins the farmer  

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Jingling: 

• This has to be played in a confined and safe space

• Of all the players only one is not a chaser

• Everyone else is blindfolded

• The one to be chased then moves around but in order to be detected has to carry a bell

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Frog in the Middle:

Hey, hey, hi! Hey, hey, hi!

Frog in the middle and there shall he lie.

He can’t get out, he can’t get in,

Hey, hey, hi! Hey, hey, hi!

• Also played in a confined and safe space

• The catcher is called the ‘frog’

• They have to sit on the floor while players come up and poke

• If they get touched they become frogs

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Chains & Captives:

Songs listed as follows were sung whilst creating chains or taking captives.

The Big Ship Sails:

The big ship sails on the alley alley oh

The alley alley oh, the alley alley oh

The big ship sails on the alley alley oh

On the last day of September.

We all dip our heads in the deep blue sea

The deep blue sea, the deep blue sea

We all dip our heads in the deep blue sea

On the last day of September.

The captain said ‘This will never never do

Never never do, never never do

The captain said, ‘This will never never do

On the last day of September.’

The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea

The bottom of the sea, the bottom of the sea

The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea

On the last day of December.       

• As ‘Thread the Needle’

• Eight or more players hold hands in a line

• The player at the end presses their free hand against a wall

• Everyone sings the first verse over and over until the player at the other end has led their way through the arch

• When the last player has passed through, the player with their hand against the wall is twisted around, arms crossed

• The leader of the line then circles round and passes through the archway (or ‘alley’) between the player at the wall and their neighbour

• The second player, like the first, is then twisted around, arms crossed

• As the line then goes through the space between the second girl from the wall and the third, the twisting continues one after the other

• Eventually the two ends of the line can join to make a circle

• Now the second verse is sung and heads are lowered to give emphasis to the words

• When the second verse is sung the players let go of hands and wag their forefingers at each other:  ‘This will never never do’.

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Oranges & Lemons

Oranges and lemons, say the bells of Saint Clements

I owe you five farvings, say the bells of Saint Martins

When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey

When I grow rich, say the bells of Shoreditch

When will that be? Say the bells of Stepney

I’m sure I don’t know, say the great bells of Bow

Here comes a candle to light you to bed

Here comes a chopper to chop off your head

Chip, chop, chip, chop, the last ... man’s ... DEAD!

• Two players make an arch and chant the song as players pass under in a chain, holding the end of their clothing or a ribbon, etc

• On the word ‘DEAD’, arms come around a player

• The player encircled is led away to choose a fruit (orange or lemon) that no one else must hear

• When every player has been caught they have to say if the are a lemon or an orange, creating two teams

• The two teams have a tug of war to decide the better fruit   

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Mary Was A Bad Girl:

• Players sing the following song as they walk in a circle

• On reaching the end of the first verse they shout out the lines ‘I won’t, I won’t’

• All the players then turn their backs and stamp their feet

• In the verses that follow they:

• nod their heads in agreement

• feign writing

• cheer when Mary leaves school

• hug themselves when they go courting etc

• and cheer even more when Mary’s husband dies!

Mary was a bad girl, a bad girl, a bad girl,

Mary was a bad girl and this is what she said:

I won’t, I won’t,

I won’t, I won’t, I won’t.

Mary was a good girl, good girl, a good girl,

Mary was a good girl and this is what she said:

I will, I will,

I will, I will, I will.

Mary went to school, school, to school,

Mary went to school and this is what she said:

I write, I write,

I write, I write, I write.

Mary left school, school, school

Mary left school and this is what she said:

Hooray, hooray,

Hooray, hooray, hooray.

Mary went a-courting, courting, a-courting,

Mary went a-courting and this is what she said:

A boy, a boy,

A boy, a boy, a boy.

Mary got engaged, engaged, got engaged,

Mary got engaged and this is what she said:

A ring, a ring,

A ring, a ring, a ring.

Mary got married, married, got married,

Mary got married and this is what she said:

A veil, a veil,

A veil, a veil, a veil.

Mary had a baby, baby, a baby,

Mary had a baby and this is what she said:

Sh-ssh, sh-ssh,

Sh-ssh, sh-ssh, sh-ssh.

Mary’s baby died, died, died,

Mary’s baby died and this is what she said:

A boo, a boo,

A boo, hoo, hoo.

Mary’s husband died, died, died,

Mary’s husband died and this is what she said:

Hooray, hooray,

Hooray, hooray, hooray.

Mary died herself, herself, herself,

Mary died herself and this is what she said:

A-down, a-down,

A-down, a-down, a-down.

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London Bridge:

London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down

London Bridge is falling down

My fair lady.

Build it up with sticks and stones, sticks and stone, sticks and stones

Build it up with sticks and stones

My fair lady.

Sticks and stones will wear away, wear away, wear away

Sticks and stones will wear away

My fair lady.

Build it up with iron and steel, iron and steel, iron and steel

Build it up with iron and steel

My fair lady.

Iron and steel will rust away, rust away, rust away

Iron and steel will rust away

My fair lady.

Build it up with bricks and clay, bricks and clay, bricks and clay

Build it up with bricks and clay

My fair lady.

Bricks and clay will wash away, wash away, wash away

Bricks and clay will wash away

My fair lady.

Build it up with silver and gold, silver and gold, silver and gold

Build it up with silver and gold

My fair lady.

Silver and gold is stole away, stole away, stole away

Silver and gold is stole away

My fair lady.

• The game begins by two players making a bridge

• They quietly decide between them which side will represent sticks and which stones, iron and steel, bricks and clay, etc

• The symbols are mixed up so no one will guess which side they may end up in

• The remaining players have to pass through the bridge

• One player is caught when the words ‘My fair lady’ are first sung

• The player has to say quietly whether they are going to be ‘sticks’ or ‘stones’

• They then have to go to the right side of the bridge

• The same again for ‘iron’ and ‘steel’, ‘bricks’ and ‘clay’

• Finally, there is a tug of war 

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Seeking Games:

Hide and Seek: 

• Players stay where they are until found.

Outs: 

• Like Hide & Seek but there are two teams of players

• One of the team has to hide (the ‘Outs’) while the other team seeks

• The ‘Outs’ can keep hiding until they are all caught

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One Man Plus: 

• Again like Hide & Seek as everyone has to hide

• However, if the seeker catches or sees someone, they join the seeker until everyone is found.

Man Hunting: 

• Everyone seeks one player

• The player hides while everyone is counting

• The seeker who finds the player will be the next one to hide.

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One, Two, Three, Block Home: 

• If anyone is found by a seeker they have to run to an agreed base and say “One, Two, Three, Block Home” to be safe

• However, if a seeker catches first they are out

Hunt the Keg: 

• This game is played between two teams of players

• One team are ‘smugglers’

• One are ‘coastguards’

• The smugglers hide but only one of them is carrying a keg (which can be an object that represents the keg)

• The keg has to be smuggled to base, but none of the coastguards are in the know of who has it

• If a smuggler is caught he is asked to ‘Deliver the Keg’

• If he doesn’t have it he is kept prisoner

• If a smuggler caught has got the keg the game is over

• But if the smuggler with the keg succeeds in getting it back to base his team are all released

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Relievo: 

• Two leaders choose two sides

• An area of pavement (a den) is marked out with chalk or sticks

• The boundaries agreed are dependent on how many are playing

• Leaders toss for which side has first ‘outs’

• The side that is hiding runs off in different directions

• The seeking side wait until they hear a get a signal or have counted

• When those hidden are caught they are taken to the den

• His team have to attempt to free him

• However, when a seeker finds someone he must catch him properly, touching his head or saying something that everyone recognises

• If this game is played at night the rules are altered as unobserved hiders are allowed to break free 

Gee: 

• Leaders choose two sides and agree on a starting place

• Hiders go off to hide

• Seekers will follow

• If a seeker spots a player hiding they have to shout ‘Gee!’

• On hearing the shout, all the seekers rush to the agreed starting place with the hider now in chase

• If a hider catches a seeker then any captive hiders become freed to hide again

• If all the seekers manage to get back to agreed starting place, the hider becomes a captive.     

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Hunting Games:

Hare & Hounds: 

• A good game to play in a field as the more players the better

• Hares first have to run off after a slow count of an agreed number

• Hounds the pursue the hares and if one is seen a Hound must shout ‘Tally Ho!’

Jack, Jack, Shine a Light: 

• This game is good to play in the dark

• Two players are chosen to go off  with a torch

• After a few minutes the other players can search

• If the seeking players find the hiding place they have to shout

 

‘Jack, Jack, shine a light

Aren’t you playing out tonight?’

 

• If they have found the correct hiding place the hiders have to put the torch on

• If the hiding place has not been found and hiders can hear seekers coming, it is custom to tease them by repeating the call back

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Will O’ The Wisp: 

• As ‘Jack Jack etc’ but hunters are lured along by the ‘Wills’ flashing their torches

• To make it more fun they will keep changing place, keeping just out of reach of their pursuers.

Tracking:

•  Two teams decide on who is going to track and who is going to be tracked

• Using chalk arrows or piles of stones left by runaway team, the trackers follow the clues of those being hunted 

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Stalking: 

• Another game better played at night

• One team has to follow another

• If they find them they have to touch them unseen from behind

• If the side being stalked becomes aware they are being followed, they can hide and wait until they have passed

• In this way stalkers and hiders can keep changing places 

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Racing Games:

Odds & Evens: 

• One player starts the game from one side of a play area or a quiet safe road

• They call out to the others either ‘Odd’ or ‘Even’ followed by a number

• If they say ‘Odd’ and the number is odd then the all the other players must across the play area/road and back again

• The last player to return is out

• If the caller shouts ‘Even’ followed by an odd number, nobody must move

• Failure to keep still is disqualification

May I: 

• As Odds & Evens in that one player is a caller who has to stand on one side of a safe and quiet or play area whilst the remaining players line up on the other side

• The caller has to face a wall away from the other players

• Players move towards the caller on hearing their name and receiving instructions

• If they hear something like ‘Jane, do a lamp post’, Sam, do a bob jump’ they have to respond with ‘May I’ and carry out the code

• If a player forgets to say ‘May I’ they have to start again

• The winner is the first to cross the road and touch the player on the other side

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Code:       

Instructions to players who have to advance forwards.

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Aunts & Uncles or Relations: 

• One player stands on one side of a quiet safe road or play area

• The remaining players have to line up facing him

• The object of the game is to get across

• The individual player calls out a name like ‘Uncle Tom’ or ‘Auntie Jane’ and anyone with an uncle or aunt of that name can take a step forward

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Letters: 

• As ‘Aunts & Uncles’ but letters are called that have to be within a player’s own name for them to step forward or jump

• If the letter is in the name more than once the step or jump can be repeated to match its frequency

Colours: 

• Same, but colours called have to be in the players clothing etc

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Peep Behind the Curtain: 

• A player stands on the far side of a quite safe road turned away from the remaining players

• Everyone has to creep up to the single player unseen

• The single player can turn around and try to spot them moving

• He first has to count to ten or spell out a word before he can turn

• Players seen have to return to the starting point

• The player that wins is the first to touch the single player

Eggs, Bacon, Marmalade and Bread: 

• As ‘Colours’ but the caller has to say ‘What did you have for breakfast, did you have toast? Etc

• If a player has they can take two steps

• The caller keeps asking questions until they are touched and then all the players run back to the starting point

• If the caller touches a player running back he becomes the next caller

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Kerb or Wall: 

• This game is played in a quiet street and requires pairs of players 

• One player is found through dipping

• The remaining players have to line up against a wall so that the dipped player can walk down the line

• This play hits each of their hands in turn as he says one of the rhymes below repeatedly:

Peter Pan said to Paul                             

Who d’ya like the best of all 

Kerb stone, or the solid brick wall?                                               

Said Peter Pan to St. Paul                                

Who lives at the bottom of the garden wall                                           

Two little dicky birds

Sat upon a wall

One named Peter

The other named Paul

Paul said to Peter

Peter said to Paul

Let’s have a game

At ‘Kerb and Wall’

Bim, bam, boo, and a wheezey anna,              

My black cat can play the piano                        

One, two, three, kick him up a tree                   

Kerb or wall?                                            

 

Kob or wall or lucyanna,

Jack and Jill went up the ladder

Which would you rather have

Kob or the old brick wall?

• A player who has his hand struck last chooses ‘kerb or wall’

• If the player has chosen ‘kerb’ he has to run to the edge of the nearest kerb and back again to the wall, across the road to the far wall and back to the starting/home wall

• If he has chosen the ‘wall’ he has to run first to the far wall, then to the home wall, then to the nearest kerb and back to the starting/home wall

• As they run against each other they are covering the same distance but opposite to each other

• Dippers always give the other person the first choice of ‘kerb’ or ‘wall’

• Whoever wins becomes the ‘dipper’ next time

• Ties necessitate the game being played again 

Puss in the Corner: 

• 5 players have to decide when they will run

• Four of the players stand at four points eg lamp-post, wall corners etc

• The fifth player stands in the middle

• Those at the corners call to each other:

Puss, Puss, come here

Puss, Puss, come and get some milk

Puss, Puss, come to my corner

• The 4 players change places when they think the 5^th player isn’t watching

• The 5^th player has to try and reach one of the corners when it is empty

• If they succeed the player that has lost their place goes into middle

• Any two corners may change place and all four can run at the same time

• Rushing about and creating confusion is what allows the 5^th player to claim a corner

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Hot Peas: 

• Players race on different courses allocated to them

• They first assemble at an agreed spot where a player, who has been dipped out, the ‘outer’ player, has to turn his back on the others

• The remaining players have to put their hands on top off each others on this player’s back

• One after another they pull their hands away and the person with his back turned gives an order eg ‘Run to lamp post’

• Everyone has to go to where they have been told

• The 'Outer' player then shouts ‘Hot potatoes’, ‘Hot soup’, ‘Hot mackerel’

• No on must move until they shout ‘Hot peas’

• Everyone then has to run back to the starting point

• The last to return gets a thump on the back and is the new ‘Outer’ in the next game

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Films Stars/I Sent My Son John: 

• A player has to go to the far side of a quite and safe road

• The single player calls out to the others initials of a film star or singer

• As soon as a player thinks they knows who the initials stand for, they have to race across the road and back again and then shout out the name

• If the guess is right they change place with the caller

• Players can be racing against each other and all may have the wrong name!

• Same for ‘I sent my son John’ but initials can be for shopping items etc

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Circle Games:

Drop Handkerchief: 

• This is a game for 12 players or more and a handkerchief or scarf

• One player is chose to be out

• The remaining players join hands and create a large circle

• The circle of players release hands and either stand or sit down

• The player who has the handkerchief circles the others from the outside singing/or everyone sings:

I sent a letter to my love

And on the way I dropped it

One of you has picked it up

And put it in your pocket.

• The running player the quietly drops the handkerchief behind one of the players and runs on

• The player nearest to the handkerchief must pick it up and race round the circle in the opposite direction

• They have to get back to their spot before the player who dropped the handkerchief reaches it

• The player who is last to return must encircle everyone in next round, dropping the handkerchief and so on

• If this game is played as a chase, the player who has had to pick up the dropped handkerchief must run after the first player in the same direction

• If that player manages to touch the one they are chasing they have won

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Bump on the Back: 

• As above, but no handkerchief

• One player has to run around the outside of the circle and tap the back of the person who then has to run against him

Stoney: 

• One player has a small stone

• All the players have to stand in a row

• They all have to hold out their hands with palms together and leaving a small hole on top

• The player with the stone walks along the line placing their hands on top of theirs but only drops the stone into one person’s hands

• No one must indicate what is going on

• The first player keeps up the pretence that they haven’t dropped the stone by continuing to walk the line

• When the player with stone believes no one is looking they run to an agreed spot

• If anyone touches the player they are back in the circle again but if not they become the new starter of the game next time. 

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Duelling Games:

Elbows:   

• Two players have to sit facing each other

• They must place their right elbows on the table and clasp the other’s hand so that the two forearms are upright against each other

• The player who succeeds in forcing back the other boy’s arm on to the table is the winner

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Divvy Dagger: 

• Players have to get into two teams, have a leader each and find a wide area of ground

• A stick is used to symbolise a dagger and is put on the ground between the two team leaders

• When someone shouts ‘Go!’ they have to race for the dagger and fight with it until one of them is touched with the point

• Then two more players from each team do the same until everyone has had a go

• The team with that has most players ‘alive’ is the winner

Lifting:

•  Two opposing players sit on the ground in front of each other

• Their feet must be pressed against the others and they must either hold hands or be holding a short strong stick crosswise between them

• The players then have to pull against each other as hard as they can

• The weakest might be lifted off the ground

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Cock Fighting: 

• Two players who have been dipped to be the cocks have to fight each whilst a rhyme, like the following, is sung:

Hop, hop, hop to the butcher’s shop

I dare not stay no longer

For if I do

My mother will say

I’ve been with the boys down yonder 

• They must keep on one leg with their arms folded

• They then hop towards each other and butt or barge until they knock the other over

• The winner takes on someone else

• A similar game is called ‘Bumper Cars’ where players must keep their arms folder, but have both feet on the ground

• The winner again is the player who knocks the other over

Soldiers: 

• Two players with a stalk of straw, fight a duel by trying to strike the head of each others stalk

Lolly sticks: 

• As above, but players use ice-lolly sticks

• One player’s stick is held at both end while it is challenged by another’s that is held at one end

• The players keep taking turns until a stick breaks

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Conkers: 

• As above, but players use conkers – generally played in autumn when they can be freshly collected

• Conkers are gently skewered and then string is threaded through with a large knot at the lower end to stop the conker falling off

• Each players takes a turn to flick their opponents conker as hard as they can

• The player who can break the conker of their opponents string is the winner

• Conkers that last and get to be used for more games become ‘Two’ers’, ‘Three’rs’, etc

• Tip – to make a conker less likely to break, skewer the hole and then put in a low oven for half an hour

Dance, Fight or Windmill:

• The player who has been dipped ‘out’ stands in front of the others players

• That player can then challenge whoever they wish to ‘Dance, Fight or Windmill’

• The player challenged can choose the form of the contest

• If that player chooses ‘Dance’, both contestants must hop on one leg and keep turning round all the time until one or other of them is dizzy and collapses

• If the player chooses ‘Fight, they must both fold their arms, approach each other hopping and have a ‘cock fight’

• If he chooses ‘Windmill’, the one who challenges whirls his arms and the other must twice run under the circling arms without being hit

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Piggyback Fights: 

• Players mount the backs of other players and try to dismount challengers

Camel Fighting or Donkey: 

• The camel shape is made by one player standing upright, another bending down behind and clutching his waist

• A third player is the ‘rider’ who has to climb on to the second players back

• The threesome then charge against an opposing camel to see if they can collapse it

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Elephants:  

• Two players have to stand upright and side by side

• They have to have their arms behind their backs holding each other’s hands - the right hand in the other’s right hand and the left hand in their left

• A third player then has to bend to grasp their hands

• The fourth player then mounts the third players back

Chariots:  

• Similar to Elephants but the two players in front are horses

• The two players who are standing beside each other link their outer hands

• Their inner hands are used by the charioteer as stirrups

• The charioteer aids to his balance by also keeping his hands on their heads

Battering Rams/Tanks:  

• Two players hold a third player horizontally on their right shoulders with his feet facing forward

• The third player is used as a weapon to be propelled against other battering rams

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Rumblin’ Rhinos:  

• As above but three players are held horizontally on shoulders of eight boys - four linked together in a line in front and four behind 

Cat & Dog: 

• Two players stand next to each other

• Another player comes in-between

• They have to jumps up and exert their weight on to the shoulders of the other two

• The player who eventually collapsed under the weight is the loser – the cat

• The winner is the dog.

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Tug of War: 

• Two teams use a skipping rope, tied scarves or long piece of washing line, etc.

Adders’ Nest: 

• A small object is  placed on the ground

• Players hold hands and circle it

• On a signal each player tries, without breaking the circle, to force one or other of his neighbours to touch or knock against the object

• If a player touches it he has been ‘poisoned’ and has to retire

• The game doesn’t end until the two players left have battled it out

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Bull In The Ring: 

• Players link hands and the bull (a volunteer) goes into the centre

• The bull has to force their way out, but cannot use their hands, usually where they think the link is weakest

• They are allowed to butt, and barge and generally behave like an angry bull

• They cannot kick

• If the player escapes they can be chased after

• The catcher becomes the new bull

Red Rover: 

• Two sides face each other about five yards apart

• The players on one side link hands and advance and retreat chanting:

Red Rover, Red Rover

Please send someone over

 

Or:

 

Red Rover, Red Rover

We call Thomas over

• The player named has to charge the opposing team

• They throw their weight at the weakest link and try to break through

• It the player breaks through they are free to return to their own side

• Played slightly differently, the player who breaks through can take a player from the other team back with them

• This can continue until one teams has one large line of players

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Challenging Games:

Honey Pots: 

• A player is chosen to be ‘shopkeeper’

• Another player is a ‘customer’

• The remaining players crouch in a row and clasp their hands under their knees, pretending to be honey pots

• The customer player arrives in the shop and asks about the price of honey

• They pretends to sample the different pots, touching each player on the head and licking their finger

• When the player chooses one of the pots they ask the shopkeeper to weigh it

• The shopkeeper player has to lift the honey pot player by their arms and swing or shake them to  break their grip:

Is she rotten, is she sound

Is she worth a million pound

Toss her up and toss her down

She is worth a million pound.

• If the customer player is satisfied that they are ‘sound’ they can purchase the chosen honey pot player

• If however, the honey pot player breaks, the pot is rejected and this player has to stand out

• The game continues until all the pots are either bought or removed 

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Statues (not the party game version!): 

• This is a contest game to find out who can keep their face straight under testing conditions

• Players line up against a wall and hold out their right hands

• A player who has been dipped is known as the ‘puller’ or ‘twister’ and has to pull each player from the wall in turn

• They can either pull as hard as they can or give the player a chance to say how they want to be pulled, by asking as follows:

• When a player has been pulled they must stand in the manner they have been thrown and as still as a statue

• The puller then tells the statues what they have to be, eg fairies, cats, dancers etc

• They can all be given the same roles or different ones

• Then the puller orders ‘Clockwork begin’ and the statues have to come to life doing all the things fairies, cats or dancers might do

• The puller then orders ‘Lights out’ or ‘Lanterns shut’ and they have to close their eyes

• Now the puller has to decide which statue has the oddest or funniest or most attractive face and posture

• The worse statutes are tapped to indicate they must step aside

• The last player statue is circled by all the others who then begin to dance around and shout ‘Wake up sleeping beauty’, ‘You’re the pretty lady/lad’, and this player is the winner and becomes the new puller.

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Jumping Games:

Leapfrog: 

• This game can be played as a race against other teams covering a large area

• One player bends down and another jumps over, runs two or three steps and then bends down

• Another player runs forward, jumps over two players and then running a few steps more bends down as well

• This goes on until all the players are bent over and the last who was the first to run can run and jump over the others, starting it all over again

• The chant:  ‘Keep the kettle boiling!’ usually goes along with the leaping until everyone tires

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Spanish Leapfrog:     

• As above in that it is played with as many players as possible but when a player has leapt over another player’s back, the leader leaves an object on the back that must be leapt over by the next player

• If the object is knocked off they are out

• Alternatively, one player is bent over and has one object after another piled on their back

• Players have to leap over them until someone cannot make it

• That player becomes the new Spanish

One a Foot: 

• A leader has to be chosen, usually a good jumper

• They then put two sticks together on the ground

• Taking a run and jump from the front of the sticks, where their heel lands, the second stick is placed

• Then they have to say whether it is a ‘noner’ or a ‘oner’ or a ‘twoer’

• The players who will follow have to jump as the first did

• If it is a ‘oner’, their jump allows for one foot in between the two sticks.  The game goes on until one player is left in.  This player is the leader for the next game

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Fly: 

• Six sticks are placed about a foot apart

• Players have to jump over each stick without touching it and without jumping over a space between the two sticks

• The last player to jump takes a long jump and calls the number of a stick

• They put the stick of this number where she jumped to and the game goes on until the spaces between the sticks get so big that people can’t jump them

• The player who can jump furthest is the winner and the last girl next time

Leapers: 

• Using a piece of chalk a player draws an oblong square with a line across two inches past the middle

• With a small stone (or traditionally a dice), the player throws it onto the line

• They then stand back about two feet from it from where they then have to try to leap over the stone/dice

• If they succeed they gain a point and can keep moving the chalk line back to see how many points they can get

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Baby Leapfrog: 

• This game consists of jumping over lines of players that are lying down with their backs upraised

• The last player to jump over the others’ backs lies down and that the first player that was jumped over can get up and start again

Skipping Games:

Skipping largely took place as summer began, around May. Streets could be filled with long lines of skipping ropes

Rock the Cradle:

• At least 3 players

• Swing the rope from side to side rather than in loops

• The jumper has to jump over it

Salt and Mustard:

• This can be played by a large number of players if the rope is long enough
• One player holds the rope – the other end tied to a post or if it is very long, held by two players 
• Jumpers run in at the same time chanting "salt, mustard, vinegar, pepper"
• Each time they say pepper the rope gets faster
• As people fail to jump the rope they have to come out
• The last player jumping gets to hold the rope
• This can be played by one player jumping with the rope and a lesser number of others running in and jumping at the same time.
   

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ABC:

• A fortune-telling game
• Two players turn the rope as a player jumps
• The jumper has to sing:

Strawberry, shortcake, treacle tart
Tell me the name of my sweetheart
A B C D E .....

• The letter a player fails to jump on represents the initial of a future beloved
  
   

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear:

• Two players turn the rope
• Jumpers jump chanting and doing the actions to each line whilst skipping:

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear touch the ground (touch the ground)
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn around (turn around)
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear climb the stairs (pretend to walk up)
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear say your prayers (join hands to pray)
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn off the lights (reach high to switch off a light)
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear say good night (wave and say Good Night, skipping out of the rope)

• Then the next skipper comes in and the rhyme begins again
• Jumpers are out if they error

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Skipping Rope/Double Dutch:

• Skipping rope requires the use of a rope that is twirled by two players while a third literally skips the rope in between them
• Double Dutch skipping is a more advanced form in which the player in the middle skips over two ropes (held in each hand by two players turning) at the same time
• Players usually chant a skipping rhyme throughout that may invite other players to come in

Skipping Rhymes:

• I like coffee, I like tea, I want (name) to jump with me!’
• All in together, girls! Never mind the weather, girls! When it’s your birthday, please jump in! January, February, March etc (Other players jump in as months are listed)
• I had a little puppy. His name was Tiny Tim. I put him in the bathtub, to see if he could swim. He drank down all the water. He ate a bar of soap. The next thing, would you know it, a bubble burst his throat! In came the doctor, in came the nurse, and in came the lady with the alligator purse!" (Other players jump in as "doctor," "nurse" and "lady" are called out)

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Ball Games:

Jacks:

• Players use 5 small round stones or plastic or metal jacks (the last two kinds have to be bought)

• The games starts by players taking turn to throw jacks into the air, trying to catch as many as possible on the back of the same hand

• Jacks are then tossed up into the air again to be grabbed in the hand

• Everyone takes turn to do this and the player with the most jacks leads

• To begin, the first player starts the game by throwing the jacks on the ground and then picking up the ball

• The player throws the ball up, picks up a jack with the same hand and catches the ball as it returns, before it hits the ground

• The jack is then put into the other hand. This is repeated until all the jacks have been picked up

• The player then throws the jacks back on the floor and starts again but now two jacks have to be picked up

• If the player is completely successful again, the same pattern is repeated with 3 jacks and then 4, etc

• Finally the ball is thrown up and all five jacks are grabbed at once before the ball is caught

• Missing the ball or failing to pick up or hold the jacks ends the turn

• The players who manages to do better than the others is the winner

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Marbles:

• Link to site with diagrams:http://www.landofmarbles.com/marbles-play.html

Clap & Catch:

• Players have to form a circle

• A chosen leader has to stand in the middle

• The leader throws a ball to each player, one after the other, who have to clap once before catching it

• If they miss they have to lose a limb (a leg or arm) but still try to catch the ball on their turn

• If they catch it they get their limb back or lose limbs until they are out

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• Piggy in the middle:

• Three players and one ball

• One player has to stand between the other two

• The other two players throw the ball to each over, generally over the head of the ‘pig’

• If the ‘pig’ player manages to jump high enough to catch the ball, the one that was throwing it at the time become the new ‘pig’

 Wall Ball:

• Can be played by single players or more than one as a challenging gameA)

• Ball is bounced against the wall and player claps hands before it returns

• Player keeps increasing the claps until they reach their maximum

Wall Ball Variations:

• Ball is bounced on floor against the wall  and caught on its return

• Bounced against the wall and players spins around before catching it

• Chalks several circles on the wall, one inside the other, and player has to get as close to the centre as possible, moving in one circle at a time

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Hopscotch:

• Can be played alone or with others

• There are variations to how many squares you can have but the set up I played was as follows:

• Taking turns, first player throws one small stone on to square one and then jumps with two feet onto squares 2 and 3, one foot on square 4, two on square 5 and 6 etc. On reaching Kings and Queens the player lands on two feet, then jumps up spinning round and lands again with two feet and then proceeds to return, picking up the stone and then jumping over that square

• The format is repeated, the stone having to land in the square of the next number

• If a player fails to get the stone in the numbered square, they are out

• If they jump on a square that has had the stone in it, they are out

• If they mess up at all, they are out

• The real skill of the game is to Hopscotch as quickly as possible without making a mistake

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Introduction

The Gwynvyd Method

Archetypes

The Hero

Raising Gods & Heroes

Gwyn's Kingdoms

Gwyn's Stories

Gwyn's Festivals

Symbols

Tarot

Morgan Wyche

Reference Sources/Links

Disclaimer 

Remember