Did you play the traditional games that we inherited from our grandparents? Here we have the hide and seek, that is the most popular when I was young. Although I could only play it when I go on vacation to the province, I really have a clear recollection. It is just sad that I couldn't join the kids on the block because my parents wouldn't allow me to play in the street. Another street game is the version of hopscotch here called Piko. It is hard to describe but it is usually played by girls only. What traditional games have you played when you were young?
I remember playing work up at school. One year our NIC noticed some of us boys just idling around on the playground during noon hour. She made us join in on the playground work up ball game. So, instead of sitting around under the big old elm tree shade, we had to stand out there in the hot sun while the jocks were up to bat forever, because they never got put out.
We used to play a game called "Dare Base" when the neighborhood kids would get together. To play, you made up two teams, one on each end of the field. There was an empty lot across from where I lived, and that was where we all played our games. The object of the game was to run all the way across to the opposite team's base without getting "tagged". Once you were tagged, you were out of the game and had to stand with the other kids who were "jailed". The last team with a person left was the winner. Another game that we played a lot was called "Red Rover". I have no idea where the name came from, but it was again played with two teams. Someone would call "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Yvonne (or whoever) right over, and that person had to try and get to the other side safely. I was never a very fast runner; so I would be one of the first who got tagged usually. In the winter, we had snow up to our waist, and we rolled snowmen, made snow forts, and had snowball fights.
I think one of my favorite games while growing up was Candy Land. Of course this is a board game that is still out there for kids to enjoy. I also would play hop scotch with my sisters on the household porch. As for other board games I did kind of like Chutes and ladders, that one was also fun. I wasn't too fond though of Monopoly I guess I didn't like how long it took to play, it certainly takes concentration and discipline to play that one.
Although I had never played that, I learned about that game from my nephews and nieces when they were small and vacationing with us. They played that game called Moro-Moro with the neighborhood kids. It was lots of fun although they were all sweaty afterwards. But from what I saw, that Dare Base is a good exercise and children can learn what team work is. Moro-moro is exactly how you described Dare Base. Perhaps the kids learned that from the American soldiers who were here after the second world war.
I can remember being with 'my kids' as we all called our friends and someone would draw on the sidewalk with a piece of chalk to play hopscotch. There would be eight squares in a specific pattern. One of us would throw a small rock that landed inside a square. The object was to hop through the squares, but not on the one with the rock. You needed to do this without both feed touching the ground. We all took turns.
I just posted all the games I played in another post. I'll post a few again... Kick the can Mother May I Statues Red Rover Hide and seek Tag Dodgeball Touch football Flipping baseball cards Jacks Skipping rope House School Doctor