Fun Indoor and Outdoor Games
Are you worried about your child’s gadget addiction? Introduce them to these fun, indoor and outdoor games that you played as a kid!
Everyone has played this one. Most parents have played with their kids, since hiding and finding is a common interest of small children. I’ve heard of all kinds of variations on this game. Sometimes you count to twenty, sometimes ten, sometimes one hundred. Sometimes there is a home base that you can run to and tag, becoming “safe,” sometimes you just wait to be found. The general idea is that one person is “it,” that person closes his or her eyes and counts to a certain number without looking and then he or she tries to find the others.
Number of Players: Ideally at least three.
Kick the Can:
This game is a variation of tag and hide & seek. One person or a team of people are designated as “it” and a can is placed in the middle of the playing area. The other people run off and hide while the “it” covers his or her eyes and counts to a certain number. “It” then tries to find everyone. If a person is tagged by “it”, they go into a holding pen for captured players. If one of the un-captured players manages to kick the can, the captured players are released. The game is over once all the non-“it” players are in the holding pen.
Number of Players: Ideally at least three.
Equipment: A metal can.
Hopscotch:
Use some sidewalk chalk and make a hopscotch grid. Number the squares from one to nine. Pick a rock that is good for tossing. Small ones can bounce too much, and larger ones are hard to throw. Start by tossing the rock onto Square 1. Hop over the rock and hop with a single foot or both feet (to follow the hopscotch pattern) all the way to the end. Turn around and come back, stopping on Square 2. Balancing on one foot, pick up the rock in Square 1 and hop over Square 1 to the start. Continue this pattern with Square 2. And so on. If you toss your rock and miss the correct square, your turn is over. This game can be played with any number of people, but only one person can go at a time. If it’s raining or dark or too cold, you can get indoor hopscotch mats or foam pieces, or just find a pattern on the floor to follow, perhaps using a beanbag instead of a rock.
Number of Players: One at a time.
Equipment: Hopscotch grid, rock or beanbag.
Marbles:
The general rules specify that you draw a circle in the sand or on the sidewalk, and then take turns trying to knock each other’s marbles out of the circle with your one large marble. As with the other games, there are countless variations. I haven’t played this game at length, though, because I always seem to hurt myself flicking the large marble into the ring! You can also use a marble mat which contains different point zones.
Number of Players: At least two.
Equipment: Chalk, large and small marbles.
Simon Says:
This game can be played anywhere, even in a car or other small space. One person is Simon and starts by saying, “Simon says, ‘<insert action here>.’” Everyone must then do the action. However, if Simon makes an action request without saying, “Simon says” to begin the request, anyone who does that action is out. The last person still playing in the end will be Simon for the next round.
Number of Players: A small group.
Equipment: None.
Blind Man’s Bluff:
A favorite game in Tudor and Victorian England, this game is yet another variation on tag. The person who is “it” wears a blindfold and tries to tag the other players. Be sure to play this in an area safe from obstructions and other hazards.
Number of Players: A small group.
Equipment: A blindfold.
Musical Chairs:
In a circle, arrange chairs facing outward to total one fewer than the number of players. An additional player needs to be in charge of the music. When the music starts, the players walk around the chairs. When the music stops, players sit down in the nearest chair as soon as they can. The one player who does not have a chair is out. One of the chairs is then removed, and the game continues in this manner. The player that sits in the final chair is the winner. This game is traditionally played inside, but it can also be played outside with outdoor furniture and a portable music player.
Number of Players: A small group.
Equipment: Music player or person making music, chairs.
Four Square:
This ball game is played on a square court further divided into four smaller squares, numbered one through four. One player stands in each of the squares, with the highest ranked player in number one, lowest in number four. You bounce the ball among the players, bouncing once in the other person’s square before that person catches it. When I played this as a kid, we had countless additional rules to choose from. The person in square one got to choose the rules. Anyone who violates the rules will have to move down in the ranking, or be eliminated with another player rotating in to square four.
Number of Players: Four, unless you take turns.
Equipment: A four square court or sidewalk chalk, a playground ball.
Chinese Jump-Rope:
This game requires three people, or just one or two people with really good chairs. It is easily done inside, assuming a sturdy floor. This game resembles regular jump rope in that you jump. A lot. But you jump in a pattern. Two people (or chairs) put their feet inside the rope and stretch them out, standing far enough apart for the third person to jump between them. The third person, or jumper, faces one of the people holding the rope and jumps in a pattern of left, right, inside, outside and on the ropes. What pattern you use is up to you, but all the players should use the same one. The game is started with the rope around the ankles. Once the jumper does the jump correctly, the rope is moved up to the calves. Then to the knees, then the thighs. Usually it doesn’t get any farther than that. Once you miss, it is someone else’s turn.
Number of Players: Preferably three, but it can be done with one or two.
Equipment: A stretchy-type rope or 5 to 6 meters of rubber bands tied together in a circle.
Red Light, Green Light:
With enough room, this game can easily be played inside. One person is the traffic light at one end, and the other players are at the other end. When the traffic light faces the group, he or she says, “Red light!” and everyone must freeze. The traffic light then turns his or her back and says, “Green light!” while the group tries to get as close to the traffic light as possible. The traffic light turns around quickly, again saying, “Red light!”, and if anyone is spotted moving, they have to go back to the starting place. The first person to tag the traffic light wins and gets to be the next traffic light.
Number of Players: A small group.
Name Place Animal Thing:
Best pastime in school. Take an alphabet and write down a name, place, animal and a thing that starts with it.
Pitthu, Pitto, Laghori:
This game requires a few more players that have to be divided in two teams. A small stack of flat stones and a ball is all that is required to play this fun game. The teams take turns to hit the stack of stones with the ball and then they run around trying to rebuild the stack. The opponent team aims to hit the players with the ball and not let them rebuild the stack. The players who get hit are out of the game.
Catch-Catch:
The best game to develop better co-ordination and good reflex. A ball is all that is required to play this game.
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