Playground Games

Unlike today’s generation of kids who seem to need a Playstation, an XBox and half a dozen iPads to stave off boredom, not all of our entertainment involved toys or games in decades gone by.

Most playground games involved nothing more than a group of friends, a piece of elastic, some old string or a pair of your mother’s old stockings (no, not that game!)

The following list is not intended to be exhaustive. These are just some of our favourite old playground games. If you had a fave old game that is not included here, please drop us a line with details (and the rules).

Now, who wants to be on my team?

British Bulldog:

Cats in the Cradle: You tied a piece of string together at each end to form a loop, and then wrapped it around your hands and fingers (pictured). Riveting!

Football:

French skipping: Lengths of elastic tied together. Two girls used to stand with the elastic stretched between their ankles, whilst the others had to jump into the elastic in various ways.

Jacks:

Kiss Catch/Kiss Chase:

Marbles:

Rhymes:

“We are the tiger girls
we wear our hair in curls
we wear our dungarees
right up to our knees”

“ooh ah I lost my bra
I lost my knickers in my boyfriend’s car”

“Milk, milk, lemonade
Round the corner chocolate’s made” 
Accompanied by the actions of first pointing to your nipples, then your crotch and finally your bum.

Stuck in the mud:

Tag:

Tennis Ball in Tights: In which you would cut up your mothers tan tights, tie a tennis ball in the end and fling it around yourself while standing with your back against a wall. Could also be utilized for flinging at younger sisters . . . The second most effective weapon in a young boy’s arsenal after the Klackers!