Listography - 5 Games I Used to Play

Encouraged to get writing again - I've been a bit quiet for a while - I was inspired to link to Kate Take 5's Listography of games I used to play - mainly as a challenge to see whether or not I could actually remember the rules of any of them!  And of course, also because they illustrate the main aim of this blog - thriftiness!  (It being the '70's and early '80's when I was growing up and the chances of parents splashing out on expensive toys were extremely low).


1. What's the Time Mr Wolf?
One person turned their back on all the other kids while they tried to sneak up on the person who was 'it' and get to them quietly without them noticing.  'It' would turn around at various points during the sneaking to catch someone moving and you all had to freeze.  If caught moving, you were sent back to the beginning.  (Sounds completely rubbish now when writing it down but it was great fun!)

2. British Bulldog
This sounds like a version of Kate's Red Rover and was so rough it was actually banned at my primary school!  Anyway, one person was 'it' and the entire class had to charge from one end of the playground to the other without being caught by him/her.  If caught, you then joined forces to help 'it' catch other members of the class until they were all caught.  (It was banned at school because vast numbers of little ones were knocked over like bowling pins in the ensuing charge!)

3. Kiss, Cuddle & Torture
I think everyone knows how to play this game.  You run away from the boys (or girls depending on your gender) and if caught can go for the option of kiss, cuddle or torture.  Torture was usually either a Chinese burn (ouch) or being tickled until you screamed.  Most of us opted for a cuddle (unless particularly cute boy was on the other end - then we were all terribly forward!!)

4. Kerbie
Game played with football/basketball where two opponents stand on opposite pavements and throw the ball to try to hit the kerb.  If you catch the kerb at the right angle, the ball will bounce straight back to you and you get 10 points.  If it hits half heartedly, it'll only come part way towards you and you get 5 points and stand in the middle of the road(!) to try to hit kerb again.  And of course, if you're rubbish, your opponent gets it and it's their turn.

5. Chinese Ropes
I have no idea what was Chinese about these ropes.  Basically someone (never usually me) had loads of elastic bands that had been tied together into a huge loop.  Two (girls usually) would stand - as if at opposite ends of a skipping rope - with the bands wrapped around their ankles and another girl would jump around in the middle trying not to get caught up in the ropes.  From memory, it was a kind of glorified skipping with a bit of hopscotch thrown in.


Having written down all of these it's made me realise why we were bored by week 2 of the school holidays!  And in the end, I think we just played endless games of hide and seek - the old ones are the best ones after all.