Most of us remember playing playground games as a kid, laughing with our friends until the street lamps went off. They were a major part of childhood nostalgia for many people of previous generations in the days before screens. Whether you want to relive those classic games or get your kid off an iPad and playing out in the fresh air, here are some of our favorites.
Hopscotch
For this game, you draw a grid using sidewalk chalk. Then, number the squares. You begin the game by throwing a rock into the first square. Then, hop over the rock and hop with either a single foot or both feet (following the hopscotch pattern) until you get to the end. Then, turn back and stop on the square marked #2.
Maintain your balance on one foot and retrieve the rock from the first square, then hop over it back to the starting point.
This pattern continues with Square 2 and so on!
Red Light, Green Light
In Red Light, Green Light, one person is assigned to be the “traffic light” standing at one end. Everyone else stands in a line away from the “traffic light.” When the “traffic light” turns away from the group, they must shout “green light,” and everyone will run toward the person. When they shout “red light,” the people must freeze completely and stop moving—if you’re caught moving, you need to go back to the starting line. The “traffic light” continues to change colors until they get tagged, and the first person to tag them becomes the new “traffic light.”
Four Square
Four Square is played with four players and a bouncy rubber ball on a square court broken up by two perpendicular lines, split into four boxes labeled either A-D or 1-4.
This grid can be drawn on any surface with paint, chalk, or tape. One player goes into each square, and the goal is to move from the lowest square (1 or A) to the highest square, which is considered royalty. The player in the highest square is the server, dropping the ball in their square and hitting it underhand into another player’s square. When the ball bounces into your square, you need to hit it underhand into someone else’s square, with the ball bouncing just once before you strike it (you can’t catch or hold it). If you hit the ball overhead, don’t let it bounce in your square first, or let it bounce twice or out of bounds, you’re out!
What's The Time, Mr. Wolf?
In this game, one person is designated as Mr. or Mrs. Wolf. They stand away from the group with their back turned, and the group asks the question, “What time is it, Mr. Wolf?”
Mr. or Mrs. Wolf can answer with any time they like, though it needs to be on the hour, and the group must take that number of steps towards Mr. or Mrs. Wolf. The group continues to ask and step that number of steps; when they get close enough to get tagged, rather than saying another time, he will say, “Dinner time!” and attempt to tag someone while the group runs away. The person tagged will be the new Mr. or Mrs. Wolf.
Ladders
Here, players pair up, sitting in two parallel lines on the floor. The soles of their feet will touch so that a “ladder” of legs is created. Each pair of partners gets a number, such as Pair 1 and Pair 2. Then, the leader of the game calls out a number.
Matching numbered partners must jump up, running down the outside or skipping down the “rungs” (i.e., the legs) of the ladder to the end, looping back and attempting to race as fast as they can to sit down in the original spot first, winning a point for their team.
Tag
There are many variations on tag—in the original one, a person is dubbed “it” and runs around trying to tag others. There’s freeze tag, where a person must freeze when they become “it” and can’t move until someone else “unfreezes” them by tagging them once more. Then there’s the flashlight tag, where the person designated “it” is given a flashlight. The rest of the players hide, and if the person with the light finds hidden players, they shine it on them, and that person then becomes it.
Red Rover
Here, players are divided into two teams of the same size. Each team lines up and holds hands to create a chain. They then stand facing each other, about 25 feet apart.
Flip a coin to decide who goes first—the team selected will choose a player from the opposing team, saying, “Red rover, red rover, we call [name] over!”
while they swing their arms. The named player must release their teammate’s hands, charge their opponents, and attempt to break their chain. If successful, they must pick someone from the other team to join their team. If they fail, they must join the opposing team. The next team then takes their turn by calling someone over, and the teams continue to alternate turns until one team has captured all the players from the other team.
Duck, Duck, Goose
In this game, people sit in a circle, and the person who is “it” walks around the outside of the circle, tapping each person’s head as they say “duck” for every person. Finally, they touch a person’s head and say “goose.” The “goose” must jump up and chase the person deemed “it,” trying to tag them before “it” goes back to sit in the spot of the “goose.” If the “goose” is successful in this mission, then “it” must try again. If not, the “goose” turns into “it.”
