OT: Games We Played as Kids

[1960Pats]

Since we have an extra week before the next game, I thought I'd start a thread about the different games that we played as kids. My entry is a game that we simply called Chase, a game similar to hide-and-seek that we played in the early 60's.

We played in a nearby cemetery that was adjacent to a ball field that used to have fast-pitch softball games every night. The lights from the field would light up one corner of the cemetery and that wall was the jail.

Back then we had many more kids than there are now and the games would usually have two teams with quite a few players on each side, sometimes ten or more. The object of the game was to go out into the cemetery and hide and have the other team come find you. The cemetery was very big so we would have a boundary, usually about the size of a couple of city blocks.

Once a player was caught they would be taken back to the jail and sit on the wall. There was no running away if you were caught, with one condition; once you were placed on the wall you could be freed by one of your teammates if they ran to the wall and tagged you. That left the chasing team to make a decision on how many players to leave at home while the rest hunted down players.

It was easily one of the best games we played as kids. It was more than 50 years ago and I still enjoy those memories.

 

[Clonamery]

Played Muckle in 4th/5th grades. Think rugby meets Black Friday shopping at 4am at Wal-Mart as the doors open for large Malaysian TVs and $8 jeans....just without the weapons. Classic dipshit kids free-for-all at recess that lasted 20-25 minutes but seemed like hours at the time.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Squill - basically capture the flag (with known flag location) at night. Captured players went to jail and could be released by being tagged. Speed and ability to sneak were a premium.

 

[The NZ Patriots]

British Bulldogs
Players would run from end to end of a field while the 'bulldog' attempted to tackle a person. Now both of them were bulldogs. It would repeat until one person was left.

Great for learning to tackle properly (rugby style). Seems as though it's getting outlawed as more and more schools wrap the kids up in cotton wool.

 

[oldrover]

"1-2-3-red light!!!"

 

[1960Pats]

Squill - basically capture the flag (with known flag location) at night. Captured players went to jail and could be released by being tagged. Speed and ability to sneak were a premium.

Sounds similar to the game that we called Chase.

 

[1960Pats]

"1-2-3-red light!!!"

I preferred the 123 red light pace, or a little change up with a 1...23 red light.

Which one is you btw?

 

[Gwedd]

British Bulldogs
Players would run from end to end of a field while the 'bulldog' attempted to tackle a person. Now both of them were bulldogs. It would repeat until one person was left.

Great for learning to tackle properly (rugby style). Seems as though it's getting outlawed as more and more schools wrap the kids up in cotton wool.

We did the same thing, but it was called "Pomp" for whatever reason. There was a field. On one short end, everyone lined up except for one unlucky kid. He was in the middle of the field, and when he hollered 'POMP!" everyone ran to the other end of the field. Anyone he tackled had to stay and help him. Kept that upuntil 1 person remained. That person then became the new kid in the middle and it started all over, at least as long as kids could stay. Great cardio and learning how to tackle without hurting yourself or the other guy.

 

[Gwedd]

The other game we played at lunchtime at Jr High and High School was Frisbee Football.

This was tough (really tackle) football with a coupleof conditions.

1.) The QB could never go past the line of scrimmage.

2.) Only 1 forward pass permitted.

Loved that game

 

[PlanB]

Red Rover: Two teams line up opposite each other, no more than 30 feet apart. The first team agrees to call one player from the opposite team, and chants, "Red Rover, Red Rover, send (player's name) on over!" The person called runs to the other line and attempts to break the chain (formed by the linking of hands). If the player fails to break the chain, they join the team that called Red Rover. If the player suceeds, they take one of the players who "broke" back to their team.

 

[1960Pats]

British Bulldogs
Players would run from end to end of a field while the 'bulldog' attempted to tackle a person. Now both of them were bulldogs. It would repeat until one person was left.

Great for learning to tackle properly (rugby style). Seems as though it's getting outlawed as more and more schools wrap the kids up in cotton wool.

Oooh, that one sounds good. I think I might have enjoyed it back when I was fast and powerful. Now I'd probably go down easier than Brint Favre helping Michael Strahan get a sack record.

Was there a name for the one person that was left?

 

[1960Pats]

The other game we played at lunchtime at Jr High and High School was Frisbee Football.

This was tough (really tackle) football with a coupleof conditions.

1.) The QB could never go past the line of scrimmage.

2.) Only 1 forward pass permitted.

Loved that game

Another good one.

I remember back in my military training days we used to play a pretty sick game with a frisbee. We'd line up with 6 or 8 men facing off against each other from 25 feet or so and take turns trying to throw a frisbee through the other team. That game hurt like hell sometimes.

 

[oldrover]

Rundowns!!!

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

In our driveway

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Some friends and I used to play something we called "knife" with a frisbee.

You'd wing the frisbee as hard as you could at someone. If they caught it or got out of the way it was all good. But if the frisbee made contact with you and you didn't catch it, you "lost" that part of your body for the rest of the game. So if it hit you in the shin, you'd have to keep that foot off the ground. If it hit you on the wrist, no using that hand, and so on.

 

[Patjew]

Played Muckle in 4th/5th grades. Think rugby meets Black Friday shopping at 4am at Wal-Mart as the doors open for large Malaysian TVs and $8 jeans....just without the weapons. Classic dipshit kids free-for-all at recess that lasted 20-25 minutes but seemed like hours at the time.

Played a lot of muckle myself.

 

[Deus Irae]

Pretty much every game that's remotely popular. The kids in my neighborhoods were almost never in the house.

 

[Patjew]

My friends and I also used to play "hit ball". Basically baseball except the ball was a kickball or soccer ball and you could get an out by throwing the ball at a runner.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Yard darts
Blew up frogs and fish
Shot at each other with pellet guns
Egg wars Halloween night

 

[Deus Irae]

Interesting, to me, that nobody's mentioned kick the can yet...