GAMES FOR THE PLAYGROUND, HOME, SCHOOL AND GYMNASIUM BY JESSIE H. BANCROFT ASSISTANT DIRECTOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NEW YORK CITY; EX-SECRETARY AMERICAN PHYSICAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION; MEMBER AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE; AUTHOR OF "SCHOOL GYMNASTICS," ETC., ETC. New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1922 All rights reserved COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published, December, 1909. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 TO THE TEACHER OF GAMES 26 COUNTING-OUT; CHOOSING SIDES; WHO'S "IT"? 35 MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVE GAMES 43 QUIET GAMES 211 FEATS AND FORFEITS 243 SINGING GAMES 259 BALLS AND BEAN BAGS 295 a. Specifications for Balls, Bean Bags, and Marking Grounds, etc. 297 b. Bean Bag and Oat Sack Games 303 c. Ball Games 319 INDEXES GAMES FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, FIRST TO EIGHTH YEARS 427 GAMES FOR HIGH SCHOOLS 433 GAMES FOR PLAYGROUNDS, GYMNASIUMS, AND LARGE NUMBERS 435 GAMES FOR BOYS' AND GIRLS' SUMMER CAMPS 440 a. Active Games 440 b. Quiet Games 442 HOUSE-PARTY AND COUNTRY-CLUB GAMES 444 a. Active Games 444 b. Quiet Games 445 GAMES FOR CHILDREN'S PARTIES 446 a. Active Games 446 b. Quiet Games 447 SEASHORE GAMES 449 ALPHABETICAL INDEX 451 [vii] LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS RING A' ROSES Frontispiece FACING PAGE ALL-UP RELAY RACE 45 BUYING A LOCK 58 CATCH-AND-PULL TUG OF WAR; A HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN CLASS 60 FORCING THE CITY GATES 89 HOW MANY MILES TO BABYLON? 108 JUMPING ROPE ON THE ROOF PLAYGROUND OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL 118 OYSTER SHELL 143 PITCH PEBBLE 147 PRISONER'S BASE 158 ROLLING TARGET AS PLAYED BY THE HIDATSA INDIANS, FORT CLARK, NORTH DAKOTA 169 SNOW SNAKE 182 A CITY PLAYGROUND 200 FLOWER MATCH 220 SKIN THE SNAKE 252 DRAW A BUCKET OF WATER 263 THE DUCK DANCE 276 BALLS 297 CAPTAIN BALL IN A HIGH SCHOOL 342 CIRCLE STRIDE BALL 358 DRIVE BALL 375 BALL GAME ON THE ROOF PLAYGROUND OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL 400 TETHER BALL 409 [1] INTRODUCTION [3] INTRODUCTION PURPOSE AND PLAN.—This book aims to be a practical guide for the player of games, whether child or adult, and for the teacher or leader of games. A wide variety of conditions have been considered, including schools, playgrounds, gymnasiums, boys' and girls' summer camps, adult house parties and country clubs, settlement work, children's parties, and the environment of indoors or out of doors, city or country, summer or winter, the seashore, the woodland, or the snow. The games have been collected from many countries and sources, with a view to securing novel and interesting as well as thoroughly tried and popular material, ranging from traditional to modern gymnasium and athletic games. An especial effort has been made to secure games for particular conditions. Among these may be mentioned very strenuous games for older boys or men; games for the schoolroom; games for large numbers; new gymnasium games such as Nine Court Basket Ball and Double Corner Ball; games which make use of natural material such as stones, pebbles, shells, trees, flowers, leaves, grasses, holes in the sand or earth, and diagrams drawn on the ground. The description, classification, and arrangement of the games have been made with the steadfast purpose of putting them into the most workable form, easily understood, with suggestions for getting the most sport and playing value out of them, and with means of ready reference to any class of games for use under any of the conditions mentioned. The series of indexes which accomplish this last-mentioned purpose make it possible to classify the games in many different ways, sparing the reader the necessity for hunting through much unrelated material to find that[4] suited to his conditions. The index for schools is essentially a graded course of study in games. The ball games requiring team play have been described according to an analytic scheme not before used for the class of games given in the present volume, which makes it possible to locate at a glance information about the laying out of the ground, the number, assignment, and duties of players, the object of the game, rules and points of play, fouls, and score. The various kinds of balls are described with official specifications. Diagrams for all kinds of games have been supplied unsparingly, wherever it seemed possible to make clearer the understanding of a game by such means, and pictorial illustration has been used where diagrams were inadequate. The music for all singing games is given with full accompaniment. Suggestions for the teaching and conduct of games are given, with directions for floor formations. Means of counting out and choosing sides and players are described, and one section is devoted to forfeits. Under each of the main divisions chosen—miscellaneous active games, quiet games, singing games, bean-bag games, and ball games—the material has been arranged in alphabetic order to facilitate ready reference, although a general alphabetic index is appended. In short, the book aims to bring together all related material and every available device for making it readily accessible and easily understood. Original researchSOURCES AND NATURE OF MATERIAL.—The material in this volume, aside from that accumulated through a long experience in the teaching and supervision of games, has been collected through (1) special original research, and (2) bibliographical research. The original research has been made among the foreign population of New York City, where practically the entire world is accessible, and in other sections of the United States. This has resulted in some entirely new games that the writer has not found elsewhere in print. From among these may be mentioned the Greek Pebble Chase, the Russian Hole Ball, the Scotch Keep Moving, the Danish Slipper Slap, and, from our own country, among others,[5] Chickadee-dee from Long Island, and Hip from New Jersey. Entirely new ways of playing games previously recorded have been found, amounting not merely to a variation but to a wholly new form. Such is the method here given for playing Babylon, a form gathered from two different Scotch sources. Another example is the game of Wolf, for which additional features have been found that add greatly to its playing value, especially the rule whereby the wolf, when discovered by the sheep who are hunting for him, shall take a jump toward the sheep before his chase after them begins; or, should he discover them first, the requirement that they take three steps toward him before the chase begins. Such points add greatly to the sport of a game, and with the spoken formulas that accompany them form a rich find for both student and player. One may not well refer to the original research without mention of the charm of the task itself. It has been one of the sunniest, happiest lines possible to follow, attended invariably with smiling faces and laughter on the part of old or young, native or foreign, the peasant people or those more sophisticated. Bibliographical research and results The bibliographical research has covered a wide field. Heretofore the principal sources in English for the collector of games have been the invaluable and scholarly folklore compilations of Mr. William Wells Newell (Songs and Games of American Children) and Mrs. Alice B. Gomme (Traditional Games in the Dictionary of British Folk Lore). The earlier British collection by Strutt (Sports and Pastimes of the English People) has also been a source of great value. In the United States considerable collecting and translating of games have from time to time been done by the physical training magazine, Mind and Body. For all modern athletic games an invaluable service has been rendered by Messrs. A. G. Spalding and Brothers in the publication, since 1892, of the Spalding Athletic Library, under the direction of Mr. A. G. Spalding and Mr. James E. Sullivan. The author is greatly indebted to all of these sources. In addition, hundreds of volumes have been consulted in many fields including works of travel, reports of missionaries, etc. This has resulted in games from widely scattered sources, including European countries, the Orient, the Arctic regions, and the North[6] American Indians. While in such a mass of material there are some games that are found in almost all countries, so that one is continually meeting old friends among them, a very considerable harvest of distinctive material has been gathered, eloquent of environment, temperamental, or racial traits. Such, among many others, are the Japanese Crab Race; the Chinese games of Forcing the City Gates, and Letting Out the Doves; the Korean games with flowers and grasses; the North American Indian games of Snow Snake and Rolling Target; and the poetic game of the little Spanish children about the Moon and Stars, played in the boundaries marked by sunshine and shadow. Standard Material But the object of the book has been by no means to present only novel material. There is an aristocracy of games, classic by all the rights of tradition and popular approval, without which a collection would be as incomplete as would an anthology of English ballads without Robin Hood, Sally in our Alley, or Drink to me only with thine Eyes. These standard games are amply represented, mingled in the true spirit of American democracy with strangers from foreign lands and the new creations of modern athletic practice. Local color and humor in games The games, old and new, are full of that intimation of environment which the novelist calls local color, often containing in the name alone a comprehensive suggestiveness as great as that of an Homeric epithet. Thus our familiar Cat and Mouse appears in modern Greece as Lamb and Wolf; and the French version of Spin the Platter is My Lady's Toilet, concerned with laces, jewels, and other ballroom accessories instead of our prosaic numbering of players. These changes that a game takes on in different environments are of the very essence of folklore, and some amusing examples are to be found in our own country. For instance, it is not altogether surprising to find a game that is known under another name in the North called, in Southern States, "Ham- Ham-Chicken-Ham-Bacon!" The author found a good example of folklore-in-the- making in the game usually known as "Run, Sheep, Run!" in which a band of hidden players seek their goal under the guidance of signals shouted by a leader. As gathered in a Minnesota town, these signals consisted of colors,—red, blue, green, etc. This[7] same game was found in the city environment of New York under the name of Oyster Sale, and the signals had become pickles, tomatoes, and other articles strongly suggestive of a delicatessen store. The butterfly verse for Jumping Rope is obviously another late production of the folklore spirit. The lover of childish humor will find many delightful examples of it among the games, as where little Jacky Lingo feeds bread and butter to the sheep (Who Goes Round My Stone Wall?); or the Mother, trying the Old Witch's apple pie, discovers that "It tastes exactly like my child Monday!" The tantalizing "nominies" or "dares," as in Fox and Geese, and Wolf, and the ways in which players are trapped into false starts, as in Black Tom, are also highly amusing. PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION.—In the selection of material for this work, a marked distinction has been made between games, on the one hand, and, on the other, the unorganized play and constructive activities included in many books of children's games. While the term "play" includes games, so that we "play games," it applies also to informal play activities, such as a child's "playing horse," "playing house," or playing in the sand. In such unorganized play there are no fixed rules, no formal mode of procedure, and generally, no climax to be achieved. The various steps are usually spontaneous, not predetermined, and are subject to individual caprice. In games, on the contrary, as in Blind Man's Buff, Prisoners' Base, or Football, there are prescribed acts subject to rules, generally penalties for defeat or the infringement of rules, and the action proceeds in a regular evolution until it culminates in a given climax, which usually consists in a victory of skill, speed or strength. In a strictly scientific sense, games do not always involve the element of sport or play, being used in many forms among primitive peoples for serious divinatory purposes. It is perhaps needless to say that all of the games in the present collection are for the purpose of sport and recreation. Playing values The four hundred games here published are selected from a[8] far larger number. No game has been included that has not been considered to have strong playing values, by which term is meant, in addition to other qualities, and above all others, the amount of sport and interest attending it. The points of play that contribute to the success of a game have been secured from experience, and unfamiliar games have been thoroughly tested and the points of play noted for older or younger players, large or small numbers, or other circumstances. Elements of games Games may be analyzed into certain elements susceptible of classification, such as the elements of formation, shown in the circle form, line form, or opposing groups; other elements are found in modes of contest, as between individuals or groups; tests of strength or skill; methods of capture, as with individual touching or wrestling, or with a missile, as in ball-tag games; or the elements of concealment, or chance, or guessing, or many others. These various elements are like the notes of the scale in music, susceptible of combinations that seem illimitable in variety. Thus in the Greek Pebble Chase, the two elements that enter into the game—that of (1) detecting or guessing who holds a concealed article, and (2) a chase—are neither of them uncommon elements, but in this combination make a game that differs in playing value from any familiar game, and one affording new and genuine interest, as evidenced by the pleasure of children in playing it. Indeed, the interest and sport were fully as great with a group of adult Greek men who first demonstrated this game for the author. This element of guessing which player holds a concealed article is found again in a different combination in the Scotch game of Smuggling the Geg, where it is used with opposing groups and followed by hiding and seeking. This combination makes a wholly different game of it, and one of equal or even superior playing value to the Pebble Chase, though suited to different conditions. Because of this wonderful variety in combinations, leading to entirely different playing values, the author has found it impossible to agree with some other students of games, that it is practicable to select a few games that contain all of the typical elements of interest. Such limitation seems no more possible than in painting, poetry, music, or any other field of spontaneous imitative or[9] creative expression. There will doubtless always be some games that will have large popular following, playing on the "psychology of the crowd," as well as on that of the players. Thus we have the spectacle of so-called national games, Baseball and Football in America, Handball in Ireland, Pelota in Spain, and so on; but natural expression through games has always been and probably always will be infinitely varied, and should be if the psychology of the subject is to be taken as a guide. In the arrangement of material there has many times been a strong temptation to classify the games by their historic, geographic, psychologic, or educational interests; by the playing elements contained in them; or by several other possible methods which are of interest chiefly to the academic student; but these have each in turn been [...]... little children the teacher should simply stretch his or her own hands sideways, taking a child by either hand to show what is wanted, and telling the others to form a circle All will naturally clasp hands in the same way Children should be urged to move quickly for such formations For some games the hands remain clasped For others the hands are dropped (unclasped) after the ring is formed The distance... by the stretch of the arms when the hands are clasped, making the ring larger or smaller With older players the teacher's participation in the formation of the circle is not necessary, the mere command to "Form circle!" being adequate For large numbers the ring formation is best achieved from a line standing in single file The players should march or run, the leader of the file describing a circle and. .. lines, the following methods are among the most orderly:— I The players "fall in" for a march in single file They march up the center of the room or ground; the first player turns to the right and the next to the left, and so on alternately, taking stations at the sides of the ground; they are thus separated into two opposing groups, those which turn to the right forming one group or team, and those to the. .. limitations they put upon normal life in many ways and the need for special effort to counterbalance these limitations The lack of opportunity for natural play for children and young people is one of the saddest and most harmful in its effects upon growth of body and character The number of children who have only the crowded city streets to play in is enormous, and any one visiting the public schools in the. .. rounded forward, and the lungs, heart, and digestive organs crowded upon one another in a way that impedes their proper functioning and induces passive congestion In short, the nervous strain for both pupil and teacher, the need for vigorous stimulation of respiration and circulation, for an outlet for the repressed social and emotional nature, for the correction of posture, and for a change from abstract... mainly those of active and dramatic character as distinguished from the board and implement games Mrs Gomme sees in their form, method of playing, the dialogue often included, and the fact of their continuance from generation to generation, an expression of the dramatic instinct, and considers them a valuable adjunct in the study of the beginnings of the drama The student of games must find of great... resourceful player The result of this and the test of it will be the amount of interest and sport in the games Do not make the games too serious Get laughter and frolic out of them Encourage timid pupils to give dares and to take risks No class of players needs more sympathetic or tactful understanding and help from a teacher than the timid Such children often suffer greatly through their shyness They should... interest As a rule the competitive spirit is strong in games in the line and group formations, and, indeed, is usually the basis of such formations For all formations pupils should be trained to move quickly Formations made from marching order may often be done on the double-quick RING FORMATION. For small numbers of players no formal procedure is needed to get the players into a ring formation For very little... appropriate Games for boys and girls No distinction has been made in general between games for boys and girls The modern tendency of gymnasium and athletic practice is away from such distinctions, and is concerned more with the time limits or other conditions for playing a game than with the game itself This is a question that varies so much with the previous training and condition of players on the one hand,... appreciates and enters into the clear-eyed sport and frolic of the child, is to have a means of renewal for the physical, mental, and moral nature In a large city in the Middle West there is a club formed for the express purpose of giving the parents who are members an opportunity to enjoy their children in this way The club meets one evening a week It is composed of a few professional and business men and their . Ball Games 319 INDEXES GAMES FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, FIRST TO EIGHTH YEARS 427 GAMES FOR HIGH SCHOOLS 433 GAMES FOR PLAYGROUNDS, GYMNASIUMS, AND LARGE. boys or men; games for the schoolroom; games for large numbers; new gymnasium games such as Nine Court Basket Ball and Double Corner Ball; games which