Main Games Europe section

Tag Sat
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Tag game. Number of players: 4 Props: no Props
Description
Four boys play tag, of which one of them is the catcher and the other three boys must prevent that one boy in the group (the runner) will be tagged by the catcher. This group of three boys always hold their hands fast and if the catcher tries to tag the ‘runner’, they may hinder the catcher by standing every time in front of him. When a runner is tagged, he will then be the new catcher.

Bouncer
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Hit game. Number of players: 1- > Props: a tennis-ball
Description
Two boys are playing bouncer at the churchwall. They have to bounce the ball at the wall and catch it. For this game it is necessary to know how to throw and catch a ball. These boys are just exercising and have fun in throwing a ball at the wall. There are many varieties and levels in playing ‘bouncer’, like throwing under the leg, turning after having thrown the ball and catching it, kneeling, turning twice, clapping in the hands, heading etc, etc.

Changing trees
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Moving game. Number of players: 2 - > Props: none
Description
In this game 6 children play with 5 trees. (There must be always one child more than there are trees.) One child is in the middle and has no tree, the other 5 children must stand to a tree and hold it with a hand. All tree-holding children must change trees: they call someone at a tree and ask to change the tree with him/her. While running to the trees, the child in the middle must try to run faster than the other children and hit a free tree first. The child then who is left in the middle without a tree, will be next to stand in the middle and has no tree. The game starts again. Children make their own decisions about who-was-first-at-the-tree in case they touch a tree at the same time.

Climbing trees
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Pastime (no game) Number of players: 2 - > Props: Some trees to climb in
Description
Two boys and a girl are climbing in trees near the schoolyard. This is not a particular game, more or less ‘time passing’ or ‘practising physical skills’. They climb here in trees and there is no competition in it, just fun in doing it.

Fangeleg
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Hit-and-run game. Number of players: 4- > Props: none
Description
Boys and girls are running in a climbing frame. There is one chaser, who has to touch all children. It is big fun when the chaser can not touch you, but a good chaser continues to the bitter end to have touched all. When you are touched, you sit in the middle and wait until everyone is touched. After that, a new chaser is chosen and the game continues.

Ridder
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Moving game. Number of players: 2 - > Props: no Props
Description
Six children play this game ‘Ridder’. They make three groups of two children, one of the two children sits on the back of the other one and he is the so-called ‘Ridder’. The ‘Ridders’ try to pull down the other ‘Ridders’ from the ‘horses’. (The standing boys/girl) The one, who falls off the back and touches the ground, is out. The winner is he/she, who has managed to stay on the back of the horse.

Pind
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Hit game. Number of players: 2 Props: a pencil or little stick
Description
Two children are standing opposite eachother and one has a little stick in her hand. She places the stick on the upper-side of the hand of the other girl, and then she pulls back her hand, so that the stick balances on the hand. The girl who has put the stick on the hand of the other girl must pick up the stick and try to hit the hand at the same time. If she succeeds, she may continue; if she misses then it’s the other girls’ turn.

Var du med dengang
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Hand-clapping game. Number of players: 2 Props: none
Description
Two girls are clapping this game. The clapping movements are not so difficult, but still it needs a lot of practice and co-ordination. The faster they sing and clap, the more difficult it will be.

Rod–gul-gron-stop
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Aim game. Number of players: 4- > Props: none
Description
One player stands facing the wall with his back turned to the rest. The other boys are standing somewhere 10 metres away. They try to be first to sneak up on him and touch the wall without his seeing them to move. The player is supposed to say the words: Rod-gul-gron-stop’ quickly, and almost at the same time as he has mentioned the last word ‘stop’, he immediately turns round. As he turns round, the other (moving) boys ‘freeze’, for if he sees anyone moving even a hand, he sends that boy back to the starting line to begin again. He then turns back to the wall, and everyone resumes their advance. Then the same procedure will be repeated. The player who is first to reach the one in front takes his place in the next game.

Bo Bo Brille
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Moving game. Number of players: 10-> Props: none
Description
Four groups of two children each are standing opposite eachother and having their arms tight and lifted in the air like a gate. All children are walking in a circle through these ‘gates’ while singing a song belonging to this game. At the end of the song the ‘gates’ are closing, so that one child (sometimes two) is caught. Every child who is caught must answer a question, depending the answer he/she must stand either at the right or at the left of the ‘gate’. When all children have been caught and have taken their position at a side at the ‘gate’, they start pulling. The children must try to pull the other part of the ‘gate’ over an imaginary line. Most of the time it is very obvious who is the winner. After having done the pulling, the game starts all over. When you have a smaller number of children, you can have also only one ‘gate’.

Kluddermor
Continent : Europe. Country: Denmark. Category: Manipulation game. Number of players: 5-> Props: no Props
Description
The children stand in a circle and choose a child, who will be ‘Kluddermor’. She then stands a little distance from the children in the circle, who are winding themselves into an immovable mess of bodies. When they can not move any more, they call in the help of ‘Kluddermor’, who will unravel them out of their entangled positions. There is one condition in this game: the children must hold their hands at all times! When ‘Kluddermor’ is ready with her job, another child is chosen to be the next ‘Kluddermor’.

Playing chestnuts
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Goal game. Number of players: 4- > Props: Chestnuts
Description
Children are throwing sticks and stones up into a chestnut tree to get the chestnuts on the ground. The are playing with chestnuts the way they play marbles. The difference is clear: a chestnut is never full round and when you roll it you’ll never know where it ends. To get the chestnut in a whole is therefore quite difficult, so you’ll have to find the best ‘round’ chestnuts you can. Different rules might be agreed, but mostly the winner takes the chestnuts.

Koning Boeren
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Hit game. Number of players: 5-> Props: a little tennis ball
Description
This game is played by four children inside the playground and two children aside waiting for their turn to step in. Before starting the game, they make/draw a big square and divide this into four small squares. In every square stands a child and they use a tennis ball to play the game. Every player must hit the ball with his hand and before the ball is hit into a neighbour square, the ball must first bounce in your own square. If you receive a ball from another square it may bounce more than once in your own square before hitting it back, but most children don’t let the ball bounce too often, because then the ball loses speed and height and is therefore more difficult to hit into another square. It is fun to make feints, so that every player has to be very concentrated during this fast playing game. If you are unable to bounce the ball before you hit it into another square, then you are out and must change with a player who stands aside the playfield.

Mijn vader is een buschauffeur
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Hand-clapping game. Number of players: 3-> Props: no Props
Description
Three children play this game while they are clapping their hands and saying a text about family members. After having mentioned some family members, they end up with the grandfather, who is a murderer, which also means the end of the family story. During the story the children make all kind of movements, each movement belonging to one of the family members. You have to be very alert in this game and concentrate to follow the quick changing movements they do during the clapping.

Zoentjes geven
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Sing-and-dance game. Number of players: 5-> Props: none
Description
The children stand in a circle with their hands tight. One child is picked to stand in the middle of the circle. When all children start singing ‘1-2-3-4-5-6-7’ they also walk in the direction opposite from the child in the middle. At the end of the song, the child in the middle is pointing with the arm to a child right in front of him/her. That child then is also coming in the circle and with their backs standing to eachother, they must move their head either to the left or to the right when they count ‘1-2-3’. When saying ‘-3-‘ they must have their head in the final position. If both children are looking at the same side, they have to give eachother a little kiss. If their heads are not looking at the same side, they just shake hands. Whatever position their heads might be, after every ‘kiss’ or ‘shake hands’ the last incoming child in the circle starts in the middle position and the game starts again.

Automobiliste
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Leap-/ jump game. Number of players: 4- > Props: none
Description
Some children form a circle and start saying ‘au-to-mo-bi-liste’, after which one child raises her hand and starts the game. She may jump to any child in the circle, but wisely she is jumping to the child nearest to her. The trick in this game is to try to jump with one of your feet on one foot of another child. When you miss, you then call a name of another child who must jump next to any child she/he likes. When the child who jumps touches your foot, you have to leave the circle and wait till the game is over. This child who is out now, may choose the child in the circle who will start jumping.

Vlotje varen
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Pastime (no game) Number of players: 2-> Props: small raft and some long sticks
Description
To sail a raft you need two long sticks to hold and to manoeuvre it. It depends on the skill of the children whether they can keep one’s balance. Children living near water in Holland (Netherlands) are very fond of playing with a raft on water. No need to say that you must first have your swimming certificate!

Touwtje springen
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Leap-/ jump game. Number of players: 3-> Props: Some big and some small ropes
Description
The children here play skipping with three ropes: two spinners with two big ropes in their hands on both sides and one skipper in the middle with a small rope. The skipper in the middle must concentrate very much on his jumping, especially if he also uses his little rope for jumping inside the two big ropes.

Verstoppertje
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Moving game. Number of players: 4- > Props: none
Description
Some children play hide and seek. One child counts (the seeker) up to 10 with his eyes covered or closed, in the mean time the other children hide somewhere. This game has different varieties in many countries, you can play it as ‘the first player to be found is the seeker in the next game’ or the other way round. This game becomes more fun and is considerably speeded up when the hiders do not remain in their hiding places, but try and get back to their starting- place unobserved while the seeker is out looking for them.

Muurbal
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Leap-/ jump game. Number of players: 5-> Props: a high jumping rubber ball
Description
A group of girls stand in line behind each other. The first girl of the line has got the ball and throws it to the wall. Then she has to jump over the ball as well as all the other girls. When the ball hits you when you jump, then you are out and have to wait aside. When the ball hits no one, then the game starts again and now the second girl in line will get the ball and throws it to the wall. So it’s necessary for all girls to watch carefully where the ball exactly rolls and jumps.

Hoekje wisselen
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Tag game. Number of players: 9 Props: none
Description
Nine children play this game on the schoolyard. Standing on a line in a square and equally divided while one child stands in the middle. The boys and girls on the lines are allowed to switch from place at any time, but must try to get on a free position on the line. When you come too late and that free position is already taken by someone else, and no other place on the square lines is free, then you have to stand in the middle and be the chaser. In this game you are always running, and positions change very rapidly and no one stands aside.

It Fierljeppen
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Leap-/ jump game. Number of players: 2-> Props: Some (special) long sticks
Description
It Fierljeppen is a special game of the province Friesland, situated in the north of the Netherlands. Children take their special sticks and are going to leap over ditches. At the bottom of the sticks, a wider piece of wood is added to make it better for this special way of jumping. Traditionally Fierljeppen is done in spring, when boys and girls are looking for the plover’s eggs. Children put the stick in a small ditch and keep their hands on it while jumping to the other side.

De boom wordt hoe langer hoe dikker
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Sing-and-dance game. Number of players: 8 - > Props: none
Description
All children stand in a circle with their hands tight. Only two girls don’t hold hands, so there will be a little hole in the circle. Before playing this game one of these two girls is told to stand still in place. The other girl walks hand in hand with all others, clockwise around the standing girl, pretending to be ‘the tree’. So it looks like the ‘tree becomes thicker and thicker’. At the end of walking, the ‘tree’ is really thick and shows ‘his leaves’ by holding all hands high in the air and the fingers ‘trembling in the wind’.

Boompje wisselen
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Moving game. Number of players: 5-> Props: Trees
Description
Children look for a suitable place for playing this game. There must be always one more child than there are trees. One child is the chaser and stands in the middle of the trees. The other children stand all near a tree, holding it with their hand . The ‘tree-holders’ may change position among eachother at any time. But you have to be sure that the tree is still free. If you arrive too late at the tree and someone else or the ‘chaser’ is just before you, then you have to stand in the middle. This game is a popular game among children, because you are playing all the time, without standing aside, it is quick changing of positions and children learn to deal with other children, even when they argue ‘who-was-first-at-the- tree’.

Elastieken
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Leap-/ jump game. Number of players: 3 Props: Elastic/rubber band
Description
Two children are standing inside the elastic band. They put the elastic behind their legs and start at a low position. Another child is jumping inside on the rhythm of a text she is saying/singing. In the mean time she is jumping according a standard pattern. Look carefully how she jumps. She is off when a or some mistakes have been made. When no mistake in jumping is made, the elastic will be held at a higher position to make it more difficult to jump.

Stoepen
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Hit game. Number of players: 2 Props: a ball
Description
Two boys are standing on the pavement, each on one side of the road. The higher the sides of the steps are, the better it is to play this game. The trick of this game is to throw the ball against the side of the steps at the position of the other boy. If you manage to do so, the ball bounces back to you and you have got a point. If you throw a little harder and the ball bounces back in a way that you can catch the ball, you have got two points. It all depends on agreements made before playing the game. Ensure yourself that it is a calm or quiet street without cars, it’s safer and more fun to play.

Schipper mag ik overvaren
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Line-/ net game. Number of players: 5-> Props: none
Description
A group of children are going to play ‘Skipper may I cross’ and they have chosen a ‘skipper’. The other children are standing behind one of the two lines drawn on the ground. The ‘skipper’ is standing in the middle of the two lines. The children are singing a song in which they ask the skipper ‘to cross the sea’. If he says ‘yes’, then all children reply ‘how’? The skipper has to show how the other children must cross the sea. He shows them how to do the crossing: for example by holding one hand in your hair, or one hand on one foot, or hopping on one leg. Only in that way they must cross, but the skipper has to touch them in the same way! If the skipper answers’ no’ on the question ‘may I cross the sea’, then all children may run freely to the other side without being touched. Mostly, the first who is being touched will be the new skipper.

Hinkelen
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Leap-/ jump game. Number of players: 2 - > Props: Chalk and little stone
Description
Some children are coming out of school and want to play ‘hopscotch’. Therefore they draw a field on the ground, numbering from one to ten. There are many varieties in how to draw the hopscotch-field, so children choose their own favourite-one. The first player throws the stone on number one and starts jumping on number two, hopping on one leg. Coming at ten she turns and goes back the way she has come. Coming at number one, she picks up the stone, while standing on one leg, and hops over number one to the starting position. There she turns and throws the stone on number two. Then the whole procedure starts again. If a player jumps or hops incorrect, she is out and a new player starts. Or, if a player throws the little stone not on the correct number, she is also out. Also when you touch the line of a number, you’re also out, because sometimes children are very strict in obeying the rules, no matter what you say to it!

Passeios
Continent : Europe. Country: Portugal. Category: Line-/ net game. Number of players: 2 Props: A ball
Description
Two boys are standing on the pavement, each on one side of the road. The higher the sides of the steps are, the better it is to play this game. The trick of this game is to throw the ball against the side of the steps at the position of the other boy. If you manage to do so, the ball bounces back to you and you have got a point. If you throw a little harder and the ball bounces back in a way that you can catch the ball, you have got two points. It all depends on agreements made before playing the game. Ensure yourself that it is a calm or quiet street without cars, it’s safer and more fun to play.

Fives-ball
Continent : Europe. Country: Portugal. Category: Miscellaneous Number of players: 1- > Props: A tennis ball
Description
Two girls each are having a tennis ball. They throw the ball on the wall and catch it. But to make the game more challenging, they invent all kinds of new ways of throwing or catching the ball. Children make their own rules, mostly depending of the catching and throwing capacity of the players. The more experienced you are in catching and throwing the ball, the more fun it is to play this game.

Caveiras
Continent : Europe. Country: Portugal. Category: Hand-clapping game. Number of players: 2 Props: No Props
Description
Two girls are playing in a small street some clapping games. The co-ordination of their hands in the clapping games is quite complex, but as young girls they are very smart in doing so. Every game has its special movements and is of course free to change according the payers wishes.

Jogo do Anel
Continent : Europe. Country: Portugal. Category: Guessing game. Number of players: 4-> Props: Little stone
Description
Boys and girls are playing this game with a little stone. One child stands in front of the group and shows the children that she has the little stone between her hands. Then she closes her hands with the stone inside and passes with her hand all hands of the children. While she passes her hand slowly, the other children must open their hands a little, so that it is possible for her (who has the stone in her hand) to put the stone unseen in one of the hands. She is passing the children one or two times, then she points to a child, who may guess who has the stone in his hand. The child who has the stone in his hands is next to start the following round.

Lencinho Queimado
Continent : Europe. Country: Portugal. Category: Moving game. Number of players: 4- > Props: Little stick
Description
Some boys play this game after school. One boy has to search for the hidden stick and he gets some directions (warm, cold or hot) where to look for the stick. When he has found the stick another boy will be indicated to look for the stick in the next try.

Lencinho da Botica
Continent : Europe. Country: Netherlands. Category: Sing-and-dance game. Number of players: 4- > Props: a little stone
Description
Some children stand in a circle and one child has a stone in his hand. With this stone he walks around the circle and suddenly he puts the stone behind the back of a child. At the same moment he runs around the circle, followed by the child where he had put the stone behind. The boy who had put the stone behind the back of the child, has to try to get in the other boys’ position before being touched by him. Now the game continues and that new boy has to do the same procedure as the boy before him. But when the boy, who has put the stone behind some other boys’ back, is touched by that boy he just dropped the stone, then the boy who is touched must stand in the middle of the circle. The boy with the stone in his hand continues the game and puts the stone behind some child’s back. But when he puts the stone now behind the back of any child, also the child in the middle of the circle may grab the stone. So two children are now having the possibility to get the stone. The one, who is first to pick up the stone, may run after the boy who just has dropped the stone.

Barra do Lenco
Continent : Europe. Country: Portugal. Category: Aim game. Number of players: 7 - > Props: a piece of cloth or handkerchief
Description
Some children are standing together and by holding up the fingers of one hand, one boy may choose first and two groups are formed. In every group each boy and girl gets a personal number. One boy is selected to be the referee and has the cloth in his hand. He is also drawing lines behind which the two groups must stand. The referee is standing exactly in the middle of the two lines and when he calls out a number, both children having that number in the groups must react immediately and run towards the referee and take the cloth out of the referee’s hand. The group who gets first ten points is the winner. Of course you must remember very well which number you have. Sometimes children forget what number they have. Also they argue about the way the cloth is taken, but this game is giving a lot of fun!

Macaca
Continent : Europe. Country: Portugal. Category: Leap-/ jump game. Number of players: 2 - > Props: a little stone
Description
Some children play hopscotch. From the starting point they throw the stone on number 1. Then they jump with one leg the hopscotch-circuit and pick up the stone while passing it. Then they throw from starting position the stone on number 2 and jump (and so on ) If a child misses to throw the stone on the right number or jumps incorrectly, another childs starts the game.