Traditional Games

[KM]

With the onset of the Pole Shift, electronic games, gaming on-line and cell phone games will be obsolete.  Traditional games will probably be played in the After Time.  Games that help children especially with hand eye co-ordination, balance and socialization, team work and are educational, will probably be used more often.  Traditional games like skittles, boules and jacks to name but a few were popular years ago.  What traditional games do you remember playing and what is involved in organizing them?

[Howard]

Thank you for an excellent topic, KM.  Two easy ones that come to mind:

Hopscotch Scratch a hopscotch grid using a stick in dirt. Number the squares from one to nine. Pick a rock that is good for tossing. Small ones can bounce too much, and larger ones are hard to throw. Start by tossing the rock onto Square1. Hop over the rock and hop with a single foot or both feet (to follow the hopscotch pattern) all the way to the end. Turn around and come back, stopping on Square 2. Balancing on one foot, pick up the rock in Square 1 and hop over Square 1 to the start. Continue this pattern with Square 2. And so on. If you toss your rock and miss the correct square, your turn is over. This game can be played with any number of people, but only one person can go at a time.

Telephone: Players sit in a circle. One person thinks up a sentence or phrase and whispers it to the next person. That person repeats it to the person on their other side. This continues around the circle. When it finally reaches the last person, that person says the sentence out loud.  The ending sentence is usually quite changed from the beginning sentence, since errors tend to compound as they go around the circle.  Good for jocularity and developing communication skills.  Obsolete in 4th Density.

Source

[KM]

Here is a game of Jacks.  The game can be played by one person or more, sitting in a circle with the jacks in the middle.  Each person takes a turn.  http://www.ehow.com/video_4989077_play-jacks.html

The games can get as complex as they can get, if a person misses a jack then the next person has a go.

[becky person]

Sardines…a game for a group (good for kids) a version of Hide 'n' Seek.   One person runs to hide while the rest of the group does a countdown (to 20 or so) and then all run off to find him.  The difference in this game from Hide 'n' Seek is that when one of the hunters finds the person hiding, he hides with him, and each person hunting who finds him also hides with him, so that by the end of the game only one person is left to find a quivering mass of people hiding, holding back their laughter.  The first one who found the hider gets to be the next one to hide…...

[Muzz]

This is an excellent idea @KM

As kids we used to play a game of "Bat Down" based on base ball, when the ball is hit, the batter puts the bat down where he/she is standing.  the fielder must then throw the ball back and try and hit the bat in order to be the next batter.

If the strike is caught on the full the batter is out and the person that caught the ball is the new batter.

It would require some planning ahead, with the purchase of a few baseball bats, and some balls, or even tennis balls, duct tape ball, aluminium foil ball etc.

There are probably many other names this game goes by, but was a lot of fun for us when we were kids.

[1feo89w4yludl]

What a great idea for a discussion.  Thank you!

A pack of playing cards:  Not too big, not too heavy, even for those on foot.

Small magnetic chess set:  Ditto.

Whatever people around the world use to peacefully pass the time on long nights:  Ditto!

[Fay Dean]

Charades!  My favorite.

[Corey Young]

As Ann S has mentioned already a deck of cards can help...Although not a priority in preparation. If one were to find/come across a deck of cards then many types of games can be played which not only stimulate the mind but also can act as a learning tool for counting (childeren etc...).

That being said one can 'make cards' from pieces of bark, wood using carving techniques etc....

A favorite game of my family is Cribbage...which can be made of any soft wood....including the board and pegs...carving this game out of wood is also something that can be used to relax and wind down after stressful days!!!

Great idea for a discussion.

[KM]

Excellent idea for materials that would be available in the AT for sure!

Corey Young said:

As Ann S has mentioned already a deck of cards can help...Although not a priority in preparation. If one were to find/come across a deck of cards then many types of games can be played which not only stimulate the mind but also can act as a learning tool for counting (childeren etc...).

That being said one can 'make cards' from pieces of bark, wood using carving techniques etc....

A favorite game of my family is Cribbage...which can be made of any soft wood....including the board and pegs...carving this game out of wood is also something that can be used to relax and wind down after stressful days!!!

Great idea for a discussion.

[KM]

Omweso. This is a great game for kids or adults! for kids it helps with counting and hand eye coordination and dexterity.  Was first introduced to it many years ago, and it can get as fancy as possible or be as simple as possible.  The simplest:  Find a flat piece of ground with some dirt, make some indentations and use stones all of similar size.  Here is a video on how to play it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VavieakxpX0 

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Hand clapping games like Miss Mary Mack.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIKkKwChZZ0

[Starr DiGiacomo]

[KM]

Jigsaw puzzles are great for hand eye co-ordination as well as team work and problem solving.  There are also puzzle rocks in rock gardens from rivers etc, and they break open easily, but are easily put together.  Keeps children entertained for hours!