A certain amount of nostalgia fills up our lungs when we go back treading the path of our childhood. Obviously, because it was that good! And besides our friends, schools and families, what added more to the fun were the truly amazing outdoor games that we played for hours and hours on a run. Damn! Don’t we just wish to go back to those never ending days filled with nothing but pure happiness!? Sadly enough, now that I know we can’t, I’d simply like to pass on my knowledge to today’s generation – so that those beautiful games never see the face of obscurity.
So here is a list of 5 such outdoor games that, hopefully, your kids will love the same too!
1.Hide and Seek
You hide and I seek, it’s that simple. There is a denner, as in every game, and everyone else has to hide. A boundary is set for this and there are some rules – you can hide in buildings, houses, behind cars or any other place you fit. If the denner finds you, he has to quickly scream ‘I spy’. And if another player in the game manages to touch and say ‘Dhappa’ to the denner, then the same guy or girl has to go back denning. Otherwise, the first person ‘spied’ by the denner has to den.
Image source – BBC.com
2.Hopscotch
Hopscotch, or more famously called ‘Stapu’ in India was all the rage back then! All you need is a chalk and a road or platform made of building materials like concrete, cement, etc. Oh, and also some willingness to play the game! Draw a big rectangle on the ground with the help of a chalk. Divide it into 8 horizontal parts. Take a pebble and start playing. Here is a complete guide to the game. We could go hours and hours playing this game – and it never got boring. Hope it does the same to your kids too!
Image source – wikipedia.com
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3. Chain-chain
Now, this one was no short of epic-ness. It started with a single denner and then went to become a chain of denners till the last person standing was also added to the chain. It’s easy-peasy, right? But mind you, people used to get hurt as well, in a fun way, though. Chain-chain was simply a messy variation of ‘Pakdam-Pakdai’.
Image source – Youngisthan.com
4. Ghost in the Graveyard
The game goes like this – you do your inky-pinkie-ponky-mumbo-jumbo thing and select a ghost. Then you decide on a base. After this, the ghost goes to hide somewhere. The rest of the players stay in the base for this while. Now, once the ghost has hidden, the participants have to search for him/her and whoever finds the ghost, yells ‘ghost in the graveyard’ to alert the others. Now what happens is that the founder of the ghost becomes safe, while the rest have to run to the base to save their lives. Whoever the ghost tags outside the base is the ghost for the next game. Fun, right!? And it’s, even more, fun when played in the dark instead of under light lamps. Or maybe, on Halloween?
Image source – Poobala.com
5. Disease
Last, but not the least on our list of outdoor games, is this game called Disease. Sounds weird, I know. But it is actually awesome! It’s just the same as ‘Pakdam-Pakdai’, only difference being that when the denning comes to you – you have to touch the exact same spot where the last denner had tagged you. And then run like that and tag someone else. The whole thing just keeps on repeating itself till someone gives up. The smart thing to do in this game was to tap the person on their leg, that way the difficulty was increased manifolds. Amazing, right!? In India, it was popularly known as ‘Chu-achut ki beemari’.
Image source – youtube.com
So, what are you waiting for? Go and teach your kids how to play these games! And if they like them, then do share it with us in the comments section.
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Image source: compassionatesleepsolutions.com
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Mansi Zaveri
Janani S Koushik
Dr Manjari Rao
1SpecialPlace
KSP Team
