Our Favourite Childhood Games

We recently asked our followers on Facebook to share their favourite outdoor game played as a child. The results varied from classic hopscotch, to ‘dib dib 1-2-3’ (an alternative to hide and seek!).

We believe that encouraging little ones to spend time outdoors playing, exploring and getting a bit muddy is really important, so here is our pick of the top five outdoor games to share with your offspring.

Shadow Tag
A traditional game of ‘tag’, with a twist! Within a group, one child is marked as ‘it’. That person then has to chase the others, and step on their shadow, in order to tag that person to become the next ‘it’. Only one rule exists – no ‘tag-backs’!

Chinese Whispers
Ideal for a rainy day, all players sit in a circle, or a line. One child thinks of a sentence, and whispers the phrase to the participant next to them, as quietly as they can! This continues around the circle or line, until the message reaches the end. The final receiver of the message then says the phrase out load, which is generally quite obscure, cue much laughter!

Treasure Hunt
Some adult participation will be required for this, to prepare the hunt. A selection of small ‘treasures’, such as wrapped sweets, should be hidden around the garden (some easier to find than others). Simply gather the children together, provide a ‘loot bag’ and tell them how many treasures there are to be found. You might want to give a little clue to start!

Duck Duck Goose
This is best with a large group. One child is allocated as ‘it’, whilst the remaining children sit in a circle. ‘It’ then walks around the outside of the circle, tapping each child as they go and naming them a ‘duck’ or a ‘goose’. When a child is named a ‘goose’, they must jump up and chase ‘it’ around the circle, tagging them before they sit in the empty goose’s space. If the goose fails to tag ‘it’, they then become ‘it’ themselves!

Name-it Ball
Participants must form a circle, with one child holding a ball to start. That child then decides on a category, such as ‘colours’. The ball is then thrown to any child in the circle, who must name a colour, such as ‘blue’. The first one out is the child who cannot think of an answer!

Author: Samantha May, Treasure Trails Ltd.