13 Games We All Played As Kids

Although the names of some of the games may vary depending on where you grew up, the same games were, and hopefully still are, played all over the country. And regardless of what game you played, the result was always the same, with your knees grazed, your good clothes covered in muck and you claiming the only reason that your friend one was that they cheated, leaving you angry at them for the next 5 minutes until a new game started.

Chasing

Rules: One or more people are 'on', and try to catch the other people, who once caught are then also 'on'. Variations include having a den/base/home where you can't be caught, and a dungeon/jail, where you have to go if you are caught and aren't allowed to leave until someone 'frees' you.

Reasons For Arguments: A dispute over whether or not someone is caught, staying in home/den/base too long, ganging up on one kid.

Blind Man's Buff

Rules: Much the same as chasing, only in this game the person who is 'on' has to wear a blindfold.

Reasons For Arguments: The person who is 'on' is peaking under the blindfold as they count, someone claims that the blindfold is see-through, messing with the chaser because they can't see who is doing it.

Hide-And-Seek

Rules: One or more people are 'on', and have to count, usually to 100, with their eyes closed, giving everyone a chance to hide. They then go out and try to find people, and the last person found wins.

Reasons For Arguments: The person who is 'on' is peaking while counting, someone steals your hiding place, someone gives away your hiding place after they're caught.

Manhunt

Rules: Kind of a combination between hide-and-seek and chasing, the person who is 'on' counts and lets people hide, then they have to find everyone, and catch them. Sometimes it is split into two teams, with each team getting a turn to be on, and whoever catches the other team the quickest, wins.

Reasons For Arguments: A combination of the reasons from the two previous games, plus someone on your team might be lazy and lose the game for the rest of you.

Simon Says

Rules: One person is Simon and tells everyone else to do things, but the only time they are supposed to do the action is when 'Simon' says 'Simon says...' first. Whoever does the action when this is not said is out. The winner is the last person standing.

Reasons For Arguments: 'Simon' not being loud enough, people claiming they didn't follow the action when they had, 'Simon' trying to trick everyone.

Note: Topless Brad Pitt is not usually involved.

Bulldog (Take-Down)

Rules: One person is 'on' to start, with everyone else at one end of the marked out area. This person then calls on someone to make a call. There is three calls that can be made:

• 'Bulldog Charge'- The chaser has to wait for people to leave the area before he/she can try and catch them
• 'Open Gates'- The chaser can try to catch everyone immediately.
• 'Single Run'- The nominated person runs by themselves, and nobody else can go until they are either caught or make it safely to the other side.

When a person is caught they then become a chaser, and the winner is the last person standing. A variation of this game is when you can only catch someone by rugby tackling them to the ground. Teachers and adults in general are never massive fans of this version.

Reasons For Arguments: Disputes over someone being caught,  picking someone to make the call over and over again, tackling someone and hurting them (which is most of the time during Bulldog Take-Down).

IRA

Rules: Everyone other than the chaser is given one letter of word, and then runs away. It is then the job of the chaser to catch people and then literally beat them until they give up their letter. The game is be over when the person figures out the word. As you might imagine, adults aren't too fond of this game either.

Reasons For Arguments: Pretty obvious really.

Polio

Rules: One person is 'on', with the rest of the people gather at the other side of the area, sometimes across a road (so safe). A person is then picked as a messenger, who goes to the person who is 'on' to get a topic, e.g. favourite colour. The messenger then goes back, gets everyone else's answer, before returning to person who is 'on' and gives them the answers. The person who is 'on' then calls out one of the answers and has to race whoever's answer it is, and whoever lost the race is 'on' for the next round.

Reasons For Arguments: People not remembering what answer they give, the person who is 'on' not remembering the answers, the same person being called over and over, the person who is 'on' starting to run before they call out one of the answers.

Tip The Can

Rules: Pretty much the same start as hide-and-seek, with the difference being that the only time person who is on can catch somebody is by tipping the can (usually a lamppost) and saying 'Tip the can, I see (X)...' and describing where they are. The way that people can avoid being caught is by touching the can without being spotted by the person who is 'on'.

Reasons For Arguments: When it is unclear if a person frees themselves before the person who is 'on' caught them, when a person won't admit that they are caught.

Stuck In The Mud

Rules: One or more people are picked as chasers, and once they catch someone that person is 'stuck in the mud', and the only way to free them is for someone else to crawl through their open legs. The game continues until everyone is caught or everyone gets bored.

Reasons For Arguments: Catching someone immediately after they have just freed someone, head-butting someone in their special place as you try to free them.

Football

Rules: Kick the ball into the goal, pretend that you are your favourite professional footballer as you do so. It's very important that if you want to join a game, you ask the person who owns the ball, as it is their game.

Reasons For Arguments: Too many to mention, but it often ends with the person who owns the ball going home, and taking it with them.

Heads And Volleys (Red Ass)

Rules: One person is in goal, and everyone else is trying to score, but they can only do so with either a volley or a header. A person can only get out of goal if they catch a ball or someone kicks the ball wide. A tally is kept of how many goals are scored against each person, and the loser is the first person to concede ten goals. If it is Red Ass, then this person has to turn around and bend over and everyone else gets a turn at hitting them with the football. It's not as bas as it sounds, honestly.

Reasons For Arguments: If a shot is taken too close, if people aren't sure whether it was a goal or not, especially if jumpers are being used for goalposts, if it is unclear whether or not the keeper caught the ball cleanly or if he fumbled it before eventually catching it. Any of these could also result in the owner of the ball going home.

You always expect your volleys to turn out like this:

When this is really what happens:

Curbs

Rules: Two people stand opposite each other on either side of a road, and the goal is to throw a ball and hit the curb on the other side, with varying amount of points given depending on if you throw the ball through your legs, or over a car , or whatever.

Reasons For Arguments: When it is unclear if a person hit the top of the curb or just missed it, when someone hits the car that they're trying to throw the ball over, making the adult very angry.