Playground games

[yorkiesknob]

Going back to the early 60s at Beecroft St Primary Kirkstall,one of the games we use to play was a game where 2 kids would put their arms over the other shoulders then starting walking around the playground shouting ALL IN for English and Germans, cowboys and indians, or cops and robbers, Romans and Greeks and other good guys/bad guys groups. When enough recruits have being gathered, all linked together after roaming around the playground like a tiller girl chorus line. the group would then chose sides. Then starting playing up shoot'em up using your hands as guns and making the appropriate sounds with your mouth. If you where shot/stabbed before you could shoot the enemy, you where required to do an oscar winning performance in falling to the ground with as many special effects as possible.The girls may have had their own version of this game,but the sexes never mixed in this game as far as I can remember.Can't remember the name of this game,maybe it was ALL IN. Any one else play this or a version of it at your school?

[Si]

blackprince wrote: jim wrote: Relievo - basically a "tigs" ( or "tag" ) variant. The object is for whoever is "it" to tig all the other players. Tigged players retire to the home or den, a designated holding area. If a player not yet tigged manages to enter the holding area, all previous captives are released. The game can go on interminably and is the source of much falling out. These are the basic principles, but there were many local variants and alternative rules ( which led to even more falling out! ). That's pretty much as I remember playing it too in Harehills in the 1950's. Its a combination of hide 'n seek & tig. The base was usually a lampost. If a player could run to the base touch it and yell "relievio" then all the ones who had been caught (ie tagged) already were released and the game continued. I seem to remember it was best played in the evenings when it was getting dark or foggy which made it a bit easier to hide and sneak up to the base That's how I remember it.There was another game we played, probably before school age, in which "it" stood on the opposite kerb from the rest, and called out letters. You took a step forward for each letter that appeared in your name. The first one across was the winner. "N" was good for me, as I have five in my name! Ahhh...simple pleasures. I vaguely remember it was called Black Pudding, the reasons for which are now lost in the mists of time...Another was similar, but "it" had to face away from the street. The others had to cross, but if spotted moving by "it" when he turned around, were out."Off-ground tig" was very popular in our street. "It" was usually chosen by "Ip dip dip" or "one potato, two potato."    

[Lilysmum]

Si wrote: blackprince wrote: jim wrote: Relievo - basically a "tigs" ( or "tag" ) variant. The object is for whoever is "it" to tig all the other players. Tigged players retire to the home or den, a designated holding area. If a player not yet tigged manages to enter the holding area, all previous captives are released. The game can go on interminably and is the source of much falling out. These are the basic principles, but there were many local variants and alternative rules ( which led to even more falling out! ). That's pretty much as I remember playing it too in Harehills in the 1950's. Its a combination of hide 'n seek & tig. The base was usually a lampost. If a player could run to the base touch it and yell "relievio" then all the ones who had been caught (ie tagged) already were released and the game continued. I seem to remember it was best played in the evenings when it was getting dark or foggy which made it a bit easier to hide and sneak up to the base That's how I remember it.There was another game we played, probably before school age, in which "it" stood on the opposite kerb from the rest, and called out letters. You took a step forward for each letter that appeared in your name. The first one across was the winner. "N" was good for me, as I have five in my name! Ahhh...simple pleasures. I vaguely remember it was called Black Pudding, the reasons for which are now lost in the mists of time...Another was similar, but "it" had to face away from the street. The others had to cross, but if spotted moving by "it" when he turned around, were out."Off-ground tig" was very popular in our street. "It" was usually chosen by "Ip dip dip" or "one potato, two potato."     Hi Si,I too remember playing "Black pudding" the same as you describe it but when you got to the person on the opposite kerb calling out the letters you had to "tig" them,shout "black pudding"and run back across the road without them catching you.If they did you were "on" next.We used to take the washing line down and play skipping across the width of the road. Also played "elastic twist" with a big loop of knicker elastic,a bit like cats cradle,but with two people stood inside the loop stretching it into different patterns.

[stutterdog]

Lilysmum wrote: Si wrote: blackprince wrote: jim wrote: Relievo - basically a "tigs" ( or "tag" ) variant. The object is for whoever is "it" to tig all the other players. Tigged players retire to the home or den, a designated holding area. If a player not yet tigged manages to enter the holding area, all previous captives are released. The game can go on interminably and is the source of much falling out. These are the basic principles, but there were many local variants and alternative rules ( which led to even more falling out! ). That's pretty much as I remember playing it too in Harehills in the 1950's. Its a combination of hide 'n seek & tig. The base was usually a lampost. If a player could run to the base touch it and yell "relievio" then all the ones who had been caught (ie tagged) already were released and the game continued. I seem to remember it was best played in the evenings when it was getting dark or foggy which made it a bit easier to hide and sneak up to the base That's how I remember it.There was another game we played, probably before school age, in which "it" stood on the opposite kerb from the rest, and called out letters. You took a step forward for each letter that appeared in your name. The first one across was the winner. "N" was good for me, as I have five in my name! Ahhh...simple pleasures. I vaguely remember it was called Black Pudding, the reasons for which are now lost in the mists of time...Another was similar, but "it" had to face away from the street. The others had to cross, but if spotted moving by "it" when he turned around, were out."Off-ground tig" was very popular in our street. "It" was usually chosen by "Ip dip dip" or "one potato, two potato."     Hi Si,I too remember playing "Black pudding" the same as you describe it but when you got to the person on the opposite kerb calling out the letters you had to "tig" them,shout "black pudding"and run back across the road without them catching you.If they did you were "on" next.We used to take the washing line down and play skipping across the width of the road. Also played "elastic twist" with a big loop of knicker elastic,a bit like cats cradle,but with two people stood inside the loop stretching it into different patterns. There was a game ,which I dont think has been mentioned,we called it 'oppin Tommy.It consisted of about 6 -8 kids lining up against a wall and one kid who was "it" throwing a ball at the line of kids who jumped dodged and dived to avoid being hit. whoever got hit was then "it". We never played this game for more than 15ins at a time ,dont ask me why!

[blackprince]

jim wrote: Hi Pashy 2, I must have preceded you at Lower Wortley and West Leeds ( 1949-52, 1952-56 respectively ) and was surprised to see you found either of Arthur Cox or Stan Wilson despotic or sadistic. I always found them both thoroughly decent blokes - unlike some West Leeds "masters" ( they still wore gowns when I was there ) who appeared to model themselves on the other side in the then recent war. Jim & Pashy2 ( or any other ex West Leedsers) might be interested in this website http://www.wlbhs.110mb.com/Enjoy

[Crazy Jane]

Red Rover - my memory is shot but i think it was similar to british bulldogs except at the start someone would sing 'red rover, red rover, send so &so on over'.Ping Pong Poison - sort of tig varient but it started with everyone holding a finger of the person who was going to be on, and you had to let go when they said 'ping pong poison', so they'd wind everyone up making like they were soing to say it but then say parsnip instead or something.Also one i don't recall after primary school (Grymes Dyke) that might have been called Skylark, it started with everyone joining hands to make a long chain and people would shout 'all aboard the skylark' and then the person at the front would run a funny route and the further down you were the further you got thrown around at each turn. Usually ended up with half of the chain on the floor and a few people who just happened to be in the way with them.Scabby Queen, which i think we all know.Split the Kipper, whih i never played but saw some boys playing it once, which involved throwing a pen knife as close as possible to your foot without actually stabbing yourself(!)Cops and Sniffers may have been a Smeaton varient on cops and robbers, except the kids been chased were pretend gluesniffers complete with gluebag puffing actions. Apart from the day a couple of legging high schoolers turned up at the gates high as a kite and iirc Mr Slater came out and saw them off!Mods and Rockers too, which was quite similar, source of inspiration obvious.One i forget the name of that might have been called 'journey', that involved trying to make someone light as a feather by hypnotising them into thinking they were dead, then 4 people were meant to be able to pick them up using 2 fingers each!

[jim]

Hi Black Prince. Thanks for the WLHS site link. Quite a few recovered memories - and several demonstrations of faulty memory!

[pashy2]

Thanks Black Prince for the link - fascinating stuff.Jim, I also thought Stan Wilson was OK but Arthur Cox once gave me a real kicking for telling slightly rude jokes to the girls.

[pashy2]

I think it has been mentioned before:Dipping to chose who is "it" eg. spuds up and dip dip my blue ship etc.Touch rugby with a stuffed sock for a ball.Spot- a football game played with a tennis ball where you had to ricochet the ball off a designated small section of wall at such an angle to make your opponent's shot hard.

[jim]

Hi Pashy 2. I can understand your indignation at your treatment, but to be fair to Arthur Cox, to any Head of the time your behaviour would have been regarded as that of a "vile perverse corrupter of young maidens" ( sic ) - not that I am suggesting that that be true for an instant!