This is a list of games that used to be played by children, some of which are still being played today. Traditional children's games do not include commercial products such as board games but do include games which require props such as hopscotch or marbles (toys go in List of toys unless the toys are used in multiple games or the single game played is named after the toy; thus "jump rope" is a game, while "Jacob's ladder" is a toy). Despite being transmitted primarily through word of mouth due to not being considered suitable for academic study or adult attention, traditional games have, "not only failed to disappear but have also evolved over time into new versions."[1]
Traditional children's games are defined, "as those that are played informally with minimal equipment, that children learn by example from other children, and that can be played without reference to written rules. These games are usually played by children between the ages of 7 and 12, with some latitude on both ends of the age range."[2] "Children's traditional games (also called folk games) are those that are passed from child to child, generation to generation, informally by word of mouth," and most children's games include at least two of the following six features in different proportion: physical skill, strategy, chance, repetition of patterns, creativity, and vertigo.[3]
Contents
A[edit]
B[edit]
Buck buck (see also High Cockalorum)
C[edit]
Chinese whispers (telephone[4])
Cops and robbers (aka Cowboys and Indians)
D[edit]
E, F & G[edit]
Egg Toss
Grounders
H[edit]
High Cockalorum (see also Buck buck)
I[edit]
J[edit]
Jumpsies (also known as Chinese jump rope, elastics, or gummitwist)
K[edit]
L[edit]
M[edit]
N & O[edit]
P[edit]
Q[edit]
R[edit]
S[edit]
Statues (red light, green light; Grandmother's Footsteps)
T, U, & V[edit]
W, X, & Y[edit]
Z[edit]
