[Asa]

Ooh, I've never played that with cards before!

Flash Flood
In summer camp
Usually done when the group is doing something else, especially on a hike. The leader of the group randomly yells out "Flash Flood!" and everyone else has to find something above ground level to stand on to avoid being 'washed away' in the flood. This is signified by a time limit. Kids can stand on anything as long as it's not the dirt you were walking on. I remember standing on a stick, a pebble, and even someone else's shoes when I couldn't find anything.

You know, I can't remember what the point of it was, but I do remember playing it.
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Self-styled Forum Grandmother, because I hand out nicknames and hugs whether you want them or not. ^_^

Keeper of the Library and the Gateway to Haven

Nem: "It's the sort of face you just know is getting ready to poke you with something sharp."
BS: "...then insist you eat a brownie."
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If we shadows have offended,
Think but this and all is mended...
Give me your hands if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

[Tyris]

[Tinu.]

[Allicat]

My friends used to play it as part of rugby training. They'd be running around the pitch or doing scrum drills and the coach would yell "Shark attaaack!" The best was when two people had places to stand next to each other and then lifted a third like they were doing a lineout. Linky for those who don't know.
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He who does not eat cheese will go mad. ~ French proverb.

Keeper of the fallen leaves. 'Cos they're still pretty.

[electricpanda]

Forty Forty
Played at school
I'm not sure how many know this, so here goes. Basically, one person stands in front of a tree or something, in a large area that's got a lot of things to hide behind. Something forest-y is suitable. Then, the person counting covers their eyes and counts to forty-four. They then say something like 'Forty Forty ready or not!' and people have to try to make their way to the tree without being seen. If the person counting sees them, they yell out 'Forty-forty I see-' their name and location (e.g, Forty forty I see Asa behind the table! Forty Forty I see Tinu next to the red tree! etc.). The first person to be caught is the next forty-fortier. If you make it to the tree you get bragging rights. Oh, and the counter can't call out someone unless they're within certain range of the tree, but they can leave the tree.
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Dubbed Pants by AsA, via the way of the electric pants.

[Asa]

We had a game like that, but when we reached the last number the counter would yell "Apples peaches pumpkin pie, if you're not ready tell me aye!" And if someone wasn't ready yet, she yelled "Aye!" and the counter would count to ten. This could happen up to three times before the counter opened her eyes. Then it became a game of 'get to home base before the counter tags you', and if anyone got to the base (usually a basketball pole), then everyone was free, and that person was the new counter.
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Self-styled Forum Grandmother, because I hand out nicknames and hugs whether you want them or not. ^_^

Keeper of the Library and the Gateway to Haven

Nem: "It's the sort of face you just know is getting ready to poke you with something sharp."
BS: "...then insist you eat a brownie."
__________________
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this and all is mended...
Give me your hands if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

[Tinu.]

Spud
In my cousin's backyard and at camp
Each person is given a number. The players stand in a circle, with one person in the middle holding a ball (a dodge ball or a volleyball - anything else is too hard). The person in the middle throws the ball as high in the air as the can, and calls a number - 5 for instance. Everyone scatters, running as far away as the can. Whoever was assigned number 5 runs up to catch the ball before it hits the ground. As soon as 5 catches it, he yells "SPUD!" and everyone has to freeze. 5 is allowed to take three large steps towards any of the players, and throws the ball at them - the players are allowed to move their torso, but not their feet, to dodge the ball. If the ball hits them, it's their turn to stand in the middle and throw the ball.
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Keeper of Gaia and all the books on Earthsong

"If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid."
~Einstein

[thespaceinvader]

(British) Bulldog. You start with one person in the middle of the playground, and everyone else lined up at one side. They all run across, and anyone tagged (or, in some cases, stopped from moving or tackled) must join the team in the centre. Those who remain run back, until someone is the only one left. Etc.
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Keeper of Tristram's rings, and Felucca's very expressive ears.

[Allicat]

That game got banned in most schools in the country I think! Too dangerous or some nonsense. Children are made of rubber. Never did me any harm *twitch*.
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He who does not eat cheese will go mad. ~ French proverb.

Keeper of the fallen leaves. 'Cos they're still pretty.

[daydreamer_girl]

Spin the bottle
parties
No! Not the kind you're thinking of! You get a jar with a lid, write a few silly things and put them in a jar. Then you spin the bottle, and whatever piece of paper you picked, you have to imitate the action. for example, bark like a dog, or spin around. Stuff like that.

What if
parties
Best played with more than three people. I loved playing this with my family, it was almost a family party tradition, but I don't know what happened.

Anywho, everyone writes a "what if question" ex. What if the world wasn't round? After each person has written a question, everyone puts the papers in a pile and picks someone's else's paper. If you picked your own question, you have to switch with someone else. Then, you write an answer to the question asked. (Then it would be flat!) Now, each person puts the paper in a pile again and everyone picks a paper again. It doesn't matter if you get your own question or answer. One person starts by reading just the question. The person beside him/her reads the answer on his/her paper. (What if the world wasn't round? Then we would die of heat!) The person who answered the previous question now asks his/her own. The person beside that person says his/her answer.

Get it? It's funner for real.

No name
parties
I don't really know the exact name for this one, but it's fun. Anywho, you draw three lines on a piece of paper to make four columms. Okay on each of the columms at the top, you write three girls' names (or you can start with boys names, and rotate). Fold your paper and pass it on to the right or left. Make sure no one is looking what you wrote. Next you write a verb in present or passed tense (eats, takes, jumped to the moon with, etc.); fold and pass along. Next you write a boy's name (or girl's if you started with boys). Oh yeah! Make sure the names have an apostrpohe s (John's, Joe's). Then you write a noun (shorts, nails, earwax, etc.) Once they are all written down, everyone throws their paper in the pile and everyone randomly picks one. The first person will read the first columm out loud for everyone to hear. Next person reads the first columm, and everyone else after that. Then the second column until the fourth. A typical column would sound like: Jenny ate George's nostril hair. I remember one read something like: Jill laughed at Spongebob's skinny carrot.

I highly recommend this game for any of you guys to try.You wouldn't believe how many innuendos you can come up with this game though! Blame your dirty mind, not mine XD. Which of course...isn't exactly the point of the game, just saying that's what usually comes up.

The latter two are fun for anyone, even adults, but waste a lot of paper XD
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Yo.

dubbed "Emma" by Asa

[Tamir]

Hmm, mine seem to have all been said. Space's "bulldog" is known here as "The Kadars are coming!" (I have no idea what Kadars are), "SPUD" and "Mafia" were old favorites, and "Forty Forty" is the standard form of hide and seek here. Hmm.

Hands up!
Played in the neighborhood years ago....
The players are usually organized into two teams. Each player wanders around until spying someone of the opposite team, at which point he can point his finger (in gun form, of course) at his opponent and yell "hands up!"
Both players must freeze. The player who yelled then has to get to the other in as few steps (jumps, really) as possible. If he gets there in under 4 steps, he got his opponent out, exactly four and they both run free, more than four and his opponent got him out.
Anyone who gets out goes to a certain spot to chat with all the other people who got out, and re-enters the game only if the person who got him out gets out himself, life-of-sarah style. (Ooh, right, life-of sarah! I'll do that one next.) The game ends when an entire team is out.

Hands up was one of the funner games I played growing up. I loved the mixture of strategy, hiding skills, speed and jumping ability. ^_^ Unfortunately, kids always seemed to get into arguments over who yelled "hands up!" first.

Life of Sarah
Played at elementary school.
This game apparently gets its name from the fourth Torah portion, though I can't imagine why. A ball is thrown up in the air, and the person who throws it yells "Life of Sarah, whoever catches is a cow!" (That rhymes in Hebrew). The game has then begun, and works as thus - anyone can pick up the ball and throw it at someone else to get them out. If it hits, they are indeed out. If they catch it, the thrower is out. If it hits the ground before either of the above, the game proceeds with no change. If A gets B out, and then A gets out himself, B is back in the game.

Additional rules - if the ball hits the legs, the person it hit is not out. If one player gets everyone else out, he gets a victory point (I forgot what we called them) and can redeem it in the next game to get back in after someone gets him out.

I would guess that in the original version of the game, the first thrower would only yell "Life of Sarah!", without the cow. However, if someone catches that first throw, the first thrower is out before he got a chance to play. For this reason, I imagine, the cow part was added.

Two sticks
Played in the neighborhood when I was 10 or so.
Creative name, I know. Two sticks are placed close to each other on the ground, and every player has to jump over them. The last player jumps extra far, and the second stick is moved to match the place he landed. Each player then has to cover the distance in two jumps, and again the last player is responsible for the lengthening of the distance, and so on.
As soon as a player fails to pass the distance in the required number of jumps, he's out. After a while, the distance gets lengthened without increasing the number of jumps, to ensure that the game will actually end.

Why yes, the guys with the longest legs almost always won, why do you ask? ^^;; I was always sort of in the middle, pretty ideal for being the last player. I'd get out towards the end, and one of the same three would always win.

Hmm, I guess not all my games were said. I bet I can think of more, too....

[Virturealm]

You know, I used to think I had an okay childhood. (certainly better than the adolescence). This topic has shown me my error. Truly I was deprived. thanks topic, for ruining everything.

Okay, not really. But seriously, the only game I can think of is LavaTag, which I think is pretty standard. It's just tag, on any playground with a decent setup. Where the "it" (lavamonster) is confined to the ground, and the runners are confined to the play equipment (can't touch the "lava" woodchips) There would be some rule, depending on the equipment, for instance that the lavamen could climb on anything that's made of metal, usually the exterior ladders and walls, in order to be able to reach in and tag someone pretty much anywhere on the playground, but they need to be fast and monkey-like in order maneuver along the outside to trap people. I was the monkey champion by the way.
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{[Number One Perpetual Half Lurker Pseudo Regular]}
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[Tamir]

*pats virt*

It's not like I played those games every day or anything.... mostly it was other kids playing and me watching, really.

[electricpanda]

I can barely remember any actual childhood games, either. Forty forty was pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel, for me XD
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Dubbed Pants by AsA, via the way of the electric pants.

[Allicat]

All the games of this type were generally organised by adults for large groups of us at camp or parties or girl guide meetings. If it was just me and a friend or two we'd play pretend. Our favourite was Sonic the Hedgehog ^_^
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He who does not eat cheese will go mad. ~ French proverb.

Keeper of the fallen leaves. 'Cos they're still pretty.