Children’s
games in
the past
and

It’s true that children’s games have changed a lot during the last few decades.
When we were young we played outside a lot. We used our bodies. We had
plenty of physical exercises. There were usually team games more sociable
then today’s ones, and we had a lot of fun with friends. We didn’t need
expensive equipment to play. We just needed friends, good humor and our
imagination. All we had was a rope, a stone, a stick or a ball. The games were
fantastic and really amusing.

The team games which I remember from my childhood are gradually
disappearing.
Those days children were playing team games such as football, hare and
hounds, classes, hopscotch, dodge ball, tomato play, deaf telephone, hide-and-
seek, war of ships etc.

Hare and hounds
This game was full of mystery. Two teams had to find
"TREASURE". Hidden letters and notes or arrows on the ground were leading
to the goal. It was excellent !!!

Classes
When I was a child I often played badminton, skipping and
classes.
The game called “classes” was played in the backyard. Children
drew a rectangle divided into seven squares on the ground. Every
square symbolised a class. „1” stood for a first class, „2” for a
second class, etc.
A square with a circle meant a possibility to take advantage of a
break. To start the first class you had to throw a flat stone into the
first square . You had to jump on one leg from one square to
another and push the stone with your fingers. After pushing stone
through all the squares you finished the first class. If the stone
landed on the line, you had to repeat the same class. In order to
win you could neither throw the stone on the line, nor push it on
the line separating the classes.
4
O
3
5
2
6
1
7

The hopscotch
The hopscotch is a game very similar to classes. It was my favourite game
when I was a young girl. I used to play this game with my girlfriends. We
drew „a little man” with chalk on the pavement. Then we jumped on one foot
from one step to the next one. The winner was the one who jumped the most
steps.

Dodgeball
In this game children need a ball and a playing field (very often it is a
playground). They divide themselves into two teams. The playing field is also
divided into two parts. The players stand facing one another and throw the
ball. The goal is to hit all the participants of the opponents’ team with the ball.
Each team selects one player called “mother”.
When all the players of one team are hit, „mother”, who is usually the best
player in the team, steps up. If she gets hit three times, her team loses and the
game is over.
We liked this game and we played it very often. We used to come back home
feeling excited and hungry!

Tomato play
Tomato - that was a very popular children’s game. It is not complicated. To
start the game there must be more than two participants. Among all players
one person is chosen to ask other people several questions. For every question
it is necessary to answer: Tomato. Questions have to be personal or funny to
make questioned person laugh or at least smile. If somebody makes a mistake
and gives another answer or bursts out laughing - the game finishes.

Deaf telephone
While playing "Deaf telephone" children sit on the chairs round the table.
The first player makes up a word and whispers it to the second one, the second
whispers it to the following one and so on...
When the last player speaks aloud misheard word everyone bursts out
laughing.
Then the other player makes up a new word and the game starts from the
beginning.
It is common that during the game, the word from the beginning changes its’
form or even the whole meaning.

Hide-and-seek
The basics of the game are as follows:
One person covers his eyes with his hands and counts to one hundred or to
ten. In the meantime, the rest of participants of the party have to hide
themselves before being looked for. Then, the seeker speaks loudly -"I am
looking for you". The person who is found as the first one becomes the seeker
in the next round, while the last found person wins the current round.

War of ships
This is the game for two players. Every player must draw two big squares
(look at the example) on a sheet of paper. Each of them must draw ten ships in
one of them. Second square must be empty. One of the players asks question
about ships’ item of a partner. If for instance a ship will be hit, this ship must
be drawn on an empty square. Item of ship defines as in chess (6A, 7G, and so
on). Player who hits all the ships of the opponent first is the winner.
A B C D E F G H I J A B C D E F G H I J
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
10 10

Currently children focus on individual development, e.g. tennis, swimming,
languages, computer etc. People communicate with each other less and less.
Nowadays, technical devices have changed the way of spending free time. Our
grandchildren and their generation spend a lot of time indoors, playing all
kinds of TV or computer games, or watching TV alone or on-line with virtual
friends. They put on weight, do not receive enough fresh air and have
problems with building relationships.

Computer games
These days one of the most frequent activities of our children is playing
computer games.
A personal computer game is a video game played on a personal computer or
a video game console. Computer games have evolved from the simple
graphics to a wide range of visually very advanced projects.

PC games have long been a source of controversy, particularly related to the
violence that has become commonly associated with video gaming in general.
Video game violence increases children's aggression.

Video game addiction can have a negative influence on
health and on social relations. Alongside these problems
associated with computer game addiction have grown
similar worries about the effect of computer games on
education.
In my opinion, computer games do not have only
negative influence on children but they have some
positive features as well. PC games can increase
children’s reflex and enlarge their knowledge, if only
they are used in sensible time proportions.

Jigsaw puzzles
One of the most popular children's game in the past and now is putting the
jigsaw puzzle together.Jigsaw puzzles were originally created by pointing a
picture on a flat, rectangular piece of wood and then cutting the picture into
small pieces with a jigsaw, hence the name.
John Spilsbury, a London mapmaker and engraver near 1760 year, used the
puzzles for teaching the geography. He cut off from the map pointed on the
flat piece of wood the shapes of the individual countries. Most modern jigsaw
puzzles are made out off cardboard, since they are easier and cheaper to mass
production than the original wooden models. Photographs or printed
reproductions are glued onto the cardboard before cutting. Now there are also
three dimensional jigsaw puzzle.

The interesting thing is that Alzheimer Society of Canada consider that doing
puzzles is one of many activities that help keep the brain active and may help
to reduce the development of Alzheimer's disease. So they are very good for
children and grandparents.
I think that doing puzzles is the better way of spending your free time than
playing computer and mobile phone games.

Mobile phones
Mobile phones have been one of the most popular things these days, even
treated as toys by very young children. Parents buy them because they want to
have contact with their children. They want to know what the children are
doing and where are they. The children like mobile phone because they use it
for communication by sms with friends/ it is cheaper than calling/, they can
play less complicated games, take photos or even make short films. Also
teenagers can connect with the Internet which is another source of those days
games. You can play any game you like online with a person from another
part of a world at any time and in any place.

THE END
Thank you for your attention
This presentation was created by participants of the “Discovering the world
anew” project from Sopot, Poland.