Games rarely played today - ahh the memories

[Don in SJ]

Well, kids just do not play outdoors much anymore at all unless it is organized sports, I live across from a playground and all that is used for nowadays is making out and smoking stuff (In general )

One game I remember, besides some already mentioned was one that we played on almost every Boy Scout weekend camping trip we went on. Capture the Flag

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/4670-your-guide-to-capture-the-flag


Was Wiffle Ball mentioned, when my kids were young, I think we had most of the neighborhood kids here on the property playing wiffle ball quite a bit.

BTW, Tetherball, I have one installed on my homemade swing set, it is a hit with the kids!

Don

 

[Ray S S]

Before my 7th and 8th grade years we moved around and most of the places we lived had no near neighbors so after school I spent
most of my free time after chores were done In thew woods with my dog. I'd be tracking animals, climbing trees,making bows and
arrowsand slingshots. I always had my eye out for a good slingshot crotch. One place had a stream crossing the property with a
beaver dam and sometimes I'd crawl up close and and lay on my belly and watch them from a low ridge just a few feet from the
dam. One day some friends were visiting and the father was looking at it and then starting to tear it apart.The dam had the stream dammed up high enough that it had a small area was flooded. He tore enough out that it was letting quite a bit of water
through and he thought that was funny. Our visiters left after he did that and a few days later the beavers had it all repaired.
There were a lot of real young trees close by and they did a good job of fixing it up. I really enjoyed watching their activities. This all happened in the upper penninsula of Michigan.
Another thing I learned at quite a young age was to set snares for rabbits for us to eat.
Ray

 

[diggummup]

We used to play four square and also Red Rover (if thats the one where you line up next to one another and lock hands and then someone fron the "other side" has to run and break through your "line") also we used to play dodgeball except we called it "smear the queer". Pitching quarters was fun and BBgun fights were always cool too. One of the funnest (and most dangerous) things we used to do for fun was to make tennis ball cannons or bazookas out of old soda cans (before they were made out of aluminum). You'd take about 5-6 old soda cans and cut the bottoms and tops off of them and leave one of them alone except for a small hole that you would punch in the very bottom of it. You tape all the cans together,attaching the odd one on the very bottom of your "bazooka", squirt a little lighter fluid in it swirl it around in a full arm swing place a tennis ball in the end and light the hole on the bottom can and watch it go boom. Then we moved on to bigger things like calcium carbide and water using large coffee cans buts thats another story.

 

[greydigger]

My son was arrested for "Manufacturing" and using a "Firearm" on public property when he was shooting a "spud gun" with empty pop cans into the air.
Had to go to a class to be nice. Then charges were dropped.
Don't know if this was a game, but was fun.
I was taught by a firefighter how to build one.

BB gun fights were fun too.
Rules were not to aim above shoulders.
I was on a roof when a bb bounced off my glasses.
Poor shooter. We also had hand grenades made from hardened clay and firecrackers.

Sword fighting involved 2X2s and plywood shields.

All our fathers were in WW2.
We had Heroes back then and tried to do what they did.

Grey

 

[fyrffytr1]

Does anyone here recognise any of these games? If you do, you're a lot older than me. I found these, years ago, in an old house that a familyfriend bought.

 

[truckinbutch]

My son was arrested for "Manufacturing" and using a "Firearm" on public property when he was shooting a "spud gun" with empty pop cans into the air.
Had to go to a class to be nice. Then charges were dropped.
Don't know if this was a game, but was fun.
I was taught by a firefighter how to build one.

BB gun fights were fun too.
Rules were not to aim above shoulders.
I was on a roof when a bb bounced off my glasses.
Poor shooter. We also had hand grenades made from hardened clay and firecrackers.

Sword fighting involved 2X2s and plywood shields.

All our fathers were in WW2.
We had Heroes back then and tried to do what they did.

Grey

Came up the same way here . If it didn't shoot or explode it could be throwed . Ever make tommyhawks from mower knife sections nailed to paling strips ? Corn cob and chicken feather darts ? Rock battles were an everyday thing .

 

[GopherDaGold]

Jarts...the REAL ones!!!

 

[Arid-Zone-A-seeker]

How about shooting the wood kitchen matches out of your BB gun, straight on hit they just pop, but put a little angle on them and they would light.
Made little darts out of them also with a needle for the tip, and note book paper for the fins, tied every thing on with thread. You could roll up the fins and they fit into the BB, gun also.
How about stink bombs made out of a ink pen that retracts, take out the ink, put a bobby pin thru the spring, and put back into the pen barrel, then bend the two legs of the bobby pin into a "T" assemble the pen back together with a kitchen match in place of the ink cartridge. Pull the t handle and let go, and pop the smoke and stink comes out of the end of the pen,,,
Oh, I might be deleted again,,,
Arid.

 

[spartacus53]

I even remember another game if there were only 2 of us out, we called it slap hands. The game had two versions, the first was to have both parties hands in the front, so that your hands almost touched palm to finger. The person on the bottom would have to swing the hand around and slap the top of the other persons hand. If they missed you switched positions. You were not allowed to flinch, if you did, they other would get a free slap.

The second was to have one's hands behind their back, the other person would have their hands in front with palms and fingers together like in a prayer. The first would swing around and try to hit the hand. It pass pass the time and improved reflexes.

 

[swampgal]

My dad made us board games out of plywood- Chinese Checkers, Wah hoo? We played them with marbles. the plywood had holes drilled in it. He made brainteasers out of hangers.

 

[whynot]

Parcheesi anyone?

 

[TreasurdiggrNY]

Great posts, oh the memories.
I always had a bike for as long as I can remember, so did my friends, we rode everywhere, we built small ramps and jumped over garbage cans we put cards in the spokes. Our friends would sit on the handlebars. We could fix a bike all by ourselves even the flats. Remember the repair kit in the round metal top can? You use to light a match to catch that glue on fire before you put the patch on?.
More ball games:
Box ball: 2 players hit the ball back and forth, you have to hit the ball into your opponents box. First to 11 wins.
Stoop Ball: 2 or more players. Throw the ball at the steps so it flies back, you have to catch it on the fly. If it bounced or you dropped it your turn is over. 5 points for a catch 10 if it hits off the point and you catch it. First one to 500 wins.
Kings: 2 or more players. Don't forget about "Booties".
Handball
Slap or triangle
ERRORS, throw the ball back and forth to your friend, every time it's dropped you get a letter. first one to spell ERRORS was the loser.
Salugee
Running bases was one of my favorites.
Frisbee
Manhunt
Skitching: When there was enough snow in the street we hung out on the corner at a stop sign and when a car came they would stop and we would sneak up behind and grab on the bumpers, squat down and hold on while the car took off. We would slide on our feet.
Sleigh riding.
Trade baseball cards, Playing colors or flip with the baseball cards.
Roller skating..........Tried roller skating skitching, didn't work out too well
Card games: Knuckles, spades, war, go fish.

Remember playing in the street and when a car came the girls would yell: "Car, Car C-A-R, stick your head in a jelly jar!"

 

[spartacus53]

Great posts, oh the memories.

Salugee

I was going to put that in my original post, but I figured that anyone not from NY would know that game. I wonder how many people ever did play, or even know that game You also reminded me of the roller skates and when a skate would break, you would nail 1/2 a skate on each side of a 2x4 and and an old wooden milk crate and make a scooter.

And yes... playing in the streets ruled at that time, too many cars to try that today.