We explain what traditional games are and we tell you how to play tag, hide and seek, sack race and many more.

What are traditional games?
Traditional games are those recreational children's activities, which are transmitted from generation to generation adapting to the times and at the same time remaining more or less the same. These are games specific to a culture or tradition, although in many cases they tend to be universal.
Unlike more complex games, such as video games or board games, traditional games are usually simple, they do not depend on technology or anything other than imagination At most, they use a few implements, usually household objects or elements taken from nature, such as branches, sticks or stones.
This type of games usually involve some physical activity and some drama so they are usually played in the yard, the street or some type of outdoor environment, either in a group or individually. They should not, however, be confused with sports activities or physical education, although the latter can use some of them as a tool. In addition, There are other traditional games that depend on perception, reasoning or verbal ability.
Although traditional games usually have well-defined rules, these can be altered, adapted or transformed if the players involved so wish, which is why they are also an important source of imaginative exercises and social interaction.
Below, we detail some of the best-known traditional games.
See also: Recreational activities
The stain
Known by many other names, such as “la ere”, “catch and catch”, “the ringworm”, “the pest”, “the pint” or “the bringer”, this game requires an open space and several players, one of whom will start as the stain (or whatever it is called) and must run after the others to touch them and take their place. That is to say, whoever is touched will have “the witch” and must then persecute the others. Depending on the game mode, there may be a shelter or safe place, into which the blob cannot enter or cannot be transmitted.
The hiding place or hidden
This group game can be played both indoors and outdoors, as long as there are spaces to hide in. One player is chosen to count from 1 to 20 or 30 with his eyes covered and facing the wall, while the others run to hide where they can.
Once the count is finished, the chosen one must look for the rest and discover where they are hiding, while they will try to sneak in unnoticed and reach the counting site to be safe. If the person telling the story does not discover anyone, they must repeat; Otherwise, it will be the turn of the first person to be discovered.
The cat and the mouse
To play this game you need a good number of children, who must hold hands in a circle looking at each other's faces. Previously, a cat (chaser) and a mouse (chased) will have been chosen among them. The children sing:
Mouse that the cat catches you
mouse that is going to catch you
If he doesn't catch you tonight
Tomorrow he will catch you.
Some other similar song may be used, depending on the local variants of the game. While the group sings, The cat must try to capture the mouse, entering and leaving the circle under the arms of the children, who will be able to close and open the spaces to prevent it. When the mouse is caught, the cat will become the mouse and a child in the round will occupy the cat's position, and the dynamic repeats.
jump rope
The game of jumping rope, also called “jumping rope” or “Swiss game”, among other names, requires a long rope that will be held at both ends, making it rotate on its axis so that one or more children located in the middle jump the rope, without touching it with any part of the body. This dynamic can be done in different ways: individually to see who jumps the rope the most times or in groups to eliminate those who make a mistake.
The rope

Also called “the rope”, it is a game in which two teams are formed at the ends of a rope which has a scarf or flag tied in the middle. Each team must simultaneously pull the rope to carry the flag to their field, and whoever succeeds will win, dragging the opposing team in their direction. It is important that the teams are even in age and height, so that there is a real challenge in the game.
The little blind hen
This group game requires a handkerchief that will be tied covering the eyes of a chosen player, who will be the “blind man's hen”. Then it will be turned on its axis, to disorient it, and it will be left free to try to capture the other players, who will be able to move around them, hide or remain still (depending on the chosen game rules). Whoever the blind man manages to capture first will take his place.
The chair game
This game requires a certain number of chairs that must be gathered in the middle of the room. The players, who must always be more than the number of chairs available, must dance around them to the sound of a song or some music that can be played, and When the melody stops suddenly, they must sit down in some chair they find. Those who fail to do so will be eliminated. For the next round, a chair will be drawn and the game will be repeated, until there is only one chair and only one winner.
The wheelbarrow
For this game you need pairs of players: one will lean on his hands while the other holds his legs so that it looks like a human wheelbarrow. The couples must stand on a starting line and after receiving the signal, move as quickly as possible towards the goal. Those who arrive first will win the race and those who arrive last will be eliminated. Then the dynamic will be repeated, but reversing the positions of each team, until there is a single winning couple.
Cops and robbers
This group game requires a good number of participants, who will be divided between policemen and robbers, so that there are more of the last than the first (the ideal is a 2 to 1 ratio). A space will be designated as the jail, to which the police must take each thief capturing it first. The task of the thieves will be to make it difficult for them, and to do this they will be able to rescue a colleague from prison if they manage to get close enough to shake his hand. The game will continue until all the thieves are in jail.
sack race

To play the sack race you require several sacks or jute bags or some resistant material, in which the children will be inserted up to their waists. Dressed in this way, they will form a line and wait for the starting signal, to run jumps to the finish line. Whoever does it first will win.
paper airplanes
This is a paper airplane competition, either outdoors or indoors. Each player will have a sheet with which they will make a folded plane, which they will then compete against the others' planes s. The planes will be launched from a point marked with a line on the ground, and players will not be able to run or cross the line with their bodies. The plane that goes the furthest will win the competition and the one that comes last will be eliminated. The dynamic will be repeated until there is a single winner.
The hoop
This game consists of roll a plastic or metal ring on the ground, using a wand or guide to hold it upright. It is normally played as a race, to see who can go the furthest without the hoop losing its balance and falling.
1, 2, 3, English chick
Also known as “The Statues” and other similar names, this group game requires a player to stand against a wall or column, with their back to the rest and with their face resting on their crossed arms. The others will be located several meters away and, While the player sings “1, 2, 3, English chick” (or some other similar phrase), the others must take several steps towards him, always taking care to remain motionless at the end of the phrase.
If any of them move, they will be eliminated from the game. If not, the player will lean on the column again and repeat the phrase, doing so quickly or slowly, trying to catch the “statues” off guard. The game will end when all the statues have been eliminated, or when one of them manages to touch the wall against which the other player is leaning.
Pin the tail on the donkey
To play this game, a drawing of a donkey is required (or any other animal) portrayed from the back, so that the tail is missing. The drawing will be hung on a cork or any other material that allows you to fix a fabric tail with a pin, something that the players must try in turns, blindfolded. Whoever puts the tail on the donkey correctly will win.
hopscotch

Also known as “the plane”, “the week” and many other names, it consists of draw a series of adjacent boxes with chalk, numbered from 1 to 10 (or whatever number you want), big enough to jump over them using just one foot.
So, Each player must take turns throwing a small stone that must remain inside a square and then jump the squares in order one at a time and with one foot in the air (except when there are two squares together, in which both feet must be placed), until you reach where your stone is, pick it up and begin the return journey. If the stone falls or uses both feet, the player loses the game.
The marbles
Also known as “metras” or “pichas”, the marbles are a classic toy, which consists of a set of glass spheres decorated with colors and shapes inside. These spheres can be thrown in different ways: with the open hand, using a finger as a lever, among others, and usually you compete with them on the ground
Holes can be opened into which the marbles must be inserted in order (just like in golf), or a shape can be drawn on the ground into which the marble must be inserted by throwing it from a distance. It is a very diverse game, in which in the past it was customary to bet the playing marbles, so that the winner took a marble from the loser.
The handkerchief game
In this game they form two teams of players, who must face each other to take over a handkerchief that an adult or older player holds in the air. This competition will take place in turns: the players will stand facing each other, one from each side with the handkerchief suspended in the middle.
Then whoever holds it must shout “Ready, set, go!” and at that moment the players should try to move quickly and keep the handkerchief. Once all the players from both teams have competed, the team that has kept the scarf the most times will be the winner.
three in a row
Also known as “ta-te-ti”, the “old lady game” or “tic-tac-toe”, it is a competitive game between two players that consists of drawing two vertical lines and two horizontal lines that They cut in the center, thus achieving nine spaces (eight external and one central), in each of which each player must draw a circle or a cross respectively. Whoever manages to join three circles or three crosses (whichever corresponds) in a straight line will win the game.
Rock, paper, scissors
This game requires two players facing each other in three sequential rounds, in each of which they must hide their hand behind their back and sing along with the opponent “rock, paper, scissors, 1, 2, 3, go!” So each one will show their hand and show one of the three available shapes: rock (closed fist), scissors (fist with index and middle fingers extended) or paper (open palm). Depending on the combination obtained, one of the two players will win:
Stone | Paper | Scissors | |
---|---|---|---|
Defeat | Scissors | Stone | Paper |
is defeated by | Paper | Scissors | Stone |
Whoever wins two of the three games will be the definitive winner. This game is often used to decide things: the loser must do the task or carry out the winner's instruction.
The thread

This game requires a lanyard or a thread that a player intertwines in his fingers to achieve different geometric figures. Then, another player must insert his hands into the figure and take the rope without tangling it or breaking the figure, and then form his own. It can also be played individually, making as many figures as possible without the thread getting knotted.
The four corners
in this game A rhombus of two or three meters per side is drawn on the ground and a player is located at each vertex and a fifth player in the center. An adult or a player who is not participating will then give the signal (“ready, set, go!”) so that the players at the corners try to rotate their positions in one direction (clockwise or counterclockwise).
The goal of the corner players is to move before the central player gets in the way. For his part, the The central player must then try to reach a vertex before any other player. If he succeeds, he will move him from his place and make him occupy the central position in the rhombus. The dynamic can then be repeated.
Continue with: Tongue Twister
References
- “Traditional games” on Wikipedia.
- “Traditional games” at the National Institute of Teacher Training of Argentina.
- “Traditional and popular games for children” in Camps 2022 EDUMA.
- “Traditional games” at the Game Museum.