PRESS RELEASE: The Baby Website
Written: Wednesday 11th February, 2009
HOPPING MAD
NEWS COPY
Hopscotch was yesterday (Tues) hailed as the Greatest Playground Game of all Time.
The simple game, which involves hopping between designated squares on a chalk grid, and dates back to Roman times.
Hopscotch was used for military training exercises for Roman foot soldiers who ran in full armour and field packs along 100ft long courts to improve their foot work.
Roman children then imitated the soldiers, drawing their own smaller grids on the ground.
Hide and seek was second and third place went to skipping.
The nostalgic study, conducted by www.TheBabyWebsite.com, asked adults to think back to their childhood to come up with games they enjoyed as kids.
Nigel Crawford, of TheBabyWebsite said: ''Playground Games evoke strong memories for many adults, and we can all remember chasing our friends round the playground at break time.
''We have a genuine fondness for games such as Hopscotch and British Bulldog, as they sealed friendships and defined who we hung out with when not in lessons.
''School break times provide children with the perfect opportunity to play, exercise and socialise, and in many ways are as important as the lessons themselves.
''So it comes as no surprise to learn that adults have extremely fond memories of those 15 or 20 minutes sessions in the playground, hopping, skipping, chasing or running with their friends.''
Hide and seek - also known as 'Tag' - can be played anywhere but was always most popular in the playground.
Involving two or more players, the object of the game is for one person to hide whilst the other counts and then seeks.
Skipping has been practiced by children across the world for centuries - in ancient China a game called 'Ancient Rope Jumping' was one of the favourite sports during the New Year festival.
And there are several techniques used in the game, including double dutch, criss cross and toad.
What's the Time Mr Wolf takes fourth place in the poll. The chasing game involves all the players calling out 'what's the time Mr Wolf?'; he then replies 'four o'clock' and the players move forward said number of places.
When Mr Wolf shouts out 'dinner time' he chases the players behind him and the first he catches takes up the position of Mr Wolf.
Fifth place went to another tag-based game British Bulldog - the traditional rough and tumble game which was banned by many schools for being too violent.
But for many respondents this game brings back fond memories of the scabby knees they endured after charging into their mates as 'bulldogs' in an attempt to reach the other side of the playground.
In sixth place is Conkers - another playground classic which has been banned due to ridiculous health and safety regulations.
Kiss Chase - the game which involves chasing friends around to catch and kiss them - came seventh.
Chinese Whispers, Cats Cradle and Oranges and Lemons complete the top ten.
GREATEST EVER PLAYGROUND GAMES
1. Hopscotch
2. Hide and Seek
3. Skipping
4. What's the Time Mr Wolf?
5. British Bulldog
6. Conkers
7. Kiss Chase
8. Chinese Whispers
9. Cats cradle
10. Oranges and Lemons
11. Football
12. Blind Man's Bluff
13. Stick in the Mud
14. Cops and Robbers
15. Farmers in His Den
16. It
17. Elastics
18. Please Mr Crocodile
19. Jacks
20. Duck, Duck, Goose
ENDS
Research conducted by global market research company www.onepoll.com
