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Snail Games for Kids

Snails are part of the mollusk group of animals like clams, oysters and other shellfish, as they have soft, unsegmented bodies and a hard, protective shell into which they can withdraw when in heat or in danger. While these common garden pests may seem like an odd choice to center a children's game around, there are several that children of almost any age will enjoy with their friends outside or on a computer.

Escargot
- Escargot, which is the French word for snail, is a traditional European children's game which inspired American hopscotch. To begin, draw a board with 15 to 20 numbered squares in the shape of a giant snail's shell, with the numbers leading toward a blank center square. Players hop on one foot to and from the center square back to the board's beginning, and each time they complete the journey without stepping on a line, they can initial or "claim" a space of their choice. As the game progresses, players must avoid the lines and spaces claimed by opponents, or they lose a turn. Escargot ends when players can no longer reach the center square, the winning player having claimed the most spaces.
Riding the Snail
- Riding the Snail is an outdoors game to be played by two opposing teams of equal number. To begin, each team lines up with its players back to back in parallel lines about six feet apart from each other, each facing an opposite direction. Draw a "safety line" at each end of the field about 25 yards away from where the teams are lined up, and designate one team as "heads" and the other as "tails." The game begins with the toss of a coin, and If "heads" comes up, a player from the "tails" team attempts to run across the safety line before being tagged by a "heads"player. If the "tails" face comes up, the roles are reversed. If tagged before reaching the safety line, the player must carry his opponent back to the starting point and return to his line. The first team to have all players cross the safety line wins.
Snail Need for Speed
- PlayHub.com offers a free online children's game called Snail Need for Speed. The object is to move your snail through a racetrack as quickly as possible while collecting gas and avoiding obstacles that can slow you down. In Snail Need for Speed, the snail's shell is actually a tire, and you have to avoid objects such as traffic cones, signs and other hazards on the road that will prevent you from being the first to cross the finish line.
The Snail
- Another online children's game offered by PlayHub.com, simply called "The Snail," was developed in Japan, and it resembles the classic Mario Bros. style and objects of play. As snails with a small mustaches, players move through the board, avoiding obstacles and collecting coins as they try to reach the end-of-level ring before time expires. Upon completion, a short animation gives players a taste of what is in store for them in the upcoming level.

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