Games for Kids From Other Countries

Down Down Down

• The game of Down Down Down comes from Australia. It is a simple game of catch where every miss comes with a penalty. The first time a player misses the ball, he must go down on one knee and stay there. The second time, he goes down on both knees. The third time he must lean down with an elbow on the ground. And for the fourth miss, both elbows are down. A fifth miss, and the player is out. This game can be played with just two players, or with a circle of players, in which case, the player tossing the ball can call out who is supposed to catch it--or not, for a little more surprise excitement. The more you miss, the harder it becomes to catch the ball from any of the down positions.

Up and Down

• Up and Down is a version of tag that comes from Pakistan. In some versions of tag, there is only one home or safe position. In this game, anything off the ground is safe. So if the kids are playing in the back yard, they can jump on a lawn chair or hang from a tree limb and be safe. Otherwise, the game plays like regular tag in which one person is "it" and chases the others, trying to tag them.

Chinese Jump Rope

• Chinese jump rope is played with an elasticized loop that stretches around the ankles of two children. The children stand about 3 feet apart with their feet spread. A third child then jumps in and out of the rope area, typically in a standard pattern of in, out, side, side, on, in and out. For "in" the child jumps over the rope, landing inside. Then she jumps out," straddling the rope. The "side" jumps are where the child jumps to each side, straddling just one side of the looped rope then the other. The next jump must land "on" the ropes. Then the "in" and "out" jumps are repeated. If the player lands on the ropes when she's not supposed to, she's out. If she misses the ropes when she's supposed to land on them, she's also out. Play then advances by raising the rope up to the knees. It continues to the waist, then below the arms and up to the neck. For higher levels, the game is done with the hands instead of the feet.