Games to Play With Jump Ropes

Rhyming Games

• These jump rope games are played with two players turning the rope and one or more players jumping inside the rope. The players recite a rhyme together, with the rope or jumper sometimes changing actions to suit the rhyme. Traditional rhymes include "Blue Bells Cockle Shells," "Down by the River" and "Mabel Mabel." Easy versions of the game involve swinging the rope back and forth, instead of swinging the rope around in a continual circle.

Double Dutch

• Double Dutch games also involve rhymes, but players swing two ropes instead of one. The ropes swing in opposite directions of one another (one clockwise, one counterclockwise) and alternate hitting the ground so the jumper has to jump first one rope, then the other, in a continual pattern.

Chinese Jump Rope

• Rather than a long rope with two handles on the end, a Chinese jump rope is one continual piece and elasticized. The first Chinese jump ropes originated in China and were created by looping several rubber bands together to create the rope. Two players put the rope around their ankles and stand apart so the rope forms a rectangle. The jumper then jumps in a pattern, depending on the rhyme. In the "Mississippi" rhyme, the jumper jumps inside the rope on "M," outside the rope on "I," straddles first one side of the rope and then the other on the two "S's" and steps on both sides of the rope on "P."

Jump Rope Relay

• This is a heart-pounding relay game. Divide players into two teams. One player from each team races to a marked point and back, all the while jumping rope. That player tags the next person on the team, who does the same. The first team to finish wins.

Wiggle Rope

• A favorite among preschoolers, this game keeps the rope on the ground. Two people hold the rope and move the handles back and forth so the rope wiggles on the floor like a snake. Children try to run and jump over the rope without landing on it.