Recess Games to Play

Red Light/Green Light

• All children line up on one side of the play area, and a teacher, supervisor or volunteer student (the "caller") stands at the other side. That person says "green light" and the children run in the person's direction. At any time, the person can yell "red light" and the children have to freeze on the spot and stay still until the person calls "green light" again. Children who do not stop right away, or who start running again before another "green light," are eliminated from the game. The first child to make it to the caller then takes a turn as caller. If all players are eliminated, the student can either choose a new caller or take another turn as caller.

Red Rover

• This is a good game to test and develop strength. Divide the children into equal groups of two, and have them line up, facing each other, with a reasonable distance (at least 50 feet) between them. Have each team form a chain by joining hands.

  One team starts by choosing a player on the other team and saying "Red Rover, Red Rover, let (player's name) come over." That player then runs toward the other team and attempts to break its chain. If the chain holds, the player joins that team. If the chain breaks, the player returns with a member of the opposing team. The game is over when one team has all the players.

  Red Rover is fun and competitive, with a big advantage: Every player ends up on the winning team.

Four Square

• Using chalk, make a big square on the ground with four equal sections, about 8 feet by 8 feet. One player stands in each square, and the squares are in rank order: King, Queen, Prince, Princess. The king bounces the ball and hits it toward another player. Play continues until a player hits the ball (or is hit by the ball) before it bounces in their square, the ball bounces twice in a square before a player hits it, or a player hits the ball out of bounds.

  Once a player is eliminated, he moves to the lowest square. If there are more players than squares, the player moves to the back of the line, and the player at the front of the line moves to the lowest ranking square while the other players ascend in rank.

Tag (and Variations)

• This classic game is very simple: One player is chosen as "It," and has to run after the others and attempt to tag them. Before the game starts, a landmark (such as a tree or sewer cover) is chosen as a safe area, and players can spend a set amount of time on it (usually five to 10 seconds.)

  If "It" tags a player, that player becomes "It." Or, a variation of this game is called "Freeze Tag," where tagged players must stop on the spot and cannot move again until another player rescues them by crawling through their legs.

  Yet another variation allows players to create a temporary safe area by calling out an item in a category as "It" attempts to make a tag. (This could be a model of car, the name of a book, a breakfast cereal, a color, a TV character, any category with a large number of items in it). If the player does this successfully, "It" must pursue someone else. Each item in each category may be used only once.

500

• One player stands on one end of the play area, and the rest line up on the other (it's best to have at least 100 feet or so between them.) The player throws a ball either high into the air or bounces it hard off the ground, and the rest of the players attempt to catch it.

  Catching a fly ball is worth 100 points. Catching a bounce is worth 50. Some children play that a ball that bounces more than once is dead, while others play with the rule that a ball that has bounced twice is worth 25 points.

  The first player to score 500 is the next to throw the ball. Points are kept on the honor system.

Dodgeball

• This is a physical and potentially dangerous game, but it is also a longtime playground favorite. Children are divided equally into teams on either side of a center line. The game starts with both teams racing toward that line to gather the balls placed upon it (at least one, usually several). The object is to eliminate members of the other team; players are eliminated when they are hit by a thrown ball, or when a ball they throw is caught by the target.

  Eliminated players can re-enter the game when a member of their team catches a ball.