| Now...while the weather is still golden...before the last vestiges of summer and the first hints of autumn give way to the fully crisp air and assertive chill of oncoming winte...now would be a good time to revisit the classic outdoor active games and select a few to suggest for your kids to play this month. ANNNIE ANNIE OVER Materials needed: One tennis ball, one low house with a sloped roof For this game, you need either two or four players (with reasonably strong arms), one tennis ball, and a house whose roof is low enough to throw the ball over. The house also needs to not have impediments jutting out from it that would trip up a player rushing pell-mell from the back of the house to the front (or vice-versa). The "Annie" in the game's name probably derives from the Latin "ante"; one long-time player asserts that the cry was originally "Ante I over" and was delivered just before the player made his or her throw. Game calls and chants certainly do differ from region to region. To digress for a minute, I have had reports from various regions of the country regarding the call at the end of Hide 'n' Seek. Some claim it's "Ollie ollie oxen free-free-free." To others it's "All-y all-y out is in free!" I grew up hearing "Home free all!" You could probably identify the region a person grew up in by asking such questions as "What do you yell when you touch Home Base in Hide 'n' Seek?" or by the various chants and calls of other games, or even the names by which s/he knows those games. But to get back to Annie Annie Over: The game, as played with two players, requires one to stand at the front of the house, the other to stand at the back...and the owner of the house (presumably the mother of at least one of the players) to have nerves of steel regarding errant tennis balls and potential broken windows. Player # 1, who has the ball, yells "Annie Annie Over" and throws the ball over the house. If the ball fails to clear the crest of the roof and rolls back toward Player # 1, s/he yells "Pigtails!" to alert Player # 2 that no ball is approaching the back of the house just yet. When a throw successfully clears the roof's crest, the tension begins. The ball sails over the roof, or rolls down the slope, and Player # 2, in the back yard, attempts to catch the ball before it hits the ground. (Players are on their honor about catching it in time. If you play with a cheater, that's your bad judgment and your problem. If you yourself are a cheater, shame on you!) If Player # 2, in the back yard, didn't succeed in catching the ball before it hit the ground, s/he retrieves it from the ground and attempts to loft it back over the roof, yelling "Annie Annie Over" before throwing it. If, however, Player # 2 has made a fair catch, the game moves into the stalk-and-chase stage. Player # 2 now goes around the house, carrying the ball, perhaps at an all-out run, perhaps sneaking craftily and stealthily. As s/he comes into the front yard, Player # 1 (who has been looking nervously from one corner of the house to the other, anticipating Player # 2 arrival) bursts into motion, running madly away from Player # 2, who is still holding the ball. Player # 2 chases Player # 1 toward the back yard, with the intent to throw the ball at him/her and hit him/her with the ball before One can reach the safety of the back yard. Player # 1, of course, is allowed to duck his or her head, or zigzag as s/he runs. Perhaps Player # 2 will think s/he has a clear shot, aim the ball at Player # 1, and miss. But if Player # 2 lobs a good one at Player # 1, s/he may hit him or her thumpingly on the back. Scoring is not essential in Annie Annie Over. Playing for pure fun is enough. But there are rules that cover the earning of points for those who care to play for score. Catching the ball fairly earns one point; conversely, if the ball isn't caught, the thrower earns one point. And hitting the retreating player before s/he reaches the safety of the other side of the house earns three points. In four-player games, either player on the receiving side may catch the ball. Then this question arises: Is it fair for the two players on the receiving side to both run around the house, one from each direction, the player without the ball in hand flushing out the opposing player and chasing him/her right into the heavily armed ball-carrying member of the team, who's advancing from the other direction? As with most games, local rules prevail. But it does pay to raise this question in advance of playing, to avoid the inevitable cries of "No fair!" and "Cheater! Cheater!" that will arise if one team thinks such a strategy is cricket and the other team thinks it's definitely un-kosher. Of course, on a hot summer afternoon when everyone's already sweaty without performing a mad dash around the house, half a game of Annie Annie Over is always possible. That is, the ball can be tossed back and forth over the house amid cries of "Annie Annie Over" and "Pigtails" without the chasing aspect. And, on a hot summer day such as that, when you're chasing the ball even if you're not chasing each other, the best house to play at not only has a low, sloped roof and a nerves-of-steel occupant, but a fridge full of cold drinks to refresh the players. On a hot day, Annie Annie Over can be a very thirst-provoking game. MOTHER, MAY I? Materials needed: None Years before the invention of Dungeons & Dragons¨ produced the first Dungeonmaster, that same awesome, all-powerful control of other players was invested in the "Mother"s of a million Mother, May I games from sea to shining sea. The hardest part of the game may be selecting the Mother of the day, which may result from one of the standard childhood choosing methods or simply from the bossiest kid in the neighborhood being present and insisting she's to be the Mother and that's it. Once the Mother has been selected, though, the game can get into full swing. Players line up across the yard. (There's something about this game that suggests warm summer evenings outdoors, but of course it can be played in a large enough living room on a cold winter afternoon nearly as well, assuming there's a large enough area devoid of furniture.) Mother faces the other players across the open space between them. The object of the game, quite simply, is to be the first player to cross the line on which Mother stands, but players may only move by Mother's permission and only as great a distance as Mother permits. Mother calls on one of the players and offers preliminary permission to advance, specifying the number of steps and size (baby steps, regular steps, giant steps): "Chris, you may take two giant steps." Chris must get confirmation before moving: "Mother, may I?" Mother now has the option of permitting or denying: "Yes, you may," or "No, you may not." If Mother says, "Yes, you may," Chris is free to take two steps forward, but if Mother changes her mind and says, "No, you may not," Chris must stay still. And if Chris takes the giant steps first, without remembering to get confirmation, Chris is penalized and sent all the way back to the starting line. Some regional rules give Mother total control over what players are called on in what order and how often. Mother has it within her power to totally ignore some players...not a very fair way to play, but then who said kids are fair? In other areas, the rules state that the player who has just been called on by Mother has the authority to decide who will be called upon next. There is still room for abuse of power, but at least it's spread around. Another area in which rules vary by region is that of cheating: Some people play that cheating is cheating, a no-no in this game as it is anywhere else in life. Others, however, believe cheating is as integral a part of the game of Mother, May I as stealing bases is in baseball, and comparable. According to this viewpoint, sneaking ahead is fair game if you don't get caught. Inching forward unnoticed is a central part of the game, and if it results in winning, it proves you're a good player, not a bad sport. If you do get caught by Mother, however, you are sent back to the starting line. Now about those three different-sized steps: A giant step is defined as a stride as long as the player can manage. A regular step is just thatÑthough the way some players take them, they manage to make them almost as large as giant steps. (This is known in Real Life as "fudging.") And baby steps are accomplished by putting the heel of the advancing foot just touching the toe of the stationary foot, a slow and inefficient manner of advancing whose chief result is getting nowhere fast. The first player to reach the finish line (an imaginary line that extends outward on either side from where Mother is standing) becomes Mother for the next round, starting off a fresh set of squabbles over who cheats, who is shown favoritism, and who is obviously unliked by Mother. If nothing else, this game is an excellent training ground for the diplomats of tomorrow as they settle squabbles, pacify and placate, remonstrate with Mothers who are blatantly unfair, and generally serve as Kissingers-in-training. It's also a good object lesson, for those Mothers who try to give everyone an honest, equal shot at winning, as to just how difficult it is to be a fair and impartial mother, which may make them appreciate their real mothers just a little bit better. Kids who are outrageously unfair and blatantly discriminatory may enjoy their power briefly, but they are not likely to find themselves chosen Mother again in any great hurry, leading to a lesson for all on the negative outcome of abuse of power. It is obvious that certain world leaders such as Fidel Castro never played Mother, May I? as a child. RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT Materials needed: None This one is a cousin to "Mother, May I?" involving a similar set-up and goal: A group of players each try to get from a starting line to the finish line, where It stands, their movements being regulated by It. But unlike "Mother, May I?" in which players move one at a time, in Red LIght, Green Light all move together on the commands of It. The commands are simply "Red light" and "Green light." With It standing on the finish line, s/he turns his/her back to the players and yells "Green light!" The players then advance on It at whatever speed and using whatever kind of step they choose: walking, running, striding, even hopping if they so desire. When It yells "Red light!" and whirls around, all the players must freeze. Anyone whom It catches moving is sent back to the starting line. At first thought, you might suppose the best way to cross the finish line first is to run as fast as you can at the command "Green light!" But the other side of the coin is that it's harder to stop on a dime at the call, "Red light!" when you're zooming across the meadow at 60 mph. So a more cautious approach has its advantages. Remember, if It turns around and sees a player still advancing after the "Red light!" command, that player gets sent back to the starting line. All of which makes a good case for the tortoise approach: Slow and steady wins the race. A full-bore sprint may cover more ground in a few seconds than cautious steps will, but it's a lot harder to come to a dead stop from a run than from a creep. If It turns quickly, the runner is a dead duck. Or should I say a dead hare, as opposed to a live tortoise. Arguments abound over whether it's cricket for It to yell "GreenlightRedlight!" quickly, tricking most of the players into being in motion when s/he turns his/her back and then immediately turns right around again. Ah, well...a good argument can keep the evening or afternoon from becoming too predictable. Is such a maneuver fair play? Local rules prevail. But eventually, one player will succeed in crossing the finish line despite It's speedy spinning and yelling. The first player who does succeed in doing so becomes the new It, and the game starts all over again, with the new It having the pleasure of tormenting the others with tricky, too-swift cries of "Green light! Red light!" and the pleasure of sending players back to the starting line. Ah, authority! Doesn't everyone love a chance to be the boss...especially when they're young! |