How Many of These Games Did Minnesotans Play As Kids?

This past weekend, the weather was so nice, everybody was outside. And considering it was a holiday weekend, the kids had an extra day out of school.  

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As I was driving around this weekend, I saw some kids playing outside and it made me think back to my childhood, and the things we would do outside in great weather like we had on Saturday. 

Then I came across a Facebook group for kids who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s and it asked a question that I had to read some of the answers to. The question was “name a game you and your friends played outside that kids likely don’t play anymore”?  

Some of the answers brought back great memories for me, maybe they will for you as well. 

Kick Ball- The sound the ball that was designed for Kick Ball made when you kicked it, still rings in my head.  

Red Rover- Kids form two lines facing each other, then form a chain by holding hands. One line would choose a player from the other line to run at them and try to split their hands apart. If the runner split through the line, they would take a member of that team to join their team. If the runner didn’t break through, the runner would join the opposing team.  

Red Light, Green Light- One person, the caller, stands away from a group of players. When they say Green Light, the group runs toward the other person. When the caller says Red Light, they stop running. The first person to touch the “caller” becomes the caller for the next round.   

Four Square- There were four squares on the ground with a player in each square. They would hit a ball from one square to the other with two hands; if the ball was hit into someone's square and they couldn’t hit it back, they were out. When someone was out, they left their square and the other players would move up one space.  

Hide and Seek- One person hides their eyes and counts to a certain number. When they reach the number, they would announce “ready or not, here I come”.  While they are counting, the other players find a good place to hide.  

Other games that were listed in this group: 

• Kick the Can 
• Capture the Flag 
• Freeze Tag 
• Keep Away 
• Jarts/Lawn Darts 

Do you remember games that you played that aren’t on this list?