For A Good Time

Some games we played as children are not as widely used by kids today. For one thing if a game or toy used batteries they were often put on a shelf when batteries ran down. Those batteries were expensive so they were not replaced regularly.

Not to worry. We had other options.

Jump ropes were good for getting rid of energy. We could jump our own personal rope. We could jump a longer rope that was swung by a person at either end. Often this way is accompanied by a little chant to help keep time. 

There were more complicated jumps too. The long rope as the jumper also jumped their individual rope too. Or more than one jumper in the long rope. Or two long ropes swung in opposing arcs at the same time with a single or multiple jumpers. So much fun.

There was usually a tether ball at school/ There is a tall post. The ball hangs down attached to a rope. There are two players. Each tries to hit the ball so it goes around the pole as the other player is trying for the opposite direction. The winner is the player who gets the ball around the pole until it can go no further.

Tag is fun. The players stand in a circle until IT indicates two players are to run around the circle whichever one reaches the goal then becomes IT. There are many different forms of tag...Pum-Pum -Pullaway, Drop Tag, Duck-Duck-Goose, and more, 

Not a lot of players available? How about Jacks? Jacks consist of a small rubber ball and 5 or 10 little six-sided pieces made of either metal or plastic. You toss the ball in the air and pick up one of the jacks after the ball bounces once. There are many sequences to make it more difficult.

Pick up sticks are a container of what look like double long colorful toothpicks. The sticks are pointed at both ends. They are held together on end in a hand. The hand opens and the sticks fall. The object of the game is to pick up as many as you can one at a time without disturbing any of the others. After all the sticks have been picked up each player adds up their points and a winner is revealed.

We played cards. Lots of cards. Solitaire and against each other.

Paper games were fun. Mom found one in a magazine that we really liked. It was called Salvo. Each player would draw two grids of 100 squares each In one grid we would draw a ship that used 4 squares. Another of three squares and two of 2 squares. In the other grid we kept track of our guesses trying to find and sink the opponent's ships. 

You have probably guessed that this was eventually made into a popular board game named Battleship.

What did you do for fun?