Red Rover, Red Rover

I can’t decide which was the most fun about writing this PixieTip: Finding out the meaning behind the name or reading about the risks involved in playing it. Røver is a Norwegian term for pirate and the game is thought to have originated in Britain in the 19th century as a way of showing bravery by taunting Vikings — aka Norwegians — to try to invade. But if any of this is true then I’d imagine this game was invented more than a couple of hundred years ago since the Vikings stopped attacking the English isles by the end of the 11th century.

Plus it’s probably a universal game since the Brits were not the only island or nation to be sacked by a foreign invader. The Japanese have a similar game called Hana Ichi Monme, which involves Red Rover and the Japanese versions of Rocks, Papers, Scissors. I found today’s image from a website called My Free Kids Games. So if you’re looking kids games, it’s a decent blog for it. But, on to Red Rover.

Red Rover

The game is played between two imaginary lines with enough room for a person to run in between. You can vary the distance depending on how much steam you want people to be able to build up. Each team lines up holding hands along one of these imaginary lines and the game starts when the first team yells, “Red rover, red rover, let [insert someone’s name] come over.”

The goal for the person whose name is called is to run and break through the opposing team’s line. If this player fails to break through, then the player must join the opposing team. However, if the player successfully breaks through, then the player can select either of the two broken links — people — and take them to join their team. Now it’s the other team’s turn to call over a player. When there is one player left on a team, this player also must try and break through the opposing team’s line. If they fail, the opposing team wins. If they succeed, they pick up another player and the game continues.

Apparently this game has been banned from schools because it’s too violent. Goodness, how are kids supposed to break bones these days if they can’t even play Red Rover as children? So, I don’t know how many adults are going to be willing to play this game. I’m at a loss as to who this would be best for other than kids at heart, which could run the gamut of personality types.

Below is Wikipedia warning on the risks of this dangerous game and how to avoid them — I think my favorite is no “clotheslining,” talk about a fun group of people if one of them actually contemplated CLOTHESLINING someone during a game. How about just telling everyone that this game is meant for amusement and not injury?? Play with caution readers!

As with any game involving physical contact between players, there are inherent risks. For example, when the runner breaks through a link (or attempts to break through), it can hurt the linkers’ arms or body or knock them to the ground. Practices particularly discouraged are linking players hand-to-wrist or hand-to-arm (rather, players should hold hands only), “clotheslining” an opposing player at throat height, or extending the hands so an onrushing player runs into a fist.