Playing Games

     Recently, I’ve been thinking about games I played with my cousins at Gran’s house. We mostly played during the summer months, but also would play any weekend we happened to be there (which was almost every weekend).
     Before any game was played, we needed to find out who was “It”. Any number of counting games was used to determine this. Some of the ones I remember are:

Eenie, meenie, miney, mo
Catch a Tiger by the toe or Catch a rabbit by his toe
If he hollers let him go
Eenie, meenie, miney, mo.

Another was:

Wire, briar, lumber, lock
Three geese in a flock
One flew east
One flew west
One flew over Bonnie Bluebird’s nest
And went to the old black smutty home.

Then there was:

Engine, engine, Number Nine
Going down Chicago line
If the train should jump the track
Do you want your money back?

Whoever the count landed on would say, “Yes” or “No”, then that was spelled out with:

Y-E-S spells “yes” and you are not it. 

or

N-O spells “no” and you are not it

That continued until one person remained, who was “It.”
Or one of the more graphic counting chants:

My mama and your mama
Were hanging out clothes.
My mama hit your mama 
In her big nose,
What color was the blood?

Whoever the count landed on would say a color (for example, blue) and that color was spelled out, like:

B-L-U-E spells “blue” and you are not it.

Then the old stand-by:

One potato, two potato, three potato, four
Five potato, six potato, seven potato, or (possibly more)

 Then there was:

Ink pink, sky blue
All out, but you.

Or, finally, we would use:

Bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish
How many pieces do you wish?

The person the count landed on would say a number; that number was counted with “And you are not it” tacked on the end.
     Once we determined who was it, the games began.

Hide and Go Seek

     First there was Hide and Go seek. The person who was “It” would stay on base (usually Gran’s front porch) and count to 100, while everyone else went and hid. Once the person had counted to 100, he (or she) yelled, “Ready or not, here I come!” Play continued until everyone reached base, or “It” caught someone before reaching home.

Mr. Spider

     Then there was Mr. Spider. Whoever was “It” would go to the fence near the road while everyone else on the front porch would decide what they were. They could be types of toys, kinds of cars, brands of candy, types of animals, etc. Once everyone had decided on an item, they all called “Mr. Spider”. Whoever was “Mr. Spider” would come to home base, and say “What are you selling?” The spokesman for the players would say whatever their category was, for example, “Animals.” Mr. Spider would then guess types of animals until one was called which a player had named. That player then had to run to the fence and back before Mr. Spider caught him. If caught, that player became Mr. Spider, and play resumed with another round.

Red Devil

     Red Devil was similar to Mr. Spider, except the players on the porch were always colors. Red Devil was at the fence while the players determined their color. Once everyone had stated their color, someone would stand with their back to Red Devil (playing the door), while everyone else chanted,
“Red Devil, Red Devil, Come knock on my Door.”
     Red Devil would come and “knock” on the back of the person playing the door. The Door would turn and ask, “What do you want?” Red Devil would reply, “Colors.” “What Color?” replied the Door. Then Red Devil would guess colors until a color that a player had chosen was called. That player then ran to the fence and back before Red Devil caught him. If caught, that person would become Red Devil; otherwise, the same Red Devil would remain.

     Other games we played will be explored at another time.