Many games of various cultures have gained popularity all over the world regardless of their origin, or language. Tech-savvy kids these days may not be very keen on playing outside and basking in the sunlight all day. But there are a few games which can be played indoors and outdoors as well. Games are a fun way of spending time with a large group of friends and additional gain physical exercise. It is all the more delightful when played outdoors. Most of these games can even be changed by making minor improvements in the rules. Below is a list of games from all around the world to keep your kids busy during the day.

Pilolo

This game is very popular in rural parts of Ghana. It is suitable for kids above the age group of 4. One player acts as the leader and another as a timekeeper. The timekeeper waits at the finish line to determine the winner. The leader hides either sticks, rocks or pennies when the other players aren’t looking. The leader shouts “Pilolo” after completing his task and timekeeper starts his watch. Here “Pilolo” translates to start searching. Players scatter to find sticks and race to the finish line. The first player at the finish line with a stick is the winner.

Hide and Seek

A very old and popular game played by children from all around the world. The designated seeker closes his eyes and counts to 10 or 20 or even 100 depending on the size and area, giving each player an ample amount of time to hide. The seeker then opens his eyes and starts looking for players hiding, the first one found by the seeker will be the next seeker and the last one found hiding is the winner. This is one form of the game. In another form, while the seeker is looking for players, if all the players return to the home base without being tagged by the seeker then the seeker has to seek again in the next game. In some cases, everybody just waits to be found. There are a wide variety of variations that are made in this game. It’s ideally played amongst very small children. It is referred to in various names all across the world it’s called kryfto in Greece, El escondite in Spain, Machboim in Israel, Sumbaggoggil in south Korea etc.

Corre Corre La Guaraca

Famously played amongst the Chilean kids, which translates to “run, run la guaraca”. Here “la guaraca” is just a slang which has no meaning. All the players close their eyes and sit in a circular form. As they start singing “Corre Corre La Guaraca, whoever looks back will be bopped on their head”, one player jogs around the circle of singing players with a hanky. He then quietly drops it on one of the seated members. If he manages to complete the circle before the seated player realizes the hanky on his back, then the runner wins the game. But if the seated player tags the runner before he completes the circle, then the runner is out. If the seated player fails, he will be the runner in the next game.

Pass the Parcel

Pass the parcel is a popular game originating from the United Kingdom. This is a fun game for children’s birthday parties. Toys or gifts will be wrapped in coloured paper, layer upon layer until there is a good number of layers. Kids are made to sit in a circle then the music begins. The parcel gets passed amongst the children until the music stops. The kid holding the parcel when the music stops unwraps the first layer. Then the music starts again and the whole process continues till the last layer is unwrapped. The child who unwraps the last layer wins the prize.

Agalmata

A popular game originated from Greece which translates to “statue”. One player closes her eyes and stands at the centre of the field and starts counting numbers. She can go on counting indefinitely and stop whenever. There is no particular end number that is set. The other players scatter around waiting for her to shout “Agalmata” i.e. statue. When the player at the centre of the field yells statue, everyone freezes and mimics statue poses. They can take inspiration from the statue of liberty, Christ the redeemer or the little mermaid etc. Then the player “It” goes around the other members in the field trying to make them giggle. Players who maintain composure without laughing are the winners.

Ounch Neech

This is a very popular game played amongst the Pakistani kids. One player is the “it”. Player “It” selects either ounch or neech which translates to up and down. If he chooses down, then the ground is not safe and all the players must find something other than the ground to be upon. Like rock, slide or tree. If he chooses up, then the ground is a safe place. To make this game more interesting, the “it” player can go on changing from ounch to neech trying to tag the players. The tagged player becomes the “it” player in the next game. This game is a great way to gain ample exercise for the body.

Kick the Can

This game is a combination of tag as well as hide and seek. A can is placed at the centre of the field. A designated “It” player counts to 30 closing his eyes and ears. All the other players hide. If the “It” player manages to tag the “non-it” player, he will be captured and sent to the cage. The captured player in the cage can only be saved if another an uncaptured player manages to kick the can without being tagged. The game continues until all the players are captured and put in the cage.

Hopscotch

Grids of numbers from 1 to 9 are made using chalks on the sidewalk. Choose a rock to bounce it on the grids. Smaller rocks bounce higher than the bigger ones. Bounce the rock on grid number 1. Hop along with the hopscotch pattern, turn around and come back. Stop at grid 2, pick the rock on grid 1 and hop on grid 1. Now bounce the rock on grid 2. Repeat the process. If you miss any numbers while bouncing the rocks, your turn ends. This game is suitable during the day and can be played indoors. To play indoors you can make use of floor patterns or find mats and foams to draw on them.

Hot or Cold

Everyone is made to go and wait outside the room until one player hides an object in the room. The children then return to the room and search for the object. The player responsible for hiding the object hints other players by calling of different temperature variations like warm, warmer, hot or cold, colder, freezing etc. based on the proximity. Here hot refers to too close to the object and freezing refers to far away from the object. This game is called as Topfschlagen in Germany, Frio- O-Caliente and Ciepto-zimno in Poland.

Blind Man’s Buff

This game will require a field with a plain surface. A child will be blindfolded and the game ends when he has captured or tagged all the other player. It best to play this game in an area with no obstacles as this may injure the blindfolded player. There are various versions to this game. In one version, if the blindfolded player tag’s another member then the tagged player becomes the new “it” player instantly. In another version, the blindfolded player has to recognize the player he tagged by feeling their face. In a Japanese version of this game, the blindfolded player is made to hold a teacup and tag the players without spilling its contents.