Games for sidewalks and pavement
Consider painting these game grids on a sidewalk. You’ll always be ready for play.

Hopscotch
The object of this game is to journey through the hopscotch grid.
Here’s what you need:
sidewalk chalk
large, flat surface
marker for each player
2 to 6 players

1. Draw a hopscotch grid with chalk. See possible versions below (see PDF). Number each space in the grid.
2. Draw a line about 2 feet from the bottom of the grid. This is the toss line players stand behind to start their turn.
3. Each player, in turn, tosses a marker into the grid’s numbered boxes, starting with box 1 and continuing to box 10 in each turn.
4. The players then jump over the area with the marker and continue hopping through the grid.
5. Players usually agree to the following rules:
If the marker does not land in the appropriate square, the player loses a turn.
Players hop on one foot except on side-by-side squares.
Players must not step on the chalk lines.
When players reach the last box, they turn in one hop and continue back through the grid to the beginning.
When players reach the box holding their marker, they bend over to retrieve the marker—balancing on one foot—hop into that box, and continue to the end.
Players continue tossing their markers and hopping until they lose a turn by violating one of these rules.

London
The object of this game is to draw three complete stick figures in a box of the board.
Here’s what you need:
sidewalk chalk
large, flat surface
smooth marker for each player
2 to 4 players

1. Draw a London diagram. The board should be about 3-feet wide and 6-feet deep and divided into seven steps and a London box. See example below (see PDF).
2. Players take turns sliding a marker onto the board. When a marker stops in one of the seven boxes, the player uses chalk to begin drawing (or add to) a stick figure. Players must draw the head first and add body, legs, and arms in subsequent turns.
3. Players usually agree on the following rules:
More than one player may have a figure in the box.
Players can add only to their own figures.
If a marker lands in a box without a figure, the player must start one. If the marker lands in the area marked London, the player may draw a head or add to a figure already begun—in any space the player chooses.
4. After players complete one figure, they begin a second and then a third until all three figures are complete.

Nine Men’s Morris
The object of this game is to form a row of three markers.
Here’s what you need:
sidewalk chalk
large, flat surface
9 markers for each player
2 players

1. Draw a board consisting of three concentric squares. Adjust the size to the space available. Mark three dots on each side of each square for a total of 24 dots as shown (see PDF).
2. Players take turns placing one marker at a time (like checkers, chips, or counters) on a dot. Make sure each player’s markers can be distinguished from the opponent’s.
3. The game continues as players take turns moving their markers to empty dots attempting to form a row of three markers—along any of the 16 lines—without being blocked by another player’s marker.
4. When a player forms a row of three, that player can remove one of the opponent’s unconnected markers from the board. Once formed, rows of three cannot be moved.
5. The game is over when all possible moves have been made.

Marbles
Marble games have been popular for thousands of years and enjoyed in all parts of the world. Marble games have been played with round stones, berries, nuts, baked clay, and blown glass. Today most marbles are manufactured from glass.
Caution: Marbles are a choking hazard. Don’t allow children younger than 4 to play with marbles. Encourage children to count their marbles before play and to make sure they put away the same number.

Ringer
Ringer is the official, tournament-level marble game. The object is to hit marbles out of the ring.
Here’s what you need:
13 marbles for the circle
shooter marbles for each player
containers for marbles
large, flat surface
chalk, cord, or marking stick
2 to 4 players

1.Make a circle 10 feet in diameter on the ground. You can draw the circle with chalk, lay cord on the ground, or draw the circle in dirt.
2.Put one marble in the center of the circle. Place three marbles above, below, and on each side of the center marble (in the shape of a cross), keeping the marbles 3 inches apart.
3.The first player shoots, knuckles down, from anywhere outside the circle trying to hit a mib out of the ring while keeping the shooter inside.
4.If a player misses a mib, the turn ends.
5.If the shooter hits a mib out of the ring and the shooter also rolls out of the ring, the player’s turn is over. The player collects the marbles that rolled out of the ring and picks up the shooter.
6.If the shooter hits a mib out of the ring and the shooter stays inside the ring, the player shoots again from the position of the shooter. The player also collects the marbles that were shot outside the ring.
7.If the player misses a shot and the shooter stays in the ring, an opponent can regard it as another target marble.
8.The game ends when the last marble is shot out.

Bounce eye
The object of this game is to knock mibs out of the circle by dropping shooters.
Here’s what you need:
10 marbles for each player
containers for marbles
flat surface
marking stick
2 to 4 players

1.Draw a 1- to 2-foot-diameter circle on the ground.
2.Each player places one to three marbles in the ring—piled up or scattered.
3.Players stand outside the circle and take turns dropping marbles from eye level (no bending or stooping) trying to knock mibs out of the circle.
4.The first player collects mibs that leave the circle, and the next player shoots.
5.If in a turn no mibs leave the circle, that player collects the dropped shooter, pays one marble into the center, and allows the next player to shoot.
6.The game ends when all mibs have been knocked out of the circle.

Puggy
This is a great starting game for new mibsters. The object is to get five marbles into the puggy.
Here’s what you need:
10 marbles and one shooter for each player
containers for marbles
flat, dirt surface
marking stick
2 to 4 players

1.Find an area with soft dirt as a playing surface. Draw a 5-foot-diameter taw line, and dig a small, 6-inch diameter hole—the puggy—in the center.
2.Each player scatters five marbles in the ring.
3.Players take turns shooting from outside the ring, trying to knock the mibs into the puggy.
4.When players succeed in sinking a mib in the puggy, they collect the mib and shoot again from outside the circle.
5.When players don’t hit a mib into the hole, they pick up their shooter and on the next turn shoot again from outside the circle.
6.The game ends when no mibs are left in the ring.

Treasure hunts
Treasure and scavenger hunts appeal to children of all ages, and require only a bit of planning. The following activities are designed for outdoor play. With modifications they work indoors for a fun, rainy day activity.

Jungle hunt
The object of this game is to find the hidden animals.
Here’s what you need:
plastic jungle animals
pictures of jungle animals
collection bags or baskets for each player

1.Collect toys and pictures for the hunt. Have about three to five objects for each child you expect to participate.
2.Hide the toys and pictures around the playground—on the ground, dangling from trees, or attached to wheel toys, for example. For younger children, try to leave a part of the animal or picture visible.
3.Tell children the ground rules for the hunt: “There are plastic animals and pictures hidden. You can reach all of the jungle animals from the ground—you don’t have to climb. Today we’ll search in teams of three. You have 15 minutes to hunt.”
4.Start the hunt. If all the objects haven’t been found in the designated time, consider giving clues and hints, sharing information with all the hunters fairly.

Penny hunt
The object of this game is to find the hidden pennies.
Here’s what you need:
20 pennies
collection bags or baskets for each player

1. Divide children into two teams.
2. Give Team A the pennies and let them do the hiding. Make clear that the pennies must be hidden in areas that are safe to explore.
3. After the pennies are hidden, let Team B find them.
4. At the end of the designated time, gather the pennies and count to make sure all are found.
5. Play again letting Team B do the hiding and Team A the hunting.
6. Be careful to collect all the pennies at the end of the game.

Jigsaw hunt
The object of this game is to find the hidden puzzle pieces and to put the puzzle together.
Here’s what you need:
picture postcards—one for each player
scissors
collection bags or baskets for each player

1. Stack the postcards and cut them into six to nine pieces.
2. Separate the pieces and hide them.
3. Tell the children that they will each have to find the pieces necessary to complete a puzzle. When children find puzzle pieces that don’t fit their own puzzle, they can trade pieces.
Variation: Hide the pieces of a familiar, 15-piece jigsaw puzzle. Children can complete the puzzle as they find the pieces. The game ends when all the pieces are found.

Resources
Cole, Joanna and Stephanie Calmension. 1998. Marbles: 101 Ways to Play. New York: Morrow Junior Books.
Eagan, Robynne. 1995. Game for a Game? Carthage, Ill.: Teaching and Learning Company.
Hort, Lenny. 2000. Treasure Hunts! Treasure Hunts! New York: HarperCollins.
Levine, Shar and Vicki Scudamore. 1998. Marbles: A Player’s Guide. New York: Sterling Publishing.
Maguire, Jack. 1991. Hopscotch, Hangman, Hot Potato, and Ha, Ha, Ha: A Rulebook of Children’s Games. New York: Fireside Books.
Vecchione, Glen. 1989. The World’s Best Street and Yard Games. New York: Sterling Publishing.