RED ROVER

Age Level: 6 and up

Number of Players: 6 or more

What Is Needed: nothing

Type of Game: competitive (sort of)

Location: outside

HOW TO PLAY

Divide the players into two teams. The teams link arms and stand opposite each other about fifty feet apart. The birthday child should be at the end of one line so he or she can go first, naming a child (let's say Janie) on the other team this way: "Red Rover, Red Rover, let Janie come over." Janie then runs across the play area and tries to break through the chain of opposite players. If she breaks through, she goes back to her own team. If she doesn't, she joins the team she couldn't break through. Theoretically, the last person to join a chain is the winner, but often the game doesn't get this far. Play just until the children feel like playing something else.