Red Rover

Red Rover, Red Rover…
Do you want to hear something that will BLOW YOUR MIND? Last Saturday we were over at Major and Steph’s for dinner and somehow during the conversation someone mentioned the game “Red Rover.” I was like, “What? Wait, you guys played that too?” They were all like, “Yeah, of course!” and then started reminiscing about playing it. Their descriptions all sounded kinda weird though. Finally I got somebody to give me the Australian rules, and I’m tellin’ ya, it’s like I walked smack into the Bizarro World. Their version is almost completely opposite to ours! One person stands in the middle of a field with everybody else in a big line facing them. (Like at the end of the American version, when there’s only one person left.) Then, get this: The lone person yells out “Red Rover, Red Rover, COME OVER!” And all the other kids run past to the other side, and anybody that the person in the middle manages to tag get stuck in the middle with him. This gets repeated until only one person is left running back and forth. ISN’T THAT INSANE? There’s no clothes-lining, no deliberately picking the same weak kids every time, no silly girls who pull their hands back at the last second. I couldn’t believe it. Same name, totally different rules.

Oh, and remember that horribly non-PC game called “Smear the Queer” where you basically tried to bash whoever had the ball? They played that one here too. It’s called “Kill the Dill with the Pill.”

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  1. The American version is way better! A high potential for shoulder dislocation always spices a game up. I was a scrany kid but would usually be strategically placed next to a big kid as to not form an obvious weak link in the chain. It’s always a bit shocking to discover that something you assumed everyone did the same exact can actually be done differently. For example, those freaks from Minnesota who play Duck, Duck, Grey Duck instead of Duck, Duck, Goose. WTF?

  2. I’m interested to hear what they call the game “Duck, Duck, Goose” (presuming they play that in Australia). I was shocked to learn than in Minnesota it’s called “Duck, Duck, Grey Duck.” How lame is that?

  3. That is weird. The rules are almost exactly opposite…I wonder if the Coriolis effect played some part in this…

  4. The Snook just IMed me to confirm that the Aussies do indeed say “Duck, Duck, Goose.” *whew* So it’s just the Minnesotans who are freaks there. 🙂

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