Red Rover Red Rover.... Who Remembers Playing

Red Rover, Red Rover, send you right on over...

Oh!!! You are all ready here , so glad to see you. I was just thinking about one of my favorite games as a child. We seemed to play it everywhere home, school, and even in the church courtyard. Red rover was also known as forcing the city gates and octopus tag. This game was more fun with around a dozen children but if you had to many the game would become a bore it seemed (or at least it did to me) The game is believed to have originated in the United Kingdom and spread to Australia, Canada and the United States.

Teams were selected with each side normally having the same number of players. The teams then would stand a good distance maybe 30 feet away from each other. The game is played by calling a member of the other team out by saying or singing "Red rover, red rover , send ________ right on over." The individual called over from the other team would run to the other team as to break through the line of children holding hands tightly as to not let the runner through.Failing to break through means that they had to join the other side. If the player breaks through the line the choose a player go back to their team with them.

The game ends when one player stands alone and does not successfully break through the other teams line. If the player does break through the game continues with a player returning allowing each side to have at least 2 players.

NOTE::: Red Rover is considered a dangerous game by some. It was labeled a "dangerous contact sport" by some. It may hurt a little to have someone smash into your wrists but you can always let go if you are too scared. Children's Hospital at Stanford California state that more than 3.5 million children under age 14 get hurt each year playing contact sports. However, there has been no evidence or reported case of a child's fatal injury from Red Rover.