Romanian games

1. Romanian games

2. Black Monster This is a game suitable to approaching Halloween. The game is played after the sunset.The characters are Black Monster, Mother and Children.Mother talks to Black Monster and both fix an hour (for example x) when Black Monster will come. Children don't know the hour. Black Monster stays apart and Mother calls the Children. '-Children, children come to dinner!'-We are afraid of Black Monster'Black Monster appears in the distance and Children ask:-Who are you?-Black Monster.-What do you eat?-Man's flesh.-What do you drink?-Man's blood.-What is you pillow?-Man's skull.'Then all the Children sing, paying attention to see when Black Monster comes: 'Hour 1 came,Black Monster isn't here.Hour 2 came,Black Monster isn't here,Hour x came,Black Monster is here.'All Children run and Black Monster after them.Who is caught is the next Black Monster.They chose another Mother and the game starts from the beginning.

3. Hide and Seek An infinite number of children may take part in this game. The children place themselves in a circle. One child starts counting them placing his forefinger on the children's chest. In his counting he also uses some formulas. The last child counted will leave the circle. The other ones supposed to hide. The child who has lost will cover his/her eyes and starts counting again from 1. From the time to time he keeps asking “Are you ready?" When he gets no answer any more he knows that he can start looking for the other children.The hidden children try to get to the place where their friend had been standing first.After all the children have been discovered, another child takes over and the play goes on.

4. Hide-and-seek • It is a very nice game and many children can take part in it. These children say the following lines: "In an inkpot / full of ink / what color will your dress have". In Romanian these are rhymed. "Do you have something like that on you / tell me, too".The child who cannot show the color covers his/her eyes and counts to ten. In the meantime the other children hide. After the child has counted to ten he/she starts looking for the other children. The first child discovered will be the one to follow the counting he/she will cover her/his eyes, counts to ten...

5. Elastic Skippy • Mainly girls play the game. They fasten the ends of elastic and they place it around their legs.The girls jump crosswise and they try to maintain the elastic round their legs.When the player become better and more competent, the elastic is moved higher up the legs to make the game more difficult.

6. Dance, little girl • Girls and boys form a circle. A girl in the middle, dance around, and all of them sing: • Dance, dance little girlYou are as beautiful as a carnationAnd our dance is madeOf a girl and a boy. • The girl chooses a boy and they dance together in the middle.La la la la la la la..... • The girl goes back in the circle and the boy remains dancing in the middle and all of the children sing: • Dance, dance little boyYou are as beautiful as a cucumberAnd our dance is madeOf a girl and a boy • The dance continues with the boy choosing a girl and so on..

7. Ten little fellows -Games with hands • Two girls clap hands and sing: A little fellowOnce got marriedAnd his wife gave birth toTen little kids on the spot • Ten little kidsPlayed in the dewOne fell downAnd there are nine left • Nine little kidsEat some pop-cornOne got chokedAnd there are eight left • Eight little kidsDrank milk and cocoaOne got chokedAnd there are seven left • Seven little kidsWent to TanaseOne died of laughAnd there are six left • Six little kidsPut on some 'opinci' (specific shoes n.t.)One got stumbledAnd there are five left • Five little kidsWent to the theaterOne become an artistAnd there are four left • Four little kidsClimb up a treeOne of them fell downAnd there are three left • Three little kidsWent to the herdOne became a shepherdAnd there are two left • Two little kidsFired the cannonOne of them got shotAnd there are one left • One little fellow...And the game starts from the beginning

8. Oranges Game • The players are numbered from 1 up. The leader begins the game by calling any number. He will say, for instance: "I need seven oranges". The child whose number is called must answer at once with another number, e.g. "Why seven and not ten?" to which the player no. 10 must reply immediately with another number: "Why ten and not two?" And so on. Those who fail to answer immediately or call a number, which is out of the game, are dropped out.The game may continue until all but one player have been eliminated. To help the children, the numbers givens to the players are written on cardboard at the beginning of the game and they are crossed out one by one, when the respective player is dropped from the game.

9. The Funny Phone The children tell each other a funny phrase which must be the answer to the question asked by one of the children, who will interrogate the others. This child asks them, in turn, different stories like: "Who is your friend?", "What have you eaten?", "Where do you live?", "Who are you?", "Where did you sleep?", "Whom do you love?" etc. The child who has been asked must answer what the one next to him had told him. The funnier the questions are the more amused the answers become. The game ends after all the children have asked questions.

10. Hide and Seek A child is turning his/her face to the wall and starts to count to 100. The others run here and there, trying to hide somewhere. When the child finishes counting he warns the others that he is going to start looking for them saying: "Who's not ready will be taken on a shovel." Then he starts looking for them. When a child is found, he has to run to the wall and say "Ptiu, Ptiu" (a kind of miming the gesture of spit). The last one found can save the others if he arrives at the wall faster than the one who has found him and spits him. If that doesn't happen, the last one found will stay at the wall and the game will continue.

11. The Stone Bridge has been crushed • It is a game in which all the children sing the following song:               "The stone bridge has bees crushed,                 The water came and took it away.                We will build another one down the river,                A more lasting and beautiful one." There are two children who choose a name which usually is the name of a precious stone or valuable things and then they lift their hands and touch them standing face to face. The other children hold hands to one another and pass under the "bridge" made by the bodies and the hands of the two children. Everybody is singing and when the song is ready one of the children is "cought" in the very moment he passes under the bridge.The three children go a little further and talk. The caught child has to choose between the two names and he will then follow the one he has chosen and stay behind him, holding him with his both arms. They will go back and the children will continue the game. After the last child has been "caught", they hold one another and the two children who were the bridge hold hands and the others behind them, according to the name they have chosen, start to pull in opposite directions, until the stronger party wins. The game is ready and it may be begun again.

12. Games with tempo songs and gestures of hands The game is played by two or more children. They clap hands according to the tempo of the song they are singing and they can also make different gestures with their hands.Example:1. Clap your hands once, then clap hands with the other children, clap your hands again, and so one ...2. Clap your hands, then clap hands with the other children, cross your hands, clap your knees, clap again hands with the other children.3. Clap your hands, clap both hands with the other child, clap again your hands, clap your right hands with the other one's left hand and vice versa. Now clap again both hands hith the other child and then everything is repeated.The songs can be short or long. If translated, they lose their charm

13. A Tisket, a tasket • ,A tisket, a tisket A green and yellow basket,I wrote a letter to my love,And on the way I dropped it,I dropped it, I dropped it,And on the way I dropped it.A little boy/girl picked it upAnd put it in his/her pocket. • Children hold hands in a circle. One child runs around the circle with a handkerchief, drops it to someone at his choice and continues to run. The chosen child runs in the opposite direction.Who reaches the vacant place first, remains there and the other takes the handkerchief for the next round.

14. Water and Fire • The children select/ choose a player who goes out of the room. The others hide an object. The one who is out must find it. When he enters the room, the children will say "Water", again and again if he is far from the object, an "fire" if he is in the object's neighborhood. "The seeker" should find the hidden object. If he finds it, he has the right to choose a child to continue the game.

15. Backgammon Game • It is a game played on a special board by two people, each has fifteen pieces, which are moved according to the throw of dice.Backgammon has its origin in Mesopotamia. The game was also popular in ancient Greece, Rome, Persia and the Far East. Today it is called "Table" in Romania, "Tavola reale" in Italy, "Tables reales" in Spain, "Trictrac" in France, "Plakato" in Greece, "Backgammon" in Great Britain and USA.The game is a combination of strategy and chance. Juniors generally play it. There are two players involved. We need fifteen pieces in two contrasting colours.The table is marked by twelve elongated triangles. The object of the game is to be first to move all fifteen pieces from point into one's own inner table. The pieces must be moved the exact number of points indicated by the number on two dice thrown by the hand. The piece may not be moved to a point occupied by two or more of the opponent's pieces. If the piece is moved to a point occupied by only one piece, the opponent's piece is removed to the bar. The players also cannot move while they have a piece on the bar because this must first be re-entered. This can only be done if there is an exposed point on the opponent's inner table.The winner is the player who first puts out all his pieces from his table.

16. Marbles • Marbles is a game in which a marble is propelled by the thumb at other marbles, usually in attempt to drive them out of marked circle. A marble is a little ball of stone, glass, clay or steel, used in this game. • Marbles have been found in Egyptian tombs and in Greek and Roman excavations. The Roman poet Ovidius mentions marbles in his poems. Pieter Bruegel also depicts children playing marbles in "Children's Games". • The players make a circle by the help of piece of chalk on the playground. Then they place 10-12 marbles inside the circle. The object of the game is to get all of the marbles out of the circle. The target marble is propelled by the player's thumb at the other marbles. The first player, who must stay at about 1-2 meters far of the circle, attempt to do it. If he succeeds, he shoots again, if not, the next player will continue. The winner is the one who succeeds to gather more marbles.

17. Hopscotch • Children between five and twelve years old play this game. They can participate individually or in teams. On the playing ground they draw a figure combining squares, rectangles or circles. They can number them from the first to the last one. The first player/team throw a little stone in the first figure. He/ She jumps from the first figure until the last one. Then he/she crosses the reverse way. The second test consists in jumping from figure to figure using the both feet. The winner is that one who makes the least mistakes.The Hopscotch is a good and pleasant way to learn the days of the week. Instead of numbers children can write the days of the week.

18. Girl's game • You are a lily, you are a flower,You have got the finest scentAnd I'll sign down for the powerOf the love I feel for as a friend! • The girls stand in circle and sing the song above, clapping their hands. In the middle of the circle there is a child who stops in front of another one. The child, who is chosen from the circle, goes to the middle of it replacing the former one. The children begin the song again and the game goes on.

19. Ringy-swingy • A circle of kids. One of the kids stays with his eyes closed, or with his eyes covered by a scarf, with his back at the others. The kids stretch their arms to the center of circle, showing their fingers one by one. The leader of the game rotates a finger above the others; pushes one of them and ask:Ringy- swingy,Guess whose finger I put you on?The blindfolded kid must guess whose is the chosen finger. He can touch the kid to recognize him. If he/she guess, he/she switches the place with the other. If he/she doesn’t recognize the kid, the game restarts in the same formula

20. COUNTRIES • The children are sitting in a circle. In the middle of the circle sit the leader of the game who has a ball in the hand.He throws the ball in the air, calling in the same time the name of a country. The child that has its name must run to catch the ball before it touches the ground. If he doesn't succeed, he is eliminated. The leader of the game has to call all the countries that the participants had selected.Win the participant who catches the ball the most often

21. The Cat and the Mouse • The children are standing in a circle with the face to the interior of the circle.In the center there is a child, the mouse, and out side another one who must be the cat.Game starts. The cat must catch the mouse. The players from the circle are making mouse's work much easier, allowing him to come into and to out of the circle, raising their hands. But they have to stop the cat from passing through the circle.If the cat catches the mouse, the leader of the game will choose another two children for the two works. The same thing when the cat doesn't catch the mouse in a certain time.

22. The Game with Nuts • You have to find a place which is inclined (not even); if you dig a hole on the upper side and after that you choose 10-12 nuts. There are three, four or five boys taking part this game. This game implies money. The rules are established and then the first boy takes the nuts and brings them to a certain distance from the hole. The other players are situated around the hole and they place their money around the hole. One boy has to throw nuts- an even number into the hole. If he succeeds, he will get all the money on the ground. If he throws an odd number of nuts into the hole, he loss and another boy takes over the game.

23. Who Fills Faster? The children are divided in two teams, every team in a row.In front of every row is a teacup and a bucket, both empties. At ten meters of every row there is a bucket full of water. At the signal of the game leader, the children start the game. They have to carry water with the teacup and fill the bucket near the rows.The track of the relay race is the next one: every participant takes the empty teacup, runs the ten meters, fills the teacup and brings it full in front of his team. Then he pours the water in the bucket and gives the empty teacup to the next participant.The team that fills the bucket first is the winner team

24. Jump the Skipping Rope! • The game is organized in small groups, four or five children in a team. Every player must have a skipping rope. The leader of the game gives the start signal. The rivals must jump the skipping rope five times with the right foot, then with the left one. After that they run to a sign established before- a wall or a tree- they touch it and they turn tack quickly to hand over the skipping rope to the next players. The leader of the game observes the mistakes of every team and declares winner the team with the most few penalizations. • Over our heads and under our toes,Round and round the skipping-rope goes.Over our heads and under our toes,If we are nimble the skipping-rope goes. • Lady, lady, drop your purse,Lady, lady, pick it up;Lady, lady, touch the ground,Lady, lady, turn right round;Lady, lady, will you play?Lady, lady, run away! • Jump the rope,Jump the rope,Jump, jump, jump! • Jump it high,Jump it low,Jump, jump, jump! • Jump it fast,Jump it slow,Jump, jump, jump! • Jump againOut you go,Jump, jump, jump!

25. Put on the chair! • We need four children for this game. Each of them has a scarf over eyes and they are sitting on four stools, one in each corner of the room or field. In the middle of the room or field there are sixteen shoes. At a signal the four players run to the shoes, take one shoe each, turn back to their stools putting them on. The game goes on till the first player finish to put on his stool with four shoes

26. Sentences Game • Children get into groups of five. They sit in a circle. The first child starts the game by saying a sentence. "In my house..." The second child must repeat this and add a new item. Example: "In my house there are two..." Children say the sentence in turn, adding a new item each time. Example: "In my house there are two cups of..." If child misses something or cannot add a new item he/she is out.

27. Sheep and Wolf • All players but two are at one end of the ground. They are "sheep". The "Shepherd" is at the other end, and in between is the "wolf". The shepherd calls out "Sheep, sheep, come home!". The sheep answers desperately "No, no, we afraid". "Who are you afraid of?" "The great big wolf". "There is not any wolf", says the shepherd. "Sheep, sheep, come home". While the sheep try to reach home, out jumps the wolf. The sheep that is caught becomes the "wolf". Then the shepherd goes to the other end of the ground and the dialogue is repeated.

28. Soldiers Game • Two children teams play this game. The first one starts the game saying: "Country, country, we want soldiers!" The other team replies: "Whom?" One of the children is chosen to be "soldier". The team of the child chosen has to make a wall holding their hands. The other team must be able to break the wall. If it succeeds the chosen one goes to the adverse team, if not, he/ she remain on his/ her team. The game continues in this way. The winner is the team who succeeds to gather more soldiers.

29. The Blind Old Woman The players stand in a circle. One of them called by a number has a scarf over his eyes. He must go to the other players and touch one of them. He must recognize him / her and only tacking him / her. Se/ he recognize him/ her and says his/ her name, he will go into the circle and the boy/ girl recognized by him goes in the middle of the circle. The game continues in this way.

30. The Rope • It is a game full of fun. It can take place between two teams or two rivals, outside or in a room. Each rival has a rope long by two metres. He must make in minimum five knots in maximum two minutes. Then the ropes are changed. The rivals must untie the knots by the received rope. The first who manages this thing wins. The funniest thing is when the leader of the game gives to the rivals his own rope on pretext he tangled them.

31. Black Man • Children draw a rectangle on the ground. Its sides vary from 6/15 m to 20/35 m, depending on the numbers of participants. All the players stand on one side of the rectangle, looking at the opposite side.      Black man stands in the middle of the rectangle and asks the children: "Are you afraid of me? " All the children answer "No" and try to get to the other side of the rectangle. Black man runs after them trying to catch somebody. One of them becomes prisoner and takes place of Black man.The game goes on. 

32. Brotherhood • By Saint Toader, children between 5 and 14 years come together in one of them house.There they make a Christmas tree with toys. Each child comes with a knot-shaped loaf and a bottle with boiled wheat. They sit around the table and any of them eat one from another, becoming "brother" or "sisters". After dinner, they take one other hand, making a circle around the tree, singing: • Be sister with me!Be brother with me!By when?By I'll be dead.

33. Chained words • This game is also named “Fazan" in Romanian. Number of players 5-10. The first player begins the game with one word, e. g. HOUSE. The second player must find a word beginning with the last 2 letters of the word "house" (SE), e.g. SENTENCE. And so on. Any player who does not find a word correctly is out of the game, e. g. CARE- RESTAURANT. (Do you know words beginning with "NT"?). The game may continue until there is one winner.

34. Hide-and-seek • The children are in a circle and hold out the hands. A child passes by them, touching them and saying:On a hillBellow a donkeyI ha hueGo out you!Green maillot leafHow many flowers are in the garden?One, two, three,Look out for me,For I am comingAnd I can see.Don't look,Don't move,Shut your eyesAnd say "Who". • The last touched child must appear that is to be played with the face to a wall. He will start to count until twenty or thirty, that every child has time to hide. When counting finishes, the one who appears goes to find the hide children. If they are seen, they can get rid of the follow-child's penalty if they touch with the hand, the half-close place, before the follow-child. The game restarts again in this way.

35. Indoor games Syllables Game • One child stands in front of the others. He throws a small ball and pronounces the first syllable of a word at the same time. The child who gets the ball must complete the word. If the fails, he must be punished.

36. Secret Word • A group of children choose a secret word while one of them is outside. Then the child who does not know the secret word must come in and guess it from the mimic, gestures of his friends who must not speak at all. "Is it a cat?" "Is it a dog?" etc. he ask. If he guesses, another child must go out.

37. Letters Game Divide the group of players into two teams. Each player has a card with one letter of the alphabet on it. Each team has the same letters, one team in one color, the other team in another color. The leader calls out a word (pencil, book or ball). The players of each team who have these letters run in front and form the word. The first team to spell the word wins.

38. Leapsa • Leapsa has a Romanian ethimology. It means to hit someone. • The children stand in a circle. One of them chooses the "leapsa" by a counting out rhyme: • One, two the sky is blue;Three, four go to the door;Five, six, crosses and ticks;Seven, eight don't have late;Nine, ten, a glass of cold waterFor the man in sweaterAnd a bit of cheeseGet out, please! • One, two, tell the true,Three, four open the door,Five, six, can you fix?Seven, eight, sorry, I'm late, Nine, ten you start the game! • The child on which the last syllable falls becomes "leapsa".

39. The Perching "Leapsa" • During the game, the children are free to move on the playing area. They must avoid the "leapşa" to touch them when they are on the ground. When they are in danger to be touched, they must perch on bench, a box, a tree-stump and other objects on the playing area. The child who is touched before perching becomes "leapşa". "Leapşa" In Circle • The children are moving in a circle in the same direction repeating the following words: "He can't catch me!" The child who is "leapşa" stays in the center of the circle. At the starting signal, all the children start to run on a limited area and the "leapşa" tries to touch one of them. If the one who is chased crouches in time, before being touched, he/she is safe. If the chaser touches him, and says "Leapşa!", they change the roles and the game goes on!

40. The Pennons • Two teams take part in this game. They are slated on two lines, face to face, at a distance of ten meters. At the middle of the ground there are more pennons or other objects pushed in the ground. At the command of the game leader the children from both teams run to the center. He/ She arrives the first takes a pennon, then runs to his team, followed by an opponent. If the other doesn’t catch the one followed he/she wins a point. If not, he/she loses the point. The winner is the team with most points.

41. The Fingers Game • This game is based on the original French “Frere Jacques”. Being extremely popular, this song becomes an enjoyable way to teach and to learn English in Kindergartens and primary schools.The teacher intends to introduce the name of the five fingers, so that he imagines a story about some work to be done. Help is needed, so the fingers are called in turn, until the five of them complete the work.The game-song becomes with the most “serious” finger: Mr. Thumb • “Mr. Thumb, Mr. Thumb,Where are you, where are you?Here I am, good morning!Here I am, good morning!What’s to do?” • The game goes on calling the following fingers: Mr. Forefinger, Mr. Middlefinger, Mr. Ringfinger and Mr. Littlefinger. • A funny way for playing the game is to paint small faces on each fingertip.

42. The Bear Is Sleeping • From among the children it is chosen "a bear", counting. He/ she is tied at his/  her eyes and feigns that he sleeps. The children sing:The bear, the bear is sleepingWhat can we give him to eat?Milk or coffee,To catch somebody.To the end of the verses "the bear" wakes up and tries to recognize a player touching him/her. If he guesses, the two children invert the roles

43. The Castle • Two children teams are involved. The first one put five stones one on another building up "a castle". The second team throws the ball at the castle. If they put it down, they put the ball near it and run away. The first team tries to rebuild the castle. Meanwhile the children of the second team hit them with the ball. If the first team don't succeed in rebuilding it, they are the losers and the second team gains a point. And on the other hand the second team loses if the first team rebuilds the castle gaining one point. The game goes on. The winner is the team with the best result.

44. The Cherry Ripen • A girls game, 6-10 years old. The girls form a circle. All participants borrow flower names. One of the girls is standing in the center of the circle. The other are moving and singing:The cherries ripen,Hundreds, hundreds,Many, many girls...I like this oneThis one is mine,I won't let this one for you!At the fourth line, the girl from the center selects other girl. They dance together and then the select girl continues the game.

45. The Giant • The children form a circle round "Mother". They ask: "Mother, may we go out to play?"Mother answers: "Yes, you may, but don't go near the giant's cave". The "giant" is one of the children and he either behind something or is confined to a chalk circle on the ground.The children leave their places round "Mother" and run about until Mother says "Children, children, please, hurry home or the giant may catch you!"Then the children run back to their places and the giant tries to catch one of them before they get back "home". The child who is caught becomes "the giant"