Red Rover


Red rover is a game played primarily by children on playgrounds. This 19th-century children's group game is thought to have originated in the United Kingdom and then spread to Australia, Canada and the United States.

Game

The game is played between two lines of players, usually positioned approximately thirty feet apart with hands or arms linked together. The game starts when the first team, in this example the "East" team, calls a player out, by saying or singing a line like "Red rover, red rover, send right over", or "Red rover, red rover, let come over", or even "Red rover, red rover, I call over".
The immediate goal for the person called is to run to the other line and break the "East" team's chain. If the player called fails to break the chain, they join the "East" team. However, if the player successfully breaks the chain, they may select either of the two "links" broken by the successful run, and take them to join the "West" team. The "West" team then calls out "Red rover" for a player on the "East" team, and play continues. The game needs five people to play at least, although this would be a very short game.
When only one player is left on a team, he or she must try to break through a link. If the player does not succeed, then the opposing team wins. Otherwise, the player gets a player back for his or her team.

In other languages

In Russia and other former USSR countries, this game has been known as ":ru:Детские игры#Вожатый-вожатый, подай пионера! |Ali Baba", in Hungary as "Adj, király, katonát!" and in Serbia as "Јелечкиње, барјачкиње".
In Romania, the game is known as "Țara, țara vrem ostași".
In the Czech Republic, the game is known as "Král vysílá své vojsko", with the difference that each team chooses which of its members will attempt to break the other team's line, rather than sending the member called by the other team.