Kids' Games: How to Play Hopscotch and Blind Man's Buff

The beauty of children's games is that many can be played nearly anywhere with only a few easy-to-find props. These tips will show you the proper way to play hopscotch and blind man's bluff -- two classic games that are still popular today.

This simple playground game can be played by two to four people and requires only some hard ground, a piece of chalk and some stones.

Begin to play

• Give each player a stone to mark their progress.
• Throw your stone into square one and hop over it into square two. Then proceed to 10 and back, hopping in rows with only one square, putting two feet down in rows with two.
• Once back at square two, balance on one foot and retrieve your stone. Then, hop back into square one.
• Turn and throw your stone into square two, then hop directly from one to three, and proceed as before. Next time throw the stone into square three, then four and so on, always hopping over the square with the stone in it.
• Continue until you put a foot wrong, or your stone misses a square. Then place it on that square and stand down while the next player has a turn.
• The game gets progressively more challenging, as no player may enter any square with a stone on it. First to claim square 10 is the winner.

Versions of this game, which dates back 2,000 years to ancient Greece, are played around the world, from Europe to Nigeria to Papua New Guinea. One player is blindfolded then spun around until dizzy and disorientated. The other players dodge, dance and duck around him as he gropes and blunders in an attempt to catch them. When he seizes one of them, he has to guess who he has hold of. If he guesses right, the captive must assume the blindfold. If he guesses wrong, the captive is released. A favourite of children's parties, the game was once popular among adults.

These classic games have stood the test of time, and these tips will help you learn the basics.