Traditional Turkish Children Games

Country: Turkey

Name Of The Game: Beş Taş

There is a large variety of games with stones and pebbles in Anatolia. Some are a kind of warfare, with two teams throwing stones at each other, either with slings or hands. On occasion this results in very dangerous consequences, but some beliefs encourage this dangerous game. For instance, in Kayseri (Central Anatolia), if Dağ Döğüşü (stone war) is not played, that year the crops will not be abundant.

In some games big heavy stones are thrown as far as possible, and in other stone games a larger stone is used as a target and they try to hit it with their smaller stones. Or players make a mark on the ground and throw their flat stones at it aiming to get nearest to the mark.

Another stone game favorite with girls which requires skill and quickness is called (Five Stones). In the palm of her hand each girl holds five small round stones which she tosses in the air and tries to catch on the back of the hand. When four stones have fallen on the ground, one is retained in the hand and then tossed up. 

Alternatively, there may be small objects piled at the target, and whoever gets nearest to the greatest number of the scattered objects wins.

While it is in the air, with the same hand, she must grab the four stones that are on the ground and catch the one tossed before it reaches the ground. Then one stone is again tossed in the air and the four stones on the ground are grabbed one by one, each grab being preceded by the tossing and catching of a stone that is retained in the hand. This is repeated, grabbing two by two, then threeand one, and then all together.

Country: Turkey

Name Of The Game: Jirit

The most widespread of stick games is Jirid. In some games with sticks the purpose is to throw the stick like a javelin as far as possible, or to make it penetrate the ground. In other games penetrating the ground is not sufficient; it must also hit a previously placed stick.

A very widespread game with sticks is called Çelik Çomak, though there are dozens of other names according to the region, with slight changes of rules. 

A is a small fairly thick piece of wood about a foot long, with each end pointed round off into a point. A longer stronger stick of three to four feet is called A long narrow hole approximately two feet long, six inches wide, and three inches deep is dug in the ground. The is placed across it; one man raises the with his and sends it afield with a stroke and the other player tries to catch or touch it. If he succeeds in doing so, he gets possession of the hole and starts playing the game. If he fails, then the man who first sent the avails himself of the first chance.

The game has some resemblance to cricket, in which one side bats and the other bowls. When defending the hole the “batsman” tries to hit the çelik away with the stick, and every time he hits it he counts a point in his favor. In a variant of this game one player sends the çelik as far as he can, then he starts measuring with his stick the distance between the hole and the place where the çelik has fallen. According to region he requires so many units of this stick in all to win the game. A few of the many other names for çelik are düllük, şibibik, for hole çıldır, mene, yalak, güllük and for the çomak, holla.

Nearly fifty different kinds of  çelik-çomak have been recorded. Sometimes sticks are thrown like a javelin to hit a target-usually a heap of stone or bricks; sometimes the players try to hit a target while they are running. Or a target may be a melon or pumpkin on a pole. Some games are played by sliding javelins along the ground.

 Traditional CZECH Children Games

Country: Czech

Name Of The Game: Jumping man

You can play this game everywhere you want because you can draw it or make it with rocks or with sticks. Then you will write a numbers to the squares.You will start with rock that you will throw on the playground. Then you will jump only with one leg where is only one number and where are two of squares/numbers on the playground. When you jump on the number where is rock you need to pick him up and jump with him in your arm.

Jumping man

You will jump on the end of the jumping man and then you just turn around and jump back on the start.Next will go the another people who is with you there. You will lose when you will stand up on the second leg or jump out of the playground.Next level is that youthrow a two of rock and you need to pick bouth of them and hen you will throw more and more rocks because you can make squares/numbers as much as you want.

Hide and Seek

You can play this game with two or more players. Seekers are counting to 20 seconds and other players are hiding somewhere and seekers are trying to find them. You can play this almost everywhere, for example: your house, outside, in school etc. When seekers are counting, in Czech they say „“. Everybody can make their own rules. Game ends when seekers found all hiders or when hiders ran to place where seekers are counting.

Country: Czech

Name of the Game: The Golden Gate is Open

This game is very popular with very young children and often played in kindergartens. There are two children holding each other´s hands to make a ´golden gate´ and the others go through the gate, holding hands or ´making a train´, while the rhyme is being told. The gate closes with the last word of the rhyme. The one who is standing in the gate when it closes gets caught and is out of the game or has to become a ´part of the gate´

DO YOU PLAY A SIMILAR GAME? 

DO YOU WANT TO HEAR OUR RHYME?   LOOK AT:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g8LO7WOfIs 

THE RHYME :

Zlatá brána otevřena, zlatým klíčem odemčena. 

Kdo do ní vejde, tomu hlava sejde. 

Ať je to ten nebo ten, praštíme ho koštětem.

The golden gate is open, opened with a golden key, 

Whoever comes in, will lose his head,

 Whoever it is, we will swipe him with a broom.

                              CZECH STUDENTS TEAM

Traditional MALTESE Children Games

Marbles (il-boċċi tal-hġieġ)

A Maltese Traditional Game