LEAP FROG

BİR DİR BİR

One of the most common names in Turkey for Leapfrog is Uzun Eşek, meaning "long donkey." Not only in some parts of England is it Donkey, Jump the Long Horse, or Jump the Long Mare, but in other countries it has similar names too: in Germany Das lange Ross, in Italy II cavallo lungo, both meaning "long horse," in Belgium it is Le plus fort cheval, "the strongest horse.”

Another game which has many counterparts in Turkey is the one called in English, "Mother, the Cakes are Burning." The mother trusts her children to the charge of a maid, unaware of the danger that a kidnapper is scheming to abduct all the children, who are then transformed into edibles, or sometimes colored birds, and the mother has to identify them. In Germany this is known as De Brei kakt aver and Moder o Moder wo ist Kindken bliewen? and in Sicily Mamma caduta dal monte. There are many similar games in Turkey, one of them from Kütahya is called Dünür Dünür (dünür means an in-law, so the name of the game can be translated as "Mother-in-law, Mother-in-law").

In games where the players do not know whether they are runners or chasers, this is decided by spinning a flat token or stone, one side white and the other black. The side whose color comes uppermost chases the other team. Since the ancient Greeks this has been called Day and Night, in Germany Tag und Nacht and in Italy Giorno e notte, or Black and White as in Austria Schwarz-Weiss. Among other names in Turkey it is called Kırmızı-Beyaz, meaning "Red and White," in Kayseri and Istanbul.

JUMP & ROPE

IP ATLAMA

This is played on the streets by girls. There are three ways to play: Alone, turning the rope alone. One girl jumping a rope twirled by two girls. More than one jumping in a rope twirled by two girls.

The rope should be long enough to touch the ground and allow for the heights of the girls jumping.  When more than one play, one player must jump as many times as another. There are various ways to jump:

Çat arası: Catching the rope between the legs at the end of the jumping.Kurbagalama: Catching the rope between the hands and legs at the end of the jumping.Tek ayak üstünde atlama: Jumping on one foot.

“No break” jumping. Played together, with no break. Whoever fails to jump or to do the right action at the end of the jumping is out, and takes the place of one of the girls turning the rope. Whoever makes it through without a mistake wins the game. -Bartın

HOP SCOTCH

SEK SEK

This is played by two or more boys or girls.  The children draw the pattern shown below and then shuffle stones over it with their feet. The object is to move the rock through the pattern without it touching the lines. Of course the players must also not step on the lines. Each child must shuffle the stone through the squares hopping on one foot. The game is starting by throwing the stone onto square 1.

The player then hops on one foot and with his foot, kicks the stone onto the second square. They throw the stones on the first, then second and third squares and hop through them. The player hops to the stone in the right square and then knocks the stone out of it with his foot. If the stone lands on the line, the player steps on a line, or steps with both feet where he is not allowed to do so, then he loses his turn and the second player begins. When each player’s turn comes, they pick up where they left off. When a player reaches square 5, he/she may step with both feet.

OPEN THE DOOR HEAD MERCHANT

AÇ KAPIYI BEZIRGAN BASI

Two of the children hold their hands together like a bridge, and the others go under in single file. During the game, they sing this song:

- Open the gate, head merchant.- I’ll open it, but what will you give me?- Take the scoundrel behind me.- One rat, two rats, three rats.

Whoever is under the bridge when they come to the end of the rhyme is caught by the children making the bridge.

GRAB THE KERCHIEF

MENDIL KAPMACA

The children divide into two equal teams.  Each player has a number. The “judge,” sitting in the middle of a circle holding a handkecrcief, calls the players by numbers. One of the most common bluffs used in the game is to make as if one will grab the handkerchief, and allow the opponent to catch the handkerchief and catch him. Whichever team succeeds in grabbing the handkerchief the most times, wins the game. The losing team is “punished” by being made to carry the other children on their backs, sing a song, or forced to do some ridiculous act. Sometimes the winning team gets a prize put in the center.

I SELL BUTTER

YAG SATARIM

I Sell Butter

First someone as chosen to be “it.” Then the players sit in a circle on the floor facing each other. The player who is “it” takes a handkerchief, ties a knot in one corner, and sings the song that gives the game its name:

I sell butter, I sell honeyMy master has died, and I sell itMy master’s fir is yellowIf I sell it, it’s 15 lirasZam-bak Zum-bakTurn and take a good look behind you.

As the child who is “it” walks around, he/she places the handkerchief behind one of the players without him seeing it. As soon as the player notices the handkerchief, he grabs it and starts chasing the “it.” If the “it” manages to sit in his place without being caught, the one who got the handkerchief then becomes “it.” If he is not caught then he continues as “it.” In another version, the player who chases the “it” hits him with the knotted end of the handkerchief until he manages to sit in his place. Then the child with the handkerchief continues as “it” in the next round.

BURNING BALL

YAKAR TOP

The players divide into two equal teams, which stand facing each other a certain distance apart. The area where the teams are is called the kale (fortress). The teams each send two people, called “ambassadors,” to the opposite team. One of the teams throws a ball into the air towards the opposite team. As soon as they do, one of the “ambassadors” on the opposite team runs quickly towards the team that threw the ball. One player on the opposite team then catches the ball and throws it at the fleeing “ambassador.” If he hits him, the ambassador “dies” and is out of the game. Then the second team throws the ball and the other team throws it at their ambassador. The game continues with new ambassadors. The team that loses all its ambassadors loses the game.