Talk:Red Rover

Question
Question: this is "a game played primarily by children" in which area(s) of the world? --Ianb 22:59, 23 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Is there any connection with Red Rover game and the Viking battle strategy referred to as Hog Nose advance? Thank You. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.183.119.244 (talk) 20:38, 17 January 2023 (UTC)

Origins?
What is the history of this game? Where did it originate from? What does 'red rover' mean?

The 3rd and 4th paragraphs are really tounge-in-cheek.

"Red Rover is a game where children tell each other to run back and forth and break the arms of the poor child defenders." WTF?69.85.144.171 (talk) 05:03, 12 October 2013 (UTC)

I played this game in the early 1950's in Los Angeles. We held hands and did NOT try to break anyone's arms or hurt each other.69.85.144.171 (talk) 04:59, 12 October 2013 (UTC)


 * It was a New York street game. I couldn't find any source before 1891. Initially, it wasn't a team game. It was a game with one catcher in the middle who calls the boy's name (Let John Doe come over! etc.). So it's surely not from the UK.
 * The team version appeared later in the 1940s, or maybe a little bit earlier. But unlike the original New York chasing game, the rules of the team version of Red Rover have another background history. --188.108.184.67 (talk) 17:50, 21 May 2021 (UTC)


 * I added some historical sources about the team version of Red Rover. In Germany, it's known under the name Kettenbrechen and it has been described already in the 19th century. Unlike regular games for children, this is an example of organized play, a sporting game. These games have been categorized as "Kampfspiele" (combat games) back in the 1860s.


 * Btw: This "East team/West team" designation appears only in two books. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.108.180.32 (talk) 18:16, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Date
The article mentions "in to the 1970s," but this game was still very popular when I played it in the 1980s, in Canada at least. I can't speak to whether or not it is still played, but is it necessary to include a date?

Also, does anyone actually call this game "British Bulldog" as the article suggests? The only similarity I can see is that players are trying to get from one side to the other, but otherwise, it's a completely different game.

As I remember it...
...from twenty years ago now (in Worcestershire, England), the chant we used was: Red Rover, Red Rover, We-e call (Someone) over! I must say, I've never heard of the compass-point thing, though. From what I've read, the game is fairly common in Britain, so the exclusively American possible explanations given at the end of the article are ones I take with a pinch of salt. Also, re the comment about technology - people have been saying, "Oh, children today don't play traditional games any more" for several hundred years at least now! Loganberry 04:04, 29 May 2005 (UTC)

In my part of Oregon in the 1980's, the chant was "Red Rover, Red Rover, send (someone) right over!" 108.174.176.38 (talk) 16:55, 2 May 2013 (UTC)

I agree
Perhaps is should be merged

Banning
I remember hearing at one time that some schools in my area were banning this game cause of the "danger" it posed and kids supposedly hurting themselves. Da Kenster 01:49, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

We played it in the 80s. When my brother was at school it was banned by the headmistress (who was so safety conscious she banned running in the playground at one point!!!). However that didn't cause the children any problems. They were told not to play 'Red Rovers', so they renamed it 'Pineapples' and kept playing. So 'Pineapples' was banned and they renamed it again. It gained a new name every day. Contributions/80.229.38.222 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 11:14, 15 June 2009 (UTC).

Pretty soon they're going to ban every fun part of being a kid. Amazing. Adults in the U.S. would ban Red Rover but not assault weapons. Makes sense right? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.23.105.146 (talk) 07:13, 11 May 2013 (UTC)


 * I think 7 states already do but I could be wrong. EytanMelech (talk) 20:24, 5 April 2021 (UTC)

"also known as ... British Bulldog"
Really? I've never heard of this: though there are a number of variations of BB, I've never come across Red Rover being called by that name. Another one for the "citation required" pile, I think! 81.153.111.37 (talk) 01:43, 25 November 2007 (UTC)


 * When I was at school in N. Ireland in the 80s we played a cross between red rover and british bulldogs (which was officially banned in the school), and called it Red Rover. Basically two groups of kids, one group in the middle did the "red rover, red rover, we call over" call, that person then had to run to the other end of the playground avoiding the catchers in the middle. If they were caught then they became a catcher. If they got to the other side then all the other children had to run to the other side avoiding the catchers. It went on until everyone was caught, sometimes a game could last days and people remembered which side they were on. Hardly an official citation though... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.20.237.6 (talk) 03:29, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

Date
I agree I think the date should be adjusted. I played this game frequently as a child in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Many of my friends growing up in Canada in at that time also played this game. It was a school yard regular. I'm not sure if children still play this game or are even allowed to, but I know for sure that "Red Rover" was a very common school yard game in Canada into the 1990s.

Also with regards to "British Bulldog" I always understood "British Bulldog" to be a completely different game, somewhat similar to octopus, from what I can remember.

Strategy
It may be common to call over the smaller children first, as they will be unlikely to break the line, but that leaves you with a problem, as you will be left with larger children, and when they are called over, they will will break through the weak spots. A better strategy is to call over the stronger children early in the hopes of catching them while you can. Also, in a game supervised by adults, clotheslining would often be considered a foul.--RLent (talk) 16:02, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Removal of origins "information".
If somebody can not produce citations for the "information" about the possible origins of this game, I am going to remove all but the first sentence describing that the origins are unknown. This type of theoretical nonsense does not belong in an encyclopedia. An infinite number of possible origins can be conceived of and described here, and that does not make any of them valid for inclusion. --69.112.198.201 (talk) 01:22, 8 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I have removed the unsourced speculation from the article, as there were no objections or clarifications. Diff. --67.165.58.233 (talk) 17:34, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

Bend over, Red Rover?
I never heard of Red Rover as it is described in the Wiki. Whenever I heard it mentioned in school, it was always "Bend over, Red Rover" and just saying Red Rover wasn't allowed at all. Because of this, I later thought that Red Rover was some kind of boy/girl party game like Spin the Bottle. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.40.137.123 (talk) 01:36, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Individuals, such as,
I've being bold and removing the sentence starting "Individuals, such as,", and the one after, since the first doesn't make any sense, and the second is repetitive and redundant. &mdash;DavidConrad (talk) 07:13, 25 June 2012 (UTC)

Where to break
I think it should be made clear that the rover can choose any link to try to break. Especially with young children this leads to running and suddenly zagging to try to catch a pair unware.211.225.34.136 (talk) 08:17, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Belarus
A version of this game or a similar game is played in Belarus. I believe it is called Czarina.211.225.34.136 (talk) 08:18, 19 July 2013 (UTC)