A recent camping trip and random game of Monkeys in the Mulch made me put a magnifying glass on games of my childhood.  And they were pretty stupid.  Do you remember these games and can you explain them?

Stupid Childhood Games

5: Running Bases – Here’s what I remember of this game.  Running back and forth.  I don’t know why.  As a gaggle we ran from one piece of wood to another.  And tried not to get touched by the ball.  Why did we do this?  What’s the backstory?

4: Kick the Can – I don’t think I actually ever played this game.  There was always so much prep that before we could ever get in to the game, the masses had revolted, lost interest, started picking dandelions and the group moved on.

3: Red Rover – Never understood this game.  Am I supposed to be on the other side?  Why is it so hard?  Am I supposed to break arms?  Who is this Red Rover character and why am I getting sent from one side to another?

2: Elementary School Hand Ball – This wasn’t a game I played, but one my husband told me about.  It should really be called, my friends want to peg me with a hand ball so they made up stupid reasons why we should get balls thrown at ourselves.  Seriously, losing meant you stood against the wall and had hand balls whipped at you.  Welt-causing fun!

1: Wall Dodge Ball – Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of dodge ball.  And actually I didn’t play this game as a kid, it wasn’t until I was a summer camp counselor in a new state that I learned about this game.  If you like kids cracking their heads open, this is the game for you.  Basically, the kids line up against the outside wall of the school, and whoever is “it” whips balls at them.  Your ability to dodge or avoid the ball is extremely limited by the people next to you and the brick wall behind you waiting for you to bust your head on it.  Maybe its Hand Ball with playground sized balls and possibly less welts.

What childhood games do you remember?  Did they make more sense to you?  Tell us by commenting below.