Category Archives: Game

“Last one there is a rotten egg!”

Nationality: Vietnamese-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: Apr 2007
Primary Language: English
Language: Vietnamese

The informant first heard this when he was in elementary school, about age six or seven, while attending the after school day care with twenty or so other students.  After school the students would be walking when one of them would spot the babysitter’s car and would yell, “Last one there is a rotten egg!”  All of the students then sprint to the car and upon reaching it, touch a doorknob or any part of the car.  The last student to touch the car is the “rotten egg” and is labeled the “rotten egg” for that round.  Nothing in particular happens to the rotten egg, but the student is singled out as the slowest one.  This is similar to the game “Duck, duck, goose” where there is a mushpot where the students who are too slow to catch their goose have to sit until someone can replace them.  The informant no longer plays this game, but believes it to be a good form of entertainment for kids.

Though it is a game played among children, it is often the parents or guardians who first introduce the game to their kids.  However, it is very rare that you can find a parent playing this game with their child, since the advantages of being an adult are obvious and the game would be unfair.  The informant is good with children and often uses this game to bring children together to play, and to keep them attracted to a focal point so that they will stay together in one group and not cause too much trouble by becoming out of hand.  This is also a useful tactic for babysitters and day care personnel as well.  The idea of a rotten egg probably came from the idea that nobody wants to be something smelly like a rotten egg, so they want to win the game.

“Black and white, black and white, black and white”

Nationality: Vietnamese-American
Age: 16
Occupation: Student
Residence: Villa Park, California
Performance Date: Feb 2007
Primary Language: English
Language: Vietnamese

The informant first heard of this game in the third grade when she was about eight years old.  She was at her cousin’s house and they planned to play hide-and-go-seek-in-the-dark but everyone wanted to hide.  Nobody wanted to be the seeker.  Therefore her cousin told her a game that you can play to pick who has to be “it.”  All the players start with their hands behind their backs.  Then they are supposed to chant “black and white, black and white, black and white” while flipping one hand in the center of the circle.  For example, at the call of “black” one’s hand might be facing palm up, so at the call of “white” the palm must be facing down.  However, you can start in either position you want, palm up or down.  At the call of the third “white” the players with their hands in the minority position have to replay the game.  The majority doesn’t have to be “it.”  When the player number reaches three, whoever has the single odd hand has to be the seeker.  After the informant learned of this handy game, she used it for every game when no one wanted to be seeker.  She thinks it is a quick and easy way to pick fairly.

Though this game is originally Vietnamese, the informant’s cousin taught her in English.  The Vietnamese translation would be “đen và trắng,” but those words aren’t used as much.  This game is commonly played among children, even when they aren’t playing a game with a seeker.  Sometimes they will play just to see who the last person is and that person will be the winner instead of the loser who has to be “it.”  This game is spread by the children who love to play it and the game is a useful way of passing down the tradition of Vietnamese games.  Also I think because it is such a simple game, it arose from the children from Vietnam who are poor so they don’t have material games to play.  Therefore they come up with games they can play just with their hands or minds, so that they can still have fun and enjoy their youth.

Jinx!

Nationality: Asian-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Pasadena, California
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10…personal jinx!”

My informant learned this game in elementary school.  All the girls knew the game, so it passed around to everyone.  Basically, when two children say the same word at the same time, one of them needs to yell out “personal jinx” and count to ten without any interruptions.  Once the kid is jinxed, the person who yelled out “personal jinx” first is the only one who can break the jinx by saying the kid’s name.  If the kid talks while he or she is jinxed, then he or she violates the curse and deserves a punishment like a punch on the arm.
She used to play this game all the time with her friends.  She would always be the first one racing to call “personal jinx” on someone whenever someone said the same word at the same time as her.  She recalls playing this game because it was fun.  “Personal jinx” was one of those silly games that little kids play as a way of spending their time.  It allowed her to have a sense of power over her friends because she was able to control the length of time that they weren’t allowed to speak for.  By saying “personal jinx,” she would be the only person who could break the jinx.
As a mature teenager now, my informant seldom plays this game.  There have been many incidents in which she and a friend have said the same word simultaneously, but she does not always say “personal jinx.”  Now that she’s older, the game does not come naturally to her.  She only says “personal jinx” when she thinks of it, which is not very frequently.  Angel remembers the innocent days of childhood whenever she thinks about “personal jinx.”  This game is one of the many that she used to play back when all she did was play games and didn’t have to worry about important things.
I remember playing this game myself.  I was always the one getting jinxed.  Sometimes, I would just give up and receive the punishment for talking.  I think that this game is only suitable for elementary school children.  Playing this game now is just not the same.  Teenagers and adults jinxing each other is not very mature.  Back in the day though, I really enjoyed playing this game because it was just a ridiculous game that everyone played.  I don’t think that children can have the opportunity to rebel and not play because even if a child rebels, the person doing the jinxing can always just punish the person for talking anyway.

The Punchbug Game

Nationality: Asian-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Marino, California
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese

“You see an out-of-state license plate, yell out the name of the state, and you get to punch the person you’re with.”
My informant     learned this game as a little kid from his friends.  This game is very popular with kids, and I’m sure that almost every child or teen knows of this game.  Simple games such as this one are easily spread around by kids.  Duke said that most of the games that he learned in elementary school were games that he learned from other kids who learned from other kids.  This chain of learning happens on the playground and classrooms.  Games were part of children’s lives at that young age, so games are always on their minds.
Duke likes to play this game on long road trips to get rid of boredom.  When he spends countless hours in the car, he runs out of things to talk about and do.  While looking out the car window, he starts to observe cars and their license plates.  Looking for out-of-state license plates gives Duke something to do.  Also, being able to punch a friend after finding an out-of-state license plate gives Duke the opportunity to release pent up frustration.
He thinks that this game is fun with lots of friends.  When he’s with a lot of friends, he has more chances to punch people and laugh about it.  He thinks it’s a great way of passing time, but it can get annoying.  When all a person does is look for out-of-state license plates and wants to punch people, Duke gets frustrated.  The game can be played for a short while, and after that, it gets old.
I’ve played this game before, and I think it’s a great time waster.  It’s something that I would play only when I’m bored or when I think of it.  It’s a great game only if people aren’t obsessed with always looking for out-of-state license plates.  Once people compulsively look for them, it can be very obnoxious.

Flatulence Game

Nationality: Asian-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Marino, California
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese

“When person A farts, it is person A’s duty to call “safety” before person B calls “doorknob.”  If person B calls “doorknob,” person B can punch person A for his sinful act of farting in public.”

Duke learned this game from his friends sometime in high school.  It became a very popular game among the boys at his high school.  Boys tend to fart a lot, so this game provides them with a punishment for farting in public.
Since Duke and his friends have a habit of farting numerous times when they’re with each other, they play this game a lot.  Whenever someone farts, it’s an immediate reaction to hear the word “safety” or “doorknob” following the fart.  Duke claims that he plays this game to get a cheap-shot off of a friend’s fart.  It also provides them with entertainment as they laugh about farts and punching each other.
Even though Duke thinks that this game is stupid, he still does it.  It has become something that all of his friends know.  This game is their way of reacting to farts.  They think that there has to be a consequence for farting in public, so a punch suffices as a punishment.
I think that, in a way, this game is good for boys.  It forces them to take the blame for farting in public.  Farting in public is very disgusting and immature.  Boys need to learn to keep their gas in until the appropriate time.  With this game, maybe boys will avoid farting whenever they choose to.  However, I don’t think that boys should have a game to prevent them from farting in public.  They should know not to do it.  The fact that they need a game proves that some boys are just immature and rude.