Category Archives: Game

Counting-Out Rhyme – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 49
Occupation: Mechanical Engineer
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Performance Date: March 20, 2008
Primary Language: English

Eenie Meenie Miney Moe

Catch a tiger by the toe

If he hollers make him pay

Fifty dollars every day

My mother told me

To choose the very best one

And you are not it!

*underlined syllables/words indicate when to point at a different person

My father thinks he first heard this sometime during elementary school, most likely during third grade. For children, this rhyme is a popular method for choosing who is It in a game of tag, whose turn it will be first, whether to have candy or cookies, or any number of simple decisions.. My mother was present as he recited this rhyme to me, and one variation was immediately present: according to her, you “catch a rabbit by the toe.” My father also mentioned once hearing a variation where the “n-word” (nigger) was substituted for “tiger.” Another variation arises in word choice: “to choose the very best one” versus “to pick the very best one.” However, these variations are not as contrasting as tiger, rabbit, and nigger. Another variation is the last line—sometimes, the word “not” is omitted, depending on how the child was taught, or if the child wants to fix the rhyme so that a particular person will be selected. My brother, age 6, will sometimes repeat the word “not” or move around his pointing finger during an extended “nooooooot” so that he is in charge of selection, rather than the cadence of the rhyme.

The first phrase consists of nonsense words, setting a tone for the following lines both in terms of rhythm and content. You would be hard-pressed to catch a tiger by the toe; I have also never heard of a tiger that could holler. Also, where would a tiger get fifty dollars? “My” mother told me to choose the very best one—but the best one of what? The best tiger? The best counting-out rhyme participant? The nonsensical nature of this counting-out rhyme makes it an apt choice for children to use when making a simple decision. Additionally, the initial phrase, “Eenie Meenie Miney Moe,” is catchy and short enough to make it easily remembered among children.

The fact that the emotionally charged word “nigger” is included in a children’s rhyme may be somewhat startling to some. The idea of “catching a nigger by the toe” brings to mind thoughts of slavery in America, when it was crucial to capture the slaves who tried to flee their masters in the South. However, if we take into account that my father initially learned this rhyme when he was in elementary school, it is interesting to note that this would have been during the 1960s, as the Civil Rights Movement was taking place in the United States. This means that ideas about race would have been fairly prominent, and including a word like “nigger” might have been a response to the social climate in the U.S. at that time.

Myrdal, Gunnar and Sissela, Bok. American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy, Vol. 1. Transaction Publishers, 1996.

Page 1438 offers alternate versions of the rhyme documented above. One version discusses catching an “emperor” by the toe, while a couple other versions bring forth the “nigger” term again. The “fifty dollars every day” line reappears as well, but there is no mention of the “my mother told me…” lines from above.

Game – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Performance Date: March 20, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, German

Heads Up Seven Up

“So, seven people volunteer to go around and touch other people’s thumbs. And these people whose thumbs are being tapped or touched have their, uh, heads down and eyes closed so that they can’t see who taps their thumb. So basically after, uh, the seven people have tapped someone’s thumb, then they go back to the front of the room and then, um, I don’t know, wow. I think they say something, like…I don’t know, like, “Stand up now”. They say something! So basically anyone who had their thumb tapped stands up and they try to guess which one of the seven people tapped their thumb. And if they, they get one chance to guess it right, and if they guess it right, then they get to replace that person and then the next round, that person who guessed right gets to tap a thumb. I mean basically, if you don’t guess right, then you have to put your head down and thumb up the next round and everything. And actually, at the beginning of the round, you’re supposed to say “heads down, thumbs up” to inform the people that the game is starting, and they need to put their heads down and their thumbs up.”

*Each volunteer is allowed to only tap one thumb

*Prior to having your thumb tapped, your thumb is supposed to be in a “thumbs-up” position, where all of your fingers are clenched except your thumb, which is upright

*After your thumb has been tapped, you bring your thumb down so that it is tucked underneath your other fingers (this way, double-tapping can be avoided)

Heidi first learned how to play this game as a first-grader (about age 6 or 7), and this game typically takes place in elementary schools. As far as she can remember, she has never played it anywhere except at school. Sometimes, students cheat by opening their eyes slightly to see who tapped their thumb; in fact, Heidi says that she has been accused of cheating. In general, she doesn’t really like playing this game.

Elementary school teachers probably like this game because it is generally very quiet, except during the period in which students must guess who tapped their thumb. Students probably like this game because of its mysterious nature—unless your eyes are open, you don’t really know who tapped your thumb. Students must also learn to make use of their other senses: perhaps they heard someone’s athletic pants swishing nearby after they were tapped, alerting them that the person who tapped their thumb is probably wearing athletic pants; once the round is over and the guessing begins, the person who heard the swishing athletic pants will be more inclined to suppose that that person was the one who tapped them. Also, some people might have noticeably warmer or colder fingers, so that if a person’s thumb is tapped by someone with cold hands, he or she might be able to guess their “tapper” based on what they know about the volunteers’ tendencies to have cold or warm hands. True, some students will cheat from time to time, opening their eyes to get a peek at whoever might have tapped their thumb. However, this must be done with extreme care, since the volunteers try to watch for those who might be looking, and call them out on it. If a student is able to catch a glimpse of their “tapper” successfully, he or she knows that when it comes time to guess, he or she can’t choose the person without some hesitation, otherwise the cheating behavior may seem obvious for the rest of the class.

Ultimately, this game teaches students how to use senses other than vision to make observations, and also teaches students deductive skills as they try to guess who tapped their thumb. For those who walk around tapping thumbs, the game teaches them how to be sneaky; the game also implicitly teaches cheaters how to be sneaky and avoid being caught.

Game – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Performance Date: March 20, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, German

Silent Ball

Silent ball is usually played in a classroom, I suppose. So anyone who wants to play sits up on the top of their desks and one person starts off with the ball and it can just be like…a tennis ball, or a wiffle ball, or whatever. And you also have a sound monitor person who basically judges whether or not someone has made a sound that uh that should I guess constitute them as “out” of the game. And it’s usually okay to laugh, um, I think. But if you talk, or do anything other than laughing or bodily functions like coughing or sneezing. So basically if you talk, you’re “out.” So, then, the person who starts out with the ball throws it to whoever they want in the classroom and you just keep throwing it around to different people and if the ball touches your desk or the floor, or if you just don’t catch it while it’s coming at you, then you have to sit down on your chair—not on your desk—because then that means that you’re “out.” And the goal is to be the last person sitting on your desk, or, sitting on a desk. And, um, I guess the sound monitor person also judges um, like, if the ball was thrown between two people that sound monitor person decides who is out. So it’s kind of the ultimate judge.

*Teachers can play, but generally don’t

Heidi first learned this game sometime during the later half of elementary school. It is usually played in the classroom during times when the teacher doesn’t have a lesson planned, or when there is a substitute teacher. Students probably start playing it during the later half of elementary school because their finer motor skills have developed a bit more—they’re able to throw the ball with some accuracy, and catch it as well.

Since the goal is to get people out, a person in possession of the ball could potentially “just chuck the ball at people.” Heidi says that, “if they miss it, too bad for them.” Methods for getting people “out” include, but are not limited to: throwing the ball very hard so that some people might not want to catch it; throwing the ball just out of reach of the person so that he or she cannot catch it; and throwing the ball towards a person without giving him or her very much notice. While these are all good methods, the players also need to keep in mind that these same strategies can be used against them when it comes time for them to catch the ball. One of the lessons of this game is to develop a strategy for winning that may include several of the above methods. However, the developed strategy must also account for the fact that others will try to sabotage your chances of winning. Since the students’ fine motor skills are more developed during the later elementary school years (ages 9-10) than during the early years (ages 5-6), it is easier for students to establish a strategy for throwing the ball to their opponents.

Utter, Brenda. Pick and Plan: 100 Brain-compatible Strategies for Lesson Design. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, 2007.

Drinking Game

Nationality: Peruvian-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: California
Performance Date: March 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Drinking Game (Fuck the Dealer)

You need a full deck of cards and at least two players to play. Whoever has the deck can see the card that is coming and someone that doesn’t have the deck must guess what the card is. If he is wrong on the first try, the dealer will either tell the person that their guess was too low or too high. Then the guesser gets another chance and if he gets that wrong he must drink the difference of his guess (so if he guess 7 and it was five, he has to take two sips of his drink). If he guesses right then the dealer must drink (if its a seven its seven sips). Also after every card you discard the card and put in on the table so everyone can see what cards are left. For example, if all four tens are gone you will know and never guess that number. The dealer must survive three wrong guesses in a row before he can hand over the cards to the next person. The later in the deck the more fucked the dealer gets because it is easier to guess the cards.

Analysis:

Charlie learned of this drinking game senior year of high school. He was at a party in his hometown and played it with a friend.  Since then, it has become one of his “top five” drinking games.  Once he came to college, however, he did not play it as much.  He said this is because friends here are not as “hard core” of drinkers as his friends back home.  There is no way to avoid drinking heavily in this game, so it is not suited for lightweights.  The game isn’t meant to be as fun as beer pong and other competition games, because its sole purpose is to get the players very drunk, very fast. He recommends playing this game, especially if one is fond of drinking alcohol. It is good to play before the party gets “bumpin”, according to Charlie.  The game is mostly played with close friends, unlike King’s Cup where the more the merrier.

This game seems to be pretty contemporary.  I have not heard of this game and it certainly isn’t as popular has Beirut (Beer Pong), Flip Cup, or even King’s Cup.  The goal of most drinking games, especially in American culture, is to get as drunk as possible. This game seems to fulfill that objective pretty well.

Fuck the Dealer represents the essence of college partying.  Many stereotypes portray college and universities with a tendency to binge drink.  In most cases this is a fairly accurate statement but there are many schools with strict policies on alcohol.  Drinking among American students, however, is fairly common.  It is a way for students to relieve the stresses of school and socialize with peers.  Alcohol has become almost essential to any party environment and is even frowned upon when out.  This is probably due to its effects on the nervous system, making people lose their inhibitions and be more open. In addition, some people do not feel comfortable interacting sober on an individual basis, so these group games provide a context of interaction in which the timid are able to come out of their shell.

A deck of cards is common in drinking games.  Some of these games include King’s Cup, Spoons, Category, Drug Dealer, Drunk Driver, Indian Poker, High Low Red or Black, Jacks, and Pyramids to name a few[1].  It is not known why cards play just a vital role but it could just be the ease of accessibility and inexpensiveness.

These types of drinking games are typically played at the beginning of one’s night, as sort of an icebreaker or just to pre-game before a party.  It is generally not played all night but rather for a couple hours at maximum. There are, of course, exceptions to this; for instance, Beer Pong competitions have been the center of many parties with extensive brackets and the illustrious title of champion on the line.

[1] http://www.beerfun.com/cardgames.html

Game

Nationality: Ecuadorian, Columbian, Czechoslovakian, Italian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: California
Performance Date: 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Game

You stand in a circle and one girl starts and she walks around the inside of the circle.  Then she jumps in front of the person when it says “she jumped in fron’ of me.”  Then the next girl goes into the middle and the one who ones in the middle replaces her stop in the circle.  “Little Sally Walker walkin down the street.  She didn’t know what to do so she jumped in front of me.  She said go girl do your thang do your thang do your thang. Go girl do your thang do your thang stop.”

Analysis:

Vienna first played this game in the 2nd grade.  She went to Page Private School in Beverly Hills. “What you would do is you got a group of people, at least five or six minimum, and you would get into a circle. Then whoever wanted to start would go in the middle and then walk around the inner circle and “strut” while you walk around.  Once it says “jumped in front of me” then that person stops and jumps in front of someone and does some kind of dance and then once it’s over, the person she jumped in front of goes into the circle and the other girl takes her place.  You continue until the whole circle has been in the middle”.  She enjoyed playing this because recess there was never really enough time, and this was fun.  To her, the best part is that the more people in the group, the longer it would last.  Also, there wasn’t a set amount of people; more kids could join during the game if they wanted.

I had never heard of this recess game until I collected it from Vienna. It seems more associated with western culture, especially because of the language used.  Vienna said most of her classmates were African-American—she was the only ‘white’ girl in her group of friends.  Myself growing up, I never heard of the word “thang”.  It wasn’t until I came to the United States and listened to rap music that I began hearing it.  I believe this type of slang is most commonly used among African-Americans.  I also asked what kinds of dances the girls would do to “do their thang”.  She said they did it with attitude and confidence.  I asked for further explanation and she said, “Let me put it this way—about half of our dances were banned by the principle”.  I’m not sure how risqué these dances could have been, considering they were in the second grade, so it may have just been inappropriate for their age group.

I think this game was especially common among her group of friends because it enabled them to express themselves.  Young children are often insecure and unsure of themselves.  By taking them out of their normal environment and letting them play with their peers, they are more likely to be themselves.  Furthermore, the game was never the exact same.  Girls would do their dances differently every time, providing exciting entertainment that consistently amused young children.