Free Fun Kids Games

Red Rover is one of the more enjoyable but easy to play outdoor games for kids that can sometimes get a bad rep.  Some of the strict schools have banned the game because they say it’s too violent.  Actually, it’s one of the more fun kids games when everyone is about the same size and strength.  As a matter of fact, one of the coolest things about Red Rover is the fact that everyone ends up on the winning team by the time it’s over.  Here’s how it’s played.

The basic idea of Red Rover is to try to run and break through a wall of kids holding hands together.  If you do break through, you can steal a player to help strengthen your wall of kids.  If you don’t break through you’ve been captured and join up with the team you tried to beat.  It’s a bit more complicated than that, but not too much.  It’s fun to play outside in good weather or bad.  Sometimes it’s more fun when the rain has been falling and it’s muddy or even in the snow.  Just be careful and don’t slip and fall.  Also, to keep things safe, don’t let a big 13 year old play with a group of 5 to 8 year olds.

Start the game by spliting the teams evenly into two groups.  Make sure you don’t have all the bigger kids on the same side.  Set each group at least 20 or more yards apart from each other.

Each group then forms a wall or line of people clasping hands and facing each other.  Once you’re set, one team will call “red rover, red rover, send ____ right over.”  Selecting someone from the other team to try to come over and try to break through the wall.  For this reason, it’s smart to pick the smallest person first.

If the person called over doesn’t break through they are “captured” and become part of the team they couldn’t overpower. This is kind of neat because it automatically evens out the teams and helps the smaller or weaker kids gain an upper hand quickly.

If the person called over does break through, they can select one person from the opposing team and capture them.  They both go back to the winning team and lock hands.

This process going back and forth until you end up with all of the people on the same team.  You could end up with one really strong person who breaks through the weakest link on the bigger team and suddenly they can bring back someone to help them out.  For this reason, Red Rover games can last a fairly long time.

Remember, keep it safe and fun and don’t try to hurt anyone.  This game doesn’t have to be too violent.  I hope you enjoy it.