This is a fun action and memory game that’s almost as much fun to watch as it is to play.
Number of players: 6+
Ages: 4 + Kids love this game, but it’s funny to watch when big people play it.
Space: Back yard, playground, big living room or other indoor area.
All but two of the players form a ring by holding hands. The enclosure they make forms the garden. One of the odd players goes inside the garden, and the other stays outside of the garden. The player in the garden is the scamp; the player outside the garden is the gardener.
Play begins when the gardener calls to the scamp “Who let you in my garden?” The scamp answers “No one!” and then runs away, while the gardener chases him. The gardener must follow the same path in and out of the garden and the arms of the other players, who must lift their arms.
The fun comes if the “scamp” player wants to get creative. That player can use any number of moves to get in and out of the circle, including leap-frogging, somersaulting or crawling between the player’s legs. Any wild movements, jumping, shouting or other things the scamp decides to do, the gardener must copy. This is where the game can get really funny with the right group.
If the scamp is caught, he becomes the gardener, and the gardener joins the circle. The former scamp, now the gardener, picks another player to be the scamp. If the gardener doesn’t follow the exact path of the scamp, or doesn’t perform any of the feats or antics the scamp does, then she loses immediately and joins the circle. The scamp then gets to choose a new gardener.
As mentioned before, this is mostly a kid’s game; but watch the fun that breaks out if you play this with a group of adults at a party.