This is a great game for a playground, back yard or park. It also opens possibilities for a wonderful geography lesson. It allows for a lot of running and dodging, especially if you’re playing on a larger field.
Number of players: 5+
Age: 4+
Space required: playground, back yard or park.
To set up the game, block out a large rectangle on the playing field. The center of the playing field is the Great Wall. It should be two parallel lines ideally ten feet apart. They can be closer if space requires. Then, mark off two goal lines at both ends of the playing field. Thirty feet is the ideal distance, but again, you can be flexible. It’s nice if you can draw lines for these, but you can use pylons or other objects to mark off the ends.
One player is chosen to defend the wall, and stands on it, ready for the job. All of the other players stand in one of the home goals. The defender calls “start” and then all the players try to cross the wall to get to the goal line on the other side. The defender tries to tag as many of the other players as possible, who then join her on the wall, and then help her to tag the remaining players. However, the defender, or defenders of the wall can’t go beyond the boundaries of the wall.
The game ends when all the players have been caught. The last player taken becomes the defender for the next game.
I played a much rougher version of this game during recess when I was a kid. Instead of tagging the other players, the defender and subsequent helpers tackled them. It was fun, but eventually the principal called an end to it after two bloody noses and a dislocated shoulder.