Hopscotch Variants
Translation details
Model:mistral-large-2512.Translated text
Section titled “Translated text”A game especially widespread among urban children, existing in numerous variations; suitable for primary schools and the lowest grades of secondary schools.
a) Simple Hopscotch. Each child (there may be two or more) takes turns standing at the base of the figure, drawn with a stick on the ground or with chalk on the floor (the length of each square’s side = one step), and, without bending over, tosses a small pebble into the “hopscotch” square 1. Then, they hop into that square on one foot, pick up the pebble, and hop out the same way. If the pebble does not land in the square 1, the foot touches a line, or the player stands on both feet, the attempt is counted as failed, and next time, the player must repeat the square 1 (instead of 2). When everyone has tried the square 1, the first player tosses the pebble into square 2, then likewise into 3… 8. The rule applies that for each square, one must hop from the base of the figure through all previous squares in order and return in the same reverse sequence. The child who, in a given round, first reaches square 8 wins. Often, however, further trials are added: 1) traverse all squares with the pebble balanced on the toes of the foot without letting it fall, 2) traverse the squares with eyes closed, 3) hop through all squares on both feet.
b) Hopscotch with “Heaven,” “Hell,” and “Sea.” Similar to a), but players hop partly on both feet (straddle) and partly on one foot. Specifically, to enter square 2, the left foot lands in 1 and the right foot in 2. When exiting, the player makes a half-turn backward in a hop, then a forward hop on both feet. Likewise, to enter square 4, the left foot is placed in the third square, 7, while the right foot lands in 6. After square 8 comes “Hell” (one-foot hop), then “Heaven” (both feet), and finally “Sea” (one foot).
c) “Jewish” Hopscotch. Like a), but the hops are more difficult due to a different arrangement of squares, often forcing players to leap over intermediate squares. (The name may derive from this intricate ordering of the squares.)
d) Clock (Warsaw), or Snail (Lviv). Players take turns standing at the entrance of the spiral figure drawn on the ground and hop on one foot through all the compartments to the center, then return the same way. Whoever completes this entire journey correctly (i.e., on one foot and without stepping on a line) earns the right to write their initial on one of the compartments. This is their “home,” where in subsequent rounds they may rest on both feet, while others must hop over it. The game ends when there are so many homes that hopping becomes impossible. The winner is the one with the most homes.
Transcription scope: text belonging to illustrations was omitted; exact boundaries recorded in the extraction report.
Source scan: Kujawsko-Pomorska Digital Library, marked “Public Domain.” View PDF — page 132.
Metadata
Section titled “Metadata”- Type: game
- Traits: Not stated in the source
- Source: Eugeniusz Piasecki, Zabawy i gry ruchowe dzieci i młodzieży (1922)
- Printed pages: 127–129 / PDF 132–134
- Digital edition: Digital edition · Source record
- Open the edition at the relevant page: p. 127
- Read the source text: zgr-084