Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Minnesota plays Duck Duck Gray Duck
Some Minnesotans claim the extra “Gray Duck” adds strategic depth to a toddler’s circle game.
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Belote is deeply embedded in French bar culture
It's a trick-taking card game in which partners rely on subtle cues—like nods and grunts—and sometimes glare when a partner plays the wrong suit.
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The 1904 Olympics shared a fair with a racist sporting spectacle
The St. Louis World's Fair staged Anthropology Days, putting Indigenous participants into unfamiliar contests and treating their performances as evidence for…
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Chopsticks turns your fingers into a counting game
Players tap hands to add their displayed values, with common rules putting a hand out when it reaches five. Some variants wrap higher totals around or allow…
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Egg and spoon races waste perfectly good breakfast food
The race dates back to the late 1800s: competitors sprint while keeping an egg balanced on a spoon.
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Pat-a-cake was in print by 1698
The familiar clapping rhyme appears in a late-17th-century play, giving the children's game a documented life far beyond anyone singing it today. Its rhythm…
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Tetherball poles must be exactly ten feet tall
There are actual standardized regulations for strapping a volleyball to a rope and smacking it around a metal pipe. The pole has to be ten feet high, meaning…
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Why schools banned Red Rover
Children formed a line holding hands while another child charged at them, creating a risk of falls and injuries.
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Thumb wrestling has a world championship—and stage names
The World Thumb Wrestling Championships in Beccles, Suffolk, invite competitors to decorate their thumbs and adopt stage names. The tiny contest gets the…
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Why the telephone game goes wrong so quickly
Each person has to hear and repeat a whispered message, so small errors can compound as it passes around the group.
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How mud wrestling became a spectator sport
In 1930s Akron, promoters made mud wrestling a spectacle by offering audiences a messier alternative to standard athletics.
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Evens and odds was heavily played by ancient Greeks
Players showed fingers and bet on whether the total was even or odd; the Greeks called the game artiasmos.
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Sepak takraw turns a volleyball net into an aerial kicking contest
Popular in Southeast Asia, this sport has players send a rattan ball over the net using only their feet, knees, chest, and head. Athletes can launch into…
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Hot potato turns an ordinary object into a deadline
Players pass the object while music plays, and whoever holds it when the music stops loses the round. Nothing needs to be physically hot: an unpredictable…
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Snap was invented by a wealthy family in the 1800s
Victorian aristocrats are said to have formalized the matching game, turning parlor boredom into a contest of shouting and snatching.
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Parkour's family tree includes obstacle-course training
Modern parkour developed through people including David Belle, drawing on earlier physical-training traditions and his father Raymond's experience. Its…
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Three-legged races guarantee bruised ankles and egos
Tying partners' legs together forces them to coordinate their steps; if they don't, they can quickly end up on the ground.
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Tudor aristocrats loved blindman's bluff
Henry VIII's courtiers blindfolded themselves and stumbled around great halls, making the game aristocratic entertainment rather than just a children's pastime.
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Hearts forces players to actively avoid winning
The goal is to finish with the fewest points, so players try to pass costly cards to opponents rather than collect tricks.
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This sport combines trampolines with volleyball
Players combine volleyball, soccer, and gymnastics on an inflatable court fitted with trampolines, adding airborne acrobatics to the game.
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Egyptian Ratscrew punishes a mistimed slap
Slap the pile when there’s no double or sandwich, and you have to burn a card from the bottom of the deck. Players can fake-slap to bait jittery opponents…
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In Tressette, a three beats an ace but is worth less
The Italian trick-taking game ranks threes highest, yet an ace scores one point while a three scores only one-third. Winning power and scoring value are…
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Tarneeb heavily penalizes failing to reach your bid
If a team bids seven tricks and falls short, it loses seven points rather than simply earning none.
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Adding Lizard and Spock cuts the random tie rate to one in five
Sam Kass and Karen Bryla designed the expanded game with five options; each beats two and loses to two. If both players choose uniformly at random, ties drop…
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