by L Wiles - 2008-08-01
So many chasing games and so little time. As kids our summers were filled with various version of hide-and seek, tag and freeze tag. We even managed to come up with our own version of tag we called Aunt Ruthie that we played when the weather kept us indoors (although I'm not too sure my Mom was really happy about the game).
I wasn't able to find out a lot about the history of chasing games. My guess is that these types of games are so ancient and instilled in us that they've just sort of always been part of us. I was able to find a notation that an Ancient Rome writer, Virgil, complained about the kid's of his time playing “It” (aka “Tag”) inside mazes.
Apparently hide-and-seek originated from an ancient European custom. People would “seek” birds, insects and flower for trophies as a way to bring in the new Spring.
Now days, chasing games are played all over the world in many, many variations with many different names. Here are just a few basics that many chasing games have in common.
Having a home base is common in many chasing games. Typically home base is a safety zone for chased players and can be a front porch, a tree, a fence post, the dead patch in the lawn or anything else that makes sense in your yard or play area. The important thing is that all players agree on where home base is before you start your game.
Typically, being IT in a chasing game means you are the chaser, but there are some variation of chasing games where this is not true (see specific game variations for more on this). The first person who is IT often volunteers for the job, but if nobody volunteers you can select the player to be IT.
Some basic types of chasing games are Hide-and-Seek or Hide And Go Seek, Tag and Kick The Can. There are many other types of chasing games and even many variation of each types mentioned. See our Super Cool Game Guide section for instructions on how to play specific chasing and hiding games.