Scottish kids games

**Laird_M** · 28th October 11, 08:06 AM

I'm running a session for St Andrew's Tide for our Cubs and wondered if anyone had any traditional games I coudl get the kids to do as talkign religion for 1 3/4 hrs woudl bore the kids stupid.

I've already got plainy clappy, towns, bools amd Queenie.

**piperdbh** · 28th October 11, 08:08 AM

Bash the rat!

**Laird_M** · 28th October 11, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by piperdbh

Bash the rat!

My two won't be too happy if we did that - we have two Norwegian Hooded does that the boys love.

**Peter Crowe** · 28th October 11, 09:16 AM

Martin,
I can't think of any games that are specifically Scottish except the game of 'Ba' (ball) played in places as far apart as Kirkwall and Jedburgh where adolescent males and young men play a game of getting a ball from one side of town to the other, divided into two sides of variable size called the 'Uppies' (from one side of town) and 'Doonies' (the other side of town). This game has few rules that I am aware of, and I am under the impression that (moderate?) violence and sneakiness may be used to accomplish the goal (or thwart it's accomplishment). Probably not a game to endear you to the parents of your Cub Scouts....we had a variant of this when I was a Scout (aged 11-16) called Murder Ball.

In the Glasgow area during my childhood the game of Hopscotch was called Peever, and had a variant called Beds.

**Peter Crowe** · 28th October 11, 09:22 AM

post deleted.

**ThistleDown** · 28th October 11, 09:51 AM

Martin, see if you can find a copy of "The Games & Diversions of Argyleshire" by Robert Craig Maclagan, M.D. Published by David Nutt, London 1901, it's a super little book crammed with children's day-fillers of the Victorian era.

Rex

**Bugbear** · 29th October 11, 01:30 AM

Ok from, The games & diversions of Argyleshire, at that link I posted. And it isn't really a high quality scan, either.

Dinging the Bonnets

Any number of boys pile their bonnets on the top of each other, and form themselves into a ring, taking each others' hands, the pile of bonnets being in the centre. They then drag each other, swaying and swerving backward and forward ; the object being to bring one or other into collision with the bonnets, so as to tumble them. When one tumbles them, he goes out of the ring, the pile is made up again, and they go on as before, until the number left in the ring is reduced to the lowest practicable limit.

They're Jocking the bonnets!

* Jocking: as in Jock Scot beating his bonnet into shape.