GAMES WE USED TO PLAY

STOVE-LID ROLL ORIGINAL NAME: TOCZENIE FAJERKI Necessary equipment: *a stove-lid (a part of a tile stove – a hoop which was placed over the hearth) *a long metal rod with a hook at its end The rules are really simple. You need to roll the stove-lid with a rod till the finish line. When you drop the stove-lid, you lose or you have to move back to start. The chase can be organized on the grass or sand. The above seems to be very easy but whenever you try, you will change your mind… The game was very popular in the first half of the 20th century. Nowadays, it is often shown during various local festivals.

ELASTIC BAND JUMPING ORIGINAL NAME: SKAKANIE PRZEZ GUMĘ TIME: it depends how fit you are or how long the school break is … EQUIPMENT: an elastic (about 4 metres band) You need at least 2 players. The more players the better because two players can hold the elastic. The main idea is to perform a series of jumps over an elastic band until the first miss. Then, there is a change of the player. The elastic is mounted on the four levels during the game: ankles, knees, thighs and waist.

BOTTLE CAPS GAMES ORIGINAL NAME: KAPSLE *Necessary equipment: a metal bottle cap (crown cork)  *Place: outdoors (obligatory) – all games take place on the ground and involve lots of physical activity *Most popular game variants:  - cap throw - strike - football - race (Peace Race) Cap Throw It is the simplest game. Players throw their caps in the front of a wall. The one which the closest to the wall is the winner. 

BOTTLE CAPS GAMES Cap Strike/Hole First, players throw their caps into a limited area. Next, they try to remove the opponents’ caps from the “pitch”. They do it by flicking their caps into opponents’ caps. The game has its extended version with a hole into which you try to throw or flick your bottle cap. If you are successful to hit the hole at the throw you get 3 points. If not, you need to flick your cap into the hole. However, the opponents may interfere you by flicking your cap away.  Cap Football You need to draw a pitch, “construct” two simple goals. Then decide how many players-caps you need in your team. One bottle cap is a ball. Players flick the caps in turns. You need to hit the ball with your cap.

BOTTLE CAPS GAMES Race (Peace Race) You need to draw (or construct) a race track (on the pavement, playground, etc. almost everywhere outside…). The shape of the track depends only on your imagination (the curves, obstacles, etc.). Players flick their caps in turns. If your cap is outside the track, you are either eliminated from the race or you have to start once again.  The game is usually called Peace Race. As it was inspired by the Peace Race - an annual multiple stage bicycle race held Czechoslovakia, East Germany and Poland. It was one of the most important cycling races in Europe. It was held in May and almost everyone followed each stage on the radio (or on TV – where the last kilometres of the stage were shown). That is why the bottle caps were decorated in a very elaborate way. There were flags of countries drawn inside, the names of the athletes. You could also cut out the flags from magazines or books (the other option was not advisable and quite risky…). The caps were sometimes filled with plasticine or wax to make them heavier and therefore more “stable” on the track. These days we observe a revival of the Peace Race game. You can take part in some competitions or buy a ready-made set of bottle caps with national flags. However, it is not the true spirit of the game... A real player always prepares and decorates his/her own bottle.

PALANT Palant is a Polish game similar to baseball, played using a wooden stick and rubber balls. The players are divided into two teams of 7 to 15 players. The playing field is 25 by 60 meters in size, and the wooden stick has 60–88 centimeters in length. You have to draw the "heaven" and "hell" fields. Reflecting team is trying to maintain as long as possible to "heaven" field for customs clearance wooden stick and finish the race. Team being on the "hell" field seeks to obtain the "heaven". For this purpose, trying to catch the ball in his hands as soon as possible to reject the heaven, so as to withhold as many players on the "hell". The team of "heaven" is set before the line "heaven" and the team "hell" for the line drawn to pierce the ball. The duration of the game twice after 20 minutes, you can set a limit being in "heaven" and "hell." The players located on the "heaven" bounce the ball behind the line designated with a wooden stick. Reflection is important when the ball sailed above the ground or on the ground the center line. Reflection is invalid when Batsman release the wooden stick of the hand, himself not toss balls, or he will not hit the ball… See more next page

PALANT After contacting the ball by a player in "heaven" pushes the stick and begins to defeat the base, task players in "hell" as soon as possible transfer balls to heaven. If a player misses, not strikes are set to run. For each running a yields one point. When a team from "hell" catch the ball in one hand directly during the flight that goes to heaven. Caught in the basket (with both hands) gets one point. These rules can vary and change. When playing e.g. After 5 minute upstairs (in heaven) and players from hell will not make the transition a n-el informs that the sides. The winning team that has the greatest number of points in a given time. In his book God's Playground Norman Davies suggests that the popular US game, baseball, may have developed from Palant played by the first Polish immigrants such as Jamestown Polish craftsmen.