Hopscotch is a traditional yard or street game perfect for children in preschool. Even my mother and my grandmother played this game in their childhood, and for me it has really good memories attached to it. The history of hopscotch traces back to ancient Rome. Although nobody knows exactly, some historians say that the game was a drill for soldiers to improve strength and agility. The children of this time are supposed to have adopted this game in a smaller version to play on the streets. Clearly, it stood the test of time, and like most games you can even add new variations and make up your own fun rules, or just stick to the traditional ones.

What do you need?
If you want to play outside on asphalt or pavement, you are going to need some chalk to draw a hopscotch diagram.

Inside masking or painter’s tape works well. Additionally, some kind of small object is needed. This could be a small stone, twig, dice, or basically anything of this size.

Who plays?

This game is perfect for pre-schoolers. The nice part about it is that you can even play it alone. So, when all of your friends aren’t available, you still have a fun game to play. But of course, you can play it with a small group of people too.

How to play “Hopscotch”?

First, you are going to need to draw a hopscotch diagram on the ground. You can see one in the picture on the right. If you are inside, of course, you shouldn’t draw on the ground but use tape to mark your fields.

The first player starts by tossing a small stone, or whatever you use as a marker, into the first square. If you don’t succeed in doing so, your turn is over and it is the next player’s turn. Pass the marker to him.

If you throw the marker inside of the first square, you can start with hopping. Hop on one foot into the first empty square. You should always skip the square with your marker inside! And then in every empty square behind it.
The squares 4 and 5, as well as 7 and 8, demand that you jump in there with both foot. So, left feet in 4 and right foot in 5 at the same time. The same for 7 and 8. For the 10, hop in with both feet and turn around to hop back the same way you hopped there. When you reach the marked square again, pick up the marker and complete the course. If you finish without a mistake on your next turn, throw the stone to the next number.

Whoever reaches 10 first, wins!

Variations

For younger children and inexperienced players, it might be easier to jump on both legs in every square. If you see that this works well, you can still level up and jump on one leg!

A fun variation to make the game harder is to set a timer and play it against the clock. Can you do it in 30 seconds? If you don’t, you lose your turn.

It is also fun to not look at the order of the numbers. That means that the players can throw the stone in every square. You can write your initials in the squares if you complete it successfully. When all the spaces have been initialed, the game is over and the player wins. If you want to make the game a little bit harder and have fun hopping and thinking at the same time, you can try to label each hopscotch square with the name of a category (books, food, animals, sports, pizza toppings, etc.). Every time you hop into a square, you have to shout an item in its designated category. Let’s say you land in animals. Here you might shout giraffe, monkey, dog, or snake. You lose your turn if you can’t think of an item in that category, or if you repeat another player’s item.

Additionally, it is also possible to draw another hopscotch diagram. You don’t have to stick to the traditional one. Be creative and come up with new designs for that. And most important of all, have fun!!