How to Play Even More Classic Playground Games

Author: Jess Sparks
Updated on: June 5, 2024

Our series about fantastic classic playground games continues with two more amazing entries! “Hot Potato” and “Capture The Flag” are guaranteed to help children burn their energy, while growing healthier and happier with every second spent on the playground. In case you missed it, don’t forget to check out our first entry for how to play Hopscotch, King Square and Duck Duck Goose, and our second entry for  how to play What’s The Time Mr Wolf, Piggy in the Middle, and Snakes & Ladders!

How to play Hot Potato

Hot Potato is a group game that can be played both indoors and outdoors. It is super easy to get into, can be modified to play in different ways, and without a doubt guarantees tons of fun for everybody! Apart from bringing lots of smiles, this game also improves children’s reactions, general body control, concentration, and prediction skills.

In order to play Hot Potato, you will need at least two friends to join you, a music source and an object that is easy to hold, pass, and throw, playing the role of a “Hot Potato”. Some great options for your “potato” are footballs, bean bags, or tennis balls.

The aim of the game is to make sure you are not left holding the “potato” when the music stops – which happens at the end of each round – in order to make it to the end and win the game.

Before you start, one person must be selected to be in charge of stopping and starting the music. You and the rest of your friends will then form a circle, passing the “potato” from one person to the other, while the music is playing. The “potato” can be thrown in any direction in the circle and doesn’t have to be passed clockwise or anti-clockwise.

When the chosen person stops the music, whoever is last holding the “potato” gets “burned” and drops out of the game, marking the end of a round. A new round then begins, eventually leading to another participant, who was holding the “potato” last, dropping out. The rounds continue until there is only one player remaining and they become the winner!

How to play Capture the Flag

Capture the Flag is a very fun and active game, which is beneficial for developing teamwork and coordination skills as well as actively promoting physical health.

There are a multitude of variations of this game, but in general the goal is to capture the flag of the other team and bring it to your own side of the field, while defending your own flag.

Setup:

1. First, split your children into two teams. An even number of players is preferred, but the more people you have, the greater the fun!
2. Within a standard game of Capture the Flag, no matter if the play area has defined borders or is an open space, each team will have:

• at least one flag or an item representing one.
• at least one zone where the flag is kept.
• a “jail”, where captured members of the opposing team can be brought.

Teams should evenly split the play area, form their territories and mark where each zone is, or simply use objects within the play area as zones (e.g. trees or benches).

Basic Rules:

1. Get the flag of the opposing team to your own area to win!
2. Once you enter the “enemy” area, you can be tagged. You are completely safe in your own team area.
3. Once tagged, you can either be brought to the jail zone of the opposing team or be frozen on the spot that you were tagged at. In either case, a team member needs to save you before you can resume playing.
4. Once you are saved, you must go back to your team area before trying to capture the flag or save again. On your way back to your own team area, you cannot tag or be tagged.
5. The teammate who does the saving is not immune to being tagged.
6. Enemy team flag zones are safe zones for you, so you cannot be tagged within them.

Make sure to check out our Capture The Flag thermoplastic playground markings, as well as the abundance of other durable and vibrant designs for playground games in our range of playground markings for schools!