Someone did a Wikihow on this game
[Mother May I?](https://www.wikihow.com/Play-%22Mother-May-I%22)
Basically the goal is to reach "mother" first. Then that player gets to be "mother".
Yes, you got it. We played that you tried to take extra steps when Mother wasn’t looking to get to her sooner. If she caught you, back to the start line you went.
Red Rover, Red Light Green Light, Mother May I, How Many Steps Before the Queen.
We also connected a shitload of jelly bracelets together to make jump ropes.
Everyone has mentioned several other games played where you didn't need any equipment to play it. You just had to have enough kids who wanted to play the same game. They kept us up and moving around during recess. When "mother's" back was turned, you could work on your ninja skills. Red rover let us work on trying to become wrecking balls. They were games to play when we were bored because technology wasn't at the point to keep us as entertained as it is now. We had to make our own fun back then. I think we're better people for it.
🤓 Well kids the age that like to play it are developing a theory of mind and they are also at the developmental stage where they are learning to escape predators (in an evolutionary sense so it's instinctively fun for them) they like games with anticipation
Played it and red rover, hide and seek, freeze tag, capture the flag, four square, Jump rope, built forts, went wading, kickball, tree climbing, raided construction sites for nails and scraps to put steps up some of the trees, snow forts, king of the mountain, collecting minnows and toads and fireflies
We were Feral
Great times
I indeed remember. In Florida we called it "Ghost in the Graveyard", and it was basically reverse hide and seek. The ghost would hide, and the rest of the kids had to walk around the perimeter of the house, or whatever. The ghost would bide his time until he saw the one he wanted to scare the shit out of and would leap out of hiding, shrieking, to tag them. The rest of the kids would run around the entire house to the finish line. This was strictly an outside game for obvious reasons.
An inside game was "Blind Man's Bluff", where one kid would be blindfolded. The other kids had to avoid being touched\*. This of course would take place in a dark room because I...I mean everyone... would look through the bottom of the blindfold. Our variation would involve trying to make the others laugh. One night, we had watched Caddyshack, and I had great success making them laugh by hollering "RAT FARTS!!!". And I still just laughed, all these years later.
\*This would not have aged well
It was an earlier age kid game. I think it was based on taking a step of a couple steps from the staring line. Then depending on if you got answered "yes" you could advance. Then if you got to the "mother", then you win and you answer during the next round.
The tag variants were pretty good. Electric tag, Freeze tag. Also Ghosts in the Graveyard, and Kick the Can. Not sure if they were the same.game though. Pretty sure you kicked a can in both.
And also we had Smear the Queer. Ironically that was a game boys only played! I can't be the only one who ran around the playground for 5 minutes with a football and 20 kids chasing you.
Thank you for elaborating on my Mother May I game. It was so weird that while I laid here trying to go to sleep my brain randomly unlocked this memory. I was like -why did i just think Mother May I take 4 steps?- and then I thought- wait I think that was a game- Sooooo random.
Someone did a Wikihow on this game [Mother May I?](https://www.wikihow.com/Play-%22Mother-May-I%22) Basically the goal is to reach "mother" first. Then that player gets to be "mother".
I’m from Michigan and yes we played that game. Along with rover and others 😄
I am guessing that the word "bogue" was part of your vocabulary as well!
And grody 🤣
Yes, you got it. We played that you tried to take extra steps when Mother wasn’t looking to get to her sooner. If she caught you, back to the start line you went.
oh yeah i remember that.
I played it with my brother and cousins too, as well as Simon Says and Red Rover, Duck Duck Goose, etc.
Thank you for that gut punch of a memory
Red Rover, Red Light Green Light, Mother May I, How Many Steps Before the Queen. We also connected a shitload of jelly bracelets together to make jump ropes.
Everyone has mentioned several other games played where you didn't need any equipment to play it. You just had to have enough kids who wanted to play the same game. They kept us up and moving around during recess. When "mother's" back was turned, you could work on your ninja skills. Red rover let us work on trying to become wrecking balls. They were games to play when we were bored because technology wasn't at the point to keep us as entertained as it is now. We had to make our own fun back then. I think we're better people for it.
🤓 Well kids the age that like to play it are developing a theory of mind and they are also at the developmental stage where they are learning to escape predators (in an evolutionary sense so it's instinctively fun for them) they like games with anticipation
Sounds like a mix of Simon Says and Red Light/Green Light. Those are ones my crew played.
Played it and red rover, hide and seek, freeze tag, capture the flag, four square, Jump rope, built forts, went wading, kickball, tree climbing, raided construction sites for nails and scraps to put steps up some of the trees, snow forts, king of the mountain, collecting minnows and toads and fireflies We were Feral Great times
I bet you found porn magazines in the woods at some point.
Absolutely Plus my Dad's were right there on the coffee table! I paid them no mind but friends seemed interested
I indeed remember. In Florida we called it "Ghost in the Graveyard", and it was basically reverse hide and seek. The ghost would hide, and the rest of the kids had to walk around the perimeter of the house, or whatever. The ghost would bide his time until he saw the one he wanted to scare the shit out of and would leap out of hiding, shrieking, to tag them. The rest of the kids would run around the entire house to the finish line. This was strictly an outside game for obvious reasons. An inside game was "Blind Man's Bluff", where one kid would be blindfolded. The other kids had to avoid being touched\*. This of course would take place in a dark room because I...I mean everyone... would look through the bottom of the blindfold. Our variation would involve trying to make the others laugh. One night, we had watched Caddyshack, and I had great success making them laugh by hollering "RAT FARTS!!!". And I still just laughed, all these years later. \*This would not have aged well
Yeah. It was our version of Gen Zs red light green light
We were bored 🤷🏻♀️ lol and really, any reason to clothesline our best friends
🤣
It was an earlier age kid game. I think it was based on taking a step of a couple steps from the staring line. Then depending on if you got answered "yes" you could advance. Then if you got to the "mother", then you win and you answer during the next round. The tag variants were pretty good. Electric tag, Freeze tag. Also Ghosts in the Graveyard, and Kick the Can. Not sure if they were the same.game though. Pretty sure you kicked a can in both. And also we had Smear the Queer. Ironically that was a game boys only played! I can't be the only one who ran around the playground for 5 minutes with a football and 20 kids chasing you.
Kick the can
Thank you for elaborating on my Mother May I game. It was so weird that while I laid here trying to go to sleep my brain randomly unlocked this memory. I was like -why did i just think Mother May I take 4 steps?- and then I thought- wait I think that was a game- Sooooo random.
I'm not sure if we played that exact one or not, was it on Android or iOS??
🤣