Recreation for EveryoneA world of ideas for playing together.
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Chapter 1 · Outdoor Games

No.16

Banana Tag

Japanese name: バナナ鬼

Suggested ages
Approximately age 5 through primary school
Group size
8-20 people
Suggested time
5-10 minutes
Location
An open outdoor area or gym

Materials

How to play

  1. Choose 1–2 taggers. Practice the banana pose and rescue together.
  2. The taggers count to 10 and chase. Tagged players stop and place their hands together above their head.
  3. Two free runners approach together and gently touch one hand each, one from either side. The frozen player lowers their own arms and rejoins.
  4. Do not pull arms down or push during a rescue. Do not suddenly rush into the space around the three rescuing players.
  5. Stop when everyone is a banana or after 1 minute. Change taggers and restart with everyone free.

Ways to adapt

Preschool children: one rescuer. Older primary school children: two rescuers.

Sources and references

More from this chapter

Here are a few more ideas to explore.

Outdoor GamesNo.1

Tag

Ask an adult to demonstrate a gentle tag first. With preschool children, let an adult be tagger and begin with enjoying escape. If running abilities differ widely, brisk walking…

Suggested ages
Approximately age 4 through primary school
Suggested time
3-8 minutes
Group size
4-15 people
Outdoor GamesNo.2

Hide-and-Seek

If a child is anxious about hiding, let them hide with an adult. Adults should know where children are; the activity must not involve losing track of them. Agree to end on time…

Suggested ages
Approximately age 4 through primary school
Suggested time
5-10 minutes
Group size
3-10 people
Outdoor GamesNo.3

Daruma Freeze Game

For preschool children, simply return to the start when movement is spotted. If a sudden turn feels frightening, an adult can call the phrase slowly. Touch a ground marker to…

Suggested ages
Approximately age 4 through primary school
Suggested time
5-10 minutes
Group size
4-15 people