Old-time play: fun children's games
Kids are geniuses at play, aren’t they? They can have a great time even in open spaces without playground equipment, and they come up with ways to play with toys that adults would never imagine! Of course, kids today are creative too, but back in the days before smartphones and game consoles, children played in even more inventive ways.
Many of those old-fashioned games are still fun for kids today.
In this article, we’ve gathered lots of classic, enjoyable games from the past.
We’re also introducing plenty of activities you can try right away, so be sure to check them out!
- Nostalgic games that were popular when we were kids
- Fun Indoor Games for Elementary School Kids Without Any Equipment
- Recommended outdoor games you can enjoy without any equipment
- [Let’s Make and Play!] Handmade Toy Ideas You Can Create Yourself
- [Children’s Club] Easy and fun indoor games. Exciting party games
- A special feature on nostalgic toys and the trends we craved as kids—loads of the things we wanted back then are here!
- [Active Outdoors!] A roundup of garden games you can enjoy with your kids
- [Make with Kids] Handmade Outdoor Play Toy Special
- [For Kids] Today’s Handmade Craft Ideas
- [For Kids] Today's Recommended Recreation Idea Collection
- [List] A roundup of games and recreational activities kids love
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- Elementary School Fun Day a Big Hit! Indoor Game Idea Collection
Old-fashioned games. Fun children's games (11–20)
Menko
A quintessential Showa-era pastime, “menko.” Many adults today probably still remember the designs on the menko cards they used to play with.
The rules were simple—slam it down and flip the other card—but the matches could get pretty intense.
Plus, there was a collectible aspect: some people took pride in gathering lots of designs, like baseball or superhero menko.
buzzing top
I think many people have done this in elementary school art class—it’s the nostalgic “whirligig” button spinner! You punch a hole in the center of the disk, thread a string through it, pull both ends taut, and when you tug, it spins with a buzz from the centrifugal force.
The patterns and that buzzing sound were so fun, weren’t they? I remember being a little moved back then by how beautifully it spun with a design of my own.
Lillian
Lilian is a craft that uses a thread called rayon to make decorations and accessories.
Easy DIY kits for making Lilian are sold at 100-yen shops and elsewhere, and it has become a quiet trend.
Nowadays, many people make it as part of DIY, and it can be enjoyed not only as a children’s pastime but by adults as well.
ring toss
This is a game you still occasionally see at festival stalls.
You throw rings and try to land them on pegs, and it was exciting to get prizes based on how many you got on.
At night stalls, I bet some of you begged your mom or dad, saying “One more time!” when you couldn’t do it well.
balancing toy (Yajirobe)
A balancing toy that supports itself by keeping balance with thin arms extending to the left and right from a slender body.
Many of you may have made one using an acorn for the body.
Once the body is set, insert bamboo skewers or similar sticks on both sides, attach weights to their ends, and it’s complete.
Try playing with it and see if it balances—feel the excitement as you test it!
hopscotch
Even now, you sometimes see chalk marks for hopscotch drawn on the asphalt, don’t you? It’s a game where you combine landing with both feet apart and landing on one foot, and you hop along the circles you’ve drawn.
It reminds me of the time I once drew an insanely long hopscotch course.
Chinese jump rope
Rubber-band jumping where you rhythmically hop between two bands! More girls might have tried it.
Two people hold the ends of the rubber band, and one or several players jump inside the bands.
It looks simple, but trying to hop quickly and in rhythm is trickier than you’d think! You can jump to music, move the bands to raise the difficulty, and there are lots of ways to play!
draining
Stone skipping you can enjoy even if you go to the river empty-handed! You don’t need to bring anything—just find a stone you like along the riverbank.
Throw the stone toward the river with a spin and compete to see how many times it skips across the surface.
Choose a stone that’s slightly thicker in the middle, lower your hips, spread your feet, relax your arm, and throw—those are the keys to a good skip!
bamboo-copter
It’s a very simple, old-fashioned game, isn’t it? Those bamboo-copters, made by fitting pieces of bamboo together, would soar up into the sky with a quick spin of both hands—the sight of them carried all the dreams of boys who longed for airplanes and helicopters.
Nowadays you can even find plastic ones at 100-yen shops, so it might be fun to secretly buy one and give it a try.
stilts
Takeuma: riding on bamboo sticks modeled after horses.
Nowadays, versions made of plastic and other materials are sold, but in the past people played using sturdy bamboo.
It’s a bit challenging and can be hard to mount on your own.
If you’re not used to it, have someone support you while you get on.
If no one is available to help, start by leaning the takeuma against a wall and mounting from there.