Duck, duck, goose

Duck, duck, goose

A group of children playing the game
Players	4 or more
Age range	2 and up
Setup time	None
Playing time	A minute or two per round
Random chance	None
Skill(s) required	Running; chasing; logic

Duck, Duck, Goose or Duck, Duck, Gray Duck is a traditional children's game often first learned in pre-school or kindergarten^[1] then later adapted on the playground for early elementary students. The object of this game is to walk in a circle, tapping on each child's head until one is finally chosen to be the new picker.

Basic concept

An animated schematic of how Duck Duck Goose is played.

A group of players sit in a circle, facing inward, while another player, the "picker" (a.k.a. the "fox"), (some young children call the "picker" the "ducker") walks around tapping or pointing to each player in turn, calling each a "duck" until finally picking one to be a "goose" The "goose" then rises and chases and tries to tag the "picker", while the "picker" tries to return to and sit where the "goose" had been sitting. If the picker succeeds, the "goose" is now the new picker and the process begins again. If the "goose" succeeds in tagging the picker, the "goose" may return to sit in the previous spot and the "picker" resumes the process. With older players, the "goose" may attempt to tackle the "picker".

Alternate versions

Duck, duck, gray duck

This variation, by all accounts, is only played in Minnesota.^[2] This version adds an element to the game by introducing the placement of adjectives before nouns. So, as the game is played, the person that is "it" walks around the circle tapping heads he says what color duck the other players are. For example, "red duck", "blue duck", "yellow duck", etc., but when a player is called a gray duck, he gets up and chases the person who is "it". Often, the Mush Pot version of play is included in Duck, Duck, Gray Duck.

Daisy in the dell

A variation described in the 1919 book, Entertaining Made Easy by Emily Rose Burt, has children standing in a circle, joining hands. The daisy picker goes around the outside, saying "Daisy in the dell, I don't pick you ... I do pick you."^[3]

Mush Pot

A group of people sit in a circle facing inward. One person is "it" and walks around the circle. As he walks around, he taps players' heads and say whether the player is a "duck" or a "goose". When a player is called a goose, he gets up and chases "it" around the circle, possibly running multiple laps around the circle. The goal is to tag that person before he is able to sit down in the "goose's" spot. If the "goose" is not able to do this, he become "it" for the next round and play continues. If the person who is "it" is tagged, he has to sit in the center of the circle (the "Mush Pot" or "Stew Pot" or "Cookie Jar"). Then the "goose" becomes "it" for the next round. The person in the middle can't leave until another person is tagged and he is replaced.

Duck Duck Splash

"Duck duck splash" is an alternative to the traditional game. This alternative is typically played during the summer months. The "picker" carries a small bucket of water around the circle and uses it to splash the person who will be the goose. This version is also commonly called "Drip Drip Splash" or, in Canada, "Drip Drip Drop."

Rag Tag / I Wrote a Letter to My Mother

"Rag tag" redirects here. For other uses, see Ragtag.

In Rag Tag or Drop the Handkerchief, the players sit in a circle facing inward, while another child, the "picker", walks around the outside of the circle carrying a rag or handkerchief until finally dropping it behind one child. This child then rises, grabs the rag, and chases and tries to tag the picker. The picker tries to return to the spot where the picked child had been sitting and sit in that spot. If the picker succeeds, the other child is now the new picker and the process begins again. If the child succeeds in tagging the picker, the same child may return to sit in the previous spot and the picker resumes the process. In some versions, the one who is tagged is "out" and must sit in the center of the circle; when the resulting circle becomes too small, a new game may be started.

There is also a version called I Wrote a Letter to My Mother, where the handkerchief is imagined as a letter being accidentally dropped. This version has a song which goes:

A tisket, a tasket, A green and yellow basket, I wrote a letter to my mother, on the way I dropped it, and one of you has picked it up and put it in your pocket. Not you, not you, not you, not you ...

The Marathi version of this song is "Maazhya aaiche patra harawla, te malaa saapadla".

The Rag Tag version is the standard game in France where it is called jeu du mouchoir (handkerchief game). The same is true for Germany, where it is called Plumpssack (plop sack), and for Poland, where it is called Mam chusteczkę haftowaną (I got a knitted cloth), as well as in Japan, where it's known as Hankachi-Otoshi (handkerchief drop).

Extreme Duck Duck Goose

This variant is played the same as regular duck duck goose, except in how the goose and picker try to get back to the empty spot. Instead of the goose chasing after the picker, he or she goes the opposite way and tries to intercept the picker on the other side of the circle. Physical contact is allowed (but not required); this usually involves wrestling and soft tackling. Throwing of limbs or fists is never allowed, the intent is always to only temporarily slow down your opponent so you can be first back to the empty spot. This version is also sometimes referred to as Yak Yak Moose.

A second version of extreme duck duck goose that has existed since at least 2004 maintains the usual roles for the goose and the picker, but changes the rules for the others in the circle. The rest of the group can get up and tackle or otherwise help or hinder the picker or the goose as they desire.

A third variation of Extreme Duck Duck Goose involves the circle of players in a different way. In this variation, as the goose spot is opened, any player in the circle may switch from their spot to the open one, causing the "goose" spot to move around the circle, prolonging the chase.

A fourth variation of Extreme Duck Duck Goose is for larger groups (20 or more) and older children (even into college). In this variation, the game is played as normal, however there are two "pickers" going in opposite directions. Their respective geese must maintain the direction of their "picker" as they chase them around the circle.

Bonga Bonga Boof

A version popular among Boy Scout troops, this is a very physical and rough version of the game and is meant for older players. Instead of sitting, everyone stands in the traditional circle formation. In the middle of the circle is a ball or similar object (a rubber playground ball is preferred). Much like Extreme Duck Duck Goose, instead of chasing the picker, the boof instead goes the opposite way around the circle and tries to intercept the picker on the opposite side of the circle. All out physical contact is allowed and encouraged depending on the involved parties. Once they come back around to the boof's starting location, instead of taking the empty spot, the picker and the boof must crawl between the legs of the person to the right of the boof's starting spot. The first person to crawl through and grab the ball inside the middle of the circle is deemed the winner and joins the circle.

Duck Duck Animal

This variant can suddenly be applied to a standard game of duck duck goose if the picker decides to tag someone as an animal other than a duck or a goose. The picker then chooses a relevant form of movement or charade, and the picker and the animal race back to the spot using that form of movement or charade. Some examples include hopping around the circle for duck duck kangaroo, or pulling oneself around on one's stomach for duck duck amoeba. The motion does not necessarily have to correspond to an actual animal, as the picker may choose to roll around the circle for duck duck rock.

Pato Pato Ganso

When the "goose" is picked, the "picker" runs in one direction of his or her choice around the circle, while the "goose" runs in the other direction. The first person who gets to the vacant space rejoins the circle, while the other person becomes the "picker".

Kho Kho

In some parts of South Asia (predominantly Indian communities) a game called Kho Kho is played. In this game a runner is picked and gets to run around a circle or line of other players and tap one on the shoulder upon saying "Kho", this player then becomes the runner while the previous runner takes his spot upon completing one round. The origin of Kho Kho is unknown.

Other variations

• In many cases, the picker will tap heads and state the names of other birds, like "hummingbird", or "crane". When they do that, however, the picker is not actually choosing the "goose". If you make a move to get up and start running when you have not yet been called "goose", you are now the picker. The game restarts with the original picker sitting down in your spot.

See also

Games portal

• Poor Mary
• Kagome Kagome (A related Japanese game.)
• Red light/Green light
• Mother May I?
• Simon Says
• Leapfrog

References

• http://www.holidaycook.com/party-games/duck-duck-goose.shtml
• http://www.gameskidsplay.net/games/circle_games/dk_dk_gs.htm
• http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62469147.html
• Earliest Google Books Result

1. ^ http://www.gray-duck.com/gray-duck/duck-article.jpg
2. ^ Lileks, James (Feb 19, 1999). "'Duck, duck' apparently has no shades of gray; 'Research' shows that Minnesota is only state that flat-out refuses to say 'goose'". StarTribune. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62469147.html. Retrieved 4 September 2011. 
3. ^ Burt, Emily Rose (1919). Entertaining Made Easy. New York: Edward J. Clode. p. 56. 

• "Giochi dell'oca e di percorso" by L.Ciompi&A.Seville
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