Duck Duck Goose
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Duck Duck Goose is a children's game often first learned in pre-school or kindergarten.
A group of children sit in a circle, facing inward, while another child, the "picker" walks around tapping or pointing to each player in turn, calling each a "duck" until finally picking one child to be a "goose." The "goose" then rises and chases and tries to tag the picker. The picker tries to return to the spot where the "goose" had been sitting and sit in that spot. 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. 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.
Alternately, 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 first rejoins the circle, while the other person becomes the "picker."
A regional variant of this game, "Duck Duck Gray Duck," is played in the north central part of the United States, specifically Minnesota and surrounding areas, and is considered a cultural marker for that region. In this variant, the "picker" will often describe the "ducks" as different colors or adjectives -- for example, "blue duck, white duck, lazy duck". It's more of an educational game than an alteration of the "original", in that one not only recites colors, but also tries to say "gray duck" as casually as possible, hoping to deceive the gray duck and gain time (a technique that is less successful in the classic version). It's more complicated and doesn't involve any potentially suggestive "goosing."
External link
- Rules and variations on game (http://www.holidaycook.com/party-games/duck-duck-goose.shtml)Template:Game-stub