Central American Nations

Cat and Mouse

Cat and Mouse is a Costa Rican children's game for at least seven players and is therefore good at parties and school. Two players are designated the cat and the mouse; the rest form a circle around the mouse, holding hands, singing “Alia viene el gato y el raton, a darle combate al tiburon” (the cat and rat are coming to fight the shark).

The cat tries to break through the circle to catch the mouse, while the children in the circle try to stop him by moving together to close the gaps between them or lowering their hands.

Crazy Seven

Crazy Seven is a memory and counting game played throughout Central America, with five or more players. One player begins counting one, the player to his left counts two, and so on around the circle. At seven and every multiple of seven, players clap their hands in unison and counting resumes in the opposite direction. Players who fail to clap are out of the game.

Wall Bounce

Especially popular in Guatemala, Wall Bounce is played with a tennis ball (or racquet sport ball of some kind) for each player. Players line up a short distance from a wall, and bounce the balls against it while reciting the game's chant in time with following the directions indicated by the chant—anyone who makes a mistake is out of the game. The American game Russia, with chants like “onesies” and “twosies,” is very similar. The Wall Bounce chant is:

• Sim moverse (without moving)
• Sin reírme (without laughing)
• Sin hablar (without talking)
• En un pie (on one foot)
• En una mano (with one hand)
• Adelante (clap your hands in front before the catch)
• Atras (clap your hands behind you)
• Torbellino (whirl your hands like a “whirlwind”—torbellino—before the catch)
• Caballete (clap your hands under one knee like a “little horse”)
• Ahora sí (“right now”—hold your arms straight in front of you to catch)
• Media vuelta (turn around halfway)
• Vuelta entero (turn all the way around)

The Blind Hen

The Blind Hen is a Salvadoran game for a large group of players. The player who is “It” is blindfolded and spun around, while other players circle him or her (holding hands) and chant, “Little hen, what are you looking for?” The “hen” replies, “A thimble and a needle,” only to be told, “We have it, but we won't give it to you.” The hen must then try to tag another player while the group tries to avoid any of its members being tagged and at the same time taunting the hen and hinting at where they are with their voices.

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