Hares and Hounds

The hunting game Hares and Hounds has a long history in the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and other parts of the world. Sometimes a few hares try to elude the hounds' pursuit; alternatively, hares and hounds comprise two teams. Names for this hunting game include Hounds and Hares, Hunts, Fox and Hounds, and Stag Hunting. In a variant of Hares and Hounds called Paper Chase, the hounds leave shreds of paper as clues for their pursuers. Another variant, a board game called Hares and Hounds or the French Military Game, can be found online. Motorcycle courses for Hares and Hounds races have become popular in recent years.

British accounts of Hares and Hounds show that the game has had a fairly consistent pattern since the 17th century. Since much running takes place, children usually play the game in the country, but it is also possible to play in parks or wooded areas of cities. Before beginning the game, hares plan where they will run. Hounds count to give hares a head start before pursuit begins. During the chase, hounds call out to the hares to check the hares' direction. If no hares answer, the hounds may decide to give up their pursuit. A hound who spots a hare shouts “Tally-ho!” to alert teammates. After capturing a hare, a hound may pat him or her three times on the head or on the back.

Toward the middle of the 19th century, Paper Chase became a common term for games of Hares and Hounds played at British schools. Tom Browns School Days (1857) describes children's careful shredding of newspaper, carried in bags and left as clues. Nineteenth-century schoolchildren did not need to worry about littering, but 20th-century organizers of games told children to bring all the pieces of shredded newspaper home to avoid littering. This concern continues in the 21st century.

More self-contained and litter-free, the board game Hare and Hounds offers both children and adults a chance to develop complex strategies. In this game, one player represents the three hounds; the other represents the hare. If the hare makes its way to the left of the hounds, it succeeds, but if the hounds cut off the hare's escape, they win the game. Electronic versions of this game, written in Java, have appealed to many players.

In the United Kingdom and the United States, motorcycle races called Hares and Hounds have become elaborate competitions. The first motorcycle rider to set out on a marked off-road course becomes the hare, and those who follow that rider become the hounds. Races in California, Nevada, and Idaho involve two separate courses of about 40 miles each, with a break in between the loops for refueling and maintenance. Motorcycle races in the United Kingdom tend to be shorter, with only one course, but their off-road terrain is similarly rough and challenging.

The best-known analysis of Hares and Hounds by a folklorist is Alan Dundes's “On Game Morphology” (1964). Applying Vladimir Propp's structural theory, Dundes notes that Hares and Hounds has a double structure with different lacks, interdictions, violations, and consequences for Hares and Hounds. He observes that traditional folktales have a similar double-stranded structure, since heroes and villains have opposite goals. Besides folklorists, combinatorial games theorists have studied Hare and Hounds, exploring the range of moves that two players can make.

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