Marco Polo

Marco Polo is the name of a popular game played by children in a swimming pool. The reason why this popular form of Hide-and-Seek has been named after Marco Polo—the famous Italian traveller who went to the court of the Great Khan of China together with his father and uncle in 1271 ce.—are not known. Whether the name alludes to the exploratory character of the game and of Polo's travels or not, there are several variants of this game in the Americas, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and some have alternate names, such as Mermaid on Rocks, or Alligator. The game may also be played on dry ground by slightly adapting its rules.

Marco Polo seems to be an easily modifiable game, which can be defined as a game of verbal call-and-response. One of the three or more players in Marco Polo is “it” and must locate the other players by using their voice and their hearing, “ft” shouts “Marco,” and the other players must respond by shouting “Polo.” Once “it” manages to find one of the other players, that player becomes “it.” In more complex variants, the other players can get out of the swimming pool (Mermaid on Rocks).

Marco Polo is also a location-based game, not just because “it” is confined to a specific space, but also because “it” must locate the other players by using auditory clues. In this game, there is bipolarity in the reversal of roles; in other words, players take turn in being “it,” there are repeated actions, a routine to be repeated, rules to be observed, and verbal signals to be used. What is more, since, as Vygotsky has pointed out, by playing we experiment, or learn to play out different social roles, through Marco Polo, children may be able to learn what it means to be a social outcast (as “it” in the game, isolated, confined to a specific space, and unable to “see” the others).

Marco Polo is such a well-known game in the United States that characters playing Marco Polo often feature in American cartoons, television series, films, and commercials. Characters are usually shown cheating, misunderstanding, changing, or ignoring the rules of Marco Polo, which has the effect of producing hilarity in the audience. For example, Bart Simpson of The Simpsons has been shown cheating at the game, or in an ironic sequence, revolutionary leaders (most of whom) turned dictators play Marco Polo in the Family Guy. In some cases the terms used are not Marco and Polo but, to comic effect, a show catchphrase, as in South Park.

Indeed, games online are sometimes defined as “marco polo” games, when players make call-and-response exchanges.