Ireland / England · USA / Canada (early 20th century street game)

Kick the Can

Also known as Tip the Can, Tin Can Copper, Tina Tommy, Bote Pateado

A hide-and-seek variant where hidden players can free themselves if they reach and kick the base before the seeker.

5+ playersAges 6-14OutdoorsHigh energyBig space
The rules

How to play

1

Draw a circle in the dirt as the base.

2

One child kicks it hard to send the seeker running; while the seeker retrieves and returns, everyone else hides.

3

The seeker searches and calls out anyone spotted by stomping the circle and saying 'uno dos tres por [name] en [place].'

4

But any hidden player may sprint out and stomp the circle first, yelling '¡Salvación por mí y todos mis amigos!', freeing all captured players.

5

The last uncaught hider becomes the next seeker.

Keep it fair

The seeker must be standing at the circle base before calling a name, calling from a distance does not count and prevents unfair outs.

Good for building
stealthrunningstrategyteamwork
What you need
Just: a stick to scratch a circle in the dirt
More to play

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