Buzz
Long before the rapid progression of technology, from computers and tablets to smartphones, life appeared more uncomplicated and carefree.
Children would often spend their afternoons playing outdoors, riding bikes, and letting their creativity take flight. Even the simplest toy or game could provide hours of fun. As the streetlights flickered on, it signaled time to head home, and many of the best memories were made with friends on the playground.
This compilation highlights 10 childhood games and activities that eventually evolved into competitive sports, some even reaching professional status.
10. Tag
Tag is a game with a straightforward concept: one player is selected as 'it,' and their mission is to chase and tag another player, who will then take on the role of 'it.' The game proceeds as participants work to avoid being tagged. Sometimes, there is a 'safe zone' or specific item that grants immunity from being tagged or becoming 'it.' Over time, various versions like freeze tag and shadow tag have emerged, yet the core idea remains unchanged.
In 2012, brothers Christian and Damien Deveaux from the UK elevated the game by creating a professional sport called World Chase Tag. Thanks to their ingenious twist, this childhood pastime transformed into a competitive global event where men and women from all corners of the world now compete.
World Chase Tag is played in a team format with two squads of up to six players each, competing in a series of 16 chases. Each chase lasts 20 seconds, with one player from each team facing off in a 40-by-40-foot (12-by-12-meter) arena filled with obstacles, ramps, and platforms. One participant is the 'Chaser,' while the other is the 'Evader.'
At the start of each chase, the Chaser has only 20 seconds to tag the Evader, using their hands. If the Chaser succeeds in tagging the Evader, their team earns a point, and the Chaser switches to the role of Evader in the next round. However, if the Evader manages to avoid being tagged within the 20 seconds, their team scores a point.
After each chase, players receive a 25-second rest period. Once all 16 chases are complete, the team with the highest score emerges as the winner.
9. Dodgeball
Dodgeball was another game commonly found on playgrounds or in gym class. This game, however, could be more intense than tag, especially if you weren’t the most athletic or well-liked, making you an easier target. While it could be unpleasant at times, it was still much more bearable than its original African version, where players would hurl rocks at each other and use them to 'finish off' opponents once they had fallen.
Despite the game's harsh origins, dodgeball remains a favorite for many. In 2004, the National Dodgeball League was formed in the U.S., followed by the establishment of the Worldwide Dodgeball Federation in 2011.
The basic rules of professional dodgeball are similar to the childhood version—two teams battle it out by throwing dodgeballs at opponents to eliminate them. However, there are modifications to make the sport more organized and less painful for participants.
Professional dodgeball teams consist of at least six players and no more than 12. Each team can have up to three designated ball retrievers and two team leaders. Matches are played in two 20-minute halves, with a five-minute break in between.
Unlike the makeshift playground fields or school gymnasiums used in casual games, the professional dodgeball court is a flat, rectangular space measuring 59 feet (18 meters) in length and 29 feet (9 meters) in width. This playing area includes not just the court itself, but also designated zones such as a free space, a queue area, and sections for penalties and substitutions. Surrounding the court are barriers designed to keep the balls within the play area.
In professional dodgeball, players use cloth or foam balls, replacing the painful rubber ones that leave welts. When cloth balls are in play, there are five balls in total; if foam balls are used, six balls are employed in the game.
8. Musical Chairs
Musical chairs is a simple, enjoyable game that only requires chairs and music, making it a perfect activity for children’s birthday parties or family gatherings.
Chairs are arranged in a circle, with one less chair than the number of players. As the music plays, players walk around the circle, and when the music stops, everyone rushes to sit in a chair. The player left standing without a chair is eliminated. The game continues this way, removing one chair each round until a winner remains. While competitive, this childhood game has grown into an annual championship, complete with a grand prize.
In 2011, Fred Smith, a 32-year-old former prison guard, joined a company that organized large-scale events like scavenger hunts. When a friend reached out for fundraising ideas, Smith immediately envisioned a massive championship of musical chairs. As a result, in 2012, the World Musical Chairs Federation was founded, and the first championship took place in Amesbury, Massachusetts.
Given the competitive nature of the game and Smith’s background as a prison guard, he created a rulebook to ensure fair play and prevent excessive aggression. In the Musical Chairs World Championship, players have just seven seconds to sit down (butt first) once the music stops, and they are prohibited from using any other body parts to push their way into a seat.
Additionally, Smith requires participants to provide an emergency medical contact in case of injury. Each event is staffed with one referee for every 40 players, plus two dozen 'enforcers' who ensure the game remains safe. The winner of the 2012 championship earned a $10,000 prize.
7. Speedcubing
In 1974, Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik invented the Rubik's Cube, originally named the 'Bűvös kocka,' or Magic Cube. Though its design appears simple—nine colored squares of red, yellow, green, blue, orange, and white on each side—solving the puzzle and returning the cube to its original configuration is a daunting task. With 43 quintillion possible combinations, it took Rubik himself over a month to solve the puzzle he created.
Despite Rubik’s confidence in his invention, he was told that no one would want to play with his cube because it didn’t resemble a traditional 'toy.' Although he tried selling it in Hungarian toy shops from 1977 to 1979, it wasn’t until 1980 that Rubik partnered with the Ideal Toy Company to bring the cube to America and distribute it worldwide. It was at that point that the cube was renamed the Rubik’s Cube, and over 450 million units have been sold to date.
Today, speedcubing has evolved into a competitive sport where participants race to solve the cube puzzles as quickly as possible. While the standard 3×3 cube is the most commonly used, there are also more complex versions, including cubes as large as 7×7. The current world record for solving a 3×3 cube is held by 22-year-old Yusheng Du of China, who completed the puzzle in just 3.47 seconds.
6. Four Square
Foursquare was another deceptively simple playground game. All it required was a piece of chalk or a stick, enough space to draw four squares, and a ball.
The playing field is divided into four quadrants, numbered 1-4. A blend of dodgeball and volleyball, players take turns serving the ball into another player’s square. If the player fails to serve the ball after one bounce, or if the ball hits a line or goes out of bounds, they’re out, and someone else takes their place. With each elimination, the remaining players move to the next square, aiming to reach the highest rank: 4.
This playground game has evolved into an annual championship, thanks to Peter Lowell, who launched the first Four Square World Championship in 2010. The event takes place in Bridgeton, Maine, serving as a fundraiser for the Lakes Environmental Association and attracting participants from around the globe.
Unlike the casual version played on the playground with no time limits, the championship begins with a one-hour first round. Half of the participants will then move on to a 40-minute semi-final, from which eight players will proceed to a 25-minute final round. The player who spends the most time in the top-ranked square is crowned the winner.
5. Marbles
The game of marbles traces its roots to ancient civilizations such as the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and even some Native American tribes, though these early games often used stones, pieces of clay, or nuts instead of modern marbles.
Competitive marble tournaments have been held since the early 1920s. One such event, the National Marbles Tournament in Wildwood, New Jersey, was founded in 1922 and offers children ages 7-14 the chance to compete in a four-day competition, with college scholarships as prizes. The tournament is held annually a week after Father’s Day at Ringer Stadium, located off the beach boardwalk.
The British and World Marbles Championship officially began in 1932 and has been an annual event ever since, taking place on Good Friday at the Greyhound Pub in Tinsley Green, Sussex.
4. Nerf Gun Wars
Lonnie Johnson, a former research engineer, served in the U.S. Air Force and worked as a system engineer for NASA on significant missions like Galileo to Jupiter, Mars Observer, and Cassini to Saturn. He is also the inventor behind the iconic Super Soaker and Nerf dart guns.
Made of foam, Nerf guns introduced a thrilling, war-inspired play option that was safe for indoor use, preventing any concerns over injury. However, in 2016, Jared Guynes from Dallas, Texas, took these blaster battles to a whole new level.
Guynes organized the first Jared’s Epic Blaster Battle on March 12, 2016, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with 2,289 participants. This event set a world record for the largest toy pistol fight, generating $14,000 in ticket sales, all of which were donated to tornado relief efforts.
Beyond the initial event at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium, Guynes has expanded his blaster battle series, hosting additional events at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home of the Atlanta Falcons.
3. Hide and Seek
The Nascondino World Championship, the only large-scale international hide and seek competition, began in 2010 in Consonno, Italy. Once known as the 'Las Vegas of Italy,' Consonno was devastated by a landslide in 1976 and is now a ghost town.
Despite the town’s abandoned state, the two-day competition in September revitalized Consonno as 80 teams from over ten countries participated in the 2017 event, breathing life into the ghost town for a brief period.
Each team is made up of five players, with one individual chosen to hide. After 60 seconds of preparation time, the seekers are set loose to find the hiders. Players can conceal themselves behind hay bales or other obstacles on the field, but hiding in the abandoned buildings is strictly prohibited.
Players are given 10 minutes to leave their hiding spot and reach the home base, which is a large air mattress, without being caught by a seeker. The first player to reach home base earns 20 points, the second gets 19 points, the third 18 points, and so on. The 20 teams with the highest scores compete in the final round, with the winning team awarded a golden fig leaf.
2. Board Games
The ancient game of Go (known as weiqi in Chinese and baduk in Korean) is regarded as the world’s oldest board game, originating in China around 4,000 years ago. In ancient Chinese culture, Go was considered one of the 'Four Accomplishments' a gentleman should master, alongside playing the lute, writing calligraphy, and painting.
Go is a two-player game played on a wooden board with a grid, using black and white stones. The player with the black stones moves first, and the players take turns placing their stones on the board's intersecting lines. The objective is to surround and capture the opponent’s stones. Final scores are calculated by subtracting the number of captured stones from the total points earned for the stones you’ve captured. The player with the highest score wins.
Professional Go players are supported by several associations such as the Japanese Go Association, the European Go Federation, the International Go Federation, and the American Go Federation. Competitive Go tournaments take place worldwide, and there’s even an online version of the game called AlphaGo, where enthusiasts can learn to play.
1. Red Rover
To play Red Rover, the participants are split into two equal teams, each electing a captain. The players from each team join hands to form a 'chain' and face off against their opponents.
A team captain selects a player from the opposing team and calls out, 'Red Rover, Red Rover, send (player’s name) over!' The chosen player then attempts to break through the opposing team's chain. If successful, they pick a player to bring back to their side. If unsuccessful, they must join the opposing team. The game continues until one team is reduced to just one player.
Kabaddi became a professional sport in 2014, blending elements from Red Rover, tag, rugby, and touch football. The term 'kabaddi' comes from the Tamil word 'kai-pidi,' meaning 'to hold hands.' Like Red Rover, the game is straightforward and requires no special equipment.
Two teams of seven players each line up on a 42.6 x 32.8-foot (13 x 10-meter) rubber mat, separated by a midline. Each team forms a defense chain by holding hands. One team sends out a 'raider' whose goal is to tag as many opponents as possible within 30 seconds, chanting 'kabaddi' continuously without being tackled. After the raider returns, the opposing team sends out their raider. The match lasts for two 20-minute halves, with a five-minute break between them.
