Chase and Catch Games Ring A Lievio
( Chase and Catch, Command and Response, Hide and Seek, Tag, Team Wars and Battle )This is a form of Hide and Seek in opposing parties. Players who are caught are prisoners and may be freed as described. The method of capture also differs from that in some other forms of Hide and Seek.
A small goal or den about five feet square is drawn at some central point.
Two leaders are chosen who alternate in choosing players until all are disposed in two groups. Lots are drawn or counting out resorted to between the captains to determine which side shall start out first. The remaining group takes its place in the den while the opponents go to some distant point from which they call “Ready ” and immediately scatter and hide.
The group in the den as soon as they hear the call “Ready ” start out for the chase leaving one of their number to guard the den. Whenever a player is caught (tagging is not enough the player must be firmly secured) the catcher calls “Caught Caught Caught ” and leads his prisoner to the den. The object of the game is to make prisoners of all of the hiding team. A prisoner may be freed from the den by one of the players from his group running out from his hiding place and tagging him. This may only be done however by the rescuer getting both feet in the den. Should this be accomplished the rescuer calls “Ring-a-lievio ” as he dashes through the den and both run for safety. The den keeper tries to catch them as they run away but may not chase them beyond certain boundaries which must be determined beforehand. Only one prisoner may be freed at a time. Prisoners are most easily freed when there are several in the den at once and the den keepers attention is distracted to one side of the den while the prisoners are freed from the other.
This game like all hiding games is especially adapted to open spaces offering many hiding places such as the edge of a wood a garden park or playground having considerable shrubbery or to a village street.