As we grow up, we grow out of many things. When leaving middle school and coming to high school, we leave recess behind along with many games that we grew up playing. Childhood games were more than just a way to fill time, but were also a great way to form countless friendships and valuable memories that we will cherish in years to come. Each game carried its own purpose allowing us to build social skills along the way. At the moment you don’t realize it, but as you grow older, the nostalgia of those times in the sun begins to creep up. These chapters of our lives are extremely important but not always remembered. To help you reminisce, here are four of the most memorable childhood games. 

Gaga Ball: As soon as the recess bell chimed, kids of all ages would flood out of the school and race into the gaga ball pit. This classic childhood game originated in Israel, soon being spread to other countries around the world. It is commonly believed that the game was brought to the US Jewish summer camps by Israeli camp counselors, and it has been a huge part of summer camps all around the world ever since. Gaga ball pits are also commonly found in elementary school playgrounds all over the U.S. The rules are simple: Once the ball is in play, players break free from the wall and then strike the ball with their hands, trying to hit other players with it. Players cannot hold the ball or pick it up and throw it. Players are eliminated if they are hit anywhere below the knees. The last player in the pit wins.

Hide and Seek: Nothing was scarier than the footsteps approaching while playing hide and go seek. This popular childhood game has been around for several generations. If you were fortunate enough to be a seeker, you were spared the fear of finding a hiding spot before the time ran out. This game was frequently played with childhood friends and family members. 

Heads up Seven up:  The origin of this elementary school game being played in American classrooms goes back to at least the 1950s, perhaps earlier. In this game, seven children were chosen to go to the front of the room, while the remaining kids would put their head down in their arms on the desk with their thumb pointing up. Once everyone’s head was down, the seven chosen children would each push down one person’s thumb and retreat back to the front of the classroom. Once the words “heads up, seven up!” were shouted, each child whose thumb was pushed down would stand up and guess which of the original seven had pushed down their thumb. Although this is a very fun classroom game, many people would peek while their heads were down at the person who pushed down their thumbs shoes to cheat.

Marco Polo: On a hot summer day, there was nothing better than jumping into the pool and playing Marco Polo with your friends at the local pool. In this game, one player is chosen as “it”. That player, with closed eyes, tries to find and tag any one of the other players, relying on hearing to find someone to tag. The player who is “it” shouts “Marco,” and the other players must all respond by shouting “Polo”, which the “it” player uses to try to find them. While this game is extremely popular in the water, it can also be played on land.