HOPSCOTCH
Tang Te or hopscotch is still a popular game amongst the kindergarten and first grade children. Strictly a game for girls (boys run the risk of being called "sissy" if they play), the only equipment needed by each player is a chip about one to two inches in diameter. The ground is usually marked off into numbered squares. This is one of the most universal children's games for it has enjoyed continued popularity through the years and around the globe
HORSEBACK RIDING
Khi Ma Song Muang or "riding horses into town" is a race on horseback which is the Thai equivalent of the piggy-back ride. The horses are none other than friends of the jockey. In this game, each team positions itself at a distance of about ten meters from the other, with the umpire occupying a position at the middle point. The leader of the challenging side walks to the umpire and whispers a name in his ear before returning to his side. Each player of the opposing side takes his turn to report to the umpire what he thinks has been whispered by the leader of the challenger. If the guess is right, the umpire shouts out "correct" and declares the winning team. If the guess is wrong, the umpire simply signals to the next player from the other team. If neither player gives the correct answer, the two teams reverse their roles to start a new round. As an incentive to win, each member from the losing side is required to give a "horsy-ride" to his "conqueror."
SNAKES
In "Ngu Kin Hang" or "the snake-bites-tail game", there are two teams - a mother snake (including her babies) and a father snake one-man team. Mother and father snakes are engaged in a preliminary dialogue which goes something like this:
Father snake: Dear Mother Snake. Mother snake: Yes, Father Snake. Father snake: From which well do you drink? Mother snake. I drink from a well in the stone. Mother and babysnakes in chorus: Each one of us does too.
(The line of baby snakes then sways from side to side.)
The question and answer rhymes go on for quite a while but it all boils down to which part the father snake will eat the mother snake's middle part or her tail both comprising baby snakes. In the end the father snake will try to catch any of the little ones behind the mother snake's back. She, of course, must try to protect them.
PHONG PHANG
Phong Phang meaning "dead or alive" is a game played with any number of players. The children draw lots to find out who is "the fish." The one who ends up being "the fish" is blindfolded and made to turn around three times. The others hold hands and walk around him starting a question and answer rhyme: Catch me if you can -The fish swims by - The fish is blind - Catch me dead or alive - What will it be, a dead or a live fish? If "the fish" answers "a dead fish," the other children can move around freely when it comes around to chase them but if it answers, a live fish, everyone must freeze, even when caught. The fish must guess who the person is and if he guesses right he will be replaced by that unlucky person. This game is actually the Thai version of a universal children's game - blind man's buff.
SON HA
Another universal childhood game similar to the aforementioned game is Son Ha or hide-and-seek. The Thai version's rhyme is short, fun and to the point: Cover your eyes tight/Or else they will be polluted/May your parents/Reap only one paddy grain. This game is played with a lot of mystery, screams and laughter.
LUK HIN
Not all Thai games require singing. Luk Hin or marbles is a game of target hitting and is meant for older children, i.e. children of ten or twelve years or more. A small shallow hole is dug in the ground. The first player must aim his marble, stone or rock at the nearest opponent's; he must hit all the opponents' rocks out of his way with his own rock before proceeding to aim at the hole. If he misses his target, it is someone else's turn.
