Play Duck Duck Goose

Duck, duck, goose is a game that’s been played by young children in school, at parties and at home with their families for generations in the U.S. Yet it’s not a game distinct to the U.S. alone, and over the years more and more adults have begun playing their own variations, too. Here you’ll learn the traditional version played in most U.S. states and how it’s played in a few other places, too. Plus you’ll discover variations for both adults and for educational purposes.

Steps

Playing the Traditional Version

1. Sit in a circle. Get at least four people together, and have everyone sit cross-legged on the floor or on the ground in a circle facing one another. Two of the advantages to the game are that it can be played indoors or outdoors, and you only need players, not equipment. The size of the circle formed depends upon two factors: a) the number of players and b) how far apart each player sits.
   • The larger the circle, the farther players will end up running.
   • When 2,145 students in a Missouri school district broke the Guinness World Record in 2011 for the largest game of duck, duck, goose, they had to form a massive circle outside the fenced perimeter of their football stadium.
2. Decide who will be “it” first. “It” (sometimes referred to as the “picker” or the “fox”) will be the person saying “duck, duck, goose” and choosing who will be the goose chasing him or her. Because kids often don’t want to be “it” first, they might play rock, paper, scissors to decide. Or, if a parent or a teacher is overseeing the game, he or she might choose for the children.
3. Walk around the circle, tapping heads. The person who is "it" will start walking around the circle and tapping the top of each player's head, saying either "duck" or "goose." Typically, "it" taps and says "duck" several times before selecting someone and saying "goose." This creates both suspense and an element of surprise for everyone sitting in the circle, wondering if they will be the "goose."
   • On the flip side, because this is what most people do, saying “goose” on the second or third person is unexpected and can give “it” an advantage.
4. Choose a "goose” and run. At a time of his or her choosing, "it" will tap a player's head and say "goose." "It" then takes off running around the circle, and the goose jumps up and chases after "it." The goose's goal is to tag "it" before "it" is able to sit down in the goose's spot.
   • If “it” makes it around the circle and gets back to the goose’s spot without being caught, the goose now becomes “it.”
   • If the goose catches “it” before then, “it” is “it” again and another round starts.
   • A twist that is played a lot as standard duck, duck, goose but is actually called “mushpot” goes like this: If the goose catches “it,” the goose becomes “it” and “it” has to sit out the game in the middle of the circle until another player is tagged and they trade places.

Learning Variations for Adults

1. Try extreme, or boot camp, duck, duck, goose. Get together a fairly large number of people and form a circle, with each person facing outward and standing about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} apart while jogging in place. The youngest person becomes the picker, jogs around the circle clockwise and taps or points at each person, saying either duck or goose. If the person is called a duck, he or she must do a squat or a push-up. If the person is called a goose, he or she must chase after the picker, running counter-clockwise. When they meet, they try to block each other, therefore slowing the other down, and gaining an advantage in racing back to the empty goose spot.
   • If the picker gets back first, the goose becomes the picker; if the goose gets back first, the picker goes again.
   • The degree of physical contact in blocking, such as wrestling and tackling, is up to the group.
   • Here’s a twist: While the picker and goose are running and blocking, any player in the circle can get up and move to the goose’s empty spot, repeatedly, thus prolonging the round.
2. Swim to tag "it." This variation of the game would not only be fun, but it also would be a great way both to get some great exercise and to work on your swimming technique. Find a few fellow swimming buddies and meet at the pool. Get in and form a circle facing outward, with each person treading water. Choose a picker and a swimming stroke – freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly. The picker then starts swimming around the circle using the chosen stroke and taps each person, saying either “fish” or “shark.” The person who is called shark then swims after the picker using the same stroke.
   • If the picker gets back to the shark’s spot first, the shark becomes the picker.
   • If the shark tags the picker, the picker has to go the middle of the circle and either do somersaults in the water or tread water holding a dive brick until another person is tagged.
3. Couple up to sing and dance. This version of duck, duck, goose would be fun for all kinds of gatherings and parties. Gather an even, not odd, number of at least 8-10 people, keeping two people out. The rest will form a circle facing inward and hold hands. The people outside of the circle are the pickers and will also hold hands. They will walk around the circle and, with their linked hands, touch the linked hands of any two people, saying either “duck” or “goose.” The two people called goose must then run in the opposite direction, continuing to hold hands, and try to beat the other couple back to the geese spots.
   • If the pickers get back first, the geese become the pickers.
   • If the geese arrive first, the pickers go to the middle of the circle and put on a performance. They must either sing a song or do a dance together and then wait in the circle until another pair of geese is tagged.
   • If you have a karaoke machine, you could bring that along and have the geese sing a song to that.
   • You could also have them sing and do the dance motions of classic children’s songs, such as “I’m a Little Teapot,” “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” or “If You’re Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands.”
   • Other possibilities include doing the Macarena, the "Gangnam Style" dance, twerking, a line dance, the twist, the mashed potato, the waltz, the tango and so forth.

Educating Kids with Adaptations

1. Teach English while playing. For young children in the U.S. whose native language in not English, going to school can be frustrating. Here’s a way to help make the transition fun, while also teaching English at the same time. Have students sit in a circle facing inward. The teacher then walks around the circle, tapping each student’s head and using English vocabulary words such as “duck, duck, dog.” When dog is called, that student chases after the teacher. If caught, the teacher must go again. If not, the student can take a turn as the picker, thus practicing pronunciation.
   • Using words like these will help students recognize the difference between similar sounds like “u” in duck and “o” in dog and “ck” in duck and “g” in dog.
2. Hoot and hop to learn about animals. Before starting, the teacher should talk with students about different animals, including how they sound and how they move. Now have the students sit in a circle facing inward. Choose one child to start as the picker, only in this case the picker will be a duck and will quack and flap its wings while walking around the circle, tapping each child’s head and saying “duck.” Then the duck will choose another student, tap his or her head and say the name of another animal. That child will then hop up and chase after the duck, using the appropriate sounds and movements of the animal he or she was called.
   • If the duck is tagged before making it to the new animal’s spot, the duck must sit in the middle of the circle until a new animal is tagged.
   • If the duck isn’t tagged, the new animal then walks around the circle, tapping heads and saying his animal’s name until he chooses a child, taps his or her head and calls out a new animal name, which starts another chase.
   • This variation is great in that it integrates dramatic and expressive play with learning.
3. Teach shapes, colors, numbers and themes. Using masking tape or chalk – depending upon whether you are playing inside or outside – ask your students to help you create a large circle (it's also a trick to keeping children in the area you want them). While you're doing that, review a subject or area they've been learning. Have the children sit in a circle facing inward, choose a child to be the picker and use your topic as for the basis for the words the picker will say while he or she is tapping heads. For instance, if you were going over shapes, the picker might say “square, square, rectangle.” The picker will circle around, tapping heads and saying “square” until finally saying “rectangle.” When rectangle is called, that child chases after the picker.
   • As with traditional duck, duck, goose, if the picker gets back to the vacant seat first, the rectangle becomes the picker; otherwise the picker goes again.
   • This can be modified for seasons of the year, characteristics of plants and trees, parts of the body, colors, elements of writing, for math, etc.
   • For example, if students are learning how to count, write a number on a piece of paper and put it in the center of the circle. Have the picker go around the circle tapping on each child’s head, counting from 1 upward until that number is called. When it is, that child then chases the picker. This could also be done when teaching how to count by 2s, 5s and so forth.

Discovering Regional Versions

1. Play Minnesota Duck, Duck, Grey Duck. Minnesotans often claim the rest of the U.S. is playing the game all wrong, that Duck, Duck, Grey Duck is the original. Whether this is true or not remains to be definitively answered. But here’s how it works. Just like the “traditional” version, players sit in a circle facing inward. The picker, or “it,” walks around the circle, tapping on each player’s head. Only in the Minnesotan version, instead of just saying “duck,” you give the duck a color. So the picker would say “red duck,” “blue duck,” “green duck” and the like, in whatever order they want. When “grey duck” is called, the chase begins.
   • Like the traditional game, if the picker gets to the grey duck’s spot first, the grey duck becomes the picker. If not, the picker picks again.
   • Some say this version is more challenging because the players sitting in the circle have to listen more carefully to what is being called – “blue duck” versus “grey duck” is more similar than “duck” and “goose,” for instance.
   • Also, according to a woman cited in a newspaper article, kids like to add to the suspense by drawing out the “Grrrrr” sound to keep players off guard as to whether they’re going to say green or grey.
2. Learn the Chinese 丢手绢, or Drop the Napkin, variant. Here, the children squat in a circle facing inward, while the picker, or the “mailman,” holds a napkin or a piece of material. The children begin to sing as the mailman goes around the circle, dropping the napkin behind a player’s back. The singing doesn’t stop. When the child realizes the napkin is behind him or her, he chases after the mailman.
   • If the child catches the mailman, the mailman goes to the center of the circle and puts on a performance, such as telling a joke, doing a dance or singing a song; if he doesn’t catch the mailman, he becomes the mailman.
   • Also, if the mailman runs all the way around the circle before the child notices the napkin, the child has to sit in the middle until being replaced.
   • Lyrics to the song: “Drop, drop, drop the napkin. / Softly behind your friend's back. / Everybody hushes. / Quick, quick, get it!” Then repeat.
3. Try out the German Der Plumpsack geht um, or The Plumpsack Goes Around, version. The children sit in a circle facing inward, with one chosen as the Plumpsack, which is translated to mean policeman. The Plumpsack holds a handkerchief, walking around the circle as the children sing a song. Then the Plumpsack drops the handkerchief behind one of the children’s backs while they continue singing. In this variation, if any child looks behind his or her back and the handkerchief is not there, the child has to go to the middle of the circle. When the child who does have the handkerchief behind his or her back notices, the chase after the Plumpsack begins.
   • If the Plumpsack gets back to the spot first, the other child becomes the Plumpsack.
   • If the Plumpsack is caught, he or she goes to the middle and all the children sing, “One, two, three, into the rotten egg!”
   • Also, if the Plumpsack makes the full circle without the child noticing the handkerchief, the child goes to the middle of the circle and the children also sing “One, two, three, into the rotten egg!”
   • Lyrics to the song: “Do not turn around. / Because the Plumpsack goes around! / Whoever turns around and laughs. / Gets a slap on the back. / Therefore: Do not turn around.” And repeat.
   • There are similar variations across Europe and in parts of Asia and the Middle East, though the songs vary in context.

Tips

• Strategically, it’s to the advantage of "it" or the picker, Mailman, Plumpsack, etc. to choose a player in the circle who is a slower runner, so that the picker can get back to the vacant spot first.
• A nice twist on a hot summer day: Instead of tapping each player’s head, give the picker a bucket of water to dribble some on each player’s head before dumping it all on the person he chooses as the goose.
• You could also vary the more traditional versions by moving in different ways, such as running, skipping, hopping or crawling, instead of walking around the circle.
• If you’re having a party and plan to play the game, you might change the words to align with the party theme. For example, "Pirate, Pirate, Captain" or "Fairy, Fairy, Witch.”
• Be creative and come up with your own versions!
• Play somewhere that has plenty of space.
• If you’re a parent or teacher and notice that one person is being picked as the goose an awful lot, you might need to step in and intervene.

Video

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Sources and Citations

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