ID: 227
Date: 1947 - 1970s
Title: Red Rover
Gender: Male and Female 
Classification: Game 
Rhyme: 

Red Rover, Red Rover, 
Let [X] come over.

(NZ ex USA, 1947)

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Red Rover,
Send [X] over.

(Auckland, 1970s)

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Red Rover,
We call [X] over.

(Christchurch, 1970s)

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Background Info: A popular tagging type game related to "Prisoner's Base" and "Bar the Door" (Otago, 1870). Possibly the most popular game of its type in 1900s New Zealand (Sutton-Smith, 1959:58-59).
"Two lines were drawn across the playground any suitable distance apart. One boy stood on guard midway between the lines and called a boy from behind one of the lines to run across. The boy on guard endeavoured to catch the runner and pat him three times on the back. If he succeeded the runner stood beside his captor and in turn called on a boy to run. Should a boy succeed in crossing he called out "Bar the Door" and all the boys ran, as many as were caught taking their place between the lines." (Anderson's Bay, Dunedin, 1870)

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Details in Opie, 1984:239-41.Often considered too rough a game for school playgrounds, causing injuries and banned by those in authority.

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Location: Various NZ, USA 
Group size: 10 
Incidence: 3