Long Live Hopscotch
A thousand years after it originated, hopscotch remains popular.
Valanne Ridgeway

The first signs of spring are finally upon us. The ground warms and spring buds colour the brown earth. Soft breezes rustle the new leaves and the ringing sounds of laughter fill the air as kids play, finally free of winter's many layers. While we revel in the change of season, kids around the world begin an ancient spring ritual. They dig chunky pieces of chalk out of their winter hiding places, draw strange designs on sidewalks and driveways, and then hop around them. Yes, the first hopscotch games of the season have begun.

Training for Roman soldiers

Although hopscotch today is considered to be the domain of young girls, it actually originated 1,000 years ago as a skill training exercise for Roman soldiers. In those days, the hopscotch course was over 100 feet along. Soldiers laden with heavy armour would hop through this arduous course in order to improve their footwork. Roman children began imitating the soldiers, making their own smaller version of the course to hop around on. Thus began a tradition that would span the millennium.

The game quickly spread worldwide, becoming one of the most enduring and popular children's past-times. In some cultures, hopscotch even came to symbolize life itself, with the top of the design representing heaven, and the squares leading up to it, the journey from earth to heaven.

The beauty of the game is its simplicity. All kids need is a small stone or marker (originally called a scotch), some chalk and a flat place to draw the hopscotch course. A traditional cross-shaped course with eight squares is shown below. To play, a player tosses the marker into the first square, then hops up the course and back again, picking up the marker as she goes. If the player completes the course without stepping on a line or losing her balance, which is no easy feat, she tosses the marker in the second square and carries on. The winner is the player who successfully navigates the entire course.

Hundreds of variations

Hopscotch has taken on hundreds of names, shapes and rules over the years. One interesting variation is the "snake" hopscotch course shown at left. Curving across the ground, the "snake" makes it a little harder for kids to keep their balance, adding an extra challenge to the game. This version can be played with or without throwing a marker.

The beautiful spiral-shaped "snail " hopscotch course at left originated in France. The "snail" has more squares and the rules for playing vary slightly. In this game, the player must hop her way to the centre of the spiral and out again. Once she does this successfully, the player writes her initials in one of the squares. The initialed square becomes her resting space, but must be avoided by all other players. The game ends when it is no longer possible to hop over the resting spaces and make it all the way to the centre.

The history of hopscotch has all but been forgotten as new generations of children learn the game from friends or siblings and make it their own. But the joy of hopping through the hopscotch course on a sun-warmed spring day is as popular today as it was 1,000 years ago.