It's difficult to name typical Dutch games. Many games are also known in other countries, so who knows if they are originally Dutch or not? But here you'll find two games we think are real Dutch. Just a reminder, that does not mean we play them at our meetings all the time (they are games best suited for younger children anyhow). There are many more nice games we like to play.
Click here to get a quiz (with the right answers) about the Netherlands. This could be a nice part of your Thinking Day presentation.
Zakdoekje leggen
Zakdoekje leggen means laying the hankerchief. The
whole group, except for one person, sits on the ground in a circle,
facing eachother. All the people in the circle close their eyes
and start to sing:
Zakdoekje leggen, niemand zeggen
Ik heb de hele nacht gewaakt,
twee paar schoenen heb ik afgemaakt,
één van stof en één van leer,
hier leg ik mijn zak-doek-je neer.
You can download the song as WAV
For those of you who want to know what the song's about, that's
not very important. It's about somebody who had to work all night
to finish two pairs of shoes he was making.
While everybody else sings the song, the person who's still standing hops (or walks if you prefer that) around the circle with a (clean) hankerchief in his hand. While the group sings the last line, so before the song is over, he or she has to lay down the hankerchief behind somebody. When the song is over, everybody looks behind his (or her) back. Who finds the hankerchief, has to get up and try to tag the person who was walking around the circle. The person who laid the hankerchief has to sit at the now vacant place, without getting tagged. Whoever of the two loses, has to lay the hankerchief in the next round.
Annemarie-a-koekoek
What Annemarie-a-koekoek means, is really a mystery
to me. The game however is not as complex as it sounds. All you
need is a field or some flat ground and a tree or wall on one
side of it. One person stands near the wall or tree, with his
face towards it. The rest stands in one line at the other end
of the field. The object for the game for them is to touch the
person who's near the wall (and who can't see them) by running,
walking or crawling towards him(or her, but let's say it's a boy).
That sounds simple, but there is a catch. While looking at the
wall this boy says "Annemarie-a-koekoek" (say what?
listen to it in WAV) and when he's said
it, he quickly turns around. He calls the names of whoever he
saw moving. These people have to go back to the startingline.When
nobody moves anymore, he turns around again towards the wall and
it starts over again. Whoever is able to touch the person near
the wall, without having his or her name called, wins and can
start the next round.