Before beginning a game, the players must decide which team they will be on, who will go first, or who will be IT. Settling these questions can be fun. Iona and Peter Opie (1969) highlight this point by stating : “the preliminaries to a game can be a sport in themselves”

The person who is chosen to start a game, or play the lead role, is called many different names depending on what part of the country they live in. Throughout this lessons the term IT has been used, because according to Kendric Ross (1996) “ in Scots they say “What's het?” meaning, “Who is IT?”

There are many traditional methods of choosing who is to be IT. One player may quickly shout, “Not IT” and the last player to echo this cry becomes IT. When teams are needed, a supervising adult may handpick them to assure a good balance of abilities. In other situations kids can try the following ideas to put on their own pre-games show.

- Choosing between two people or two teams

- Choosing from a small group of people

- Choosing from a large group of people

- Just in case of arguments

Most of the methods of choosing IT explained in this chapter have been taken from the book Classic Children's Games from Scotland by Kendric Ross (1996).

Choosing between two people or two teams

Tossing a coin – Heads or Tails

Flipping a coin is the most random way to make a decisions and a very fair way to decide which player or team goes first in a game. A coin is tossed by one player (on player places a coin on his palm or the top of his thumb, flips it up into the air, and catches it in his hand). The other player – or a player from the other team- shouts out either “heads” or “tails”. The flipper then slaps the coin onto the back of his/her other hand and shows it. If “the other” calls correctly, this person can decide whether or not he wishes to start, or whether he wishes to make his opponent start. This is still the most common way to start a football or rugby match.

A playing card may be substituted for the coin. In this case, the card is tossed, the call of “up” or “down” is made while it is in the air, and the decisions is made when it lands face up or down on the table or floor.

Which Hand?

Much like a coin toss “Which Hand?” relies on chance to determine who will go first. One player grasps a small object (marble, pebble, shell, blade of grass, etc.) in one fist and then passes it from hand to hand behind his/her back. He/she then holds both fists out in front and challenges the other player to guess which hand the object is in. If the guesser is right, he/she goes first. If not, the hider goes first.

Rock, paper, Scissors

Rock, Paper, Scissors (also called Scissors, Paper, Stone) can be played as a game in itself or used by two players to determine who (or whose team) will go first or be IT. Two players stand facing each other, each with one hand hidden behind his back. At the count of “one, two, three, go!” each thrusts the hidden hand into the centre and makes one of three gestures: a closed fist (which stands for a rock), an open hand with fingers together (which stands for paper), or a fist with two fingers held out in a V shape (which stands for scissors). Since a rock can crush a pair of scissors, rock beats scissors. Since scissors can cut paper, paper beats rock. The winner goes first, or the loser is IT. If both players use the same gesture, they try again.

Drawing Straws

Drawing Straws is a fast way to determine who will be the first IT in a tag or chase game. Originally straws from a haystack were used, but drinking straws or twigs of roughly equal length are fine. One straw is needed for each participant, and one straw should be cut shorter than the rest. One player then holds the straws, with the short end hidden in the fist, so the straws appear to be of equal length. Each player draws one straw. Whoever gets the short straw is IT.

Tick-Tack

The two opponents, or team captains, move apart by several paces, then either one of them shouts “Tick-Tack” to signal that they turn around and walk in a straight line towards one another, heel hard in front of toe. They each take steps turn about until finally the one who ends up with no room to “heel-toe” without touching their opponent's foot is the loser. The other player therefore becomes IT. It is customary for one person to shout “Tick”, and the other “Tack”, with every step that they each take.

Variation: step “toe I front of toe” with knees and foot twisted inwards.

Jumps

Similar to Tick-Tack but this time the opponents jump towards each other with their feet together, taking turn about. Whoever can manage a jump that lands on his opponent's feet wins and becomes IT.

Choosing from a small group of people

Counting out can be used for choosing between two people, but is more commonly used as a sort of ritual in choosing who is to be IT from a group, repeating a rhyme until there is only one person remaining. The rhyme used is called a “Dip”. At the end of this process the person left in becomes IT. Elsewhere, someone may be “chappit oot”, which literally means “Knocked out”.

Having decided on what game you are going to play, the person who will recite the counting out rhyme is the first to yell “Bags IT!” Several people usually yell out at nearly the same time but there is always one just that split second ahead of the others that the group can identify. This person becomes the “rhymer”.

Rhyme

One potato, two potato, three potato, four,

Five potato, six potato, seven potato, MORE.

Action

The person elected to recite the rhyme calls “spuds up” and everyone gathers round in a circle with clenched fists held out as if grasping a vertical rope in each hand. Each fist is a spud. As the rhyme is chanted, the rhymer taps his counting spud on top of each of the spuds in the circle, until on the eighth tap he/she reaches the word “more” and stops at that spud. Every time the rhymer reaches the word “more” then that spud is out and has to go behind the player's back. The rhymer has to keep one hand in and has to remember to count the counting hand as well by “spudding” right fist over left and left fist over right. When both single hands are out then both hands are clasped together and held forward as one “spud” until the player is finally counted out for good and keeps both hands behind their back until the person with the last hand in is chosen as IT.

This particular “dip” is very laborious and it can take so long that there is often little or no time left to play the chosen game. As such, it is almost a game I itself!

Choosing from a large group of people

Rotten Egg

The initiator of the game simply calls out, “Last one to the slide (or the tree, the stoop, etc.) is a rotten egg!” The group races for the goal and the last one to reach it – the “rotten egg” – is IT.

Counting Off

Counting Off is the best way to divide into teams when there is no need to consider a balance of skills or strength on a team. Players line up side by side, preferably against a wall. Starting at one end, they count off in sequence according to the number of teams. If two teams are needed, for example, the children count off “one, two, one, two”, to the end of the line. All the players who call out “one” make up one team; the “Twos” make up the other. For three teams, players count off from one to three; for four teams, from one to four; and so on.

Twenty-one counts your man

For very large groups such as a whole class this is a very quick and fair method of deciding who will be IT.

The person counting says, “Twenty-one counts your man. One, two, three, four…”, all the way up to the number 21, tapping each person with each word of the rhyme. The group stands or sits in a circle with one foot inward and the person on whose foot the number 21 lands becomes IT.

Pick a Number

Pick a Number is a good way to determine the order of play in a large group. Slips of paper should be numbered to correspond to the number of players (1 through 20 for 20 children, for example). The pieces of paper are then folded in half to conceal the numbers and placed in a hat, bowl, or bag. Each player picks out a piece of paper and checks the number to find out if she goes first, second, third, and so on. Pick a Number can also be used to choose teams. In this case, a slip of paper is set aside for each participant. These slips are then divided equally into “teams” and numbered according to the number of the team (team 1, team 2, and so on). When players pick a number, they discover which team they are on.

SKY blue

Rhyme

One, two, sky blue,

All out but you!

This is another quick way to choose IT from a large group of people, with the counter tapping each person with each word of the rhyme. The person who is tapped with the word “you” is IT.

Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo. Rymes

The counting is often done by pointing to, or touching, each person with each word in the rhyme. Sometimes everyone can put a foot into the centre instead. Every time the last word of the rhyme lands on someone, they are out. This continues until there is only one person left.

Oor Wee Jeanie

Rhyme

Oor wee Jeanie has a nice clean peeny,

So guess what colour it is.

Whoever gets the tap with the word “is” shouts out any colour they wish, and that colour is then spelt and counted out, for example: B-L-U-E. Whoever the last letter lands on is out.

This method of selection allows for some mischief, as it is not very difficult to quickly count a word in your head, so that you deliberately put someone out for the remainder of the count. Another version of this idea is:

A bottle of ink fell down the sink

And guess what colour it was…

P-I-N-K

I think, I think

Rhyme

I think, I think, I smell a stink,

Coming from Y-O-U.

This rhyme never ceases to amuse. Each person is tapped with each word of the rhyme and not only does the person who is tapped with “U” get put out, but they also have the added indignity of being accused of smelling!

Just in case of arguments

Blind shot

Sometimes when playing Dodge Ball or Wounded, Dying, Dead,(or any ball games) arguments can arise. In the event of a disagreement if, for example, a player claims not to have been hit in the defined area, or that the striker took a step before throwing the ball, the dispute is sometimes settled using a “Blind shot”. The outie has to face a wall with their arms and legs outstretched, while a striker is blindfolded, steps back several paces then throws the ball “blind” to try and strike the player.

If the hits them they are out, but if he misses they go free.