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Wikipedia
Blind man's buff or blind man's bluff is a children's game, a variant of tag. The traditional name of the game is "blind man's buff", wherein the word buff is used in its older sense of a small push. The game later also became known as "blind man's bluff"; it is possible that this name is a linguistic corruption, or it may originate from an older sense of bluff meaning to blindfold.[1]
[edit] Gameplay
Blind man's buff is played in a spacious area, such as outdoors or in a large room, in which one player, designated as "It", is blindfolded and gropes around attempting to touch the other players without being able to see them, while the other players scatter and try to avoid the person who is "it", hiding in plain sight and sometimes teasing them to make them change direction.
Blind man's buff is ideally played in an area free of dangerous obstructions so that the "It" player will not suffer injury from tripping over or hitting something.
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[edit] Versions
There are several versions of the game:
- In one version, the first player tagged by It then becomes It, and another round of the game is played. The Chinese version refers to the tagged It as lìng dài 令代, literally "to bid to take the place of".
- In another version, whenever any player is tagged by It, that player is out of the game. The game proceeds until all players are out of the game, at which point another round of the game starts, with either the first player or the last player to be tagged becoming the next It player.
- In yet another version, It feels the face of the person tagged and attempts to identify the person, and only if the person is correctly identified does the person become It.
- In a uniquely Japanese version, young girls dress up in their kimonos and the blind-folded girl must catch or touch the other girls both while blindfolded and at the same time carrying a full cup of tea. Saw this in Shuntei Miyagawa's woodblock print Kodomo-no-Asobi (Children at Play), published in the 32nd. year of Meiji-era (1899) by Matsuki Heikichi of Tokyo.
[edit] History
The game claims lineage as far back as the late Zhou Dynasty (circa 500 B.C.) and the Han Dynasty of ancient China.[2]
The game has been known to be played since during the Tudor period, as there are references to its recreation by Henry VIII's courtiers. It was also a popular parlor game in the Victorian era. The poet Robert Herrick mentions it, along with sundry related pastimes, in his poem "A New Yeares Gift Sent to Sir Simeon Steward":[3]
That tells of Winters Tales and Mirth, That Milk-Maids make about the hearth, Of Christmas sports, the Wassell-boule, That tost up, after Fox-i' th' hole: Of Blind-man-buffe, and of the care That young men have to shooe the Mare
[edit] Similar games
A children's game similar to blind man's buff is Marco Polo. Marco Polo is played in a swimming pool; the player who is It shuts his eyes and calls out "Marco" to which the other players must reply "Polo", thus indicating their positions and making it easier for It to go in the right direction.
Another children's game similar to blind man's buff is Dead Man. Dead Man is played in an open place. One Person is "it" and has to close his/her eyes. Then the other people say "Deadman/Deadgirl, come alive, come alive at the count of five. One, two, three, four, five." Then the "Deadman/Deadgirl" has to walk around with their eyes closed trying to tag people.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "Bluff". Online Etymology Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bluff. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
- ^ 中華初等小學國文教科書
- ^ Richards, Grant. The Poems of Robert Herrick. London, Leicester Square, 1902, pp. 123-4.
