h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Hopscotch - A2548776
Author: Vestboy - U45662

Do you have local names for the different aspects of the game? What do you call the beds? What is the stone called?

This is a good entry! It is very difficult to explain such a simple game, but you appear to have succeeded. Mind you, I am already reasonably familiar with the game having played it a lot when I was a child. The real test would be for someone who has never played it to understand your description.

The hopscotch grid does not display correctly on my browser in Plain Skin.

Regional variations:

Here in Dublin, we didn't have paving slabs, so we marked out the grid in chalk, in a different pattern:

7 8
6
5
3 4
2
1

The beds were called beds and the game was also called beds.

Or rather, like this:

7 8
..6
..5
3 4
..2
..1

I'm really stuck on displaying stuff as there is no equivalent to fixed width fonts. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your input on local grids - I'm sure that will ring true for a lot of people.

Does the tag not do fixed fonts?

*puts on dunces hat*
I'm lucky if I can do paragraphs and subheaders!
Does the tag make the font fixed?

I've just tried it. It does. You won't need the at the end of each line if you enclose the whole thing in .

+---+---+
| 7 | 8 |
+-+-+-+-+
| 6 |
+---+
| 5 |
+---+---+
| 3 | 4 |
+-+-+-+-+
| 2 |
+---+
| 1 |
+---+

It works in the entry, but not in this conversation!

Feel free to lift/adapt the contents of A1299954 for your diagram. It is 100% approved GuideML.

Please let me know when you are done, as I re-use that entry.

Thanks to you both. I can't work out how to see the code you've used Old Hairy, but I'm happy with the way it's working for now.

I think it's interesting to see the different grids that have been used. The ones you both have must have been drawn as I've never seen paving slabs laid like that. Did/do you play on a painted grid?

Vestboy

You just click the number A1299954 to see it. It also has the advantage that you can run text by its side, if you want to, as I have now done.

I could not tell from your posting if you have made a copy, or whether you do not wish to.

To see the code, follow this link: test1299954

The code for the table starts after the tag.

That really is very good work, OH. I'm quite impressed.


Geggs

I'll try that again - <./>test1299954</.>. Yep, that's got it.


Geggs

Thanks to all for the help. I can now see the code. I think it looks terrific. It'll take me a while to work out how to rearrange ti to suit my purposes so I may come and go for a bit. Don't worry about me though, Old Hairy, Make whatever alterations you wish.

If you've got chalk, you can make the grid any way you like on pavement, and on dirt, a stick (there's an Edited Entry on sticks!) can work to write the grid out.

I forsee problems with this entry as I'll bet there are many variations. I don't claim to be so articulate, so I don't know how well understood the variation I know is described. Based on how I learned as a kid, it seems there are rules missing.

In California, the grid goes:

9
78
6
45
3
2
1

In which 45 and 78 are bisected by the imaginary midline (i.e. no longer imaginary as it specifically goes through their edges) going through 1 and 9, and are the same size as the other squares.


Stones are called chips. Chips are allowed to be any kind of charm or chain, or a stone if you like. It's important to choose the right kind of charm or chain because it's an 'out' to touch the pavement if it's a poison square, or to touch or move by any part of your body any other chip at any time, (more on this) while picking up your chip. Touching the ground for balance at any time, or falling during chip pickup is an out.

One picks up one's chip on the way back. If you have already successfully completed a round up and back for one number, and then make a hopping or chip error, then your chip remains in its last error-free square while everyone else takes their turn. No other tossed chip may touch this chip (this limits the number of players, or strategically slows down later players allowing a skill handicap). If there are lots of chips in a square, then you need to be on your dainty tippy toes!

All jumping areas are not called beds, but are called squares. A claimed bed is a 'poison square'. A 'poison square' must be claimed by successful chip toss. If toss is unsuccessful or lands in an already poisoned square, then the opportunity to claim one is lost. Everyone in my neighborhood could jump across the entire grid, so poison not a factor for endgame unless jumper is too small, wasn't able to claim any squares at all, or all squares are claimed. Endgame is resolved, once all squares are poison, by first error out resulting in a loss of owned square. Next jumper after can attempt to claim it by being perfect up and down once and then making a successful chip toss for it. Very ruthless, but then, we were kids.

Stepping on any lines is an out. Stepping over the line at square 1 (or square 9 after completing the entire grid and having claimed a poison square) while chip tossing is out. Double footing is ambiguous in this article, but more specifically, one is only allowed to put one foot per square and is required (not optional) to make a splayed jump (instead of a sequential hop on the same foot from 4 to 5, for instance) for the horizontally adjacent sqares.

Finally I understood this game. Thanks!

Maybe a re-title to something in the lines of "Hopscotch - standard rules" would be in order, what do you think?

Also a brief mention in the design bit, that this is the standard design, but taht it is also found in many different modifications, would be OK.

Is there any truth in the following?
"It was initially designed as a training regimen for Roman foot soldiers who ran the course in full armor and field packs as it was thought that Hopscotch would improve their foot work." (from a random google hit)

In any case it would be nice, if - note *IF* - you could find anything about it's history.

HELL

Have another look at the updated A1299954 and then - if you wish - lift the code by cutting and pasting the body of code found by using <./>Test1299954</.>

Old Hairy: Thanks - that was just what I needed.
Others: Thanks for your contributions. I wonder how many grids and how many names there are for the squares and playing pieces there are?

There is a game played on a rectangular grid, numbered like :-

145
0
236

which is played much like hopscotch, and suits the other form of paving slab tiling. The stone was called the "pottle", as was the game, and thrown from a position shown as 0 (if my memory is not a forgetry now).