Red Rover is an outdoor game

Game

A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...

 played primarily by children on playgrounds. This 19th century children's group game (requiring around 10 or more players total) is thought to have originated in Britain and then spread to Australia, Canada and the United States.

Røver is a Norwegian word for "pirate", so perhaps the early British were showing bravery by daring the Viking raiders to "come over". The 1829 book titled "The Red Rover: A Tale" by James Fenimore Cooper

James Fenimore Cooper

James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...

 describes the exploits of a pirate called "Red Rover".

Game

The game is played between two lines of players, usually around thirty feet apart. Each team lines up along one of these lines, and the game starts when the first team (usually called the "East" or "South" team, although this does not relate to the actual relative location of the teams) calls out, "Red rover, red rover, send [name of player on opposite team] right over." or "Red Rover, Red Rover, let [name of player of opposing team] come over." or "Red rover, red rover, we call [name of player on opposite team] over."

The immediate goal for the person called is to run to the other line and break the "East" team's chain (formed by the linking of hands). If the person called fails to break the chain, this player joins the "East" team. However, if the player successfully breaks the chain, this player may select either of the two "links" broken by the successful run, and take them to join the "West" team. The "West" team then calls out "Red rover" for a player on the "East" team, and play continues.

When only one player is left on a team, they also must try and break through a link. If they do not succeed, the opposing team wins. Otherwise, they are able to get a player back for their team.

Risks

As with any game involving physical contact between players, there are inherent risks. For example, when the runner breaks through a link (or attempts to break through), it can hurt the linkers' arms or body or knock them to the ground. Practices particularly discouraged are linking players hand-to-wrist or hand-to-arm (rather, players should hold hands only), "clotheslining" an opposing player at throat height, or extending the hands so an onrushing player runs into a fist. Though rare, there is a risk of breaking a bone.

See also

• British Bulldogs
  British Bulldogs (game)
  British bulldogs is a tag-based game, of which Red Rover and Cocky Laura are descendants, played mainly in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other Commonwealth countries by children at school. It was originated in Great Britain...
  
  
• Hana Ichi Monme (A similar Japanese game.)
• Tag (game)
  Tag (game)
  Tag is a playground game played worldwide that involves one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to tag or touch them, usually with their fingers. There are many variations...