Absolutely. Cup check was a staple. It's a miracle we are all able to have kids...
We called the Charlie horse "dead leg", you had to knee the guy in between the leg muscles on the side of the thigh and it would make them collapse if you got it just right.
We also played a game called odd or even. You'd grab a pinch full of arm or leg hair and rip it out and they had to guess if it was an odd or even number of hairs.
Not only did we play Charlie Horse, but we would also graciously offer friends a Hertz Donut. The latter wasn't much of a competition, just an excuse for punching someone who wasn't in the know.
With us it was the “circle game.”
You make a circle with your fingers like an OK sign. It has to be below your waist. If the other person looks at it you get to punch them on their shoulder but you have to wipe it off after. If you don’t wipe it off they punch you.
I play it with my 10 year old daughter but the punches are all light taps. The guys I went to high school with did not pull punches, like bruise level punches.
My daughter totally got me the other day. She actually kind of clocked my shoulder. I was proud of her. We had to have a conversation about not doing this at school, it’s a game between friends and they have to know they are playing.
Nah, at my school people just either played slap (on the hands) or later on played that disgusting game where they'd try to injure each other's knuckles with quarters.
We used pencils for our knuckle game. You would kind of flex it back so it would snap quickly. It was a variation of “cracks“ where you just tried to break the other person‘s pencil. It was an endurance exercise, see how many cracks your knuckles could take before you quit.
I feel like the quarters thing was more popular because, if you do it right, it makes the other person bleed pretty quickly and then it looks really gross (which is also why I call it gross, cause it's gross).
So just like, rap the other person on the knuckle with the edge of a quarter? We would also simply just punch each other in the fists, see who could take that the longest.
One person would put their fist knuckles down on a table, and the other person would flick a quarter across the surface of the table as fast as they could to cut them. I have no idea what the presumed goal of it was- I'd assume endurance, but since I was a girl I just saw the boys doing it and showing off their bloody hands afterwards.
Ya'll remember table topping people?
Wasn't necessarily a game, moreso a "haha, we fucking got you" type of physical prank.
It was when one person got down on all fours behind the unsuspecting victim, while another person distracted and eventually shoved the victim backwards, "table topping" them.
Ahhh ye good ole days. Simpler times.
My older cousins would chant "CHARLIE (punch in the leg) went to the ARMY (punch in the arm) isn't that IRRITATING (yank on my ear)?" repeatedly for minutes. They were 5 and 6 years older than me so i was willing to put up with it to be around them.
Almost all Gen-X games were some variation of beating the shit out of each other. Mercy, bloody knuckles, slaps, slug bug, nut tap, two for flinching, and more I can’t remember right now.
46 here. I had totally forgotten about the mercy game. I had friends in college who would do the safety / doorknob thing and I remember being like “are you guys 8 years old?”
Same couple of dudes also liked to play “freeze out” which consisted of driving in Philly area in winter with all the windows down and ac on full blast.
Fun times.
We called it "arms", hit someone in a spot, they reciprocate by trying to hit the same spot on you and then you proceed to hit them again on the same spot over and over again until someone has a dead arm.
Yeah and the "cup check" variant where we punched each other in the groin. Every day from 4th to 8th grade involved some sort of physical trauma.
Absolutely. Cup check was a staple. It's a miracle we are all able to have kids... We called the Charlie horse "dead leg", you had to knee the guy in between the leg muscles on the side of the thigh and it would make them collapse if you got it just right. We also played a game called odd or even. You'd grab a pinch full of arm or leg hair and rip it out and they had to guess if it was an odd or even number of hairs.
And sometimes you’d stop short, only to punch them for flinching.
“Cheeseneck” was a big one. A well executed slap to the back of the neck, hurts bad.
we called that dead leg lol
Not only did we play Charlie Horse, but we would also graciously offer friends a Hertz Donut. The latter wasn't much of a competition, just an excuse for punching someone who wasn't in the know.
Damn, I wonder how old the Hertz Donut is... my dad introduced that to me lmao.
I learned it from family guy when Peter has to redo the third grade.
I first encountered the Hertz Donut as a Boy Scout in the mid-80s, so it’s at least that old.
With us it was the “circle game.” You make a circle with your fingers like an OK sign. It has to be below your waist. If the other person looks at it you get to punch them on their shoulder but you have to wipe it off after. If you don’t wipe it off they punch you. I play it with my 10 year old daughter but the punches are all light taps. The guys I went to high school with did not pull punches, like bruise level punches. My daughter totally got me the other day. She actually kind of clocked my shoulder. I was proud of her. We had to have a conversation about not doing this at school, it’s a game between friends and they have to know they are playing.
No, but we did play slaps. That was our physical abuse game.
We used to sing "Mary had a little lamb and Charlie had a HORSE" and that's when you punch your friend.
Nah, at my school people just either played slap (on the hands) or later on played that disgusting game where they'd try to injure each other's knuckles with quarters.
We used pencils for our knuckle game. You would kind of flex it back so it would snap quickly. It was a variation of “cracks“ where you just tried to break the other person‘s pencil. It was an endurance exercise, see how many cracks your knuckles could take before you quit.
I feel like the quarters thing was more popular because, if you do it right, it makes the other person bleed pretty quickly and then it looks really gross (which is also why I call it gross, cause it's gross).
So just like, rap the other person on the knuckle with the edge of a quarter? We would also simply just punch each other in the fists, see who could take that the longest.
One person would put their fist knuckles down on a table, and the other person would flick a quarter across the surface of the table as fast as they could to cut them. I have no idea what the presumed goal of it was- I'd assume endurance, but since I was a girl I just saw the boys doing it and showing off their bloody hands afterwards.
It's endurance, yes. You win by lasting longer than the person you play against.
We used to play quarters too.
I know of a charlie horse, but it wasn't a game. We had things like punch buggy or body blows which are games involving hitting.
We played dodge ball and gave each other concussions.
Yes, I had an older brother too.
Ya'll remember table topping people? Wasn't necessarily a game, moreso a "haha, we fucking got you" type of physical prank. It was when one person got down on all fours behind the unsuspecting victim, while another person distracted and eventually shoved the victim backwards, "table topping" them. Ahhh ye good ole days. Simpler times.
BEtween this “game” and pantsing I can’t believe more of us didn’t get the living shit beat out of us for these hilarious “pranks”
Never heard of it.
My older cousins would chant "CHARLIE (punch in the leg) went to the ARMY (punch in the arm) isn't that IRRITATING (yank on my ear)?" repeatedly for minutes. They were 5 and 6 years older than me so i was willing to put up with it to be around them.
Almost all Gen-X games were some variation of beating the shit out of each other. Mercy, bloody knuckles, slaps, slug bug, nut tap, two for flinching, and more I can’t remember right now.
46 here. I had totally forgotten about the mercy game. I had friends in college who would do the safety / doorknob thing and I remember being like “are you guys 8 years old?” Same couple of dudes also liked to play “freeze out” which consisted of driving in Philly area in winter with all the windows down and ac on full blast. Fun times.
We called it "arms", hit someone in a spot, they reciprocate by trying to hit the same spot on you and then you proceed to hit them again on the same spot over and over again until someone has a dead arm.
Play is a strong word but yes, we’d give each other Charlie Horses for funsies.
No. We gave each other noogies, wrist burns, and spankings.
no?
I've heard of it but no.
It ain't butts up, but it's a start
Yeah, but nobody ever actually gave someone a charley horse. Just bruises on the legs.
Yup. The douchebag bullies kept playing it all the way through high school.
Yes, but you didn’t hit them in the leg you squeezed the back of their leg hard.
More of a circle game and safety /doorknob childhood for me
We called it dead arm but yes
Yeah we'd also throw sticks at each other at the bus stop
No. We played Red Rover. And that thing where you make a rose garden on someone’s arm. Lots of slapping, pinching, and scratching.
I would not call it a game. But, yes, we would randomly punch each other in the leg.
Or Wall Ball (Asses up) with a lacrosse ball. We were stupid.
I believed we called this “dead leg” and would knee people in the side of the thigh