To take part in our 5th cultural week, devoted this year to Traditional Games, the English Department is going to participate with two traditional games which use language to play.
"I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE..."
"I spy" is a guessing game. One player chooses an object that is visible to all the players and says, "I spy with my little eye something beginning with ...", naming the letter the chosen object starts with (e.g. "I spy with my little eye something beginning with C" if the chosen object is a car). Other players have to guess the chosen object. An alternative version is played where the colour is given rather than the initial letter (e.g. "I spy with my little eye something blue")
I spy is often played with young children as a means to entertain in long boring journeys.
It isn't a very old game, the first record is from 1937 in a Canadian publication. In any case it's a 20th century game and it became very popular in the 1950s and 60s. The game and its wording are well known in western popular culture.
Video "I SPY..." example:
Video "I SPY..." example:
"SIMON SAYS..."
Simon Says is a child's game for 3 or more players where 1 player takes the role of "Simon" and gives instructions (usually physical actions such as "jump in the air" or "stick out your tongue") to the other players, which should only be followed if prefaced with the phrase "Simon says", for example, "Simon says, jump in the air". Players are eliminated from the game by either following instructions that are not immediately preceded by the phrase, or by failing to follow an instruction which does include the phrase "Simon says". It is the ability to distinguish between valid and invalid commands, rather than physical ability, that usually matters in the game; in most cases, the action just needs to be attempted.
The object for the player acting as Simon is to get all the other players out as quickly as possible; the winner of the game is usually the last player who has successfully followed all of the given commands. Occasionally however, 2 or more of the last players may all be eliminated by following a command without "Simon Says", thus resulting in Simon winning the game.
The game is well in popular culture, with numerous references in films, music and literature. Simon Says originated from Latin, the Latin version was "Cicero dicit fac hoc", meaning "Cicero says do this". This game has translated across multiple cultures from seemingly common routes and some international versions also use the name.
Video "SIMON SAYS..." example:
UPDATE: This is how we played "SIMON SAYS" during the activities prepared for the Cultural Week:
[Students from 1ºESO-D playing "Simon Says"]
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