Fox and Chicken

Sooooo, Fox and Chicken is a tag game I made up when I was a kid on the farm.  My two older brothers, my sister, my cousins and I would wait until dusk when the shadows from the moon and the yard light would allow for juuuuuust the right cover.  We would all huddle up to see who would be the Fox first.  Once selected, the Fox would run off and find a strategic place to hide.  The Chickens stayed at ‘home base’ and would turn their backs and hide their eyes and count to 50.  This gave the Fox plenty of time to find their hiding spot.  We loudly counted down the last few numbers so the Fox would know we were on our way…  47!  48!  49!  FIFTY!!!!!

When the countdown was finished, the Chickens would slowly scatter and tip toe back among the out buildings, keeping a watchful eye out for the Fox.  (This by the way, is SUPER SCARY when you are 8 and you KNOW there are snakes, badgers, raccoon, coyotes or opossums that typically come out at night on the farm… You may find more than a FOX!)  I digress…   As soon as the Fox was located by any of the Chickens they would scream, “FOX!!!  FOX!!!  FOX!!!” and the fox would come sprinting after any and all of the Chickens.  As a Chicken you would run as fast as you could back to home base!  The Fox would try to tag as many Chickens as he could before they all made it back to home base.

That was the end of Round 1…

Round 2:  Chickens who were not tagged in Round 1 stayed at home base and began their countdown to 50 again.  The Tagged Chickens would go with the Fox and he would strategically hide them wherever he would like, and then find a hiding place as well (usually very nearby).  The goal for the Chickens is to try and free the Tagged Chickens by tagging them without getting tagged by the nearby, hiding Fox.  (Did ya follow that?)  Tagged Chickens are also ‘mute’ and not allowed to give away the Fox’s whereabouts.  Like Round 1, when the Chickens find the Fox, they scream FOX!!  FOX!!  FOX!! and the chase begins.

The game is over when the Fox has caught all of the Chickens.  (Or until the Fox is tired of being the Fox and forfeits the game.)

I cannot describe how much fun this game is.  I could feel the excitement and exhilaration in my body even as I typed out these instructions!!  This game is now a long-standing tradition in my family, one we have passed down to the next generation.  My nieces and nephews BEG me to play Fox and Chicken every time we go back.  The hysterical stories of Grandma pulling her groin muscle and my sister peeing her pants still get told every single time we play.  I giggle just thinking about it!

In the true spirit of sharing and giving at Thanksgiving, I share with you this fun game.  

It gives you a peek into the mind of an eight year old on the farm, not wanting the fun to stop even after the sun went down.  Please tweak and change the game to fit your neighborhood, school ground, community park, back yard or wherever you may be.  I wish you the happiest Thanksgiving.  ~Michelle