BRITISH BULLDOG

Materials/equipment: none.
Number of participants: all the children.
Task description:

Space: a large hall or large area of a playing field.

Duration: 10-15 minutes.

1: One bulldog (or maybe two) stands in the middle of the pitch, with the runners lined up on one side.
2: The runners try to get to the "home" area of the other side of the pitch without being caught. If the
bulldog holds a runner for long enough to say "British Bulldog, one, two, three", then that runner becomes
a bulldog.
3: The runners try to evade two bulldogs running back again.

Norms/rules:
As is usual with games, the particular rules applied vary from location to location, but with the same
principle. The playing area consists of a main playing area, with two 'home' areas on opposing sides
(similar to the touchdown areas used in rugby or American football). The home areas are the width of the
playing area and are usually marked by a line or some other marker.

Alternatives:
In general, the most recent loser chooses which player must cross the field on their own. In other
variations, the single player can call a 'bullrush' at any time by shouting 'bullrush', brave (or foolish) ones
will cross alone first. In some versions there is no choosing of players, and all players must attempt to
cross simultaneously, the choosing of the first bulldog[s] is also subject to variation. Either the first or the
last players caught become the bulldogs for the next game. In some versions, only the first player caught
in each round becomes a bulldog, catching other players is simply for fun and has no strategic advantage.
Sometimes, the players must run to a set target, the last one there becoming the bulldog. In some
versions players may not re-enter the 'home' area once they have left.

Graphic explanation:

Introduction:
British Bulldog (also octopus, seaweed, bullies, bullrush or simply bulldogs) is a tag-based game, of which
red rover and cocky Laura are descendants.
Most commonly one or two players though this number may be higher in large spaces are selected to
play the parts of the "bulldogs". The bulldogs stand in the middle of the play area. All remaining players
stand at one end of the area (home). The aim of the game is to run from one end of the field of play to the
other, without being caught by the bulldogs. When a player is caught, they become a bulldog themselves.
The winner is the last player or players 'free'.
The play area is usually a large hall or large area of a playing field, though there is no definition of the size
of the pitch nor the number of players as long as there is enough space for the players to manoeuvre and
enough players to have fun.
It is played mainly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other
Commonwealth countries by children at school. It was originated in Great Britain.[citation needed] The
game is also known to have been played, often on asphalt recess yards, by schoolchildren in Rhode Island
in the 1960s, under the name "cock-a-rooster." The game is characterised by its physicality often being
regarded as violent leading it to be banned from many schools, although this trend is now being reversed.