We didn't have video games available to us until much later when we were kids so my brother and I watched a bunch of television and movies.
However, our mother was very firm in her belief that we couldn't sit and stare at a screen all the time so he and I had to make our own fun.
We'd make blanket forts, for example. We'd play tag. We used to play on top of parked cars... yeah, that got us in trouble before.
But those memories are some of the sweetest I have. We had a knack for making our own fun.
And so did many others who shared their stories with us after Redditor goodluckcanuck asked the online community:
"What is the most fun you had as a kid that did NOT involve a screen of any kind?"
"For my 15th birthday..."
"For my 15th birthday, about 30 of my friends and I bought cheap toy swords, bows and arrows, and made armor and shields out of cardboard, went to the local park and had an all out play-war."
"Ended with a one-on-one duel against my best friend on one of those rickety chain bridges you sometimes see in old playgrounds. Till this day, I fondly remember it as one of the best days of my life."
ThePotatoWastrol
Sounds wonderful! That's the sort of play that can last for hours.
"I bought a metal shield..."
"I bought a metal shield from a website and wooden swords. We went in my backyard and choreographed a fight sequence. It was fun. Broke the wooden swords eventually though."
Thavinil
Sounds like it was a rather violent war. But if you broke the swords, what did you end up using to defend yourself?!
"I still find..."
"I still find bike riding to the the highlight of just about everything. It was freedom as a kid, and it is still freedom as an adult."
country-contrarian
Bike riding can indeed feel like freedom to a child! There's a reason why just about every kid in suburbia has a bike!
"When the street lights came on..."
"When the street lights came on and all the neighborhood kids would come out for Hide and Seek or Kick the Can."
capjack88
I have fond memories of both of these games. Hours and hours of endless fun.
"My childhood friends..."
"My childhood friends and I used to have Nerf wars around the neighborhood. It didn't happen super often, but when it did, we'd gather up as many of the kids in the neighborhood as possible and have a giant Nerf war. I had the time of my life."
_MashedPotatoes_
We bet you did! Memories that will last a lifetime.
"I used to play..."
"I spent awhile living with my grandparents on their farm. I used to play 'bushrangers' with the neighbour’s kids. A bit like Cops and Robbers, only on horseback with air rifles."
"If you were the bushranger, you’d start on foot and had a 30 minute head start to get as far into the bush and away from the other kids as possible. Then the other kids (the troopers) would set out to hunt you down on horseback."
FormalMango
This is very creative and sounds like one hell of a good time. Perfect environment for it.
"I lived in the woods..."
"Hours and hours spent outside. Didn't matter if it was alone or with my friends. I lived in the woods and those few acres might as well been the universe. The possibilities were only limited by our imagination."
hp640us
There's something about being in the woods that can feel like magic to a child.
"Finding..."
"Finding a REALLY cool stick. A staff/wand, whatever you wanted it to be. That fun could last all summer."
slukbunwalia
Isn't it funny how the littlest things–like a stick, for instance–could muster up so much fun? So many possibilities!
"Sledding..."
"Sledding and riding down the big hill in front of my house, or walking through the creek."
AggressiveGreen4592
Sounds picturesque. There better be a Christmas card of you sledding or something.
"Digging outside..."
"Digging outside in random places. There wasn't a lot of stone where I used to live, other than houses or sidewalks. So I always found a shovel or used a stick to dig down."
"I always thought I would dig down to the sea or find some treasure, or find fossil fuel and get rich or something."
LinkyCakes
Turns out all the old dudes found that fossil fuel instead!
We need to bring all of these games back.
But who's to say kids aren't playing them? Kids will always find a way to have fun, with or without a screen.
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