Leapfrog

For the educational entertainment and electronics company, see LeapFrog Enterprises. For other uses, see Leapfrog (disambiguation).

Children playing leapfrog in Bruegel's Children's Games

A game of leapfrog at a girls' school in Mussoorie, India

Leapfrog usually is a merry children's game of physical movement of the body in which players vault over each other's stooped backs. Sometimes, when forcibly and near-torturously imposed upon unwilling adults (see Nazi uses below in the Variations section), the game has had less-pleasant outcomes.

History

Games of this sort have been called by this name since at least the late sixteenth century.

Gameplay

The first participant remains still after putting their hands on their own knees while bending over, which is called giving a back. With dispatch the next player swiftly dashes forward, and (while in forward-motion), briefly plants their hands upon the first's back for push-off support (while straddling with legs wide apart) while hoping to vault clear-over that first stooping player. This jumper, upon landing, then advances a few steps ahead and themself does "give a back" by stooping-over in the same manner as the first player. (Meanwhile, the first player continues giving a back.) A third player leaps over the first and second, and then also "gives a back" by stooping over. A fourth jumper would leap over all previous others successively. Any number of additional players would act as had the previous: leaping over whoever is there and then stooping-over (giving a back) to then be jumped-over by whoever is leaping next. The number of participants is not fixed. When eventually all players are stooping, the last in the line begins leaping over all the others in turn. Time-length of gameplay and who (if anyone) "wins" is not standardized; the participants decide among themselves.

Variations

Eadweard Muybridge, Boys playing Leapfrog (1883–86)

The French version of this game is called saute-mouton (literally "leapsheep"), and the Romanian is called capra ("mounting rack" or "goat"). In India it is known as Aar Ghodi Ki Par Ghodi (meaning horseleap). In Italy the game is called la cavallina (i.e. small or baby female horse). In Dutch it is called bokspringen (literally goatjumping; a bok is a male goat) or haasje-over (literally hare-over).

In China this game is known as leap goat ("跳山羊"), which is played in pairs. One player, acting as "the goat", leaps over the back of the other player, who plays the role of "the rock/mountain". Then they switch roles, and "the rock" rises a bit each time they switch. Both players continue playing until one "goat" fails leaping "the rock/mountain" as the result of its rising.

At the Mauthausen concentration camp, forced leapfrogging and other greuling physical activity was a method of "wearing the inmates down".

In the Filipino culture, a similar game is called luksóng báka (literally "leap cow"), in which the "it" rests his hands on his knees and bends over, and then the other players —in succession—place their hands on the back of the “it” and leaps over by straddling legs wide apart on each side; whoever's legs touch any part of the body of the “it” becomes the next “it.”

In the Korean and Japanese versions (말뚝박기 lit. "piledriving" and 馬跳び うまとび umatobi, lit. "horseleap", respectively), one player 'leaps' over the backs of the other players who stoop close enough to form a continuous line, attempting to cause the line to collapse under the weight of the riders.

At times, leapfrog's demanding physical exertion was coercively forced upon unwilling adults, as happened at some Nazi German camps. Bundesarchiv photos document such activity having occurred at Mauthausen concentration camp and other sites.

External links

Media related to Leapfrog at Wikimedia Commons