Games Children Play

Alexis, the Burgh Baby, invented one of the most fun games that I've heard of in a long, long time. 'LELLOW CAR! sounds so entertaining to play that I thought I would introduce it to my children.

This game is much harder than it sounds. We drove nearly the entire 12 miles to church before I saw a yellow car. And of course I yelled loudly 'LELLOW CAR! just as stated in the rules. Things went downhill from there.

What?

'LELLOW CAR! That was a yellow car and I called it.

Why?

Because we're playing 'LELLOW CAR!

What's that?

When you see a yellow car you call it.

We weren't playing that.

We are now.

Okay, you found a yellow one. Let's look for red now.

No, the name of the game is 'LELLOW CAR!

But you found one. I want to play RED CAR!

There is no RED CAR. The game is 'LELLOW CAR!

Okay, fine. How about PURPLE CAR!

The game is 'LELLOW CAR! There are no variations. Look, 'LELLOW CAR! That's two for me.

You cheat.

You weren't paying attention.

Punch bug!

We're playing 'LELLOW CAR!

'LELLOW CAR!

That's a backhoe.

It's yellow.

Only vehicles that drive on the road count.


And then Becky called a 'LELLOW CAR! to score herself a point. She needed this because she called a yellow car when in fact it was the car's headlights and not the car that was yellow. She lost 2 points for a miscall.

Luke didn't care that she got the 'LELLOW CAR! before he did. He was too busy with his stinker he said. (I didn't ask. I didn't really want to know.)

Games take on all new dimensions when played with my family. We're slowly working on perfecting this game to the point where we can't play it. This counts, that doesn't. What about yellow stripes on vehicles? Can we combine Punch Bug with 'LELLOW CAR? How many points are assigned calls, miscalls and imaginary cars? Who keeps score?

I fear 'LELLOW CAR will soon be banned in our vehicle. The rules become so complicated that we're fighting before we begin. Lesson learned: never steal games from a 2 year old.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, considering Alexis doesn't even have rules, and makes them up as she goes along, you can certainly make up variations.

Beth from the Funny Farm said...

Hilarious! You can change the rules. Just tell Alexis that they are her rules not yours... ;-)

Burgh Baby said...

Yeah, what AFF said. I can't win the stupid game for nothing, because the rules change day-by-day. Lately, every time I fairly call LELLOW CAR! I hear, "No ders not" from the back seat. If I say that to her, she says , "Lellow car hiding." You just can't win when there's a 2-year old involved.

I love that your kids were all, WTH?!

Quarantine Hobby said...

Haha! That's awesome. I love "we weren't playing that."

Laski said...

If you just say "YOU WIN" right away, do you have to keep playing???

:)

Just tryin' to save myself some headaches . . .

Mommy to those Special Ks said...

ROFLOL I am thinking you'll never truly win that game! haha

pb&j in a bowl said...

I've tried that game. It never works for us. It's either not yellow enough or a truck or has a little bit of other color on it. I gave up.

Unknown said...

Hav eyou been in my car when we try to play a game! :) Great post!

Michelle said...

Oooo, that sounds like games we play. It's all about their interpretation vs my own. Right now the big thing is playing the yawning game. They fake yawn, I ask who yawned and they make up someone/something that yawned and I pretend to believe it until the next yawn comes along. I don't recommend playing this when actually tired!

Pam said...

ha ha ha! That is too funny! If you consider that 2 year olds change the rules every 5 minutes, then you should be able to change the rules to suit you too. Gives you a fighting chance!

Paula Lynn Johnson said...

'LELLOW CAR! The school bus just drove by my window!

Wineplz said...

that's hilarious...and sounds like my family's car ride to Niagra Falls and to the Black Hills...not that we played Lellow Car, but that we morphed standard car-riding games into some crazed version that is barely recognizeable. When I got stuck in the 3rd seat in the station wagon for the 4th time in a row, I made a special rule that 3rd rowers got extra points because we were going backwards and didn't have the advantage as those sitting in the 2nd row and were facing forward. I didn't allow other rules. Yes, I was the only girl and a tyrant to boot.

Lost said...

What we played in the car when I was a kid (and I had my kids playing too lol) was "Horse" - this pretty much only works on long trips OUT of the city but you yell horse everytime you see a horse then if you pass a graveyard you yell "bury all your horses" and everyone else loses all the horses they counted. Sounds kind of dumb now that I'm writing it down LOL Simple enough but my brother and I got into all kinds of fights about that game LOL Punch buggy was banned in our car after the "car parade" incident that led to a huge punchout in the car.

Cecily R said...

I tried it too!! Only it was just with Jon and he really stinks at 'LELLO CAR.

Maybe Isaac and Gracie will fare better. Or maybe I should just take your advice and not go there. :)

Flea said...

We play "Rabbits!" here and it took years for my kids to catch on, but they play it with a vengeance now.

The first day of the month is Rabbits! day. You must be the first one to say Rabbits! to everyone else. You are one up on them for the month. They must be awake and aware when it is said. No leaving it on an answering machine. No saying it when headphones are on. Perfectly fine to answer the phone "Rabbits!" New Year's is particularly fun. As is staying up till midnight. :)

Kellan said...

My kids play "Yellow car - no tag backs" and they hit the person when they see a yellow car. Needless to say - I HATE THIS GAME!

Kellan

caramama said...

Too funny! That is a whole new set of issues from Alexis's.

We always played punch buggy and pididle (punch when you see a car with one headlight out).

Debbie @ Three Weddings said...

Our girls yell slugbug (I don't let them hit each other) but if it's yellow you have to yell Bingo. So dad yells bingo everytime they say slugbug. My kids get the game, it's dad that can't get it. Maybe he should play with the 2 year old.