Other names
PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick)
Inspiration
Imagine you’re in a pit of angry snakes, with each snake poised to attack the others with snake strikes. Last snake alive wins!
Themes
Awareness, Agility, Audacity, Balance, Evasion, Wide angle vision
Group size
3 – 10 players
Timing
3-5 min/round
Play area
Any clear area
Energy
Med (walking, stalking)
Age range
8+ years
Start formation
Circle
Equipment
NONE
Hazards/safety
People’s feet getting injured by other people landing on them. Make sure that all players are wearing closed-toe shoes of similar robustness. If some people are wearing light sneakers and others are wearing heavy, hard-soled hiking boots, this would not be a good game. Also, emphasize that foot tags should be done using the toes, not the whole foot or the heel.
Instructions
This game takes a while to explain to new players, but once kids have learned the rules, this game quickly becomes a favorite.
The goal of each player is to get everyone else out and be the last player in the game. There are three ways a player can get “out”:
1.The top of their foot (shoe) is tagged by (the foot of) a person making a legal snake strike.
2.They get “faked,” meaning they jumped because they THOUGHT that a person was about to attack them, but the person was just faking an attack.
3.They jump out of sequence (e.g. player #4 jumps before player #3 has taken their turn).
How the game works:
- Gather three to ten people in a close circle. More than 10 people gets cumbersome.
- One person nominates themselves as the leader (number #1) and goes around the circle assigning a number to each person (#2, #3, #4, etc.). These numbers establish the order of play.
- The leader calls “snake pit!” and everyone must immediately JUMP back away from the circle (both feet must leave the ground, then return to the ground).
- As soon as everyone has landed (on both feet), player #1 can initiate a snake strike, which means they jump towards another player and try to tag the top of their shoe with their sole. Only the person whose turn it is can snake strike to get another player out.
- HOWEVER: whenever a player is making a snake strike (i.e., whenever they’re jumping), ALL OTHER PLAYERS can make a “RESPONSE” jump, in any direction they want. Response jumps can be used to dodge snake strikes, move away from threats, or move closer to targets. Response jumps can ONLY start AFTER the person making a snake strike has started their jump but BEFORE the last foot of the person making the snake strike lands. If a player makes a response jump BEFORE the person whose turn it is has made their snake strike jump, they have been “faked” and they are OUT.
- When a person’s foot is tagged during a snake strike, they are OUT.
- As soon as player #1 has made their snake strike (and other players have made their response jump), player #2 can make a snake strike, then player #3, etc.
- When a person gets out, the number order is still maintained. So if player #4 tags player #5, and player #6 is already out, it’s player #7’s turn.
- Play continues until only one person is left. The winner becomes the leader to start the next game.
Clarifications
- All jumps must be “unified” and single-directional, meaning players can’t jump, land on one foot, balance for a moment, then put down their second foot in a different direction. It’s fine if people’s feet leave the ground and land at slightly different times, so long as the jump is “one action” with no pausing or hovering.
- Snake pit is a “foot-only” contact sport. If other parts of people’s bodies (hands, arms, legs, etc.) touch, there is no consequence. However, it is illegal for someone to BLOCK the body of someone doing a snake strike by using any part of their body (such as their hands, arms, torso, etc). The only way to avoid being tagged by a snake strike is to move your feet OUT of the way!
- No jumping with hands on the ground (no cartwheels, handstands, etc.)
- Feet MAY land on two different surfaces, such as two different stair steps or one foot on a table and one of the ground.
- A person may pivot his or her feet on either the toe or the heel to redirect their body. They cannot, however, shimmy by pivoting toe and then heel and actually moving their foot position. A pivot can only occur when no one is jumping. Hence, it is illegal to dodge a tag by pivoting the foot.
- When a player has realized it’s their turn, they should make their snake strike within no more than ten seconds.
Modifications
- Choose an area with varied terrain or lots of obstacles.
- Make it so every response jump also counts as a snake strike. For example, say it’s player #3’s turn and they make a snake strike at player #8. But just before player #3 lands, player #8 jumps straight up, avoiding player #3’s tag, and when they come down, they tag player #3. Meanwhile, during their response jumps, player #5 tagged player #1.