American Games and Rhymes
By Gap 360
Picture this: you’ve headed to the USA with a big list of fun games to play, only for the kids to look at you blankly when you mention them…
You’re too British for your own good! Get up to date with the American versions of these popular songs and games to avoid confusion OR encourage your host children to teach their friends the British version!
Ring a Ring of Roses
You’ll get funny looks if you start sneezing at the end of this one! The American version of the song ends ‘Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down’.
Incy Wincy Spider
What does incy wincy even mean any way? In America it’s ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’, which, to be fair, does make the spider sound pretty small.
Noughts and Crosses
People don’t say nought in the USA, they say zero, and so no one will know what you’re on about. The American name for this game is Tic-Tac-Toe.
ABC
This’ll trip you up if you’re not careful. Americans don’t say ‘Zed’, they say Zee – which is actually better for the song because it rhymes with ‘P’.
Snakes and Ladders
In America, this game has been rebranded as ‘Chutes and Ladders’. Don’t cause a panic by bringing snakes into the equation!
Know any other differences between British and American games? Let us know!