Terrain game

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Terrain game describes a category of games that take place in a natural or artificially designed playground . Game science further subdivides them according to the area they use . Terrain games can be practiced as outdoor games in the open air or as indoor games indoors. These, in turn, can be further subdivided according to the respective location, for example into street games , forest games or indoor games .

Children's terrain game (painting by WB Baker 1881)
Horde game with wooden and cardboard swords
Terrain game "Breaking chains" or (historically) "The emperor sends his soldiers out"
Terrain game paintball
Airsoft, terrain game with plastic projectiles
Outdoor game Laser Tag as an indoor game

term

The game genre terrain games was named after the space, the play area in which different game ideas can be lived out. Game science differentiates between outdoor games in spacious outdoor areas, so-called outdoor areas, as they provide the given environment with its trees and bushes, hills and caves, pits and grasses, but also structural conditions such as school grounds , parks , gardens or castle ruins , and outdoor games in artificially designed inside sites, play areas such as in sports halls , special usually play ideas or educational follow orientation. If the outdoor area, due to its larger size, is more likely to be used for the realization of spacious game wishes, the self-designed art landscape can be better adapted to the individual, including didactic ambitions of game education . The amount of space required depends primarily on the age of the players, their playing needs and the forms of play chosen.

Computer games that run on a screen area do not belong to the genre of terrain games in the game science system . They are categorized under the terms virtual games or electronic games . Maneuver games such as the Hitler Youth terrain exercise , Indian games , jousting games or railroad games that take place on a game board are grouped under the game genre of board games .

Historical

The widespread interest in off-road games, which has persisted from ancient times to the present day, has several roots:

The oldest evidence points to military ambitions . Already in ancient Greece , with the Roman military and with the Germanic tribes , diverse ways were known to prepare men capable of military service with terrain games for a warlike emergency. Parts of these defense games are still common in modern times in connection with maneuvering exercises , for example by special units of the police or the military. They incorporate both the spacious open-air area with its hiding, camouflage and sneaking opportunities as well as urban fighting and direct human confrontations with weapons in the game. In the militarily ambitious forms of play, the observance of the principle of nonviolence , compliance with legal regulations on environmental protection for special areas such as forests and water and the use of weapons are under public observation.

Even the pedagogue Friedrich Ludwig Jahn , often referred to as the 'gymnastics father' , still followed the idea of defensive skills by means of terrain games and already used the route to his gymnastics training facility in Berlin's Hasenheide . For Jahn the field games were part of his "youth education" to prepare the male youth for the freedom struggle against Napoleon Bonaparte . His pedagogical credo was: " Only when all defensible teams have become armed through physical exercises, armed through weapons exercises, quick-witted through renewed war games and always being armed [...] can such a people be called a defensive" . One of Jahn's most popular terrain games was the "hunting game", the " Knight and Citizen Game ”and the“ Storming ”. In the years that followed, the defense concept was still largely formative for the game of terrain games.

Another historical impetus for outdoor games came from the so-called youth movement in the first third of the 20th century. The play instinct freed itself from the “dungeon” of the “musty school rooms” and “narrow city walls” and led the pupils and students of the Wandervogel to play in the pristine nature in a romantic, transfigured euphoria . Many of the forms of play that emerged here have survived to this day in youth organizations such as scouts . The game historian Hans Scheuerl says: “ Terrain games, brawls, battles between group and group, federation and federation were often exaggerated by images from a romantic fantasy world: One identified with heroes from distant epochs, took on their titles and names. 'Robber barons' ambushed 'pepper sacks', 'armies' fought for the camp, the flag . "

A third impetus came from the tradition of children's toys, which have been handed down over generations : Johanna Woll, Margret Merzenich and Theo Götz recall the play world of children in the pre-digital age in their game collection , as in a still low-traffic, sparsely populated domestic environment and without complex technical features Toys Terrain games with natural objects such as chestnuts and pine cones, with self-made dragons , bows and arrows , slingshots or simple movement games such as 'Little Tree Exchange', 'Robber and Gendarme', 'Search and hide games' were possible and attractive to the children.

The game scientists Siegbert A. Warwitz and Anita Rudolf point out that terrain games for children and adolescents at all times experienced a boom when the necessary playground was plentifully available. Especially in times of war that are particularly hostile to play, children in bombed cities and decaying villages, in ruined houses, abandoned factories and neglected gardens, have created an ideal terrain for all kinds of off-road games. The forms of play that emerged during these times, which often already reflected the warlike reality in their names, such as "take land ", "kettle battle" or "China declares war against ..." have been - often while maintaining their game idea - in more recent times out of educational considerations gladly relabeled. According to Warwitz / Rudolf, under the influence of the peace movement in the post-war years, for example, the old children's game “The Kaiser sends his soldiers out” became the more harmless-sounding “Chain Breaking”, and the terrain game “Völkerschlacht”, which was originally about the symbolic war of extermination between two Völker went, didactically mutate into the moderate party game “ Völkerball ”, in which players who have been killed can even bring themselves back into the game.

Playground

“ The playground is not just the setting for games. It can also give impulses to play . ” Terrain games therefore require an area that either as a natural terrain offers an appealing terrain for game scenarios by itself or that can be designed as such by the players according to their game ideas.

There are fundamental differences in the field games with the different objectives. In a large number of games, the opposing parties have to search for and find each other or reach landmarks. In “ Capture the Flag ”, for example, a team symbolically defends its territory with a flag or, as in geocaching , a “ treasure ” has to be found with given coordinates . Most off-road games have in common the presence of two game parties, only geocaching can also be played as a single player and in a treasure hunt , the path is often the goal .

Indoor games

Terrain games require a structured, varied terrain. For younger children, given their relatively close to home ranges already small site in the living area as game rooms , attics or basements to small play areas are inviting character. However, with increasing age, larger spaces for activities and increasingly demanding game needs, the space requirements for off-road games also increase, but this can already be satisfied in larger spaces such as sports halls .

The sports pedagogues Andreas Brinckmann and Uwe Treeß use practical examples to show how the design of outdoor games can be achieved with sports educational objectives in artificial arrangements of playgrounds in a gym .

Siegbert A. Warwitz and Anita Rudolf show how a sports hall with its storage rooms, installations, devices, mats, materials can be transformed into a jungle landscape within the framework of a project week under the huge camouflage net of the Bundeswehr , in which numerous activities can be practiced as they are could offer in a similar way in a real jungle: A river has to be crossed by means of a liana (climbing rope), another crossed with a boat (roller board) because of the piranhas , balancing a gorge, climbing rocks, crawling through a cave, climbing a tree house become. Encounters with wild animals and the finding of beneficial foods can only be achieved by correctly answering the relevant questions.

Even war-like weapon games such as the laser tag can be played indoors, which are equipped with challenging obstacles and cover options and are known as 'arenas' or 'laserdroms'. Different forms of combat can be practiced in different game variants. Capture the flag, for example, is about the conflict between two teams and the virtual conquest of the opposing flag .

Outdoor games

A play-friendly living environment, forest and field in the vicinity, but also traffic-calmed streets, a park or a school area that has been approved for use by children are already suitable for outdoor games.

The extensive grounds of a farm with barns, sheds, barns and stables or the area of ​​a castle ruin with winding stairs and towers, corners and defenses meet the needs of young people for exciting outdoor games. Ideal play landscapes offer areas with a varied topography that allow a lot of movement, opportunities for discovery and adventure games to be played out.

Interesting variants of terrain games arise when the event takes place at night or in winter , or with the help of terrain sketches , maps or satellite-based orientation methods ( GPS ). The latter can roughly be summarized under the term “ location-based games ”.

Examples (selection)

children

Teenagers

Adults

Play-educational importance

Terrain games gain their special charm through their varied spatiality, the resulting considerable scope for action and movement as well as the moment of adventure that is attached to them.

For example, a play landscape, created from the various equipment and facilities in a gym, can encourage climbing, sliding, swinging, balancing, floating, swinging and abseiling and thus make a didactically valuable contribution to the development of basic physical skills in the sense of contemporary sports education .

As part of interdisciplinary projects to scouting games are suitable to work up historical knowledge in living experience, about the staging of jousting in the grounds of a ruined castle .

In the police and soldier training sector, field games offer the advantage of a form that is both realistic and attractive due to the nature of the game for physical and psychological training .

particularities

Swiss terrain game

For the Swiss scouts , “terrain game” also generally refers to a game that does not take place on the camp site itself. A standard form of the game is the following:

  • Team A has a ring (circle marked with ropes), inside there are cans of fruit salad,
  • Team B has a ring with cans of fruit salad in it.

Team A now has to steal the cans from team B (and vice versa) and transport them into their own ring; they can be intercepted by players from team B. Whoever has more cans in his ring at the end has won. The prize of the winner is the captured prey. Such a game usually lasts 1 to 2 hours and can be played with 5–500 participants. This game can also be varied as desired. The following variants are particularly popular:

  • more than two teams
  • Introduction of a currency - objects that are necessary for victory must be bought, currency must be earned, game masters can be hired as players.
  • Teams must unite at the end of the game in order to come to victory ( efforts to cooperate ).

Stories

Terrain games are sometimes embedded in stories. For this purpose, roles and scenarios are simulated or invented and appropriate rules and customs are derived. Often the role carriers are disguised accordingly and equipped with props. Outdoor games are often part of a theme week in a youth camp. Examples are: cowboys and Indians, robbers and gendarmes, pirates and merchant ships, smugglers and border guards. The terrain game is then introduced with storytelling .

literature

  • Andreas Brinckmann, Uwe Treeß: Grundsituation Spielgelände , In: Dies .: Movement Games, Rowohlt, Reinbek 1980, ISBN 3-499-17043-4 , pp. 221-255.
  • Manfred Kaderli, Franziska Bertschy: Terrain games: play projects for town, forest and meadow , Rex Verlag, Lucerne 2007.
  • Anita Rudolf, Siegbert A. Warwitz: Pinneken kloppen , In: Dies .: Playing - newly discovered. Basics-suggestions-help . Herder. Freiburg 1982, pp. 52-53.
  • Thilo Scheller: Terrain games for German youth , Quelle & Meyer, Leipzig 1928
  • Hans Scheuerl: The game . Beltz Publishing House. Weinheim-Basel 1979, page 19
  • Siegbert A. Warwitz, Anita Rudolf: Terrain as a game impulse , In: Dies .: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th edition, Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, ISBN 978-3-8340-1664-5 . Pp. 210–221,
  • Siegbert A. Warwitz, Anita Rudolf: Shaping play landscapes - the jungle festival , In: This .: From the sense of play. Reflections and game ideas . 4th edition, Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, ISBN 978-3-8340-1664-5 . Pp. 197-209.
  • Johanna Woll, Margret Merzenich, Theo Götz: Alte Kinderspiele , Ulmer, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8001-6214-8 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Terrain game  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations


Individual evidence

  1. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz, Anita Rudolf: Terrain as game impulse , In: Dies .: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th edition, Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, pp. 210–221
  2. ↑ Bruno Saurbier: History of Physical Education , Limpert-Verlag. Frankfurt a. M., 1957, p. 9, p. 42 f, p. 54
  3. ↑ Jan Boger: Elite and special units international: development, equipment, deployment. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1987.
  4. ↑ Bruno Saurbier: History of Physical Education , Limpert-Verlag. Frankfurt a. M., 1957, p. 111 ff
  5. ^ Letter to Lützow v. June 16, 1814
  6. ↑ cit. n. Bruno Saurbier, history of physical exercises. Jahns Turnen, idea and execution , p. 123
  7. ↑ Saurbier, History of Physical Exercises , p. 126
  8. ^ Thilo Scheller: Terrain games for German youth , Quelle & Meyer, Leipzig 1928
  9. ↑ Hans Scheuerl: The game . Beltz Publishing House. Weinheim-Basel 1979, page 19.
  10. ^ Johanna Woll, Margret Merzenich, Theo Götz: Alte Kinderspiele , Ulmer, Stuttgart 1988.
  11. ↑ Warwitz / Rudolf, Vom Sinn des Spielens , p. 108
  12. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz, Anita Rudolf: The emperor sends his soldiers out or breaking chains , In: Dies .: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th edition, Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, pp. 254–255
  13. ↑ Warwitz / Rudolf, Vom Sinn des Spielens , pp. 142–143
  14. ↑ Warwitz / Rudolf, Vom Sinn des Spielens , p. 210
  15. ↑ Andreas Brinkmann, Uwe Treess: basic situation playscape , In: This .: motion games , Rowohlt, Reinbek 1980, p 221-255
  16. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz, Anita Rudolf: Shaping play landscapes - the jungle festival ", In:" From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas .4. Edition, Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, pp. 197–209.
  17. ↑ Nadine Kutzli: Jungle Experience. Create a jungle festival with students . Scientific state examination work GHS. Karlsruhe 1998
  18. ^ Johanna Woll, Margret Merzenich, Theo Götz: Alte Kinderspiele , Ulmer, Stuttgart 1988.
  19. ↑ Anita Rudolf, Siegbert A. Warwitz: Pinneken kloppen , In: Dies .: Playing - newly discovered. Basics-suggestions-help . Herder. Freiburg 1982, pp. 52-53.
  20. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz, Anita Rudolf: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th edition, Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, pp. 214–219, pp. 291–221
  21. ↑ Manfred Kaderli, Franziska Bertschy: Terrain games: game projects for city, forest and meadow , Rex Verlag, Lucerne 2007.
  22. ↑ Andreas Brinkmann, Uwe Treess: basic situation playscape , In: This .: motion games , Rowohlt, Reinbek 1980, p 221-255
  23. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz, Anita Rudolf: Robin Hood - experience and design . Series of project lessons in schools and universities No. 8. Karlsruhe 1995.
  24. ↑ Jan Boger: Elite and special units international: development, equipment, deployment. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1987.
  25. ^ Kaj-Gunnar Sievert: Command Company. Special units deployed around the world. ES Mittler & Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2010.