Children's games are truly a part of cultural heritage and are often passed down by older kids to younger ones with little interference from adults. Some, such as the Eskimo game here, are a distinct product of one culture, while others take little notice of cultural boundaries, popping up in different countries under different names.

TINGMIUJANG

MATERIALS
• Sculpey III polymer clay
• Leather-look vinyl

The game of Tingmiujang is one of the ways an Eskimo child might pass the long, dark days of an arctic winter. Played with tiny model birds, the game acts as a reminder of the importance of animals to the Eskimo. Your children's game pieces will be modeled from clay, but the Eskimos carve theirs from bone, making use of every part of the animals they hunt.

INSTRUCTIONS
Have your kids model 15 birds (about one inch long) in the shape of a duck with a simple head and beak, a pointed tail and a flat bottom (they must have flat bottoms for the game to work). Bake the birds in a 260-degree oven for five minutes, then allow them to cool. For a playing cloth, cut a piece of vinyl in the shape of an animal pelt and have the children sit in a circle around it.

The first player shakes the birds in her hands and tosses them up gently to fall on the cloth. Some will land upright; others will fall on their sides. Each upright bird is taken by the player at whom its beak points. The next player shakes and tosses the remaining birds. Again, the upright birds are claimed by whomever they face. The game continues until all the birds have been claimed. The player who has the most birds wins.

COLOMBIAN RING ON A STRING

MATERIALS
• String and scissors
• A ring
• Players, ages seven to 12

My children first played this game as Girl Scouts, passing a quarter from hand to hand around a circle. In this version from Colombia (called "Un Anillo en la Cuerda"), players try to hide a ring from the child in the middle by sliding it along a loop of string.

INSTRUCTIONS
Cut a length of string (estimate 1 1/2 feet per player), thread a ring onto it and tie it into a loop. Players should stand in a circle, grasp the string and practice passing the ring around by sliding their hands along the string.

To play, one child should step into the middle and close his eyes until the ring is hidden in someone's hand. When he opens his eyes, the players move their hands back and forth, passing the ring surreptitiously in either direction around the circle. When the person in the middle guesses who has the ring, he switches places with that player.