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Create Your Own Games

Play enthusiast Bernie DeKoven shares his tips for inventing your own "junkyard sports"

by Leslie Garisto Pfaff

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PLAY BY YOUR OWN RULES

Take any activity (soccer, tennis, tag), add some creative kids and a few twists to the rules, and you have the makings of a great junkyard sport. Move it up to the majors with these tips from Bernie for making any game more fun:

If the sport you're starting with calls for two teams, try adding another team or taking one away.

If there are turns involved, try taking them together (as in "One, two, three, go!").

If there's a score, keep playing until you discover who the second winner is, or the third, or the last. Or give each other points, or play without points.

Add another ball or another goal or another rule. Or take a rule away, or borrow a rule from another game.

Challenge yourself: Try the sport with the "wrong" hand or hold hands with somebody else.

GREAT JUNK FOR GREAT PLAY

Junkyard sports can be played with (almost) anything that's lying around. But for sheer versatility, nothing beats these simple toys:

Old socks and panty hose. They make great balls. "You can make a baseball-size ball out of ankle socks, and a volleyball-size ball out of knee-highs stuffed with socks," suggests Bernie.

Plastic grocery bags. Use them as basketball-type baskets or make a ball by filling a bag with other bags, then wrap or tie the handles around the bag. Or make a Bubbleball: a plastic grocery bag wrapped around a chunk of bubble wrap. (Use it for Baggyball.)

The Schmerltz. Put a tennis ball in a kneesock and tie it in place, then grab it by the sock end, spin, and release. "A well-launched Schmerltz can travel at least 20 feet in the air," says Bernie. His tip: use it as a ball or as a club for whacking other balls. (Make sure an adult is on hand to supervise.)