Games People Play - Tin Can Hide & Seek

Reminiscing my childhood buddies set me thinking of games we used to play. One of those games was the tin can game. Basically, it is a hide and seek game but with a twist. In order to save the entire "clan", one needs to run and kick the tin can out of the middle of a huge circle from where it originally sits. And then, shake the tin can as hard as possible. So, how would the rest of 'clan' know they are saved? Well, prior to the game, we've inserted small pebbles and stones into the tin can and then crush the lid so that the stones & pebbles will make noise once shaken. And that's how the clan knows they have been saved.

To save one's 'life', one has to run from one's hiding place and quickly squat within the huge circle before the seeker can touch you. Once you are touched by the seeker, you have lost a 'life'.That way, one's 'life' is saved. Once a seeker finds someone, both will run towards the circle. The person hiding will try his/her best to squat within the circle while the seeker will rush to shake the tin can and shout out the name of the person(s) the seeker has found. When all players have been accounted for, then the first to be found would be the next seeker.

However, if someone manages to save the clan, then all player' 'lives' are saved! There's a catch for the seeker! Each time a seeker finds someone, the seeker will have to name out all the players he/she has found again. If the seeker misses a name, the player has a chance to kick the tin can out of the circle, squat within the circle and is considered saved!!! Therefore, remembering all players name is a must!

We usually set ourselves a radius of where we can hide. Most times, it would be the around the basketball & badminton court. This included few trees, bushes and a house within the vicinity (the cinema gatekeeper & his family stays there). The house is accessible as it's never locked, hence we get to hide in the open air bathroom & kitchen as well as the storage room. As the courts are built on a slight slope, many times we hide along the slope amongst the bushes. Of course, we get rashes & scratches and sometimes it can scar us but we were 'blinded' by the intensity of the game.

We communicated in various dialects - Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay & Mandarin. Sign language was also common as we had malay and indian friends playing alongside. We needn't be reminded of 1 Malaysia or unity...we just wanted to play and play we did. The game can last for hours and we had so much fun! Aww...I missed those happy carefree days.