Back in the twenties and thirties, children did not have the selection of toys to play with, as today’s kids have. Apart from Christmas and Birthdays, there was no celebration to justify the giving of presents. In consequence, shops did not stock such a variety off costly items for he amusement of the young as of today. Kids had to make their own amusements which inspired them to invent their own games, one of which I shall try to explain here.
We called it “Tick Tack”, all that was required was a piece of chalk, a stout stick, about two feet long and another shorter piece about six inches long with the ends whittled diwn to points. The rules were quite simple, a small square was drawn in chalk on the edge of the kerb, (in a quiet street of course). Another foot square was drawn around it, (Why? I know not.) The game would be played by one contestant placing the shorter piece of wood on the small square, half projecting over the edge of the herb, and striking it with the longer piece. This would send the smaller piece flying through the air and the object of the game was to hit it whilst still in the air. The player would be allowed to hit it again on a whittled end, again whilst in flight twice more.
The distance from the ultimate resting place to the “home base” would be neasured by the number of lengths of the striking stick between te final resting place and home base,.
The game could be played as individuals or teams.
Of course, we were not often interrupted by motorists! At least we could hear them coming which gave us a chance to decide when to have a break.
There were other games that one never hears of today.