Strange Games reader Jason Smith sent in a game he has played called Freestyle Arm Wrestling.
It is fine alternative to normal Arm Wrestling (a game that requires solely brute-strength) needing a player to show guile, agility and some strength to be successful.
Jason writes, "Two competitors stand facing each other in an open area and grasp hands in the traditional arm wrestling grip. From this stage it is like arm wrestling where the table is the floor. The winner is the first to get their opponent's hand to the ground. General avoidance of the head and groin regions is recommended but beyond that anything goes. Should a "break" occur opponents reset and play again unless the break occurred as an obvious last ditch trick to escape loosing. Should that be the case then the person who weaseled out forfeits the match."
Another superb childrens' (party) game, Tights Racing has been sent to Strange Games by reader Nick Moss. And it is yet 
another one of those kids' games that is even more fun when played by adults. Pair up the players into teams of two. One player is given a pair of nylon tights and both are surrounded by a large pile of light, bulky items such as: toilet rolls, fruit, empty plastic bottles, cuddly toys...etc. On a starting command one player must jump into their tights and then with the help of their partner shove all the items down the legs as quickly as possible and then once everything has been stored they must race to the other end of the room.
The sight of players struggling to race with elephant-like nylon cladded legs is what gives this game its charm.
Hard Boiled is the name of a daring school game that combines Egg and Spoon with tickling and ends up with a probable detention. It was sent to Strange Games by Bethany and Maddie.
For two players: All you need to play are two spoons and an open window (the first floor of the home economics building is possibly the ideal location). The two players stand side by side close to each other and facing an open window. The left standing player must hold the spoon in their right hand, the other must use their left hand. Each player now places an egg in their spoon and holds the spoon at arms length, as if they were about to run an egg and spoon race....the only difference being they are not about to run AND they have one arm,a spoon and an egg held outside the open window. This feels dangerous enough but now the players can use their free arms to tickle the exposed armpit of their opponent. No punching, pinching or grabbing is allowed, only tickling. The first player to drop their egg is the loser.
Strange Games welcomes reader contributions...just e-mail me: montegue_blister@hotmail.co.uk
Next weekend sees the second running of Bristol's 
urban/social interaction/street game festival: igfest. It runs from Thursday 10th - Sunday 13th in various Bristol locations such as multi-storey car parks, supermarkets and parks and includes a superb variety of games including Tom Russotti's Mega Socca (multiple balls and players), interactive treasure hunts and Moose hunts! and much much more including the marvellous game of Circle Rules Soccer.
Circle Rules Soccer was developed in 2006 by Greg Manley for the Experimental Theatre Wing of New York University and has been successfully played at other urban games festivals such as New York's Come Out and Play Festival. The game is played by two teams on a circular pitch (about 50m in diameter) in the centre of which is marked a goal area (4m in diameter) inside which only the goal-keepers are allowed. However there is only one set of goals, in the centre of this goal area, manned by two goalies. Two make it even more unusual instead of a normal sized football the game is played with one of those giant inflatable yoga balls. Players can kick it, punch it or bounce it along the ground in a basket ball style but they can't hang onto or sit on it. Their ultimate aim is to get it through the goal posts from the right side for their team. The goal keepers for their part are allowed full body contact with each other so that they can wrestle the one another to the ground to help in the goal scoring activityies. For smaller scale, less complicated games, you can dispense with the goal keepers and the goal area and just keep the goals.
