Statues...the slapping game

Strange Games recently received an e-mail from reader Manuel Carvalho detailing a Portuguese playground game he knows and has played as Statues. This is not related to the rather dull party game of Musical Statues (players attempt to remain as still as a statue whenever the music stops) in any way. This is the kind of red-blooded, stupidly violent playground game that we love.
Manuel writes, "All players but one stand in two rows (or sometimes in a circle) with their hands raised, the player that stayed out of this formation is called the statue. This player must pass in between the two rows and get to the opposite side. While he tries to accomplish this everyone that's forming the rows slaps him on the back of the head as hard as they can. The job of the statue is to catch a glimpse of who's going to hit him at any given split second. When he does he switches to the rows and the person caught becomes the statue. The statue must go back and forth in between the rows until he catches someone. Of course there is no evident way to prove what the statue saw and if he's right, and that always leads to some heated disputes." It's as simply brutal as that, just keep slapping the player in the middle and try not to get caught...marvellous!
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If you play a game that is as mad as this one, and deserves wider attention, please e-mail Strange Games: montegue_blister@hotmail.co.uk