A taw is the playing piece you throw into a square before you start hopping. It has to land inside the square you’re aiming for, otherwise you miss a turn. If it’s in the square but touching the line, you have to decide if you get to throw it again or you lose your turn. Decide the rules before you start playing. Players are not allowed to hop into the square where the taw is, unless you’re playing a Kick Hoppy game. If you have a good taw it can help you to be a champion player.
To find out who goes first, players sometimes throw their taws towards the last square of the pattern. The first person to have their taw land in the square goes first, and the next goes second, until everyone knows when to have their turn. Sometimes they do ‘dip dip’ on their feet to see who goes first.
To start the game, the taw is usually thrown into the first square (number 1), the player hops over that square into the next one (number 2), and then hops and jumps all around the pattern and back, stopping in the square before the one with the taw (number 2). Balancing on one leg, the player has to pick up the taw, and then hop over the square. The player continues in this way until they complete all numbers or make a mistake and lose their turn.
In Kick Hoppy games, the taw is thrown into the first square, then the player hops into that square and kicks or nudges the taw with the foot into the next square, and then the next, and keeps going all through the pattern.
The rules and the way the game is played can be adapted to suit a great variety of patterns. Design your own pattern and agree on the rules, and then play a new game with your friends and family.
These are some of the games where you need a taw to play:
Aeroplane Hoppy
Days of the Week Hoppy
Kick Hoppy
Partners Hoppy
Send-a-Letter Hoppy
Click on a picture to see how the game is played.
Hop To It! 