Quality invasion games: red rover or British bulldog?

Abstract

Red Rover (Queensland name) and British Bulldog (Victorian name) are conceptually the same game as both require a player to travel across their opponents’ space without being ‘caught’. The call inviting an individual player to leave their starting safety zone in attempt to run to the end safety zone, in Queensland was “Red Rover, I call over”, followed by the chosen person’s name. If the runner (attacking) was caught, the player in the middle (defending their playing space) would say “Red Rover – one, two three, Red Rover – you are he/she”. Victoria had a similar invite and saying when caught, replacing the term ‘Red Rover’ with ‘British Bulldog’. When “Bull Rush” was called everyone not in the middle would attempt to get through the playing zone without being captured. Many would be familiar with either version or a game very similar. Red Rover/ British Bulldog fit within the invasion game category and will be examined as this edition’s quality game.