Talk:Marco Polo (game)

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[edit] Bogus(?) Historical note

I deleted this paragraph, it looked like vandalism:

The historical significance of this game relates back to a time when Marco Polo (age 17) was travelling to China with his father and uncle on their way to see the Great Kublai Khan. Marco was very tired and he fell asleep on his horse. His horse must have sensed this and slowed down dropping back from the caravan. When Marco Polo awoke he did not see his family. He began to hear voices in the desert thinking it was the caravan calling for him. He was later found it was not his family calling: he was hallucinating.

Jorge Stolfi 21:39, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

That's partially true, though most of it is not.

Marco Polo was an explorer from china and the game gets its name was him...

That doesn't look like vandalism to me. What do you think vandalism is? It may or may not be correct, but it looks like a good faith edit to me. I came here looking for just such a historical note. How does the game relate to the person???? 24.254.87.52 05:10, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

See information under The Explorer on this page for information on how the game relates to the person.

Grichard56 13:38, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How is the Game Played?

The game is played by three or more people. At any time there is one distinguished player, "It", who must usually wait a certain number of seconds before swimming around the pool with his or her eyes closed, attempting to tag the other players. The "It" player can only sense where the other players are by sound, but may call out "Marco!", at which point all the other players are required to yell "Polo!". When the "It" player succeeds in tagging another player, the latter becomes "It".

There are a few common minor variations. Fish-out-of-water allows the non-It players to get out of the pool (thus protecting themselves from being tagged by the water-bound "It"), however, should "It" call "fish out of water" while some one is out of the pool, that person becomes "It". If there is more than one person out of the water, the person who is "It" has the choice of picking anyone out of water to become "It". If "It" should call fish-out-of-water when nobody is out of the pool, "It" must redo the beforehand count.

"Mermaid on rocks" is a variant itself of fish-out-of-water. This is when a person is sitting on the ledge of the pool with their legs in but their body is out. When the "it" person calls mermaid on rocks, and someone is doing this, they are it.

Alligator Eyes allows "It" to call out "alligator eyes" or "submarine" and then swim underwater with eyes open for one breath. Usually, "It" is limited to one use of alligator eyes. Other variations on this rule allow "It" to look around underwater but not to move until he or she is above water with eyes closed once again. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Grichard56 (talk • contribs) 15:20, 28 September 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Relation to Sharks and Minnows

I just created an article for Sharks and Minnows, but as far as I have always known the rules of play of that game, I don't see any similarity to Marco Polo. Can someone please enlighten to this? --Freedomlives 21:38, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Australia?

For what its worth I had never heard of this game in Australia until I saw it in a Simpsons episode. Are we sure it's popular in Australia? Avalon 13:15, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

  • I have never heard of it until I saw it in a Sopranos episode and nobody I know or have spoken too has heard of it. I'm certain there are other pool games here in Australia but nothing like this. SM247My Talk 22:43, 20 October 2006 (UTC)


I'm Australian and can remember playing Marco Polo with my friends in pools when we were kids. We playing it whenever we had the chance. (Through I've never heard of the "mermaid-on-the-rocks" or being able to look uderwater rules.)

It is quite popular in New Zealand, but we usually play it blindfolded (like a version of Blind Man's Bluff) and on the ground. I hadn't heard of the pool version before. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.153.44.14 (talk) 07:11, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] The Explorer

WHAT DOES MARCO POLO HAVE TO DO WITH THE GAME MARCO POLO? The above was placed on the article page, unsigned, on 30 Sep 2006 (GMT). Avalon 20:30, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps telling the origin of the game will clear this up. The name of the game is not directly related to the explorer.

In the early 1960's my family lived in northern Indiana.I had a younger brother named Steve. When he was little his eyes looked oriental and his skin tone looked Asian. One of the neighbors that lived behind us affectionately called him Chinese Boy. Later another brother, Mark, received the nickname Marco Polo from this same neighbor. Probably in keeping with the Asian theme.

The game of Marco Polo did not initially start out as Marco Polo. It started out as a game of blind man tag in our backyard pool. The calling of "Marco" and "Polo" evolved out of the times Mark (Marco) was it.

The game was initially played as it is played today. However, as we got older the game evolved slightly with "new" rules. Such as not having to be in the pool as long as an arm or leg was still in, or even later when you could be totally out of the water as long as you were within reach of the pool. Nobody ever cheated or peeked. From what I have read, these variations also pickup new game names even though the game is basically the same game.

I have had people question this claim to the origin of the game of Marco Polo. I do not know how I can prove this other than I was there. I would be very surprised if you can find any mention of the game in any media prior to the early 1960's.

Grichard56 13:30, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

As it turns out the game as I know it got it's name from a boat build in 1957 in Newport Beach, California in the United States. It was about 30 years later that my family and I were sailing abord the ketch Marco Polo in Baja Califonia that we met the orignal owners son. He claimed he and his friends created the game at the Newport Beach and Tennis Club in the early 60's. They were looking for a word to use and the name of the name of his father's boat the Marco Polo was used for this game of blind mans bluff.

The Newporters themselves were built by Ackerman Boats in an around the late 50s to early 60s. A total of about 120 were built. A number were sold to Hollywood movie stars, who used the boats to sail to Catalinia Island and a number of the other off shore islands off the California coast.

Sikedward (talk) 01:35, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

The game was invented by James J. Kiernan, a 9 year-old boy in Howard Beach, Queens, New York, in his 3-foot-deep backyard swimming pool. In the summer of 1957, James was playing with a ball with his brother and a friend. His father, James J. Kiernan, Sr., came outside and they started a game of catch between the father, outside the pool, and the kids, swimming in the pool. James Sr. asked the children, "Why don't you play polo with the ball?" James Jr., not knowing what the game of water polo was, assumed that his father was referencing Marco Polo. James Jr. happened to have studied Marco Polo in school that past school year and asked his father, "You mean Marco Polo?" His father, always sarcastic, responded, "Yeah, Marco Polo."

James, Jr. and his friends then began to jump around the pool shouting "Marco!" "Polo!" until James, Jr. decided to close his eyes and yell out, "Marco," while feeling his way through the water and trying to find his friends who were shouting, "Polo."

During the summer of 1957 and onward, the children of Howard Beach would play Marco Polo in the neighborhood pools and at Rockaway Beach where the game spread quickly among other New York City children.


I believe that I invented the game in the early 60's at Fort Washington Swim club, a suburb of Philadelphia. At the time I was 12, and my younger brother (age 10) was recovering from a benign brain tumor. While not fatal, this tumor did compress the optic nerve, causing Marc to become nearly (and legally) blind.

We were playing water tag at the swim club, and Marc couldn't play with us since he couldn't find us. I would call out his name and not move until he was close enough to lunge. He would repeat my name (Paul) to indicate that he hadn't yet located me. After a while, the other kids playing tag got the idea of how we were helping Marc, and the formal rule that "it" had to shut his/her eyes was born (in order to make life fair)

as a former boy scout, this is the truth

Paul

The origin of the game of Marco Polo cannot be verified. However, it is believed that the game traces the orgins of its name back to famous explorer Marco Polo. The legend is that when arriving on new lands he would cry out, "Marco," and if the indigenous peoples answered back with, "Polo," he then knew they were friendly. [citation needed]

I found this on the Article page and a citation is needed. --Grichard56 (talk) 11:51, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Bats/moths

I have deleted the following paragraph as I live in the U.K and have never come across the game of Bats/moths. I saw marco/polo being shouted in the swimming pools of the characters in seperate episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy and had no idea what they were doing.

similar game to be found in some regions of the UK is "Bat/Moth". This can be played in swimming pools or on land, as a large group, with three or four contestants making the bats and moths, with the remainder forming a circle barrier to prevent leaving the game. The game is not widely played. In fact, this may not be played anywhere at all.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo_%28game%29" Furthermore, the last sentence of this paragraph in my opinion suffers from sloppy editing, and makes the entire thing useless

Although "Bat/Moth" may exist (Though I've never heard of it and I'm from England) it is not the same as Marco Polo, which is pretty comon in Egland MJN SEIFER

[edit] please delete the UK information from the page

im also born and bred in london and still live in the uk, and now i have read this page, i remember seeing many programs with this being shown. ive never known marco popo being played in any pool. and when ive seen it on the tv ive never understood what they were doing until now. ive asked people younger and older about this and they dont know anything about this game. im removing the uk information because its wrong.

I have Played this as a child, and I have lived in England all my life. ( 161.51.11.2 )


Maybe It depends what part of England your from? Because where I'm from it was a very comon game to play, and I have asked people and they played it.

Perhaps chaning "UK" to "Parts of England" or something similar would work MJN SEIFER 18:32, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

A lot less people in UK have their own swimming pools and this is not that easy in public swimming pools. Therfore I hadn't heard of it unti saw it on American import TV. (Jon, London UK) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.164.132.240 (talk) 14:28, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

I'm from the North East of England and I've never heard of it (except on American cartoons). MathiasFox (talk) 09:08, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Speedo Torpedo

Near to none of the rules are referenced and yet you delete this one? Just because it seems like vandalism does not necessarily make it so. Unless you grew up in the mid-west, please do not judge my helpful edits. I put it back up, I will try to find a source.

I played this game with my cousins many a summer growing up in Fort Wayne. I can assure you it's real, and yet, in retrospect, somewhat embarrassing (hence the anonymity of this post). 88.224.70.169 10:46, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Age Range?

I've never played this game before, but I don't seem to get why someone put an age limit on it. I understand that it can't be played by kids under 4, but not by people over the age of 18? Us adults do play kiddy games sometimes ;)

Tommyhaych 08:43, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. I first saw this game this summer in California, and it was played by both many kids and a few adults.

Kdammers 01:08, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Only by hearing - wrong

"The 'It' player can only sense where the other players are by sound, but may call out 'Marco!'" - Not so. In a swimming pool, the motion of the water can be used as a great detector. Kdammers 01:08, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] UK?

I think I'd support the person above who suggested that Marco Polo was regionally patchy in Britain; I'm British and had never even heard of it until seeing it on US TV programmes, and even then it took a while to work out what was going on. I've still never once seen it played in the UK. I can't help noticing that every entry in the "Media references" section is American, which really does not help claims to internationalism. (Incidentally, that "Media references" section is also far too long - we don't have to reference every single usage!) Anyway, I would suggest at the very least moving the United States to be the first country mentioned (before the UK) since it does seem to be much more popular there than anywhere else. Loganberry (Talk) 04:37, 11 March 2008 (UTC)