Leapfrog

For other meanings, see Leapfrogging (disambiguation).

Children playing leapfrog in a Harlem street, ca. 1930.

Leapfrog is a children's game in which players vault over each other's stooped backs. The first participant rests hands on knees and bends over, this is called giving a back.

The next player places hands on the first's back and leaps over by straddling legs wide apart on each side. On landing he stoops down and a third leaps over the first and second, and the fourth over all others successively, etcetera; the number of participants is not fixed.

When all the players are stooping, the last in the line begins leaping over all the others in turn.

There can also be variations, such as (both among the illustrations on these links to Smugmug [link] & [link])
* doing a similar trick on skis
* a Japanese version in which one 'leaps' while on the backs of the other players who stoop close enough to form a continuous carpet of human backs
* leap frog originated on winding way. the beginning distance was from one mailbox to another 4 houses down. the last stretch of the race may be run.

Leapfrog

See also