500: the outdoor game for gamer kids

Hey all,

I was at a church cookout a while ago, and saw some of my friends' kids playing a game that was just slightly familiar. I walked over because I was sure I recognized what they were playing, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Then, it hit me. They were playing a game called 500.

I was shocked that I'd forgotten 500. Sure, it had been years since I'd played, but that game was an old favorite from my childhood, right up there with Egyptian Rat Screw, Liar, and British Bulldog. As I watched, I realized that this game was a much more potent educational tool than I'd ever realized at the time.

For those who aren't familiar with the game, to play 500, one player is made "it". They usually have a football, but any kind of ball or even a frisbee will do the trick. The rest of the players cluster together and wait for the football to be thrown to them. The person who is "it", calls out a number, and whichever player catches the ball gains that many points. The goal is to be the first player to reach 500 points.

So far, the game is pretty simple, but it's the little touches of added complexity that really make this game shine. If a player goes over 500 points, they bust and go back to zero. Additionally, there are a few extra things that the person who is "it" can call out. If they call a number, followed by the phrase "dead or alive", it means that the ball is worth points to the player who either catches it, or is the first to pick it up off the ground. The "it" can also call out "mystery box" which means the players catching the ball don't know until they catch it what it's worth, and it might even be an automatic bust!

These additional rules create a fast and intuitive incentive system. A player might not want to catch the ball to avoid busting, but they might still want to swat it down to prevent other players gaining points. The person who is "it" has to learn to balance good and bad results in the mystery boxes so that players still try for them, and players learn quickly that trying to hide bad results in every mystery box makes the mystery box undesirable to the players.

Besides all of this, the free-form style of play means that players can sometimes intuitively create new rules and test out how they work in play. While it's not in the official rules, it's fairly common for players to quickly create different values for dead and alive. A player might call out "50 dead, 150 alive", and the other players can usually pick up on what's meant quickly and easily. Players also usually invent some variation of "grenade" rules, where the first player to touch the ball gets the points. This is usually to handicap taller players who are swatting down balls they don't want to catch as a way of controlling the field.

Through this type of play, young children can be introduced to elements of game design and incentive systems design that could open up whole worlds of inquiry and interest later in life. For this reason, 500 is truly an asset to any child lucky enough to get the chance to play.

What are some of your favorite games from your childhood? Are there games that taught you more than you realized at the time? Hop down to the comments if you'd like to share.

Happy Gaming, all.