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                Hopscotch

The playground game hopscotch is a game that can be played solo or with others. Depending on how you play the game is all relevant towards the setup procedure. Before playing hopscotch, there must be a certain level of things covered. The criteria of where the game is played, what item is being used as a tossing tool, and what variation of the hopscotch board being used are all things that need to take place. Once all of the criteria of hopscotch have been set up, the game can now start.

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The first player starts the game by simply tossing the tossing tool on the square labelled with the number “1”. The player then skips over that square by jumping over the square to the square labelled “2”. To proceed from the first jump, the player only steps on independent squares with one foot while the foot other is lifted. If there are squares side by side of each other, then the player uses both feet corresponding to the layout. The left foot of the player has to be on the left square and vice versa.

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Once the player reaches the end of the board, they must turn around by jumping and landing again on the last square (or squares if side by side). After they have successfully managed to turn around, the player must come back through the board. On the way back, the player must stop right before the square with the tossing tool and pick the tool up. Once the tossing tool is recovered, the player must step back onto the square where the tool was and complete the sequence.

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A player’s turn is complete when they have successfully landed each square with their feet and recovered the tossing tool on their come back. The players may not touch the edge of the squares or they forfeit their turn to the next player. Throughout the entirety of a player’s turn; what are the meaningful actions a player has? To answer this, we must look at what the player has as choices. To delve even deeper into player choices, the rules may be our only reference.

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One of the rules in hopscotch for a player states that for every independent square, they must alternate between their feet. What this means is on the player’s choice for their first independent square, they must use either their left or right foot. Then for the next independent square they come across, the player must use their other foot and alternate thereafter again for every independent square. The choice of which foot to use for the first independent square is a meaningful action because the player has the decision to determine which foot to use as the start. If the last square in the hopscotch board is an independent square, then the turnaround completion must be done with alternating the players left or right foot. Depending on which foot the player has on the last square, they must turn around by landing on the opposite foot.

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If the tossing tool is on a square that is beside another square, then the player must only touch the square that does not have the tool unless the tool is recovered. This means that the player must use the square that does not have the tossing tool on it as an independent square. The meaningful decision on the foot placement is relevant to the player’s start.

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Another meaningful action a player has is the decision on picking up the tossing tool. In order to pick up the tool, the player has the ability to adjust their position and adequately recover the tool. The player may not touch the border of the squares at all, nor can they fall over. This is crucial for the player to retrieve the tossing tool in order to complete their sequence. Decisive action of placement, balance, and skill are all meaningful actions upon retrieving the tossing tool.

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The last meaningful action a player has in hopscotch is making sure they successfully plant each foot on each square. This action is both involuntary and decisive because the player has to plant their feet on each square, but how they go about the sequence is decisive. The player has the opportunity to think carefully about their turn before they toss the tool or after the toss. The player’s decision to correctly follow a sequence is the success of the game.

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There are actions that have been stated in hopscotch like tossing, jumping, and retrieving. But those actions are mostly involuntary actions that the players must do; unlike the decisive actions which are the meaningful actions. The importance of understand meaningful actions is important because they separate involuntary actions from decisive actions. Decisive actions help players involve themselves in the game rather than simply tell themselves what they must do. In the game of hopscotch, your skill and plans are all meaningful actions to win the game.