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The player who is "]" must walk around the area 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!". By judging where the sounds are coming from, the player who is It tries to ] another player, who then becomes It. The player who is "]" must walk around the area 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!". By judging where the sounds are coming from, the player who is It tries to ] another player, who then becomes It.


There are other rules to this game, varying from region to region, such as ''fish out of water''. In this variant, as the It player swims around attempting to tag the other players, he or she may yell "fish out of water". If at that time there is someone out of the pool then that player becomes "It". The player who is the "fish out of water" must be entirely out of the water, with no body part in contact with the pool water. There are other rules to this game, varying from region to region, such as ''fish out of water''. In this variant, as the It player swims around attempting to tag the other players, he or she may yell "fish out of water". If at that time there is someone out of the pool then that player becomes "It". The player who is the "fish out of water" must be half way out of the water, or more.


There is a similar game, called "]," that takes place on dry ground. There is a similar game, called "]," that takes place on dry ground.


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 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. 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.

Revision as of 07:52, 16 December 2005

For other uses of the phrase Marco Polo, see the disambiguation page.

The children's game of Marco Polo is a form of tag played in a swimming pool or on an open space. The game is common to many different regions of the world.

The player who is "It" must walk around the area 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!". By judging where the sounds are coming from, the player who is It tries to tag another player, who then becomes It.

There are other rules to this game, varying from region to region, such as fish out of water. In this variant, as the It player swims around attempting to tag the other players, he or she may yell "fish out of water". If at that time there is someone out of the pool then that player becomes "It". The player who is the "fish out of water" must be half way out of the water, or more.

There is a similar game, called "blind man's bluff," that takes place on dry ground.

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.