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The children's game Marco Polo (English pronunciation: /ˈmɑrkoʊ ˈpoʊloʊ/ ), also known as Mermaid on the rocks and Alligator, is a form of tag played in a swimming pool. It is named after the explorer Marco Polo.

One player is chosen as "It". This player closes his or her eyes and tries to tag the other players. They shout out "Marco" and the other players must respond by shouting "Polo", which "It" uses to try to acoustically locate them. If a player is tagged then that player becomes "It".

In a variant, if "It" thinks that someone has climbed out of the pool, he or she can shout "fish out of water," and if anyone is out of the water they become "It". If someone sits on the side of the pool with their legs in the water, "It" can call out "mermaid on the rocks," and that player becomes "It".

ORIGIN OF THE SWIMMING POOL GAME KNOWN AS “MARCO POLO”

The following is a passage from the book written by Marco Polo that describes the difficulty of traveling across the vast desert of Western China known as the Taklimakan. The word Taklimakan is translated from Mongolian as “desert from which one never returns.” The basis of the rules of the game “Marco Polo” was derived from this paragraph:

"'When a man is riding through this desert by night and for some reason -falling asleep or anything else -he gets separated from his companions and wants to rejoin them, he hears spirit voices talking to him as if they were his companions, sometimes even calling him by name. Often these voices lure him away from the path and he never finds it again, and many travelers have got lost and died because of this. Sometimes in the night travelers hear a noise like the clatter of a great company of riders away from the road; if they believe that these are some of their own company and head for the noise, they find themselves in deep trouble when daylight comes and they realize their mistake. There were some who, in crossing the desert, have been a host of men coming towards them and, suspecting that they were robbers, returning, they have gone hopelessly astray....Even by daylight men hear these spirit voices, and often you fancy you are listening to the strains of many instruments, especially drums, and the clash of arms. For this reason bands of travelers make a point of keeping very close together. Before they go to sleep they set up a sign pointing in the direction in which they have to travel, and round the necks of all their beasts they fasten little bells, so that by listening to the sound they may prevent them from straying off the path."

Marco Polo, Travels'

Harry Rutstein, Executive Director, Marco Polo Foundation, Inc. 1501 17th Avenue, Suite 1010 Seattle, WA 98122 www.MarcoPoloFound.org

References

1. ^ Bittarello, Maria Beatrice (2009). "Marco Polo". In Rodney P. Carlisle (ed.). Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society. SAGE. ISBN 1412966701.
2. Jeffrey, Phillip. "Chasing the Fugitive on Campus: Designing a Location-based Game for Collaborative Play". Proceedings of CGSA 2006 Symposium. Canadian Games Study Association. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
3. Smith, S.E. "What is the Game Marco Polo?". wiseGEEK. Retrieved 07 December 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

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