Traditional Children's Games from Mexico: El Avión - Hopscotch

Avión (Bebe Leche) - Hopscotch

Celso Nazario Rojas Mendez from Mexico

Avión is a tradicional game in Mexico which can be played by children of all ages. This game is fun when there are a lot of players.

Playing Avión or Hopscotch
Photo from Valdemar
A child in Mexico playing Avión in a school courtyard.

Number of players
To play the game of Avión, you need at least 2 or 3 players.

What you need
You need chalk, a piece of coal, or a white stone to draw a grid in the courtyard or on the ground. You also need a ball of paper, a small rag or a small stone.

How the game is played
You have to draw ten squares and a circle to form an airplane shape. That is why the game is called Avión.

Demonstrating how to play Avión
Photo: Sandy Peters
Demonstrating how to play the game.

After you draw the airplane, the first player throws a paper, rag, or stone in the first square.

Then he hops in all the hopscotch squares to the circle and hops back and picks up the paper.

The second player throws the paper in the second square. He hops in all the squares to the circle. Then he hops back and picks up his paper.

Each player takes a turn. When they are playing, they must not step on a line.

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