How to play
- Participants
- 10 or more players, as specified in the source.
- Space
- A level open area where the whole line can turn.
- Equipment
- No equipment
- Starting formation
- The geese stand in single file, holding the back or waist of the player ahead. The gander leads; the wolf waits a little distance away.
- The gander brings the line to the wolf and asks what he is doing, what he will cook and where he will find a goose.
- The wolf explains that he is making a fire and plans to take a goose from this flock. Retell this exchange in your own words.
- The geese show one foot in turn. The wolf rejects each until the last goose shows a foot; that is the cue for the chase.
- The wolf tries to catch the last goose. The gander spreads his arms to block the route while the whole line moves together.
- The caught goose becomes the wolf. The previous wolf joins the geese, the line reforms and play begins again.
Ending: Each chase ends when the last goose is caught. This variant does not require the entire flock to be captured.
Documented version: Kudirka’s no. 4, Žąselių ganymas, attributed to Linkuva. It differs from versions ending in wrestling between wolf and gander.
Names and variants
Vilkas ir žąsys, Žąselių ganymas
Moving together
Walk through the first round so the end of the line can adjust. If the line breaks, the facilitator can pause and reform it; this is an organisational recommendation.
Why two titles?
The page title identifies the wolf-and-geese game; the publication title identifies the particular Linkuva form used here. Rules from other local versions have not been added.