How to play
- Participants
- We suggest 6–12 participants, including two catchers.
- Space
- An orchard or stand of trees with inspected, unobstructed routes between them.
- Equipment
- Agreed trees serving as safe places
- Starting formation
- The squirrels stand by trees. Two catchers wait between the safe places.
- Choose two catchers and show everyone which trees belong to the playing area.
- Squirrels choose when to move from one tree to another. A squirrel standing by a tree cannot be tagged.
- Catchers try to tag a squirrel by hand only while it is crossing. On reaching another tree, it is safe again.
- In the option used here, a caught squirrel leaves the round and waits in an agreed place. Remember the first two caught.
- Once all squirrels are caught, the first two caught become the new catchers. Everyone returns for the next round.
Ending: The round ends when every squirrel has been caught. The first two caught lead the next round as catchers.
Documented version: The source allows a prior choice: caught squirrels leave or help the catchers. This page consistently uses the leave-the-round option.
Names and variants
Voverių gaudymas
Before the first crossing
Inspect the routes and agree what reaching a tree means: stop beside it, without climbing it. Everyone needs to recognise the same safe places.
What we do not add
Kudirka’s account gives no time limit for staying at a tree. We do not present a countdown as a traditional rule; if play stalls, the facilitator can pause for discussion.