The short answer
Every common marking supports far more than one game. A 100 square becomes a jumping, counting and tag game; a compass becomes a direction relay; a target becomes a throwing and scoring game. Teach lunchtime staff three games per marking and the same playground gets used twice as much.
On this page
Markings only earn their cost if children play on them. The most common complaint from schools is not that markings wear out but that, after the first month, half of them sit empty. The fix is cheap: give children and staff more games to play on each one.
Why markings go unused
Children default to what they know. If the only game anyone knows on a 100 square is “jump on the numbers”, it gets boring fast. Lunchtime supervisors are often the key: a few games each, taught in a staff briefing, change how the whole playground is used.
Games for traditional markings
Hopscotch
- Classic hopscotch. Throw a marker, hop over that square, pick it up on the way back.
- Maths hopscotch. Call out a sum; the child hops to the answer.
- Reverse hopscotch. Start at the top and hop backwards to 1, for balance.
Snakes and ladders
- Life-size game. Children are the counters; a large foam dice is all you need.
- Team race. Two teams, one dice each, first to 100 wins.
- Number hunt. Call a number; first to stand on it scores.
Target
- Beanbag scoring. Points by ring; add up the score.
- Closest wins. Like boules, with beanbags.
- Times-table target. Each ring is worth a different multiple.
Compass
- Direction relay. Call “north-east”; teams send a runner to that point.
- Simon says compass. Turn to face the direction called; out if wrong.
- Treasure trail. Directions and paces lead to a hidden object.
Games for learning markings
100 square
- Counting in steps. Jump in twos, fives or tens; the class checks each landing.
- Number tag. Taggers can only step on odd numbers; runners on even.
- Find the pattern. One child stands on a number, the next must stand ten more.
These link straight to the counting and place value work in the maths curriculum. More ideas on our educational markings page.
Alphabet snake
- Initial sound hop. Call a word; children jump to its first letter.
- Spell it out. Walk the letters of a spelling word in order.
- Alphabet race. Two children start at A and Z and meet in the middle.
Map
- Where in the UK? Call a city or river; first to stand on it scores.
- Journey game. Walk a route from one place to another, naming what you cross.
Running and active games
Running lane
- Daily Mile laps. Count laps for fifteen minutes.
- Pace partners. Pairs run together, then swap speeds.
- Relay. Teams spread round the loop and pass a baton.
Agility trail
- Follow my leader. One child leads a different way across each piece.
- Timed run. Personal bests, not races against each other.
Games for court lines
Court lines are not only for matches:
- Line tag. Everyone, including taggers, can only move along lines.
- Corners. Four corners of the court, a caller, and anyone in the called corner is out.
- Port and starboard. Sides of the court become ship directions.
Making games stick
- Put a laminated game card for each marking in the lunchtime staff room.
- Teach two new games a half-term in assembly or PE.
- Let older pupils run games for younger ones as play leaders.
- Keep a box of beanbags, a big foam dice and chalk by the door.
The HSE’s statement on children’s play is a useful reminder that play involving some challenge and movement is worth having; markings are one of the lowest-risk ways to give children that.
If you need more markings
If the games above keep running into the limits of what is on your playground, look at gaps in the mix: a learning marking, a running lane, or a quiet game such as a chessboard. The price estimator shows what each would add, and the form below sends your brief to a school playground markings contractor near you.