British Bulldogs (game) - Rules

Rules

As is usual with games, the particular rules applied vary from location to location, but with the same principle. The playing area consists of a main playing area, with two 'home' areas on opposing sides (similar to the touchdown areas used in rugby or American football). The home areas are the width of the playing area and are usually marked by a line or some other marker.

Each game of bulldogs consists of a sequence of rounds, and it is usual to play a number of games back-to-back with different bulldogs each time. The game is initiated with a single player (or sometimes two or more players) selection may be determined by various means, but a common one is by all players standing in a circle with their legs apart, and a tennis ball is bounced in the centre. Whoever's legs the ball goes through is "it". The objective for the non-bulldog players is to run from one home area to the other whilst avoiding the bulldogs in the middle.

Each round is usually initiated by the bulldogs chanting and goading, often, one of the bulldogs names a player to be the first to attempt the run from one end to another, and the bulldogs then attempt to 'catch' the player. As players are caught and turned into bulldogs if they are clung to for the duration of the bulldog exclaiming, "British bulldog; one, two, three!" — having not reached the other side. Another version requires the player's forward progress to be halted (for several seconds), for as long as the player is moving toward the goal he/she is not 'caught'. If the player successfully enters the opposing home area without being caught, they are considered 'safe' and may not be caught by the bulldogs. Players are also safe while they remain in their original home area, although there are sometimes rules for how long they may remain there. If they are caught, they become a bulldog themselves. Once the player has reached home or been caught, all the other non-bulldog players must immediately attempt to cross the playing area themselves, with the same rules applying (this period of the game sometimes being called a 'rush', 'bullrush' or 'stampede'). The bulldogs may catch any number of players in a single rush, all of whom become bulldogs. The round is then repeated in the opposite direction until all players have become bulldogs.