Rules of the game

With spring officially underway, it's time to unplug the kids and get out of the house. Old-fashioned street games are a great, cheap way to do just that. Plus: “You can't replace the benefits when it comes to meeting new friends,” says Matt Levy, director of the documentary New York Street Games, out on DVD next week. Levy, who grew up playing street games in the Bronx, shared his favorites.

Stickball

Players: Two teams of 3-4 players each

Materials: Bouncing rubber ball, stick

Considered by Levy to be the most popular street game, stickball primarily follows the rules of baseball. Players hit the ball with a stick and run around designated bases (often car tires or manholes in the city). Stickball has two deviations to traditional baseball rules: players only get two swings at bat and fouls count as strikes.

Ring-o-leavio

Players: Two teams of 3-4 players

Materials: None

Described as an 'advanced game of hide and seek,' by Levy, ringoleavio pits hunters against the hunted. Hunters tap found hunted players and count to three to capture them. Captured players are sent to a designated 'jail' spot where members of their team can free them by making it to the jail and yelling, 'Home free!' The game ends when the entire hunted team is captured.

Stoopball

Players: 2-6

Materials: bouncing rubber all, stoop or curve

"[Stoopball] can be played off of any steps outside or curve on the side of a street," Levy says. Players agree on a point total to win, and take turns throwing the ball from the play line against the stoop and catching it. Every direct catch earns 10 points; catches caught on a bounce earn five points. Throws that hit the point of a stair or curve and are caught directly are worth 100 points. Players take turns until someone reaches the winning point total.

Skully

Players: 2 or more

Materials: Bottle caps, chalk, smooth playing surface

A game board, which consists of boxes surrounded by four trapezoids numbered 1 to 13, is drawn on a smooth surface. Players try to shoot their bottle cap into the number '1,' and continue progressively to box 13 and back. Once players complete this sequence, they become killers and can eliminate remaining players by hitting their bottle cap three times consecutively. Killers have free reign of the board and can use any numbered square during their turn; turns end when a player fails to get their cap into the next box. The last remaining player wins.