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Featured Game: Cat's Cradle

Where Did String Games Come From?

No one really knows where string games like Cats Cradle came from. We do know that they have been around for thousands of years and were played by native people from all over the world.

What Are String Games Used For?

They have been used for different reasons. In ancient times there were no radios, TVs, movie theatres or malls so people had to invent games to occupy their time. Can you imagine sitting in a cave on a rainy day with nothing to do? What would you do? You would probably play a string game.

We also know that for ancient aboriginal women in Australia, the “Cats Cradle” string game had a connection to their periods. In many tribes, women were often either forced to go off by themselves away from the rest of the tribe while they were having their periods or perhaps some of them wanted to go off by themselves to have a break from all the work they had to do. Many tribes had what they called menstrual huts where only women were allowed. Men were afraid to go into them, as they believed women’s periods had strong power. Women would go to the huts when they were having their period and pass the time sitting, fixing each others hair, sewing clothing, weaving, cooking, telling stories and teaching the younger women how to do all of these things. They also played games together, like the string games.

String games are still loads of fun. When I was researching the history of string games I brought some string game books home. My husband, sons, daughters and grandchildren all went nuts over them. It brought back memories for the older ones as they had played them as children and it introduced the children to a new game.

Men and women, boys and girls all love to play string games.

Get yourself a string that is about 40” long, tie the two ends together and you're ready to start making string figures. I’ll even bet your parents or grandparents might remember how to do some of the classic string games like “Cat’s Cradle” or “Jacob's Ladder” so make a few extra strings for them, too. Check out the cool string game links we have listed below:

String Clubs*

International String Figure Association

String Instructions and Examples*

Favorite String Figures

Kid's Guide to Easy String Figures

How to Do Cat's Cradle

Basic String Figures

String Figures from Around the World

About String Figures

String Stores (Parental support required)*

String Figure Store

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