British Bulldog

British Bulldog may refer to:

See also

British Bulldog (game)

British Bulldog (also octopus, seaweed, bullies, bullrush, Russian bulldog, bulldogs charge, or simply bulldogs) is a tag-based game, of which red rover and cocky laura are descendants.

Most commonly one or two players – though this number may be higher in large spaces – are selected to play the parts of the "bulldogs". The bulldogs stand in the middle of the play area. All remaining players stand at one end of the area (home). The aim of the game is to run from one end of the field of play to the other, without being caught by the bulldogs. When a player is caught, they become a bulldog themselves. The winner is the last player or players 'free'.

The play area is usually a large hall or large area of a playing field, though there is no definition of the size of the pitch nor the number of players as long as there is enough space for the players to manoeuvre and enough players to have fun.

It is played mainly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other Commonwealth countries by children at school. It was originated in Great Britain. The game is also known to have been played, often on asphalt recess yards, by schoolchildren in Rhode Island in the 1960s, under the name "cock-a-rooster." The game is characterised by its physicality often being regarded as violent leading it to be banned from many schools, although this trend is now being reversed.