British Bulldog Rules: How The Game Worked And Why It Was Banned

One person in the middle, everyone else at one end, and a run across open ground that nobody who played it has forgotten.

Here's how it worked, how it varied, and the honest reason it disappeared from most playgrounds.

The rules

• Mark two lines at opposite ends of the space - two walls, two lines of coats, two painted lines.
• Everyone stands behind one line. One player, the bulldog, stands in the middle.
• The bulldog calls 'British Bulldog' - or 'one, two, three, British Bulldog' - and everyone must run to the far line.
• Anyone caught by the bulldog joins them in the middle for the next round.
• Rounds continue until one runner is left. That person is the bulldog for the next game.
• You may not stay behind the line. Anyone who refuses to run is counted as caught.

What counted as a catch

• The gentlest version: a two-handed tag, both hands on the runner at once.
• The common version: lift the runner clear of the ground, or hold them long enough to shout 'British Bulldog' three times.
• The rough version: wrestle them to the floor. This is the version that ended the game.
• Some schools required the catcher to say the caught player's name.
• Bulldogs in the middle could not cross either end line, which was the only real protection runners had.

Variations and other names

• Red rover, though strictly that's a different game with a linked chain and a called name.
• Bullrush or bull rush - the New Zealand and Australian name.
• Cats and mice, or octopus, the shallow-water and PE-lesson version.
• Chain bulldog: caught players link arms with the bulldog, forming a growing wall.
• Sticky bulldog, where caught players must stand still and tag from where they froze - much safer and just as good.

Why schools banned it

• Broken wrists and collarbones, mostly. A game where the aim is to physically stop a running child on tarmac has an obvious problem.
• Size mismatch: a year six bulldog catching a year three runner is not a fair collision.
• It ran on unstructured lunchtimes with one supervisor for a hundred children.
• Most bans came in through the nineties, school by school, rather than by any national rule.
• Nobody banned the game itself. Schools banned the lifting and tackling, and the game died without them.

Safer versions worth playing

• Tag-only bulldog: a one-handed touch on the back, no holding, no lifting.
• Sticky bulldog: caught players freeze where they were caught and tag from standing.
• Bib bulldog: runners wear a rugby tag belt, and pulling the tag counts as a catch.
• Grass or sand only, never tarmac.
• Group by size - two games, older and younger, rather than one mixed free for all.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• Tag-only or tag belts, never lifting.
• Grass, never tarmac.
• Split by age or it isn't a fair game.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the rules of British Bulldog?

One player stands in the middle between two lines. When they call 'British Bulldog', everyone runs from one line to the other. Anyone caught joins the middle for the next round, and the last runner left becomes the next bulldog.

Why was British Bulldog banned in schools?

Because the traditional catch involved lifting or wrestling a running child to the ground, usually on tarmac, with big size mismatches and little supervision. Broken wrists and collarbones were common, and schools banned it individually through the nineties.

How do you play British Bulldog safely?

Use a one-handed tag or rugby tag belts instead of lifting, play sticky bulldog where caught players freeze and tag from standing, keep it on grass, and split older and younger children into separate games.

What's the difference between British Bulldog and red rover?

In British Bulldog everyone runs at once and the bulldog catches whoever they can. In red rover, a linked chain calls one named player over, and that player tries to break through the chain.

Do you sell games or play equipment?

No - we make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. Every game here needs a wall, a ball, a piece of chalk or nothing at all, and the only products on this page are our own cards.