Eenie Aye Over: Game Where You Throw a Ball Over a Roof
Eenie Aye Over
We enjoyed playing a game growing up that you may not have heard of before. “Eenie Aye Over” was played around an old corn crib or a shed with a peaked tin roof. Two teams lined up on either side of the shed. One person would yell “Eenie Aye Over” and throw a ball up and over the peak of the roof. The ball could roll down the roof or, if you could throw like Kenny, the ball would sail over without touching anything.
If you caught the ball on the other side before it hit the ground, then you could run around to the throwing side and try to hit someone on the other team with the ball (a little like dodge ball). If you missed the ball, then you would just yell “Eenie Aye Over” and throw it back. If you got hit by the ball, then you went to the other team and you got to throw the ball over the roof. The winning team eventually got all the players to their side.
If just two children were playing, then you got points. We gave points for where and how we caught the ball. Or on how many times in a row we could catch it before it hit the ground. We got points for hitting the other person. We subtracted points if we didn’t get the ball over the peak or if the ball ever hit the ground. We set the winning point total depending on how much time we had to play till we had to stop to do chores.
Old Corn Crib
Two Person Variation
Another version was just “Eenie Aye”. If just Sherry and I were playing, we’d both be on the same side of the shed. The object was to take turns throwing the ball as close to the peak as possible without it going over and seeing if the other could catch the ball before it hit the ground.
We had great fun playing “Eenie Aye” with a small Super Ball. That was the most challenging game as the ball would change course as it ricocheted off the seams in the roof. Of course, a Super Ball is easy to lose – all the more fun if you find it. Not so much if you don’t. That was the chance you took sometimes growing up on the farm.
