Knock Down Ginger
For 1 or more players
Knock Down Ginger and it's alternative named variations has been played since there were front doors to play it on. Usually carried out in the hours of darkness, the aim is to ring a doorbell or knock loudly on a door, as though very urgent, and run away as fast as possible.
To make this game even more exciting you can play variations such as after knocking you hide as close to the door as possible, in shrubs or behind a tree, behind the owners gate or just around the corner.
The test comes when you try a second time on the same door, giving the owner a few moments to settle down in front of their TV, the quicker you do this the more exciting it can be.
See also Knock'N'Run for more...
ALTERNATIVE RULES
Posted by Chris from Surrey - England
Knock on the door. Don't run away. Ask for a glass of water. You can make up stories if the occupant needs convincing. If they give you a galss of water then ask for a biscuit. If you get that ask for more until they get annoyed and close the door on you. The more you get the better your score. You are not allowed to go in and must remain on the doorstep eating and drinking. Years after I used to play it a kid came to the door and did the same thing. I couldn't believe it. We kept it up while his friends watch with disbelief from someones garden across the road. His name was Wayne I think.
Posted by Anon
Knock on the door and stand in the garden as if you were gnomes and stay still, and the first person to run has to knock on the next door
Posted by Anon
Tie fishing line to the knocker run and hide and pull the line and watch the person come out then pull it again if you dare.
You can tie three knockers at a time and hide then pull so three doors knock at the same time.
Posted by David - Essex
And the perpetual motion version where you tie two knockers together and knock on the first door, when they close their door the other knocker knocks ad infinitum.
ALTERNATIVE RULES
Posted by: charlz
Tie cotton or fishing rope to a door knocker and hide behind the car or bush and pull about 15 times and they come to the door like "wtf" and your sitting there laughing your head off. and when they shut the door do it again!
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Cherry Knocking
Ding Dong Ditch
Doorbell Ditch
Knock and Nash - (Nash is north England slang for run)
Knock'N'Run more...
Knock and Run
knock a door run
Nicky-Knicky Nine-Doors - (From Canada)
Nicky-Knocky Nine-Doors
Nicky Knocky Hide Door
Thunder and Lightning
Knocky ido - Posted by Lee Horsman from Middlesborough
Rat-atat-Ginger - Posted by Andy Moore from Wales
Chap door Runaway - Posted by Phil Dawson from Scotland
knick-knock
klingelputz - Germany
Nick-nack - Cathal from Dublin
Bobby knocking
Belletje trek (Flemish) Posted by: edmee boyen
Cotton knocking Posted by: charlz
Knick Knock Nanny Posted by: Tony
Postman's Knock (Australian) Posted by: Catherine
Knock Knock Ginger
ORIGINS
The origin of knock down ginger came from council estates because all the doors were stained a ginger colour, hence knock down ginger. Posted by: richard hicks
Do you have other ideas regarding the origins of this game? Please post them using the form on the right. Thank you.
Knock Down Ginger and it's alternative named variations has been played since there were front doors to play it on. Usually carried out in the hours of darkness, the aim is to ring a doorbell or knock loudly on a door, as though very urgent, and run away as fast as possible.
To make this game even more exciting you can play variations such as after knocking you hide as close to the door as possible, in shrubs or behind a tree, behind the owners gate or just around the corner.
The test comes when you try a second time on the same door, giving the owner a few moments to settle down in front of their TV, the quicker you do this the more exciting it can be.
See also Knock'N'Run for more...
ALTERNATIVE RULES
Posted by Chris from Surrey - England
Knock on the door. Don't run away. Ask for a glass of water. You can make up stories if the occupant needs convincing. If they give you a galss of water then ask for a biscuit. If you get that ask for more until they get annoyed and close the door on you. The more you get the better your score. You are not allowed to go in and must remain on the doorstep eating and drinking. Years after I used to play it a kid came to the door and did the same thing. I couldn't believe it. We kept it up while his friends watch with disbelief from someones garden across the road. His name was Wayne I think.
Posted by Anon
Knock on the door and stand in the garden as if you were gnomes and stay still, and the first person to run has to knock on the next door
Posted by Anon
Tie fishing line to the knocker run and hide and pull the line and watch the person come out then pull it again if you dare.
You can tie three knockers at a time and hide then pull so three doors knock at the same time.
Posted by David - Essex
And the perpetual motion version where you tie two knockers together and knock on the first door, when they close their door the other knocker knocks ad infinitum.
ALTERNATIVE RULES
Posted by: charlz
Tie cotton or fishing rope to a door knocker and hide behind the car or bush and pull about 15 times and they come to the door like "wtf" and your sitting there laughing your head off. and when they shut the door do it again!
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Cherry Knocking
Ding Dong Ditch
Doorbell Ditch
Knock and Nash - (Nash is north England slang for run)
Knock'N'Run more...
Knock and Run
knock a door run
Nicky-Knicky Nine-Doors - (From Canada)
Nicky-Knocky Nine-Doors
Nicky Knocky Hide Door
Thunder and Lightning
Knocky ido - Posted by Lee Horsman from Middlesborough
Rat-atat-Ginger - Posted by Andy Moore from Wales
Chap door Runaway - Posted by Phil Dawson from Scotland
knick-knock
klingelputz - Germany
Nick-nack - Cathal from Dublin
Bobby knocking
Belletje trek (Flemish) Posted by: edmee boyen
Cotton knocking Posted by: charlz
Knick Knock Nanny Posted by: Tony
Postman's Knock (Australian) Posted by: Catherine
Knock Knock Ginger
ORIGINS
The origin of knock down ginger came from council estates because all the doors were stained a ginger colour, hence knock down ginger. Posted by: richard hicks
Do you have other ideas regarding the origins of this game? Please post them using the form on the right. Thank you.
COMMENTS
| Laura from Vancouver Canada |  |
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| I am a Canadian and told my British husband that when I was a kid we used to play Nicky Nicky Nine Door. He said, "you mean Knock Down Ginger." We then bantered back and forth whose mother, Nan, and so on, played which game and what the rightful name is. So we decided to google it, and this is what we found. We were both right! Peace again. My husband loved to see the names of all these British games here. We'll teach them to our kids, eh? =) |
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27 Oct 16:32:12 |
Ben Form Leeds England | |
| I am from Leeds, and am glad to see bobby knocking on the list, i came onto the site to see if it had an explantion why it was so named, but can only imagine as bobby (policeman) always knock hard and loud?? possibly?? |
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06 Feb 12:09:05 |
belinda | |
| A name to add to your alternative names listing is Ring-a-bell-scoosh (no idea how you spell it though) |
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21 Mar 11:28:23 |
chloe | |
| knok down ginger is wicked i played it lots of timesand evryone put a string and tied it on a tree and the other half on the door and get like a jug tie it tiet so when he opend the door whatevr you ut in the jug it go on th people how opend he door . DONT FORGET TO MAKE SURE THERE IN AND DONT CATCH YOU . hi |
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13 Apr 18:21:55 |
james elson | |
| this game is also callede red apple |
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21 Apr 10:40:40 |
Andy Sword | |
| I'm from Dundee, Scotland. As a kid, we called this game 'chickenelly.' Maybe because after you chapped the door, you'd run like a spooked chicken! Or perhaps because any child refusing to play was the chickenelly. |
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29 May 23:09:04 |
jj Koolay | |
| i think knock down ginger is a great game but you shouldn't play that game because its a bad game for people because they mite fall over on there faces. jj Koolay |
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11 Jul 09:45:13 |
Ryan | |
| Anyone doing this stupidity at my door will be shot. Little chavvy bastards. |
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11 Jul 10:26:18 |
Anon | |
| Ryan sounds a right dick, if we only knew where he lived we would play this game almost every night until he shot himself. When playing this game I would recommend wearing a kevlar jacket in case dicks like this Ryan actually have firearms or knives and can't take a joke. |
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17 Aug 15:14:19 |
Chris Jubb | |
| We played this prank long before "Ginger doorways on Council Estates" ... my father admitted to playing ... knock down Ginger ... The effort not to laugh when you were hiding close by was side splitting! |
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24 Aug 22:43:45 |
Andy | |
| Knock down ginger does seem to be the most common known. However, on our estate in the East of England it was known as 'Cherry Knocking' and glad to see it mentioned, but on the neighbouring estate where my uncle lived, it was known as 'tip-it and run.' Was great fun though, whatever it was called :) |
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22 Mar 20:30:17 |
Essex gal | |
| knock down ginger was ma fave game eva, i lived and still living on a council estate in essex and we call it "knock-down-ginger" the best game ever, I dont think you people really could tie things to trees nd put jugs on stuff on doors, a bit of an exageration maybe??? i think so. :) xxx |
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14 Apr 10:22:40 |
FOZZuk | |
| I lived in central hull,and we called it knock "off" ginger, just the slight variation. |
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20 Apr 21:44:54 |
Elizabeth | |
| We called it 'Knock and Bolt'. 'Bolt' being slang for 'run' I live in Buckinghamshire, England |
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02 May 09:01:56 |
Ellis | |
| Yeah Ryan, fuck you I play this all the time and hope to one day knock on yours, and anyways If you do shoot a kid then your just wrong. I play this alone so yeah I stand alone as a bastard to you not a Chav. |
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24 May 07:57:35 |
Adrian Rogers | |
| Loved this game. It's great thinking back on all the things we used to get up to. Although we were probably annoying little pests to the homeowners, at least we weren't hurting anybody or taking drugs. I wish I could go back and do it all over again. |
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Feb
03:51:00