How to Play Ring a Ring o' Roses

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Ring a Ring o' Roses is a traditional circle singing game for four or more players. Participants hold hands, move around in a ring while chanting the rhyme, and all fall or crouch to the ground at the words "we all fall down." It needs no equipment, no score-keeping, and no preparation beyond a patch of ground and willing players.

Its appeal is immediate: every child can join in from the first round, the forfeit for "losing" is a tumble everyone shares, and the game resets in seconds. It is a staple of nurseries, playgrounds, parks, and garden parties across the UK and much of the English-speaking world.

A little history

The rhyme is first found in print in Kate Greenaway's "Mother Goose" collection of 1881, though it was almost certainly in oral circulation before that date. Its origins are otherwise unclear, and the widely repeated claim that the words encode references to the Black Death or other plagues has been examined by folklorists and found to have no credible historical support. The Opies, whose research into British playground tradition is the standard scholarly reference, concluded that the plague interpretation arose in the mid-twentieth century and is not supported by earlier sources.

Setting up

1. Choose a flat, open playing area free of hazards such as kerbs, hard surfaces, or obstacles that could cause injury when players fall.
2. All players stand in a circle, facing inward, and join hands.
3. Agree which version of the rhyme will be used if players know different wordings (see Variations).
4. Nominate one adult or older child to lead the first round if younger players need help learning the words or timing.

How to play

1. All players hold hands in a circle and begin walking or skipping sideways in the same direction.
2. As the circle moves, all players sing or chant the rhyme together: 'Ring a ring o' roses, a pocket full of posies, a-tishoo, a-tishoo, we all fall down.'
3. On the final words 'we all fall down,' every player lets go of their neighbours' hands and drops to the ground, sitting or crouching as quickly as possible.
4. Players who drop cleanly and promptly on cue are playing correctly. There is no elimination for falling late, though older players often make a game of who drops last.
5. Once everyone is on the ground, all players stand up, rejoin hands, and begin the next round immediately.
6. The game continues for as many rounds as the group wishes. There is no fixed end point.

Winning and scoring

Ring a Ring o' Roses is traditionally cooperative and has no winner or loser. All players fall together and the game simply repeats. When played competitively with older children, a common informal rule is that the last player to reach the ground is "out" and steps outside the circle while the remaining players continue, reducing the circle by one each round until only two players remain. Those two are joint winners.

The fine points

The most common dispute is over what counts as "falling down." A full sit or crouch that clearly brings the player close to the ground is the standard. A mere knee-bend does not count, and a player who stumbles without deliberately dropping should be given the benefit of the doubt rather than called out, particularly with very young children. When played eliminatorily, the adult or nominated leader's call on who fell last is final.

Holding hands throughout the walking phase is a firm part of the traditional game, but players naturally release hands just before or during the fall. Releasing hands early to gain speed on the drop is generally accepted. Pulling a neighbour off-balance deliberately is not acceptable and should be corrected immediately, both for safety and fair play.

How to win more often

• Keep the circle an even, comfortable size. If one side of the ring is cramped, players collide when falling and someone gets hurt.
• Synchronise the chanting. When everyone sings at the same pace, the drop cue arrives cleanly and the fall is simultaneous, which is the whole satisfaction of the game.
• In the competitive version, resist the urge to drop early. Players who anticipate the final word are easier to spot and should be called out by the leader.
• With very young children, slow the walking pace and exaggerate the drop so they understand what is expected before speed becomes part of the fun.
• On grass or a soft surface, players can let themselves fall fully for maximum effect. On hard or wet ground, encourage a controlled crouch rather than a genuine tumble to keep the game safe.

Variations

Elimination

The last player to drop to the ground on each round is out and leaves the circle. The circle shrinks with each round until two players remain. Those two players are declared joint winners. This version suits children aged five and up who can handle being eliminated without distress.

Scottish Version

A common Scottish variant replaces "a-tishoo, a-tishoo" with "husha, husha" and sometimes adds a second verse in which players crouch, then rise again on a cue such as "the cows are in the meadow" before falling a second time. The two-stage fall adds an extra anticipation beat that works well with slightly older children.

Reverse Direction

After each fall, the circle reverses direction for the next round. This small change requires players to pay attention and adds a brief moment of coordination as the group agrees which way to go, keeping older players engaged across multiple rounds.

Frozen Roses

Instead of falling all the way to the ground, players must freeze in whatever position they happen to be in at the exact moment the leader shouts "down." Players who wobble, move, or fall further after the freeze are out. This variant rewards balance and suits a harder surface where actual falling is impractical.

Ring a Ring o' Roses: frequently asked questions