关于跳房子最早的起源有很多种说法。

说法一：罗马士兵通过跳房子来锻炼身体

他们要穿着全副武装的铠甲，跳过长达100英尺的格子，以此来锻炼毅力和耐力。

说法二：罗马的孩子的游戏

而关于跳房子起源最普遍的说法是，罗马的孩子在地上画上方格，并在上面跳着玩儿，后来这种游戏逐渐传播到了欧洲。

说法三：跳房子起源于中国

格子的形式和我们今天所看到的极为相似。不同点在于，最初人们用玩儿跳房子时所用的石头或沙包来代表人的精神，而故事的象征意义在于，人要克服一道道难关，也就是游戏中格子，才能到达格子的终点所象征的天堂。在英格兰，人们至今依然把最后一个格子标为天堂（Heaven）。

我们用妈妈的口气编写了中英文对照的“跳房子”的规则，其中游戏场地course / court，跳hop，单脚跳hop with one foot，边线boarder等词的使用方法，可以举一反三，用在其他游戏中。

Hopscotch 跳房子

1. Kids, let’s play hopscotch!

孩子们，咱们来玩儿跳房子吧！

2. Before we start, let’s draw a court / course with chalk on the ground.

在玩儿之前，咱们先在地上画好房子。

3. How about we put numbers 1, 2 and 3 in individual squares and line them up vertical, one after another. For squares 4 and 5, let’s put them side by side and above 3. For 6, let’s put it in an individual square. For 7 and 8, let’s put them side by side and above 6. Finally, let's put 9 in a semi-circle as the “home” base.

咱们把1，2，3画在单个的格子里，一个挨一个排成竖直的一列，4和5画在并排的格子里，排在3的上面，6放在单个的格子里，上面是并排的7和8 。最后，咱们把9画在一个半圆里当作“家”。

4. Now that we have drawn the court / course, let me show you how to play.

现在格子我们已经画好了，让我来告诉你怎么玩儿吧。

5. First, I’m going to toss the bean bag into the Square Number 1. We can also use other items such as a stone or a coin as marker. I will make sure my bean bag lands and stays within the square without touching the borders.

首先，把沙包扔到第一个方块里。我们也可以用别的东西比如石块或者硬币代替沙堡。要让沙包落在方块里，呆在方块里，不能碰线。

6. Then I will hop through the course and avoid the square with my bean bag marker in it.

接下来，我要越过沙包所在的格子，并跳完整个房子。

7. I will hop on the individual squares with one foot and the side by side squares with both feet. For the side by side squares, notice that my left foot lands inside of the left square and my right foot lands inside of the right square.

单个的格子用单脚跳，并排的格子用双脚跳，左脚跳到左边的格子，右脚跳到右边的格子。

8. When I reach the “home” base, I can hop in any style I like, so long as I stay within and don’t touch the borders.

到“家”的时候，我可以随便用任何方式跳，只要不碰线或跳出去就行。

9. Then, I will need to turn around and hop back down the course until I reach the square with my bean bag.

然后，我要转过身往回跳，一直跳到沙包所在的格子为止。

10. When I reach the square with my bean bag, I need to pick it up, hop over the square and hop back to the start of the course. Be careful and don't touch any of the borders. Also, don’t hop into the square with another player’s bean bag.

现在，我要把沙包捡起来，越过沙包所在的格子，然后继续跳回起点。一定要小心，别碰到线或者踩到别人的沙包所在的方块里。

11. Okay, so I just successfully completed the course for Number 1. I’m going to toss the bean bag into Square Number 2 and repeat.

好啦，我刚刚成功的跳完了一次整个房子，我现在要把沙包扔到下一个方块里继续玩了。

12. Whenever I step on any of the borders, miss a square or lose balance, my turn will end. Other players can begin their turn or continue where they left off. The first player to complete the entire course for every numbered square wins.

只要我踩在了线上，漏掉了一个方块，或者失去了平衡，我这轮就会结束。你们就可以开始跳或者从上次断的地方接着跳。我们当中第一个把所有数字都跳过一遍的人就赢了。

13. Everyone got it? Cool. Now let’s start!

大家明白了吗？好的。开始吧！