Azizan

Iranian children's games to play with your kids abroad

Six old Iranian playground games still work in any living room or park abroad: amu zanjirbaf, gorgam be havā, gorgam o galleh mibaram, ghāyem-bāshak, li-li and yek ghol do ghol. Each one makes a child say Persian out loud, because the game does not move until they do. In the chain game that word is bale. In the wolf game the flock has to answer chupun dāram nemizāram before the wolf can attack. Below are the rules and the words for each game as at least three independent Iranian sources give them, and where we found a detail in fewer, we say so. Azizan (azizan.app), founded by Aida Fard, is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves on video reading illustrated Persian children's stories page by page. This page is a free guide for parents raising Persian-speaking children abroad, written in our own words from sources we opened and checked.

Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app for immigrant and diaspora families: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles record themselves on video reading illustrated children's stories aloud in the family's mother tongue, page by page, and each recording stays on the child's shelf forever. Real family voices — never AI narration. Persian (Farsi) first.

Six games and the Persian each one needs

A child abroad soon works out that their parents understand English too, and after that Persian is optional. In a game it stops being optional for a while. The chain stays still until somebody answers, and the wolf waits until the flock has said its line. The lines are short, they come round every turn, and children usually shout them. That is how small children pick up phrases anyway.

Amu zanjirbaf: the chain game

The players hold hands in a line or an open circle. A leader stands at one end and amu zanjirbaf, "uncle chain-weaver", at the other. The leader calls out, and the uncle and the chain answer together. We print only the lines that three of our sources give word for word. In Yazd the uncle is osā, master, instead of amu, and "my chain" comes out as zanjir-e manā.

The answer to the last question is an animal, and everyone makes its noise. Two of our sources describe how the chain gets woven. After each animal the leader takes the line under the raised arms at the uncle's end, and the player next to the uncle turns round to face the other way. That is one link. The chant starts again with a new animal and goes on until the whole line has turned. Then the leader and the uncle pull from opposite ends until the chain breaks somewhere, and the two players whose hands came apart get a small, silly forfeit. Some versions also have a line about Baba coming home with chickpeas and raisins before the animal question. We found it in only two independent sources, so we leave it out.

Every round needs a new animal, so a child gets to name one in Persian each time. The words are on our page on animals in Persian.

The wolf games: gorgam be hava and gorgam o galleh mibaram

Gorgam be havā is Iranian tag. One player becomes the gorg, the wolf, by drawing lots or through a counting rhyme, and chases the others to touch them. Anyone who reaches the safe spot agreed before the game is safe. One source adds that a player standing somewhere higher than the wolf is safe too, and ties that to the havā, "up in the air", in the name; we found that rule in that one source only. Another calls the game bālā-bolandi, "high-up". A player who gets touched becomes the next wolf. In some versions they join the wolf instead, and the pack grows until one runner is left.

Gorgam o galleh mibaram, "I'm the wolf and I'm taking the flock", is the version with words, and some Iranian sites use the two names for one game. One player is the wolf and one is the shepherd. Everyone else lines up behind the shepherd as the flock, each holding the waist of the player in front. The game opens the same way in every source we read:

Then the wolf boasts that something of his is sharper (tiz-tareh) and the flock answers that something of theirs is tastier (laziz-tareh). The nouns change from source to source (teeth, claws or a knife for the wolf; meat, tail fat or a mouthful for the flock), so ask your relatives what they said. The shepherd asks which way it is to Auntie's house, and the flock sways left and right behind him and sings:

The wolf tries to get round the shepherd to the flock. Two of our sources say the shepherd spreads his arms to block the wolf but may not grab him. A lamb who lets go or falls out of step can be touched, and depending on the version it either leaves the game or joins the wolf. The round ends when no sheep are left, and new roles are picked.

Counting games: hide-and-seek, li-li and yek ghol do ghol

• Ghāyem-bāshak (hide-and-seek). In everyday speech it is usually ghāyem-mushak. One player shuts their eyes while the others hide, then goes looking for them. Two of our sources have the seeker count to ten first (one says ten or twenty). Both also have a run back to the seeker's spot: in one, a hidden player who touches it first wins; in the other, it frees everyone already found. For a child abroad the counting matters most, so let them count in Persian every round, as fast as they like. The numbers are on our page on counting to ten in Persian.
• Li-li (hopscotch). Li-li means hopping on one foot. Draw numbered squares in chalk and toss a flat stone into square one. Hop through the squares on one foot and pick the stone up on the way back. Next turn, aim for square two. Two of our sources add that you hop over the square the stone is in, and that a throw that misses its square ends your turn. One adds that stepping on a line ends it too. Ask the child to call out each number in Persian as they land.
• Yek ghol do ghol (five stones). You need five small stones and one hand. Scatter them, pick one up and toss it, grab a stone from the floor and catch the falling one in the same hand. Keep going until the floor is clear. That round is ye ghol, one at a time. Do ghol takes them two at a time, and se ghol one and then three. Later rounds differ from city to city. It takes nimble fingers, so it suits school-age children, and they will say the round names a hundred times.

Playing them with a child abroad

1. Keep the game's words in Persian. Explain the rules in English the first time if you need to, but play the chant and the counting in Persian every time.
2. Give the child the answering side first. In amu zanjirbaf the chain only says bale. In the wolf game the flock answers chupun dāram nemizāram and then sways and sings. A beginner can manage those.
3. Bring in cousins. These are group games, and two parents are not enough players. A family gathering, a Nowruz party or the yard of a Persian school gives you the numbers. A child who hears cousins shouting in Persian usually starts shouting back.
4. Bring a grandparent in. A grandmother on a video call can lead amu zanjirbaf or do the counting for hide-and-seek. At bedtime a grandparent can record an illustrated Persian story on Azizan, page by page, so the child hears that voice then too.
5. For toddlers, start with lap games. These games are too big for a child under three. Atal matal tootooleh and li li li li hozak come first, and both are on our page of Persian nursery rhymes and finger games.

Two well-known games are missing here because we could not find three sources that agree on how they go: kalāgh par ("crow, fly") and gol yā puch ("flower or nothing"). Your relatives will know them. Ask how they played.

Related guides

• Persian nursery rhymes and finger games for toddlers
• Count to ten in Persian for kids
• Animals in Persian for kids

Questions

What are traditional Iranian children's games?

Group games children have played for generations in courtyards, alleys and school yards, with nothing more than a stone or a bit of chalk. Well-known ones include amu zanjirbaf (the chain game), gorgam be hava (tag), gorgam o galleh mibaram (wolf and flock), ghayem-bashak (hide-and-seek), li-li (hopscotch) and yek ghol do ghol (five stones). Rules vary from city to city. This page gives the versions three independent sources agree on, and says so where only one or two do.

How do you play amu zanjirbaf?

Players hold hands in a line. The leader calls 'amu zanjirbaf?' and the chain answers 'bale'. Then 'zanjir-e mano bafti?' (have you woven my chain?), 'bale'; 'posht-e kuh andakhti?' (have you thrown it behind the mountain?), 'bale'; and 'ba seda-ye chi?' (with the sound of what?), answered with an animal noise. The chant repeats with a new animal each time. At the end the two ends of the chain pull until it breaks somewhere.

What is the difference between gorgam be hava and gorgam o galleh mibaram?

Gorgam be hava is plain tag. A wolf chases and touches the others, who are safe once they reach an agreed spot. Gorgam o galleh mibaram adds a shepherd and a flock lined up holding each other's waists. It opens with the wolf saying 'gorgam o galleh mibaram' and the flock answering 'chupun daram nemizaram', and the shepherd blocks the wolf. Some Iranian sites use the two names for one game.

How do you play yek ghol do ghol?

With five small stones. Scatter them, toss one up, pick a stone off the floor and catch the falling one in the same hand, until the floor is clear. That is ye ghol. Do ghol takes them two at a time and se ghol one and then three. Later rounds differ by city. It is also called yek gol do gol.

Which game is best for a child who is just starting to speak Persian?

Hide-and-seek with the child doing the counting in Persian, or amu zanjirbaf on the answering side, where the only word needed is bale. Either one gives a beginner a short thing to say over and over. For toddlers under three, start with the lap rhymes atal matal tootooleh and li li li li hozak.

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Updated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard

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