where did the game marco polo come from?

Answer 1

The historical significance of this game relates back to a time when Marco Polo (age 17) was traveling to China with his father and uncle on their way to see the Great Khan. Marco was very tired and he fell asleep on his horse. His horse must have sensed this and slowed down dropping back from the caravan. When Marco Polo awoke he did not see his family. He began to hear voices in the desert thinking it was the caravan calling for him...hense "Marco" "Polo." He was later found but it was not his family calling. He was halluicinating.

Answer 2

Marco Polo carried his servant on his back, because the servant was too tired to walk (like in the movie?)

Answer 3

Description and variations:

The game of Marco Polo is a form of tag, often played in a swimming pool. The game is popular in the UK, United States, Australia, Argentina, Canada, Paraguay and Brazil, and possibly in other parts of the world.

Rules
The game is played by three or more people. At any time there is one distinguished player, "It", who must usually wait a certain number of seconds before swimming around the pool with his or her eyes closed, attempting to tag the other players. The "It" player can only sense where the other players are by sound, but may call out "Marco!", at which point all the other players are required to yell "Polo!". When the "It" player succeeds in tagging another player, the latter becomes "It".

There are a few common minor variations. "Fish-out-of-water" allows the non-It players to get out of the pool (thus protecting themselves from being tagged by the water-bound "It"), however, should "It" call "fish out of water" while some one is out of the pool, that person becomes "It". If there is more than one person out of the water, the person who is "It" has the choice of picking anyone out of water to become "It". If "It" should call fish-out-of-water when nobody is out of the pool, "It" must redo the beforehand count.

"Mermaid on rocks" is a variant itself of "fish-out-of-water". This is when a person is sitting on the ledge of the pool with their legs in but their body is out. When the "it" person calls mermaid on rocks, and someone is doing this, they are it.

"Alligator Eyes" allows "It" to call out "alligator eyes" or "submarine" and then swim underwater with eyes open for one breath. Usually, "It" is limited to one use of alligator eyes. Other variations on this rule allow "It" to look around underwater but not to move until he or she is above water with eyes closed once again.

Variations:
There are many variants to this game. It may be played on dry ground; in that case, it is similar to "blind man's bluff".




In Argentinian Marco Polo, the one who is "It" has to grab the tagged one and say his name out loud. If said correctly, the tagged one becomes "It". If not, the player who is "It" has to start again.

A variant in the mid-western United States, "Speedo Torpedo," is played with much of the same rules as standard Marco Polo, except for the lack of bathing suit bottoms. "It" is not allowed to use "its" hands or feet to tag other participants, but must find a more creative way of getting others out.



Players: 3 or more
Setup time: < 1 minute
Playing time: no limit
Random chance: Low
Skills required: Swimming, Slyness, Hearing

A similar game:

Blind man's bluff ,or Blind man's buff, is a children's game played in a spacious enclosed area, such as a large room, in which one player, designated as It, is either blindfolded or closes his or her eyes. The It player gropes around blindly and attempts to touch the other players without being able to see them, while the other players scatter and try to avoid and hide from the It player, sometimes teasing him/her to make him/her change direction. The game is a variant of tag.

There are several versions of the game:

In another version, whenever any player is tagged by It, that player is out of the game. The game proceeds until all players are out of the game, at which point another round of the game starts, with either the first player or the last player to be tagged becoming the next It player.
In yet another version, It feels the face of the person tagged and attempts to identify the person, and only if the person is correctly identified does the person become It.
A children's game similar to blind man's bluff is Marco Polo, with the main difference being that Marco Polo is played in a swimming pool and the one that is It calls out "Marco" to which the other players reply "Polo." Thus indicating their position and making it easier for the person who is It to go in the right direction.

The game is known as blind man's buff in the UK and Ireland, "buff" meaning a small push. It is likely that the American name is a corruption, someone mishearing or reading buff as bluff or thinking it a mistake.

Blind man's bluff should be played in an area free of dangerous obstructions so that the It player will not suffer injury from tripping over or hitting something.

The game was played at least as far back as the Tudor period, as there are references to it being played by Henry VIII's courtiers. It was also a popular parlor game in the Victorian era.

Answer 4

from the guy who invented swimming pools.