In the time when no one would even think of putting mini televisions on the back of car seats to keep children entertained, children or parents would play clever games so they wouldn’t get restless. One of these games with which the little ones were entertained is “yellow car”.
In Spain, the yellow car is a game to pass the time while you were in the well-known car some time ago, which has gained a lot of relevance recently. If you are one of those who do not know it, here you will learn what a yellow car is, its characteristics, what it is called in other countries and what its origin is.
What is a yellow car in Spain and how is it played?
In Spain “Yellow car” refers to a game that was widely used in ancient times by children, to keep themselves entertained while they went in the car until they reached their destination.. The objective of the game was to count the yellow cars that were on the road until reaching the destination.
Each car seen generated a point, but in order to win it there had to be another person who had also seen it, for the point to be valid. Some yellow variations are usually worth more because of the difficulty of obtaining them for those who have found advanced game variants, but this must be decided before the game.
For example, the color orange or gold may score higher because they are more difficult to find variations of yellow.
Who wins the game?
In the end, whoever manages to count the most yellow cars wins the game, but in itself what matters is not winning, but hanging out while you’re in the car. Especially if you are on a long and boring trip.
There are also some that make variations, such as instead of seeing a yellow car, you see a pink car or other types of yellow objects that can be found on the road. In this version, the goal is to be the person who sees the most yellow vehicles on the trip.
A point system where a yellow truck is worth more than a yellow car can make things more interesting, or pick a color that’s more common if you want to speed things up. Like other car games for kids, the yellow car game can keep boredom at bay.
And of course, it is not essential that the game is carried out only when one is in the car, since the practice of it was repopularized as a game while walking down the street.
Where does the yellow car game come from?
The yellow car game has a curious history that dates back to the United Kingdom.where this game is also very well known. According to historians, the game has its origins in the early 1600s.. A time when rapeseed harvested from the Cotswolds used to be transported on wagons and carried across the country to the barges.
When the barges arrived at Dublin, loaded with the yellow crop, the sailors used to punch each other in the arm, because they were happy to have successfully crossed the Irish Sea. The trend of hitting the arm for success spread to the rest of the UK.
Although it didn’t mean anything in particular at first, it wasn’t long before people started to get superstitious. Instead of hitting each other to have a successful trip, they beat their arms when they saw the empty carriages as a way of wishing them good luck.
The villagers also used to hit each other on the arm when they saw the carriages pass through the village as a way of symbolizing their gratitude. Already in the 1700s, it was very common for the wives of the carters to give their husbands a blow on the arm before starting the journey to wish them a good trip.
Time after, the children made it a game to see a yellow carriage and get hit, even though they had no idea what the hit actually symbolized. Eventually, yellow carriages and even yellow-painted narrow boats were part of the game.
The yellow car game in the UK today
The game had died out in the UK in the early 1800s, but it became popular again with the yellow Rocket steam train. As soon as people saw this yellow train go by, people hit each other’s arms once more.
When cars appear and were the most popular form of transportation, the game evolves to only include them, becoming the yellow car game..
Today ‘yellow car’ is still as popular as it was in the 18th century. There are many Facebook pages dedicated to this game, we can find videos on YouTube and even a fan club.
What is spotto?
Spotto is nothing more than the same yellow car game for children that is played in Spain and in other parts of the world under different names. It’s the same principle, looking out the window of a car on the road and trying to find a yellow car. But, at least in Australia, it doesn’t necessarily have to be played in a car.
It can be played when you walk down the street. It’s just a game for kids who really want to kill time on long drives so they don’t get bored in the car, or make walking the streets more fun.
What is Yellow Vocho?
The yellow Vocho is the Mexican version of the ‘yellow car’, with the variation that it was not just any yellow car, since it had to be a ‘Volkswagen Sedan’. Whoever saw it first, could hit others in a soft way. But this game comes to Mexico from the United States, where it arrived in 1949.
In the United States, children, seeing a yellow ‘Volkswagen Sedan’ go by, would say Slow Bug and punch someone in the arm.
