Roman Toys

Children of Ancient Rome loved to play with toys, play games and have fun.

There were many different kinds of toys that the Roman children had, many of them are toys that we see today.

Toys

Some of the toys that children of Ancient Rome had were horses, playhouses, carts, wooden swords, balls, bells, dolls, kites, and other toys.

All of the toys that the children had were handmade toys, and these toys were very popular in the homes of the Ancient Roman people.

Girl Toys

Most of the time, the girls would play with dolls, and if there was a poor Roman family, the mom would sew rags together and make rag dolls for the girls.  Girls that were from wealthier Roman families would have dolls that were made out of wax or clay and they had moving body parts such as arms and legs.

Other toys that were popular during Ancient Roman times was playhouses.  These playhouses would be made out of wood, and many of them would have tiny figurines that the girls could use to play with in their houses.

Boy Toys

Boys during Ancient Roman times loved to talk and think about war.  They would listen to their brothers or their fathers tell stories about fighting in the war and so when they would get toys, many of them were war type toys or games.

Sometimes, boys would get wooden swords and shields and they would play games with other children in the neighborhood and they would pretend to fight in the war.

Other Toys

Even babies would have toys that would be made out of wood.  Some of those toys included things like rattles, pull toys, balls and more.  Sometimes, families would give their children a soft ball that had a wooden rattle inside of it.  These would allow the baby to shake, squeeze and throw the ball.

Tops were another popular toy during Ancient Roman times and children would love to spin the top.  Most of the tops were painted with different colors and were very popular.

Pull-toys and whistles were very popular during Ancient Roman times.  The Romans would also make animals that were carved out of wood, animals that had wheels that could be pulled around and even chariot toys that the children could race around.

Some of the toys were carts that had hitches on them, and the children would hook a mouse to the cart and the mouse would pull the cart behind it.

Balls were made out of reeds and linen and there was even a ball that was similar to a football that was made out of a pig bladder.

Games

Ancient Roman children loved to play games and they had games called Battledore, which was similar to badminton.  This game would be where the children would hit a pinecone or another round thing with flat paddles and would get points.

Another game was when the children would use a game board and would throw pebbles and pick up sticks.

Ancient Roman children would play games that were similar to hockey, basketball and baseball.

Children and adults loved to play a dice game that was called Knucklebones.  This was a game that had five or ten small bones and they would get points depending on how the bones landed on the ground.

A game called tali was similar to jacks that we play today.

Facts About Ancient Roman Games:

• Yo-yos were very popular.
• There was a toy that people could push along the road on sticks.
• Swings were sometimes found in the courtyard or the atrium.
• Children loved to play with slings and would make their shots out of clay pieces.
• Older children loved to shoot bows and arrows.
• Hide-and-seek was a popular game during Ancient Roman times.
• Racing games were popular, and children would pull chariots around and race them with other children.
• Swimming was considered a game during Ancient Roman times.
• Children would play a game similar to baseball and they would have a ball and stick and would take turns hitting the ball around.
• Children would play a game similar to tic-tac-toe, where they would scratch it into the dirt or stones.
• Romans were popular during Ancient Roman times and even today.
• Most of the dice were square and were made out of clay. These dice were used for games or gambling.

What Did You Learn?

Children during Ancient Roman times loved to play games, just like children love to play games today.

• What were some games that children in Ancient Rome played that we have today? Some games that we play today are baseball, dice, tic-tac-toe, basketball, marbles, hide-and-seek, and more.
• What were some toys that were popular in Ancient Roman times? Some popular toys were dolls, pull toys, balls, rattles, racing toys, swings, and more.
• What was something that we do today that is considered a sport that was considered a game in Ancient Rome? Swimming is considered a sport for us and was considered a game in Ancient Roman times.
• What did poor Roman children play with? Poor Roman children had toys that were made for them, such as rag dolls that were sewn together.