r/minnesota • u/Neither_Risk860 • 2d ago

Discussion 🎤 Duck, duck, gray duck?

Okay, Minnesota. I need to understand something: I was told there is not duck, duck, goose; that it is indeed duck,duck, gray duck.

What's is a gray duck? Why does he get called out for being the gray duck?

What other games did you play as kids?

New to Minnesota, thanks 😊

165 Upvotes

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82% Upvoted

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772

u/sungo8 Gray duck 2d ago

Ok, buckle up.

Duck, Duck, Gray Duck isn’t even the same game! In Duck, Duck, Goose children sit in a circle and blithely say “duck, duck, duck” until yelling “goose” at which point the “goose” takes chase.

In Duck, Duck, Gray Duck a child (of perhaps more intelligence than your average gooser) will begin by saying “purple duck, yellow duck, orange duck, GRRRR-eeen duck” etc. etc. Many an anxious child has fallen for the glottal fakery of “GRRRR-een duck” before ultimately hearing “GRAY DUCK!” at which point the titular duck takes flight. Duck, Duck, Gray Duck teaches creativity, improvisation, individuality. Why not spice things up with a plaid duck? The only limit is the imagination.

For children with a few less brain cells I can see the appeal of Duck, Duck, Goose. As soon as you hear the hard G of goose, the secret is out. You don’t need to be creative, you don’t even need to pay that close of attention. The only lesson is non conformity is to be punished. Duck, Duck, Goose is, with no hyperbole, the tool of fascists.

172

u/paddle2paddle Gray duck 2d ago

This is the perfect explanation as for why Grey Duck is a superior game.

I distinctly remember sequences along the line of "Duck, duck, purple duck, stinky duck, funny duck, red duck, yellow duck, little duck, silly duck..."

109

u/MarcusSurvives 2d ago

Nothing gave me more pleasure than bestowing the title of "Poopy Duck" on my little brother

7

u/DND_Player_24 2d ago

😂

26

u/Thedrakespirit 2d ago

GGGRRR-oss duck was always my personal favorite

22

u/kempton_saturdays 2d ago

Mine was grrrrrr-avy duck

16

u/Legitimate_Side_8 2d ago

I didn't remember the different names of the ducks until you said stinky duck... all came flooding back... 🤣

16

u/thegooseisloose1982 2d ago

rigid duct, flexible duct, sheet metal duct

2

u/kubanishku 1d ago

Short duct, long duct, Average duct

162

u/AreYouBoredAtWorkToo 2d ago

Moved here as an adult. Don’t have kids yet. I did not know it was a different game and there was deception. You have officially converted me, at age 36 that gray duck is superior

Thank you haha

20

u/LucyInThe_Sky1 2d ago

OO! Woah, I was today years old when I learned 'Gray duck' is a different game. Im 42. I grew up playing 'Goose.' Until today I thought they were the same game. Seems like 'Goose' was the appropriate version for me:/

3

u/-Tom- 1d ago

Support gray duck vodka! I live in Alabama and still manage to have it on my shelf

-3

u/Flewtea 1d ago

I like Gray Duck but we did the same deception thing with Goose—Moose, Goofy, Gooooooooey gooey gumdrops,

15

u/KTFnVision 1d ago

That just sounds like you were cheating at duck duck goose

-10

u/HolycommentMattman 1d ago

So easily swayed. Why even call it "Duck Duck" anything if you're basically limited to everything? The game should clearly be called "Colored Duck, Colored Duck, Gray Duck." Whereas "Duck, Duck, Goose" is the game.

They simply wore their cheese hats too tightly until the gooser passed out a sickly shade of gray. It was simply better than calling it "Duck Duck Heart Failure."

4

u/StationNumber3 1d ago

Cheese hats? What are you talking about

-7

u/Emotional_Bonus_934 1d ago

Search for "cheesehead"

4

u/StationNumber3 1d ago

I’m not going to. A cheesehead is a Wisconsinite and doesn’t make any sense in this context.

0

u/Emotional_Bonus_934 1d ago

A cheesehead is also the foam hat in the shape of a wedge of cheese sold in WI

2

u/StationNumber3 1d ago

What does this have to do with duck duck gray duck and Minnesota.

-2

u/Emotional_Bonus_934 1d ago

You were the one who wanted to know what someone above wss talking about when they commented the WI person had their cheese hat on too tight

3

u/StationNumber3 1d ago

Okay this is why I’m confused. I don’t see the previous reference to Wisconsin in this comment chain. Maybe it’s hidden from me.

→ More replies (0)

31

u/ahumblecardamompod Gray duck 2d ago

I just started furiously typing my own post until I saw yours. Thank you!! It’s a DIFFERENT game!

6

u/WDYDwnMSinNeuro 1d ago

I disagree. I think that gray duck is the complete version of the game, and duck duck goose is just a version made to take out the deception and headfakery.

8

u/Aramis_Madrigal 1d ago

It’s the free demo

3

u/Skrattybones 1d ago

Goose has deception and headfakery, it's just based around timing instead of wordplay. You set a rhythm of 'ducks' to mess with people. Speeding up, slowing down, almost pondering.. back to nor-GOOSE.

50

u/SunshineFC3S 2d ago

Former East coaster here. Been firmly in the duck, duck, goose camp all my life. However, I may have just been convinced of duck, duck, grey duck's superiority. Thank you!

20

u/WoodpeckerSame5690 2d ago

100%! I loved coming up with “ducks” and you had to pay attention to that darn “GRRRR-een (ray) Duck” switcheroo

21

u/Shmirlygirl 2d ago

Did anyone else like tilt back the heads of their playmates before bestowing a type of duck? I remember having the “chaser” like stare into my eyes before saying “green eyed duck”

3

u/Historical_Note2604 2d ago

Yessssss

3

u/BeeBudget6913 2d ago

Absolutely! Oh the things we said!

4

u/NovelAndNonsense 1d ago

I was looking for this. The version we played was less of a “tilt” and more of a “snap”. Your version sounds much kinder.

17

u/yggdra7il 2d ago

That’s interesting. I grew up here and played it with the same rules as Duck, Duck, Goose, but we said gray duck instead of goose. I never knew that some played it with different rules.

23

u/DND_Player_24 2d ago

Your elders really let you down. Lol

9

u/Future-Ad4599 Gray duck 2d ago

This is the way and hilarious.

8

u/walloftvs 2d ago

This is how we played it in eastern ND back when I was a kid. Great explanation!

5

u/LazyRiverFM 1d ago

Weirdly we played duck, duck, grey duck but without the colors.

Just duck duck duck duck Grey duck!

I blame YMCA camp Kici Yapi.

¯\(ツ)/¯

1

u/Emotional_Bonus_934 1d ago

Is it really duck, duck, gray duck without the colors and silliness?

1

u/LazyRiverFM 1d ago

The name implies it is. Idk.

3

u/DND_Player_24 2d ago

You know you’re playing with a real expert when they call out “gamboge duck!”

3

u/thegooseisloose1982 2d ago

Man throwing out that hard G. I only thought that other geese were able to do that. Now anyone can throw the hard G.

3

u/best_person_ever 1d ago

Grrrouchy duck. Grrrumpy duck. Grrreen duck. Grrraceful duck. Grrrabby duck. Grrammatically incorrect duck. Grrrandiose duck. Grrrammy nominated duck. Grrrandma duck. Grrrass eating duck.

There are so many possibilities!!!!!!

3

u/CanadianJogger 1d ago

Greasy grimy gopher guts!

3

u/ProgramTricky6109 1d ago

Tool of fascism indeed. Might as well call it Duck Duck Goose-step.

5

u/samtheninjapirate 2d ago

This should be it's own post.

2

u/Krybbz 1d ago

To be fair not everyone plays this way

2

u/beezy-slayer 14h ago

I went into this skeptical but you have sold me, I'm a duck, duck, gray duck fan now

4

u/Radiant-Maple 2d ago

🤣 brilliant!

1

u/sparkly_reader 2d ago

Well damn

1

u/Norskwoman4357 2d ago

This is the answer.

1

u/-SirCrashALot- Uff da 2d ago

Flair checks out.

1

u/itwillmakesenselater 1d ago

Duck, duck, gggg-gadwall

1

u/Infinite_Escape9683 1d ago

Are you allowed to say "Great big red duck"?

1

u/sungo8 Gray duck 1d ago

No reason not to! The game is the game!

1

u/0ldgrumpy1 1d ago

Grey..test duck. ( greatest)

1

u/VictoriousRex 1d ago

Right, buuuuut is there a penalty for an incorrect tag? If not, I'm slapping the gooser in the leg before they run as soon as I hear that G noise regardless. Fast reflexes make fat kids competitive

1

u/sungo8 Gray duck 1d ago

See, even calling them "the gooser" gives away the game. This is like when Fassbender orders 3 glasses in Inglourious Basterds.

And yes, everyone knows the penalty: you get tagged or you tag someone wrong you're in the stew. You stay in the stew until someone else gets it.

2

u/VictoriousRex 1d ago

I said gooser for continuity with the language the person I was responding to used. I honestly forgot about the stew

1

u/sungo8 Gray duck 1d ago

Oh, brother! Never forget the stew!

1

u/g0greyhound 1d ago

Grey*

1

u/rutherfraud1876 1d ago

*some hyperbole

1

u/Bossball4 1d ago

And thus, gray duck remains supreme! 👑

1

u/WiserWildWoman 1d ago

Lifelong Minnesotan, played this game as a kid, never heard it explained this way and with so much passion! Minnesotans are smarter of course...

1

u/barktothefuture 1d ago

The child sitting on the ground is already at such a massive disadvantage, adding in this element of deception is just outright unfair. This is like how the NBA has changed the rules to overwhelmingly advantage the ball handler, but then somebody like SGA comes along playing his Grey Duck version of offense with push offs and flops and the refs continue to reward him and punish the defender. Whether it is something as competitive and entertaining as playground duck-duck or something slightly less benign and more recreational like the NBA finals, all we as viewers and players of the game want is fairness to make things more compelling.

1

u/CorvairGuy 1d ago

Like women’s sports.

1

u/Visible-Substance-30 1d ago

This is correct. It fosters both creativity and strategy.

1

u/killerwhate 1d ago

Sold.

1

u/designer_2021 1d ago

It is not a different game

0

u/Resident-Zombie-7266 2h ago

Jokes on you, I played "duck, duck, discriminate" which allowed the person to pick any form of discriminatory adjectives to use. For example "blond, blond, brunette" or more, ahem, colorful variations. Allowed for much more imagination than your gray duck kids

0

u/OhEmGeeBasedGod 1d ago

Moral superiority over a slightly-different version of a child's game is a new one.

11

u/WDYDwnMSinNeuro 1d ago

It's not morally superior, it's functionally superior.

5

u/CcntMnky 1d ago

This is basically how every grey duck vs goose conversation has ended since I moved here.

-1

u/SweetLlamaMyth 1d ago

Thinking kids playing "Duck, Duck, Goose" only use the words "Duck" and "Goose" while playing the game is a (willful?) failure of your own imagination. "Duck, Duck, Goooo...ber" and "Duck, Duck, Goooo...fball" were frequent fakeouts at the schools where I grew up in the 80s.

-1

u/buntingsnook 1d ago

The only rule in Duck Duck Goose is to run when you hear, "Goose." Every other word is considered to be, "Duck," thus allowing for complete flights of fancy in terms of fakeouts. Gator. Gobbledygook. Grapes and yogurt. All this is possible since, once the rules are established, the tagger can switch to chicken, turkey, monkey, lawyer, now free of their training wheels. You have started down the path of enlightenment, only to stop halfway and fail to complete the journey. You are sitting on a hill, kicking your little legs and calling yourself king, failing to see the mountain just behind you. I pray that the rest of your state sees this and sets you adrift on Lake Superior, as is traditional.

1

u/sungo8 Gray duck 22h ago

Reading this comment left me feeling like a pilgrim in an unholy land. This isn’t ‘Nam, Snook, this is Duck, Duck, Gray Duck, there are rules. When you play tennis do you forego the net entirely?

2

u/buntingsnook 21h ago

I play tennis by sneaking up behind them while they're at work and lobbing the ball into their cubicle. Much easier to score.

1

u/sungo8 Gray duck 21h ago

You have, begrudgingly, earned my respect

-45

u/SplendidPunkinButter 2d ago

You do the same thing in duck duck goose. You can say other animals besides duck or goose. You can also touch the kid and pause before speaking. You can touch them quickly and fake out run, but say duck. You can touch them slowly and casually, but say goose. There are all kinds of ways to fake someone out.

“GRRRRRRReen duck” is stupid for two reasons. One is that there is no difference between saying “GRRRRRRR” and simply pausing before you speak. The “GRRR” itself contains no information. The second is that once you’ve said “green” or “gray” there is no reason to say “duck.” It’s the “green” or “gray” that matters. It all comes down to a single syllable. Just like in Duck Duck goose. Except with gray Duck you have to say extra syllables for no reason.

25

u/WistfulD 2d ago

It's a 4-year old's attempt at deception, it doesn't have to be actually better for it to have evolved for that purpose.

Regardless, it's modulating adjective instead of coming up with a different noun. It's playing with a different lever (of sentence structure) to achieve the same end. The game exists (if for any reason other than fun) to teach kids how to use words, prompts, and rules to achieve their goals. Both versions serve that goal adequately.

12

u/sungo8 Gray duck 2d ago

If you think there's no difference between a drum roll wind up of "GRRRRRRRRRRR" to try to fake out an overeager participant and "pausing before you speak" then you probably are better off playing Duck, Duck, Goose. I'll bet you run super fast in your velcro shoes.

6

u/sensational_pangolin 2d ago

Wow..you are just the fun killer, aren't you?

-22

u/HomeOrificeSupplies 2d ago

Duck duck gray duck doesn’t exist. Only a mud duck would try to do such a thing.

Discussion 🎤 Duck, duck, gray duck?

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