The game of Chicken Kickin' (where chickens must not be kicked)

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Chicken Kickin'

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chicken Kickin' is a game enjoyed by men and boys throughout the United States. It is played mainly in rural areas, although there is an urban version called The Colonel's Chicken Lickin' Good Kickin'.[1]


The game starts immediately upon the completion of several games of Cornhole[2] and several packs of beer, whereupon the players first attempt to holler louder than ever. One self-selected man, called the Corkscrew, then releases the chickens, which may take several tries as coordination is one of the first things to go. Another man, called the Bottle, begins the game by calling out, "Woohoo, chickens!" The remaining players, called Drinks, or sometimes Drunks, must laugh uproariously and attempt to catch a chicken. The chickens, called Chickens, must dodge the Drinks and the Bottle, and make it past the Corkscrew back into their pen -- a task made more difficult due to the wobbling nature of the Corkscrew.

Although the game is called Chicken Kickin', the Chickens are rarely Kicked, and if they are, only by accident. In any case, score is kept by the Ground, which is the surface on which the Empty Beercans are thrown, and which Drinks fall upon to be considered "safe." Scoring is generally random. The game ends a few minutes after the last beer is drunk, whereupon the Drinks tally up the score by cursing at the Chickens while picking up the Beercans and attempting to place them in a plastic bag brought out by the Corkscrew. The final scoring is rarely determined, because the players normally lose interest and weave to their cars, where they are kept awake by the sounds of sad country music.[3] In urban settings, the music of choice is Rebecca Black's Friday.


The ancient Romans had a similar game, called Gallinae Calcitrandae, or The Chickens Must be Kicked. The only mention of the game is in Fellatius, where it is said to take place on the Bacchanalia on the night of March 15. Although the rules are not described, it is lamented as "a corrupting influence on small boys" and "requiring much washing of togas." Fellatius also comments that the game was a favorite of Emperor Hadrian (76 - 138 A.D.), who was said to have replaced chickens with the British.[4]

The Romano-British created a derivative game in 409 A.D., called Romanae Excalcitrandae, or The (Effeminate) Romans Must be Kicked Out.[5]