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Street game
Street game
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A street game or street sport is a sport or game that is played on city streets rather than a prepared field. Street games are usually simply play time activities for children in the most convenient venue. Some street games have risen to the level of organized tournaments, such as stickball.

When street games are based on organized sports, the rules are highly modified to fit the situation, i.e. manhole covers for bases with cars or buildings for foul lines in stickball. When balls are used in street games, Spaldeens are often used.[citation needed]

Street sports

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Street sports are sports held in urban environments. Street sports are an expression of the spontaneous, improvisational and creative origins of sport adapted by human ingenuity to the urban environment. In historical terms their origins are traceable to the very earliest evidence of sports in Greek and Roman civilisation.[1] Street sports are a hybrid form of sport and reflect the adaptation of conventional sports to the cityscape.[2] Viewing the city through as a living, bustling, and thriving organism helps to cast light on the nature of that which is urban and to begin to home-in on particular salient features of urban life. It is only with the advent of this relatively modern perspective on the urban that it has become possible to speak in terms of street sports.[1]

Parkour artist Sebastien Foucan has defined the sport of Freerunning as a ‘physical art’.[2] In the words of Foucan, street sports are "...a philosophy concerned with the quest of personal and social realisation..."[2] A similar point of view can be found in the notion of the philosophy of urban solo-climbing expounded by Alain Robert. Likewise, the high-wire walker, Philippe Petit, whose performance include walking between the World Trade Center towers in 1974, has described his 'interventions' on the urban environment as 'art crimes', suggesting their essence is creative and constitutes an expression—an interaction with the city.[3]

Examples of street games

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This is a list of games that are traditionally played by urban children in playgrounds, parking lots, and back streets. They are all games that may be played on a hard surface, like asphalt. They are part of children's street culture, and are notoriously hard to classify rigorously.[4]

Utilizing a rubber ball

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Other games

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  • Street sports in the Middle East: The Kite Runner and The Kite Runner (the film adaptation)[6]
  • Highwire Walking: Man on Wire, film documenting the background to Petit's high-wire walk between the WTC Towers.
  • A 2010 PBS documentary, New York Street Games, shows the best-known street games played in New York City in the twentieth century, as well as discussing the decline of those games in recent decades.[7]

See also

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References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Street games are informal, outdoor recreational activities and group games primarily played by children in urban streets, gardens, and public spaces, requiring minimal equipment and adapting to the surrounding environment rather than dedicated play areas. These games emphasize , social interaction, and , often involving simple rules that have persisted for centuries despite evolving urban conditions. Historically, street games emerged as a vital form of play in densely populated cities during periods of rapid and , providing free entertainment, exercise, and community building for youth with limited access to formal recreational facilities. In early 20th-century , for example, amid waves of from 1890 to 1920, hundreds of thousands of children from Italian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, and Jewish families engaged in street play as a cultural phenomenon, fostering self-regulation and social bonds despite growing conflicts with increasing automobile traffic and authorities. This era saw the rise of the playground movement, which invested over $100 million in organized urban playgrounds between 1880 and 1920 to promote assimilation and supervised play, gradually displacing spontaneous street activities. Common examples of street games include tag variants like Relievio—a team-based game where "seekers" tag "hiders" in urban settings—and other activities such as playing with balls, marbles, and (an informal form of using improvised sticks and goals). In modern contexts, street games continue to support physical and social development in underserved communities, with initiatives like temporary street closures—known as Play Streets—creating safe spaces for active play and increasing opportunities for children to engage in unstructured activity. Organizations such as StreetGames promote "doorstep sports" to bridge gaps in access to physical activity for low-income youth, highlighting the enduring role of these games in enhancing wellbeing and community cohesion.

Definition and Characteristics

Core Definition

Street games are informal, spontaneous activities primarily engaged in by children and in public urban environments, such as streets, alleys, and parks, where play is self-directed without formal rules, referees, or dedicated facilities. These games arise from children's innate drive for autonomous, flexible , often in spaces not explicitly designed for play, allowing adaptation to immediate surroundings. A core aspect of street games is their high , requiring little to no specialized equipment—typically relying on household items like a or , or even none at all—to enable participation in resource-limited settings. This minimalism fosters creativity and inclusivity, particularly in densely populated or low-income urban areas where formal play options may be scarce. Street games differ from playground activities, which depend on fixed equipment in supervised, designated areas, by occurring in fluid, everyday urban contexts that promote greater freedom and less adult intervention. They also contrast with , which involve structured leagues, standardized rules, and institutional organization, emphasizing instead intrinsic enjoyment over competition or achievement.

Distinctive Features

Street games are characterized by their improvisational nature, where rules and gameplay often evolve spontaneously to accommodate the number of participants, available space, and immediate circumstances, distinguishing them from the fixed structures of . This adaptability allows players, typically children, to modify objectives or boundaries on the spot, fostering and quick without reliance on formal or equipment. In contrast to rigid institutional sports, street games emphasize fluid, player-driven evolution that prioritizes enjoyment over competition. The of street games promote peer , inclusivity across diverse ages and levels, and strong bonding, as participants collaboratively resolve disputes and adapt rules to ensure fair participation. These interactions enhance social cohesion by encouraging communication, , and relationship-building among neighbors and peers, often leading to increased trust and a sense of belonging within urban . Unlike hierarchical organized activities, street games facilitate non-competitive equity, drawing in varied groups including girls, older children, and those from diverse backgrounds, thereby reducing social barriers and supporting collective resilience. Street games integrate seamlessly with urban environments, utilizing elements such as walls for boundaries, curbs for markers, or traffic-free zones as playing fields, which transforms everyday into dynamic gameplay components. This environmental embedding not only maximizes limited open spaces but also encourages players to navigate and repurpose urban features creatively, enhancing spatial awareness and safety perceptions in neighborhood settings. Their low make street games highly accessible, requiring no financial cost or specialized equipment, which enables widespread participation in resource-limited urban areas and promotes alongside imaginative play. This cost-free structure democratizes , allowing children from low-income communities to engage freely and develop motor skills, , and social competencies without exclusion based on .

Historical Development

Ancient and Traditional Origins

The origins of street games extend to ancient civilizations, where informal physical activities involving balls and chasing laid foundational elements. In the , emerged as a vigorous team game, typically played with a small, hard in public venues like the and bath complexes, allowing for accessible, impromptu participation. Documented by the physician in the 2nd century AD, it involved players running, jumping, and using physical contact—such as neck holds—to advance the ball across a marked line, often as a training exercise for soldiers. This ball-chasing pursuit, also referenced in 5th-century accounts by as casual matches in , highlighted its role in everyday recreation beyond formal athletics. Medieval Europe further developed these traditions through festival-based variants of street football, blending community rivalry with unstructured play. Known as mob football or Shrovetide football, these events featured unlimited participants from villages or towns propelling a —often an inflated —toward goals using hands, feet, or bodies, typically on open streets during seasonal celebrations. In , represented a regional adaptation in and , where large groups clashed in chaotic matches tied to religious festivals, emphasizing endurance over codified rules. Such games, spanning the 12th to 16th centuries, fostered social bonds while navigating rudimentary urban paths. Indigenous and folk practices worldwide contributed parallel forms of street-adapted play. Among Mesoamerican cultures, the ancient ballgame—dating to at least 1650 BCE and using solid rubber balls—extended beyond ritual courts to informal community settings, allowing adaptations in open areas for recreational purposes. In African traditions, tag and chase variants thrived in village environments; for example, Tanzanian children played games where a runner evaded taggers in group pursuits along paths, promoting and in daily life. By the , rapid industrialization amplified street games as children in burgeoning cities improvised amid constraints. In , Victorian-era youth devised hundreds of activities with scavenged items like ropes and stones in narrow, traffic-filled thoroughfares, turning urban grit into playgrounds for physical and social expression. Across the Atlantic in New York, amid horse-drawn carts and growing congestion, working-class children adapted ball and chasing games—such as early stickball—on asphalt streets and vacant lots, often forming informal groups to evade hazards. These practices underscored street games' resilience as accessible outlets in evolving urban landscapes.

Modern Evolution

Following , suburbanization in the United States and other Western countries led to a significant decline in street play, as the rise of car culture transformed urban and suburban landscapes into spaces dominated by vehicular traffic, rendering streets unsafe for children's games. This shift prioritized automobile-dependent development, dispersing populations to suburbs with backyards and playgrounds, which reduced the communal use of streets for play. In response, urban renewal movements during the 1960s and 1970s sought to revive street-based play through activist efforts and policy innovations, particularly in cities like New York and . Grassroots campaigns, including those led by neighborhood mothers and influenced by figures like , opposed car-centric planning and advocated for adventure playgrounds and play streets—temporary closures of roads to traffic under acts like the UK's Road Traffic Act 1960. These initiatives transformed vacant lots and housing areas into creative play zones, fostering community involvement and countering the isolation of suburban sprawl. The late saw the global spread of street games like Brazilian futebol de rua (street football) to urban centers in and the , facilitated by waves and media exposure of Brazil's vibrant football culture. Brazilian migrants, including professional and amateur players, introduced informal, improvisational styles to communities, influencing local youth in cities such as and New York through community leagues and cultural exchanges. In the digital age, excessive screen time has further diminished traditional street play, with studies showing a 50% rise in children's discretionary digital engagement over a decade, often replacing outdoor activities. However, location-based apps like , launched in , prompted a temporary resurgence by encouraging physical and social interaction in public spaces, increasing users' daily steps by an average of 1,473 compared to non-players. This hybrid approach highlights technology's potential to blend digital and street-based play, though sustained impacts remain limited.

Categories of Street Games

Ball-Based Games

Ball-based street games constitute a major category of street play, characterized by the use of a simple in interaction with urban structures like walls and to facilitate bouncing, , or occasionally kicking actions. These games thrive in constrained environments, where players repurpose everyday to create improvised playing fields, emphasizing hand-eye coordination and rhythmic ball control over large open spaces. Central to these games are mechanics involving the propulsion and retrieval of the ball against a surface, as exemplified in variants where players strike a small with their bare hands against a , alternating turns to return it before it bounces twice or goes . In , a player throws the ball directly at the protruding corner or edge of building steps—known as a stoop—aiming for a rebound that can be caught for higher points or after one bounce for fewer, with the stair's angled surface acting as a natural backstop to generate unpredictable trajectories. These core actions promote quick reflexes and strategic aiming, often scored cumulatively until a target total is reached. Spatial adaptations enhance versatility; wall ball, a one-wall variant, suits narrow alleys by relying solely on a flat vertical surface, where the ball must bounce once on the ground before being hit against the wall and returned similarly by opponents. Three-wall , a variant incorporating rebounds off multiple surfaces, allows defensive positioning and angled shots in tighter confines and can be adapted to urban settings with adjacent walls. Such modifications ensure playability in varied street layouts without needing expansive areas. Their enduring appeal arises from high accessibility, demanding just one durable rubber ball—often a Spaldeen or similar—and ubiquitous urban features, enabling spontaneous participation among children in resource-limited neighborhoods. Skill development progresses organically from rudimentary bounces and catches to sophisticated control under pressure, evolving casual rounds into competitive matches that build endurance and tactics. In distinction from chase and tag games' emphasis on unmediated body movement, ball-based variants center on prop-mediated precision, broadening appeal across physical abilities. Other common categories of street games include jumping games like hopscotch and jump rope, and throwing games such as jacks and marbles.

Chase and Tag Games

Chase and tag games constitute a core category of equipment-free street games, emphasizing pursuit, evasion, and rapid physical movement within urban settings. In their basic form, one player or a small is selected as "it" and pursues the others to tag them by touch, often accompanied by a verbal cue such as a or phrase to confirm the tag, after which roles switch to continue the cycle. This mechanic promotes continuous activity and , distinguishing these games from more stationary pursuits by prioritizing dynamic mobility over fixed positions. Common variations enhance strategic depth while maintaining the chase foundation; for instance, in freeze tag, tagged players must remain frozen in place until a free teammate tags them to unfreeze, introducing elements of timing and rescue. Shadow tag adapts the tagging to environmental conditions, where "it" steps on a player's shadow using sunlight instead of direct contact, encouraging awareness of light and positioning in open areas. These modifications allow play to persist in diverse lighting or crowded urban spaces without altering the no-equipment rule. Spatial rules adapt flexibly to street environments, with players establishing boundaries like neighborhood blocks or specific alleys to contain the action, while designating safe zones such as sidewalks, porches, or street curbs where tagging is prohibited to simulate evasion opportunities. Alleys and yards serve as hiding spots, and players must navigate around urban features like parked vehicles or intermittent traffic, fostering vigilance and spatial negotiation during chases. In team-based variants like Relievio or , a central "jail" area—often a , fence, or marked lot—holds captured players, who can be freed by teammates reaching and touching them without being caught. These games typically involve groups of 4 to 10 children, promoting social interaction through collaborative strategies such as coordinating jailbreaks or evasive maneuvers, which build and trust among participants. The need for split-second decisions—whether to sprint for , assist a teammate, or reposition during a pursuit—sharpens like quick thinking and adaptability in group dynamics. Overall, chase and tag games cultivate physical endurance alongside interpersonal bonds, often played in informal neighborhood gatherings that reinforce ties.

Notable Examples

Classic Rubber Ball Games

Classic rubber ball games represent a cornerstone of street play, utilizing inexpensive rubber balls like the to adapt formal to urban environments such as sidewalks and playgrounds. These games emphasize hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes, and social interaction among children, often requiring minimal equipment beyond a ball and chalk or cracks for boundaries. Popular in mid-20th-century American cities, they fostered community bonds in densely populated neighborhoods where open fields were scarce. Four square, also known as square ball, involves four players occupying a grid of four equal squares drawn on pavement with chalk or tape, typically each about 8 feet by 8 feet. The objective is to eliminate opponents by forcing errors while advancing to the highest-ranked square, often called the "king" position in square four, from which the server initiates play by bouncing the ball once in their square and striking it into another. A player is out for fouls such as allowing the ball to bounce more than once before returning it, hitting it out of bounds, or double-bouncing it off their body; the eliminated player rotates to the end of the line, and others shift up, with the king serving the next rally. Originating in urban sidewalks likely in the late 1940s or early 1950s, the game spread through school playgrounds and summer camps, evolving without formal rules but emphasizing spontaneous order and peer-enforced fairness. Chinese , a variant of also called ace-king-queen or wallball, is played against a vertical wall using sidewalk cracks to delineate three to six boxes, with players positioned in sequence to defend their zones. The server, starting as the "ace" in the leftmost box, bounces the rubber ball once on the ground before striking it against the wall into the next player's box; the receiving player must let it bounce once after the wall before returning it similarly, aiming to score by forcing an opponent to miss, hit out of bounds, or fail to reach the ball. Points accumulate to 11, with the scorer moving to the line's end and direction reversing after the last player; cultural variations include "asses-up," where losers receive playful penalties. Emerging in New York City's immigrant neighborhoods during the early , possibly as early as 1923 in , the game thrived among diverse urban youth, blending Irish handball traditions with local adaptations in concrete playgrounds. Stickball, an improvised version of , employs a broomstick or mop handle as a and a small , transforming city streets into makeshift diamonds where sewers, covers, or parked cars serve as bases. Players follow adapted baseball rules, with the batter hitting pitched balls for singles, doubles, triples, or home runs based on distance or wall height—such as passing two sewers for a homer in —while fielders retrieve and throw to bases, often using ghost runners to speed play in confined spaces. Originating from 18th-century stick-and-ball games and popularized in Northeastern U.S. cities like New York from the 1920s onward, stickball symbolized resourcefulness in working-class immigrant communities, enduring as a cultural rite despite occasional conflicts with traffic and authorities.

Improvised and Equipment-Free Games

Improvised and equipment-free street games emphasize creativity and the use of urban environments, such as sidewalks, alleys, and verbal cues, to facilitate play without specialized tools. These games often involve physical movement, imagination, and simple rules that adapt to available space, making them accessible in densely populated areas where children gather after school or on weekends. is a classic example, played by drawing a course of numbered squares on pavement with , typically arranged in a linear or cross pattern. Players toss a small object, such as a pebble or , onto the first square, then hop through the course on one foot, skipping the square with the object and retrieving it on the return trip without stepping on lines or losing balance. Variations exist globally, including potsy, a New York City-specific adaptation that uses similar hopping mechanics but may incorporate flattened tin cans as markers and slightly altered grid designs for added challenge. Red light, green light relies on verbal commands to simulate traffic signals, with one player acting as the "stoplight" facing away from the group at a finish line, while others line up at a starting point across the play area. The stoplight calls "green light" to allow forward movement and "red light" to require immediate freezing in place; anyone caught moving after "red light" is eliminated or sent back to the start. This game promotes quick reflexes and control, often spanning street widths or open lots for dynamic pacing. Cops and robbers involves where participants divide into "cops" who pursue "robbers" through urban hiding spots like doorways, parked cars, or fences, with the objective of evasion or capture. Robbers scatter to avoid tagging, and captured players go to a designated "" area from which uncaptured teammates can attempt jailbreaks by touching the jail boundary. This game draws on chase elements but highlights imaginative scenarios and neighborhood navigation without props.

Cultural and Social Significance

Educational and Developmental Benefits

Street games offer significant physical health benefits to children by enhancing coordination, endurance, and overall fitness levels. Participation in activities such as running, jumping, and throwing in games like tag or develops , agility, and balance, which are essential for physical development. Traditional street games, as a form of unstructured outdoor play, promote cardiovascular endurance and muscle strength, helping to counteract the effects of sedentary lifestyles common in urban environments. Moreover, engaging in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous daily through such games reduces the risk of and related health issues by improving metabolic profiles and . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at least 60 minutes of daily for children aged 6-17 to prevent and , a threshold often met through informal street play. Cognitively, street games foster problem-solving abilities as children negotiate rules and adapt strategies in dynamic, unstructured settings. For instance, deciding how to modify game boundaries or resolve disputes during play encourages and under variable conditions. These activities also enhance spatial awareness, as players navigate urban spaces like sidewalks or alleys, improving orientation and environmental perception skills. Research on outdoor play indicates that such experiences stimulate development, supporting like planning and adaptability. On the social front, street games cultivate , , and inclusivity, particularly among diverse urban youth groups. By collaborating in mixed-age or multicultural playgroups, children learn to share resources, take turns, and understand others' perspectives, building . Negotiating disagreements during games, such as who gets the next turn in a ball game, teaches constructive resolution techniques and promotes fairness. This inclusive nature of street games helps foster a and belonging, enhancing social bonds in heterogeneous neighborhoods.

Representation in Media and Culture

Street games have been prominently depicted in literature as symbols of childhood freedom and unbridled imagination, particularly in Mark Twain's 1876 novel , where young protagonist Tom engages in activities like playing marbles and organizing pirate adventures in open spaces, illustrating the liberating spirit of unsupervised play in rural American settings. These portrayals highlight how such games allowed children to escape societal constraints and explore , reflecting broader 19th-century ideals of youthful . In film and television, street games often romanticize informal sports and urban camaraderie, as seen in the 1993 movie , which centers on a group of boys playing pickup in a vacant lot during the summer of 1962, evoking for simple, community-bonding activities that foster lifelong friendships. Similarly, urban hip-hop music videos frequently incorporate freestyle to showcase athletic improvisation and cultural expression, exemplified by Kurtis Blow's 1984 track "Basketball," where the video blends rhythmic ball-handling tricks with lyrics celebrating the sport's role in Black American life and street culture. These representations underscore street games as accessible outlets for creativity in resource-limited environments. Culturally, street games serve as powerful metaphors in media narratives, symbolizing resilience among immigrant communities; for instance, the 2022 documentary Bragging Rights: Stickball Stories explores how the improvised bat-and-ball game of stickball in New York City's diverse neighborhoods has built leadership and bridged racial divides for generations of Puerto Rican, Italian, and other immigrant youth facing urban hardships.

Contemporary Aspects

Urban Adaptations and Safety

In modern urban environments, street games have been adapted through initiatives that temporarily reclaim roadways for play, countering the spatial constraints imposed by traffic. A prominent example is New York City's Summer Streets program, launched in 2008, which closes approximately 15 miles of avenues to vehicular traffic on select summer Saturdays, allowing participants to engage in activities like running, , and informal games in a car-free zone. This pop-up approach has expanded to all five boroughs since 2023, with the program spanning over 22 miles citywide as of 2025 and attracting hundreds of thousands of users annually. Safety remains a primary concern for urban street games, as traffic hazards pose significant risks to children playing near roads. In the United States, approximately 7,081 children ages 0 to 19 suffered nonfatal pedestrian injuries in motor vehicle crashes in 2023, with urban settings accounting for the majority due to higher vehicle volumes and pedestrian activity. The modern evolution of cities, dominated by automobiles since the early 20th century, has exacerbated this by reducing safe play spaces and increasing collision risks. Mitigation strategies include the use of visibility aids, such as reflective vests, which studies show can increase drivers' detection distance of child pedestrians under low-light conditions, thereby reducing accident likelihood. Policy responses in have increasingly incorporated street games into city infrastructure to address these safety issues. In , post-2010 initiatives have promoted "playable streets" through regulatory frameworks that integrate play into residential design, such as temporary road closures and speed reductions. For instance, the UK's Playing Out program, which began in 2009 and expanded nationwide after 2010, enables communities to obtain permits for regular street play sessions, transforming neighborhoods into safer play zones while complying with traffic laws. These efforts emphasize shared street use, with features like bollards and signage to minimize vehicle intrusion, reflecting a broader shift toward child-centered urban policies.

Global Variations and Revival Efforts

Street games exhibit diverse variations across the globe, reflecting local cultures, available materials, and environmental contexts. In , in involves teams of nine fielders sitting in a line while chasers attempt to tag runners without being touched, emphasizing agility and strategy in open spaces. Similarly, Oonch Neech in uses urban obstacles like benches or trees as safe "high" or "low" zones, where players evade the chaser until a call switches safe areas. In Southeast Asia, Luksong-Baka in the features players leaping over a teammate who progressively stands taller to mimic a "cow," testing jumping skills with minimal equipment. In and the , games often incorporate rhythmic elements or natural features. Hajla in resembles , with players hopping through chalked squares on pavement while tossing a stone, adapting to urban streets. In , the Ten Ten requires pairs to synchronize hand claps and leg movements to a chant, fostering coordination in group settings. Ghana's Pilolo involves hiding small objects like pennies in an outdoor area for teams to find and return, promoting exploration and teamwork. Latin American variations highlight social interaction and improvisation. In Chile, Corre, Corre la Guaraca has a runner secretly drop a handkerchief behind seated players in a circle while a song plays; the targeted player must chase and tag the runner to avoid elimination. Brazil's Luta de Galo pits two players hopping on one foot to snatch each other's handkerchiefs, a test of balance common in street play. In Europe, Greece's Statues game requires participants to freeze in poses upon the caller's command during a chase, blending tag with creative expression in public squares. Revival efforts for street games have gained momentum worldwide to counter the decline due to , , and safety concerns. The Tocatì International Festival of Street Games in , , organized annually since 2003 by Associazione Giochi Antichi, revives traditional European games through public demonstrations, workshops, and international exchanges, drawing thousands to reclaim streets for play and linking activities to UNESCO's . In , youth-led initiatives since the 2010s have reintroduced folk games like tug-of-war and in community events and schools, integrating them into modern festivals to preserve amid rapid development. Globally, organizations promote documentation and adaptation. An international project from the 1980s onward has compiled traditional games from various countries, advocating revival through school curricula, video resources, and cross-cultural festivals to foster and heritage awareness. In , efforts among nomadic communities emphasize conserving games like stone-throwing races via cultural programs that blend them with education, highlighting their role in physical and social development. Indigenous groups in use traditional games in media and events to reclaim youth engagement and cultural connectedness, as seen in initiatives promoting activities like anklebone games. These efforts underscore street games' enduring value in building and countering sedentary lifestyles.

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