A girl pretends to be a bee and buzzes around a circle of children sitting on the ground while she holds a small pebble in her hand.

She drops the pebble near a seated boy who picks up the stone, sprints out of his place and starts chasing her until she takes his place in the circle - it's his turn to play the part of the bee now.

As the game goes on other curious children join the circle to have a go at playing Iż-Żunżana Ddur Ddur (the bee buzzes around) in the streets of Vittoriosa.

Like a scene from the past, the city yesterday swarmed with children playing traditional Maltese outdoor games during a festival organised to revive the playful part of our heritage.

Seventy-one-year-old Emanuel Attard, who helped out during the festival, remembered playing the games with his neighbourhood friends when he was a child.

"We would play in the road. There were barely any cars in those days.

"If I had to go back in time I'd much rather play those type of games than spend hours sitting at a computer as children do nowadays," Mr Attard said as he looked at children playing the familiar games with a feeling of nostalgia.

Those who turned up yesterday took a shot at playing Passju (hop scotch) and tested the precision of their aim at Boċċi and Ballun Stop (stop ball).

In the square, other children played Gwerra Franċiża (French war) in which they took turns at catching one another while others tried il-Logħba tal-Maktur (the handkerchief game) in which they tried to grab a handkerchief from their opponent.

Those who preferred something less physically demanding opted for games like Ħaġa Moħġaġa, based on riddles, or Bum Bum il-Bieb (knock, knock at the door) where children sang about an ambassador in search of a wife.

The majority of the games were at the height of their popularity during the British period when many families were unable to afford the luxury of toys and the streets were still generally traffic-free.

Children, therefore, created their own diversions making use of whatever means were available to them.

Children were not the only ones in need of diversion. Adults also looked forward to a game of Boċċi with their friends after a week of work.

The festival was organised by the The National Museum of Ethnography, within Heritage Malta, and the Vittoriosa council.

Ballun Stop

One player holds a ball and throws it high into the air while he calls out the name of one of the other children who will be running around. When the person, whose name was called, catches the ball he cries "Stop" and the other children stop running. If he catches the ball immediately he wins the right to call out another name. If not he must then try to hit a child with the ball or be expelled from the game. Players hit four times are also expelled.

Tal-Maktur

Each member of two teams is given a number. A neutral player stands in the middle holding a handkerchief and calls out numbers at random. The players of opposing teams, who have that number, run out to try and grab the handkerchief and return back to base before being caught by the opponent.

Gwerra Franċiża

Two teams stand behind a line. Team members start running out one at a time and chasing members of the opposing team. Those captured are taken to "prison" and can be saved by a peer who manages to touch their hand. The rescued prisoner returns back to play. The game ends when a player manages to get through the opponent's base, situated beyond the line.