¿Quién robó pan? is a traditional game played in many Spanish-speaking countries. It is a chant in the form of a dialog. Kids often play this game on a bus or when a group is waiting.
Be sure to check our complete collection of traditional Spanish games for kids. You’ll find our favorite games for language learners, with everything from playground games to board games.
I use this game with Spanish language learners even if the group is fairly small. I like it because it has the rhythm of a natural dialog and uses common structures that are easily transferred to other situations. It also reinforces two common conjugations in the preterite – the third person singular of regular -ar verbs and ser in first person.
Players clap as they recite this dialog. The game begins by naming any player and that player then names someone else. In this example ¿Quién robó pan? begins with Jorge:
Todos – Jorge robó pan en la casa de San Juan.
Jorge -¿Quién, yo?
Todos – Sí, tú.
Jorge – Yo no fui.
Todos – Entonces, ¿quién?
Jorge – Ana
Todos – Ana robó pan en la casa de San Juan.
Ana – ¿Quién, yo?
Todos – Sí, tú.
Ana – Yo no fui.
Todos – Entonces, ¿quién?
Ana – Mari
You can hear a group of students playing ¿Quién robó pan? in this video. They get a good rhythm going at about 0:30, so you might want to advance the video to that point.
You can also hear the game and a brief explanation here: Spanish game – ¿Quién robó pan?
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