Mother May I? is a children's game, also known as "Captain May I?" and "Father May I?". Objective, rules, and general gameplay One player plays the "mother", "father" or "captain". The other players are the "children" or "crewmembers". To begin the game, the mother or father stands at one end of a room and turns around facing away, while all the children line up at the other end. The children take turns asking "Mother/Father, may I ?" and makes a movement suggestion. For example, one might ask, "Mother/Father, may I take five steps forward?" The mother/father either replies "Yes, you may" or "No, you may not do that, but you may _ instead" and inserts their own suggestion. The players usually move closer to the mother/father but are sometimes led farther away. Even if the mother/father makes an unfavorable suggestion, the child must still perform it. The first of the children to reach the location of the mother/father wins the game. That child then becomes the mother/father himself, the original mother/father becomes a child, and a new round begins. Some suggestions that fill in the "Mother/Father/Captain, may I ?" blank include: Take (#) steps forward Take (#) giant steps forward (usually a small number, due to large step size) Take (#) baby steps forward (usually a large number, due to tiny step size) Take (#) umbrella steps forward Hop forward like a frog, (#) times Run forward for (#) seconds Crabwalk forward for (#) seconds Take (#) Cinderella steps - Twirl forward with index finger touching the top of the head Open-and-shut the book (#) times - jump forwards with feet apart then again bringing the feet together Lamppost - lie face down and stretch arms forwards, bring your feet to the point reached by the fingertips If the "children" are reaching the "mother" or "father" too quickly, the "mother"/"father" may reject the child's suggestion by replacing it with "No, you may not do that, but you may instead." They may reduce the child's original suggestion (for example, reducing five giant steps to three giant steps), or make a different suggestion, such as: Take (#) steps backward Run backward for (#) seconds Walk backward until I (mother/father) say "stop" Return to the starting line (in rare cases) A common alternative gameplay is for "mother" or "father" (who can be facing the children) to begin each child's turn by issuing the