# marco polo
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marco-polo/129799
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 27, 2002, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marco-polo/129799 "2002-09-27T01:42:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2002, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marco-polo/129799/1 "2002-09-27T01:42:14Z")
hello y’all.
Why is the game Marco Polo named after Marco Polo? was this the way he punished mutinous sailors?
jb
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### Author:  [@intrigante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/intrigante)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2002, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marco-polo/129799/2 "2002-09-27T02:30:43Z")
[Slight hijack] And what are the main rules? I heard my neighbor’s kids play it all summer. I’ve never played it. (I thought they were teasing some kid Marco until it went on forever.)
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marco-polo/129799/3 "2002-09-27T03:12:41Z")
[Rules for Marco Polo](http://www.gameskidsplay.net/games/sensing_games/marcopolo.htm)
As to the OP, I don’t know the origin of the name.
(I’m pretty sure you can rule out punishments for several reasons:
- Polo’s travels were nearly all overland (and I am unaware of him every being a ship’s master);
- the game is simply a “tag” variant (with some features similar to Pom Pom Pullaway) as modified for a pool environment and is unlikely to have a basis in some archaic punishment.)
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2002, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marco-polo/129799/4 "2002-09-27T04:50:39Z")
According to [the Smithsonian](http://www.silkroadproject.org/smithsonian/venice/travelers.html) “No one knows the origin of this game, but it seems to come from the legend of Marco Polo.” Apparently he did do a bit of sailing.
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### Author:  [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2002, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marco-polo/129799/5 "2002-09-27T14:31:26Z")
**The following opinion has no basis in authoritative fact.**
I would guess that once upon a time some kid heard somebody talking about the game of Water Polo, heard about Marco Polo in school that day, and just put two and two together and made up his own idea of what water polo must be.