there is the cavalo de pau, literally 'wooden horse', made out of the same broom, paper and string that form the imaginary equine in every country around the world. 

there is also the bilboquê, a wooden ball and stick game which goes by innumerable names the world over - the objective is to land the ball in the hole - which is attached with a length of rope - on the tip of the stick. success requires considerably more skill than it would appear.

from tin cans, rudimentary telephones are made with string, and when children bore of talking to one another, they stand on the cans, hold the rope taught and gallop down the street, the hollow metal echoing the sounds of horseshoes on the pavement.