Playing is considered one of the main occupations of the child. Based on the understanding of influences on playing, this work proposes to describe the childhood playing of rural residentes, from an intergenerational perspective. This is a descriptive-exploratory study, with a qualitative approach, carried out with eight mothers and eight daughters living in Limoeiro-PE. In the data collection, the interview technique, the Drawing-History procedure and the field diary were used. For analysis, Bardin's Content Analysis methodology was adopted based on Romeu Gomes' framework. The results identified similarities in play between both generations: space where play usually takes place, family members as the main partners in play and the characteristics of games, toys and pranks. The insertion of new technologies into children´s daily lives, the ease in purchasing industrialized toys and the quality of the toys are seen as the most obvious differences. Given the objective of this study, the number of participants, and unique characteristics of the sampling, the data presented may differ from similar studies in relation to the characteristics of games, toys and games experienced in rural spaces. It could become a guide for new studies and concerns involving the topic.