The study examines and compares free/spontaneous play behaviors of 20 Hispanic (from Ponce, Puerto Rico) and 20 Anglo (from State College, Pennsylvania) 5-year-old children from middle class socioeconomic strata. Within each of the groups there were 10 boys and 10 girls. Each child was observed in a group play setting in four observational sessions over a 2-week period. The same predetermined observation order was used for each child across sessions. Each of the four sessions was 5 minutes long and contained 10 time blocks of 30-second intervals of actual observation accompanied by 10 seconds of recording. Findings suggested that differences exist between cultures, sexes, play types, and observations/trials. Results showed that: (1) Hispanic girls used more reality-oriented play than Anglo girls; (2) Hispanic boys showed greater amounts of simple/functional play than Anglo boys; and (3) Anglo boys showed significantly more fantasy play than Hispanic boys. Variability within and across play observations/trials among Hispanic children was significant. (Author/RH)