Yeah it's true. The game originated in Sweden, and we have a lot of Swedish immigrants in Minnesota. It was originally called anka anka gråttanka, which translates to duck duck grey duck. Or that's the story we tell here at least.
I heard both growing up. To me they were just synonyms for the same game. Well, almost the same. Duck Duck Gray Duck is a little more fun because you assign colors to all of the ducks, so you have to pay a little more attention. But when not actually playing the game, the two versions live in the same pigeon hole within my brain.
I grew up in southern Minnesota and played Duck Duck Grey Duck as a kid. The first time I heard of Duck Duck Goose was when I moved away for college. When I first heard someone say Duck Duck Goose, I thought they were just making up a weird verse in the game.
We always played where each person tapped gets a different "Duck" so, "blue duck, orange duck, wet duck, baby duck, and so on" and then when the caller says "Grey Duck" then the chase is on. So in that version "goose" could just be one of the ducks called, so that's what I thought they were doing. It was much later that I learned that other folks didn't have any variation to the calls other than "goose" and "duck".
They know the horror of Canadian geese first hand. No way in hell will you get them to willingly partake in a ritual that has even the slightest chance of summoning one.
I was in an antique mall the other day with my teenage daughter and we stopped to look at a bunch of wooden duck decoys, and I was able to touch each one with a "duck, duck, duck," then gleefully touch her head and say, "goose!" I hadn't said it since I was so little.
She did not chase me around the antique mall. Probably for the best.
This has been today's episode of Squid shares something no one cares about.
What the hell, what? Go on, say it. Shout your shame to the world, you sorry psychotic excuse for waterfowl, deserving not of even the most ridiculed of colors.