THE BOOK OF GAMES /sT? THE BOOK OF GAMES WITH DIRECTIONS HOW TO PLAY THEM BY MARY WHITE TWELFTH EDITION NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1902 Copyright, 1896, 1898, by Charles Scribner's Sons TROW DIRECTORY PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY NEW YORK }> %0 ^oke yame (oiub PREFATORY NOTE TO THE EIGHTH EDITION To the game-loving people who so kindly welcomed the first appearance of this little book (under the title, " The Book of a Hun- dred Games "), I send my warmest thanks. That it was so cordially received in England, the paradise of sports, has been most gratify- ing, and this encourages me to send it forth again with fifteen additional games and a new dress. M. W. Bay Ridge, August 9, 1898. PREFACE The object of this little book is to give, to those who need them, a number of new games, with changes rung on the old favorites. It came to be written in this way. Some two years ago twenty people, particularly choice and congenial spirits, gravitated together and called themselves the Game Club. It was hardly a club, except in name, for there were no officers, and no dues, and no quarrels; but all were agreed upon a few necessary points. All felt that they cared more for games than for dancing. All were ready to lay aside their dignity and vanity for the sake of mak- ing games a success. All agreed that the meet- ings should be fortnightly and each time at a different member's house. All agreed to agree. And so the Game Club grew and prospered until it had played all the games in old and x Preface new game-books, and then it made games for itself and sometimes made over the old ones. Two years is a good old age for a Game Club, and yet it still lives and flourishes, and from its experience it sends you The Book of a Hundred Games. M. W. Bay Ridge, N. Y., January 25, 1896. CONTENTS PART I Games Requiring Preparation PAGE I. Guessing Match, 3 II. Missing Letters, 4 III. Butterflies, . 6 IV. The Most Improbable Story, 8 ^** V. Memory, 10 VI. Living Catalogue, 11 VII. Animate Art, 12 VIII. Silhouettes, 14 IX. Twisted Animals, „ . . . 1 7 X. Industrial Fair, 18 XI. Soap-bubbles, 20 XII. Geographical Letters, 22 XIII. Newspaper, 25 XIV. Sequels to Mother Goose's Rhymes, ... 31 XV. Three Rhyming Games, 33 XVI. Fan-ball, 37 XVII. Intercollegiate Foot-ball, 39 xi xii Contents PAGE XVIII. Parodies, 42 XIX. Bouquet, 43 XX. Mirth, 45 XXI. Vice Versa, 46 XXII. Progressive Puzzles, ....... 48 XXIII. Eye-guessing, 49 XXIV. The Objective Library, 51 XXV. Initials, 54 XXVI. Auction, 56 XXVII. Commerce, 58 XXVIII. Stray Syllables, 60 XXIX. Baby Show, 61 XXX. Palette, 63 XXXI. China Painting,. 65 XXXII. Shadow Pictures, 66 XXXIII. Silhouettes in Disguise, 70 XXXIV. What would you do if ? .... 71 XXXV. Songs for Several Singers, 73 XXXVI. Who am I? 74 XXXVII. Location, 75 XXXVIII. Fashion Notes, 76 XXXIX. Composite Pictures, 78 XL. A Penny for Your Thoughts, .... 79 XLI. Alliterative Literature, . . . . . : 81 XLII. Sight Unseen, ... 83 Contents xiii PAGE XLIII. Household Fragrance, 84 XLIV. Flags of All Nations, 86 XLV. Blockade, 87 XLVL Domestic Architecture, 89 XLVII. Blind Artists, 90 XLVIII. Buying Forfeits, 91 XLIX. A Boy's Pockets, 92 L. Personal Preference Pictures, 93 LI. Peanut Hunt, . . 94 LII. Zoological Game, „ ... 95 LIII. Conundrums, 96 LIV. Compositions, 97 LV. Broken Quotations, 98 LVI. Photograph Whist, 99 LVII. Celebrities, 100 LVIII. Planting Peanuts, 101 LIX. Patchwork Illustration, 102 LX. Swaps, 103 LXI. Nicknames of Cities, 105 LXII. Biography, 106 LXIII. Talking Shop, 107 LXIV. Natural History, . . 109 xiv Contents PART II Impromptu Games PAGE LXV. A Spoonful of Fun, 113 LXVI. Trades, 114 LX VII. What is My Thought Like ? 115 LXVIII. Personal Conundrums, 117 LXIX. Cities, 117 LXX. Jenkins, 118 LXXI. Short Stories, 120 LXXII. The Impossible Cat, 122 LXXIII. Famous Characters, 123 LXXIV. Stuff and Nonsense, 124 LXXV. Theatrical Titles of Books, .... 126 LXXVI. Orchestra, 127 LXXVII. Bequests, 128 LXXVIII. Teapot, 129 LXXIX. Dumb Motions, 13o LXXX. Scouts, 131 LXXXI. Commercial Traveller, 132 LXXXII. The Seasons, 134 LXXXI1I. Who is My Neighbor ? 135 LXXXIV. How? Where? When? 137 LXXXV. Nonsense Rhymes, 138 LXXXVI. Button, Button, Negatively, .... 139 LXXXVII. Gardening, 140 Contents xv PAGE LXXXVIII. Philopena, 141 LXXXIX. Cross-questions and Silly Answers, . . 142 XC. Spirits, 144 XCI. Wordy Word, 146 XCII. Advice, . .147 XCIII. Fire, 148 XCIV. It, 149 XCV. Telegrams, . . • . 151 XCVI. Boston Telegrams, ....... 152 XCVII. Postman, . . 153 XCVIII. Barber Shop, 155 XCIX. Royal Lady, 156 C. Horn Monkey, 157 CI. Useless Information, 158 PART III Games for Special Occasions CII. New Year's Resolutions, 161 CIII. St. Valentine's Day, 162 CIV. Washington's Birthday, 165 CV. April First, 167 CVI. Hallowe'en, 168 CVII. Topsy-turvy and Christmas Party, . .173 CVIII. A Children's Party for Grown People, . 175 xvi Contents PART IV Old Favorites for Children PAGE CIX. My Lady's Toilet, 179 CX. Hunt the Whistle, 180 CXI. Bookbinder, 181 CXII. Blowing; the Feather, 182 CXIII. Magic Music, 183 CXIV. Animals, 185 CXV. Trolley-car, 186 SOME FORFEITS, 189 PART I GAMES REQUIRING PREPARATION I Guessing Match Materials Required : As many sheets of paper and pencils as there are players; a prize appropriate for a lady or gentleman. A number of articles of unknown size, quan- tity, dimensions, weight, age, etc., are arranged on a table. The full particulars about these articles the leader has, of course, ascertained. Then the company are invited to view, handle, and examine the articles and guess as to their respective details. Every article should be numbered so that the guesses may be written on a slip of paper by each person, opposite corresponding numbers. The best guesser, of course, wins the prize. The following articles are suggested, and others will readily occur to anyone : i, Number of beans in a glass jar; 2, weight of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary; 3, length of a ball 4 The Book of Games of twine; 4, number of playing-cards in a pack,, from which several have been taken; 5, height of a pole; 6, number of seeds in an orange ; 7, quantity of water in a pail ; 8, number of pins in a pin-cushion ; 9, age of a cat (or dog or baby) ; 10, how long a piece of candle will burn; 11, denomination of a postage-stamp turned face downward ; 12, photographs of famous people whose names are better known than their faces. II Missing Letters Materials Required : As many pencils and written or type-written lists as there are players ; a prize. This is an English game, played by our cousins over the water. Here it is, imported and Americanized. The players take seats in a circle, and a pencil is given to each one, with a sheet of paper on which has been written or type-written, preferably the latter, a list like the following : MISSING LETTERS (X represents the missing letters) 1. Max (first in every home). 2. Lxxe (couldn't live without it). Missing Letters 5 3. Xxle (the more you take from it the larger it gets). 4. ^Toox (it's all over the house). 5. Loxx (found in the suburbs). 6. AYaxt (gives a cold, cures a cold, and pays the doctor). 7. -Yeaxty (desirable for unattractive women). 8. Xxxxs (that for which women spend too much money). 9. Lxn*s (near to every maiden's heart). 10. Txaxsxbxtenxixbcoxaxlxnxsx (longest word in the English language). It will readily be seen that there are several possible answers to each word, but the real key is as follows : 1. Mat. 4. Roof. 7. Realty. . 2. Life. 5- Lots. 8. Dress. 3. Hole. 6. Draft. 9. Lungs. 10. Transubstantiationableness. The players are requested to write the an- swers as they guess them against the words in their lists, and one of their number, either the host or a leader chosen from among the play- ers who is familiar with the key, waits in readiness to correct the papers as they are 6 The Book of Games handed to him by the contestants. The lists may be corrected as many times as is neces- sary, for everyone can guess again until one person succeeds in writing all the answers cor- rectly. A prize may, in fact should, be given to the winner in this brain-developing exercise, and an appropriate award is one of the puzzles which abound m street " fakirs' " carts. Ill Butterflies Materials Required : As many sheets of note-paper as there are players j the same number of sheets of stout brown paper, 6 by g inches in size j a palette or plate j the scrapings of paint fro ?n an artist's palette, or one tube each of the following oil-paints : white, vermilion, new blue, yellow, crimson lake ; a palette-knife j several paper- knives ; a prize in the form of a butterfly, if desired, A favorite game with the art students in Paris is making butterflies. They take sheets of note-paper or brown paper and the paints Butterflies 7 left on their palettes at the close of the day, or tubes taken haphazard from a paint-box; then, folding the pieces of paper exactly through the centre, they put a bit of paint (composed of several colors and about as much as would cover a five-cent piece) on the inside of the paper near the place where it is folded and just in the centre; then, pressing the paper closely together, they hold it to the light, when it shows just where the paint is. Taking a clean palette-knife or paper-knife and starting at the fold in the paper, they press the paint outward and upward in the form of a butter- fly's wing, the upper one, as though the but- terfly were seen in profile ; and starting again in the same place, but pressing downward, they get the lower and smaller wing. When all this is done and when held up to the light a fairly well-formed butterfly is seen, the papers are opened and there is a perfect butterfly with spread wings! If plenty of paint has been used there will be ridges quite suggestive of scales on the butterfly's wings, and the color combinations are often wonderfully beautiful. With brown paper (heavy, glazed is the best) 8 The Book of Games bits of white paint will show up well, and inter- esting varieties of the white butterfly will re- sult. A prize in the form of a butterfly may or may not be given to the person who has made the most beautiful butterfly, but if the players add their autographs to the painted butterflies they have made, their hostess will have an interesting collection of souvenirs of the occa- sion and one well worth keeping. IV The Most Improbable Story Materials Required: As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize. When all are seated in a circle and all pro- vided with pencils and paper, it is announced that this is a competition, and that the one who writes the most improbable story in twenty minutes gets the prize. When the time is up the papers are collected and redistributed so The Most Improbable Story 9 that each player gets some other player's story, and they are then read aloud. The writer of the most improbable — not the most interest- ing or the cleverest, but the most improbable — story is the prize winner. Here is an example : A LION HUNT In the year 1927 a young man was seen slowly mean- dering rapidly down Twenty-third Avenue, in Greater New York, on the back of a camel with a long tail and gold eyeglasses. In his right hand he carried a can- non and in his other an umbrella. He was a young man for his age, but looked older. His costume consisted of a coat-of-arms and knickerbockers of the same, and on his head he wore a red cap made of black sheet-iron. In his face was a look of grim determination and a corn- cob pipe. As he neared the corner in the middle of the block a mighty roar like the sound of a Jersey mosquito reached his ear — in fact his two ears — and simulta- neously or sooner four hundred and seven real live lions with angry tails and mounted on nice red wooden wheels rushed out right straight at him and announced their sad determination to eat him all up. He said not a word nor anything else, but just aimed his cannon and pulled the spigot, and when the votes were all in and the smoke of battle cleared away all were dead or slain outright or mortally wounded. io The Book of Games Memory Materials Required: Twenty small articles , such as scissors, tape-measure, ink-stand, thimble, calendar, paper of pins, spectacle-case, pill-box, tack-hammer, knife, candlestick, etc; as many sheets of paper and pencils as there are guests ; a prize. In the middle of a room adjoining the one in which you are to receive your guests place a round table, and on it arrange twenty small articles, very much assorted. As many sheets of paper as there are to be guests should be numbered down the left-hand side from 1 to 20. Keep the doors between the rooms closed until all the guests have arrived, when the doors may be thrown open and all asked to go into the room where the table is, and to look carefully at the exhibition of articles for three minutes. At the end of that time everybody is sent back to the other room, the doors are again closed and each one re- ceives one of the numbered sheets of paper and is requested to write from memory a list Living Catalogue ii of the things seen on the table. Ten minutes is the time allowed for this, and then a true list of the articles is read and each person corrects his or her own paper. To the one who has remembered most a prize may be given. VI Living Catalogue All the guests should be asked, when they are bidden to this party, to come /dressed to represent the titles of books. Each person should be thoroughly acquainted with the book he or she represents, so that, as far as possible, the idea of the book may be carried out in the actions of the impersonator. At the end of the evening a vote should be taken as to who de- serves the prize for the most original costume. A few suggestions of books may not be out of place here, although in any library catalogue will be found plenty of original and easily represented titles : " A Woman's Reason,' ' Howells — by the word Was out on a * bat/ He slipped on a vegetable — common potato — And sat, saying, * Where am I at ? ' " NUMBER TWO Materials Required : Twice as many slips of paper, three inches by half an inch, as there are players; as many pencils and sheets of foolscap paper as there are players j two bowls or card- trays. When the players are seated in a circle each one receives two slips of paper and a pencil Three Rhyming Games 35 and is asked to write on one slip a noun and on the other a verb. Two bov/ls or trays are then passed around the circle ; into one every player puts a noun and into the other a verb. Again the bowls are passed and every player takes a slip from each bowl. Sheets of foolscap paper are then dealt out, one apiece, to the players, and each is asked to write a rhyme containing the noun and the verb which he drew. Example : Noun— Trolley-car. Verb— Fly. " Upon a trolley-car last week A timid motor-man Was hit upon his toughened cheek With brick-bat, rock, and can. " He was a * scab ' from Jersey's shores Thus hit upon the fly, No more he'll do another's chores Until he minds his eye." NUMBER THREE Sheets of paper are provided, one for each player, and on every one is written a subject for a poem with the last word of each line, 3<5 The Book of Games making a skeleton poem, with the rhymes ready-made, in this way : AN ODE TO TENNIS Play slay court fought say day racket jacket For fifteen minutes everyone thinks and writes, and at the end of that time the papers are collected and the verses read. For ex- ample : AN ODE TO TENNIS O, watch the sylph-like Percy play, His victims on the ground to slay. He chases them around the court, The scene of many a battle fought. " He ain't no good," I hear you say ; " He plays still worse from day to day.** The reason is that many a racket Causes his wife to dust his jacket. Fan-ball 37 XVI FAN-BALL Materials Required : Two palm-leaf fans ; one sheet of red and one sheet of blue paper, quite stiff; a prize. Two balls, one of red paper and one of blue, are required, each being made of three flat intersecting pieces of paper : No. i. No. 2. No. ■ Having cut three circles three and a half inches in diameter, or four times the size of those in the diagram, cut slits according to the straight lines in the diagram, and number the circles 1, 2, and 3 as indicated. Now, taking No. 1 in your left hand, slide it through the long middle slit in No. 2, and it will be caught and held by the small slits at either side of No. 1. The cross-cuts in No. 3 allow that 3$ The Book of Games circle to fit over and bisect the other two, thus completing the skeleton ball. A goal is made at each end of the room where the game is to be played by placing two chairs or hassocks a yard apart; a chair is also placed at an equal distance from each goal and in the centre of the room. When your guests have all arrived two captains should be chosen, who in turn choose sides until the party is equally divided. The red ball and a palm-leaf fan are given to one team and the blue ball and a fan to the other, and each takes pos- session of a goal. Two players at a time con- test, one from each side, and the game is played in this way : Each player stands in front of his goal, his paper ball before him; at the word of com- mand from the umpire, previously selected, each fans his ball in the direction of his oppo- nent's goal. The balls must go through the chair in the centre of the room, and the player who first sends his ball through this chair and then through his opponent's goal is the win- ner, and another pair of players begin the game afresh. When all have played, the team Intercollegiate Foot-ball 39 which has won the most times receives as a prize a box of candy, bouquet of flowers, or something divisible among the members of the team. It must be remembered in playing this game that it is not allowable to touch the ball, it should be propelled only by the breeze from the fan. XVII Intercollegiate Foot-ball Materials Required : Two eggs ; one-fourth of a yard of the narrowest medium-blue ribbon ; one-fourth of a yard of narrowest orange ribbon ; half a yard of narrowest black ribbon ; one fourth of a yard of narrowest white ribbon ; one-eighth of a yard, an inch wide, of medium-blue ribbon ; one-eighth of a yard, an inch wide, of orange rib- bon ; six small sticks as lo?ig as a lead-pencil and about one -fourth as thick ; two wooden spools ; one piece of white chalk. Foot-ball is always exciting — on the field, from the grand stand, and in the newspapers. It is even exciting on a table if played in a realistic way— as is possible if you will follow these directions : Take two raw eggs and blow 40 The Book of Games them by making a small hole at each end and blowing through one hole until all the inward- ness of the tgg has been forced into a cup at the opposite end. When this has been done and the perfect shells remain, paint the eggs, or rather the shells, as nearly leather-color as possible with water-color paints. When they are dry draw with pen and ink the sections and lacing, so as to make them look as much as possible like real foot-balls. Next take an eighth of a yard each of medium-blue and orange ribbon, one inch wide, and one -fourth yard each of narrowest white and black rib- bon. Sew this narrow ribbon, the white in a Y on the blue ribbon, and the black in a P on the orange. Make two small sticks for these flags and you will have a prize ready for the winning team, whichever it may be. Your labors are not over, however, for the goal- posts are still to be made, but that is an easy matter. Saw two spools in halves, paint them black with ink or ivory-black, and you have the stands for your posts; then make four posts of the size to fit in the holes in the spool stands and about six inches long. Sew at the Intercollegiate Foot-ball 41 top of one pair two Yale-blue pennants, made of strips of narrowest blue ribbon, and on the other pair two Princeton pennants of black and orange narrowest ribbon. Now on a dark felt table-cover, or even on the top of a dark wood table, mark out the lines of the "gridiron," or foot-ball field, placing the Yale goal-posts at one end and the Princeton at the other. When your guests arrive two of the number are chosen captains, one of the Yale and the other of the Princeton team. These captains then choose sides, and when all are ranged back of the goal-posts on their own sides the game begins. The ball is placed in the centre of the field and chance decides which side shall put it in play. This is done by the whole team, or by one or more players chosen by the captain, blowing the ball toward their opponent's goal. Each side can blow but once at a time, so the opposing side now takes its turn, and the foot-ball is blown back and forth until one side sends it through its opponent's goal, when that side scores six points and the foot- ball goes back to the centre. At the end of half an hour time is called and the flag of his 42 The Book of Games college, on the pole of which may be strung an egg-shell foot-ball, is given to the winning captain as a trophy. XVIII Parodies Materials Required : As many pencils and theets of paper as there are players ; a prize. In this game each person is required to write & parody on some well-known poem selected by the hostess. Pencils and paper are given to the players and a subject for all to write on is then announced ; also the title of the poem to be parodied. Half an hour should be al- lowed for the players to write their verses, and then all the papers are collected and read aloud by one of the company and a prize for the best may be given. Here is an example : Poem—" Hiawatha." Subject— The New Woman. In the land of the Dakotas, Where the lodges of the red men Were the only habitations, In the days of Hiawatha; Bouquet 43 Where the squaws in wigwams toiling, Cooking for the dozing warriors, For the painted, red-skin warriors, Lived and died and lie forgotten, Comes a strange, uncanny figure — On a bicycle 'tis riding, Clad in bloomers, tailor-made ones. To Dakota comes this object What the white men call New Woman. Ghost of lovely Minnehaha, Dost thou see this new production ? Gaze and wonder, Minnehaha 1 XIX Bouquet Materials Required : Sheets of colored tis-> site-paper of light yellow, orange, rose-color, red, light and dark violet, deep crimson, purple, light and dark blue, and white, two of each j also a fourth as many sheets of light and dark green tis- sue-paper as there are players ; as 7nany slips of paper as there are players ; one spool of fine wire, such as tissue-paper manufacturers sell ; No, 8 needles and No. 70 white and black cotton ; one bottle of mucilage ; at least one- third as many pairs of scissors as there are players. 44 The Book of Games As the guests arrive each one receives a slip of paper on which is written the name of a flower. When all have come and are ready to begin, the hostess gives to each person a sheet of tissue-paper of the color needed to make the flower written on each slip — or, if more than one color is needed, half a sheet of each color will be enough — with one-fourth each of light and dark green. Twenty minutes, it is announced, is the time allowed for all to make one or more of the flowers assigned to them. Each person should have a needle and thread, and, if possible, the whole party should be seated around a table, or several small tables, for convenience in working. The scissors, wire, and mucilage may be used in common. When the time is up the hostess collects the flowers and a committee of four players, two ladies and two gentlemen, decides which is the most natural and perfect flower, and to the maker of this flower the whole bouquet is given by way of a prize. Suggestions for Flowers : Wild rose, violet, daisy, tulip, sweet-pea, buttercup, chrysanthemum, pansy, lily, nasturtium, bachelor's button, poppy, carnation, gera- Mirth 45 nium, dandelion, aster, primrose, marigold, orchid, daffodil, arbutus. XX Mirth Materials Required : A prize. When you have played this game you will perhaps wonder at its name and may rechris- ten it mirthless merriment. The leader should be a person with a contagious laugh. He is provided with an ordinary white handkerchief, which, when the players have formed a circle around him, he throws into the air. At this signal everyone must laugh as heartily as pos- sible until the handkerchief touches the floor, when if there is one or more of the players who is still laughing he must drop out of the magic circle. The leader will need to be very alert, as he must catch the player in the act of laughing or smiling before he can lawfully dis- miss him from the circle. When all but one player have been obliged to drop out, the prize is given to that person. 46 The Book of Games XXI Vice Versa Materials Required : Ten crockery buttons for each gentleman ; as many pieces of cloth, six by six inches, as there are gentlemen ; three spools of No. jo cotton ; paper of No. 7 needles ; as many thimbles as there are gentlemen ; two pieces of wood, one and one -half feet by six inches and about two inches thick; two papers of small tacks ; two tack-hammers ; two prizes for lady and gentleman. To the average person masculine sewing on buttons is about as impossible as driving tacks is to the average person feminine, and as this game is really a competition in which the gentlemen strive to see which can sew on the most buttons in a given time and the ladies which can drive the most tacks, it will readily appear why the game is a lively and absorbing one. There should be a referee appointed, be- fore the game begins, to judge in the ladies' contest, and one for the gentlemen, to settle all disputes and also to keep time. The ladies begin two at a time, as in a Vice Versa 47 tournament, standing one on each side of a table ; before each is a piece of board, a table- spoonful of tacks, and a hammer. At a given signal each begins hammering tacks into her board and continues for five minutes, when the referee counts each lady's tacks and credits her with the number she has hammered into the board. Another pair now take their turn (the tacks are drawn out after each pair has fin- ished), and so on till all the ladies have ham- mered tacks for five minutes, when the one who drove the greatest number in the given time receives a prize, and now, their trials over, they may become spectators of the gentlemen's efforts. A piece of cotton cloth, six by six inches, a needle and a piece of thread, a thimble, and ten buttons, are given to each gentle- man and they are all asked to do the best they can toward threading their needles and sewing their allowance of buttons on the piece of cotton. Fifteen minutes may be allowed, and at the end of that time a prize is given to the one who has sewed the most buttons on his piece of cotton. 48 The Book of Games XXII Progressive Puzzles Materials Required : As many blank paste* board cards, two and one-half inches square, as there are guests ; several pairs of scissors ; a prize. The simplicity of this game is its great at- traction, and it is as successful as it is simple. It is only necessary to provide as many small square cards as there are guests, several pairs of scissors, and a prize, if you like, and the game is ready. The party should be seated in a circle around the room ; each one then re- ceives a card, and every third or fourth play- er a pair of scissors, which he shares with his neighbors. It is announced that each player is to cut his card twice across so as to make four pieces. The cuts should be straight and must intersect each other, but they may go in any direction, and after the first cut the pieces should be held together till the second cut has been made. Each player now mixes up his four pieces and passes them to his right-hand neighbor. Eye-guessing 49 At a signal everyone tries to put the four- part puzzle which he has received together, and the first player who succeeds calls out that he has finished, when all must stop and pass the puz- zles to the right again. The successful player is credited with a mark on the tally kept by the host or leader. The game then goes on as before until the time limit of half an hour is up, when the person who has most marks to his credit receives a prize. Much of the suc- cess of this game depends upon the ingenuity used in cutting up the cards, the object, of course, being to make as difficult a puzzle as possible for one's neighbor to put together. XXIII Eye-guessing Materials Required: As many sheets of paper and pencils as there are players ; a sheet or screen, in which slits may be cut ; a large handkerchief ; a candle in a candlestick, A sheet having been hung in a doorway be- tween two rooms, half of the guests go behind this curtain. The room where the rest of the 5° The Book of Games party is must then be darkened. In the sheet or screen small holes should be cut, of the size and shape of eyes. There should be eight of these, each pair at the proper distance apart for a pair of eyes to look through, and at varying heights from the floor. This should be prepared beforehand if the hostess wishes to save time. The players behind the screen now choose four of their number to look through the holes, while the players in front are allowed, one at a time, to take a lighted candle and inspect each pair of eyes, guessing to whom they belong. Then there is another set of eyes to guess, until all behind the screen have had their eyes shown, when the sides change places and the guessers become the guessed. For convenience in recording the guesses made, each of the players should have a sheet of paper and pencil, the paper arranged in this way: FIRST GROUP No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 The Objective Library 51 SECOND GROUP No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 THIRD GROUP No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 As the players guess each pair of eyes, they can write the names on a line with these num- bers according to the order in which the eyes were examined; and at the end, the papers may be corrected from a true list kept behind the curtain, and a prize awarded to the person who recognized most eyes. XXIV The Objective Library Materials Required: As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize. This game is simply taking titles of books and representing them by arrangements of 52 The Book of Games various objects. The groups may be arranged on a table and each numbered with a small card, the numbers being repeated on the left- hand side of sheets of paper. Each player is provided with one of these papers and a pen- cil. The game begins when all of the players are admitted to the room where the " library" is spread upon the table, and should last about twenty minutes. In this time the players try to solve as many of the problems as possible, for the one who guesses the most titles in the given time receives a prize. The following are a few suggestions for titles, with the objects needed to represent them : ^ " Essay on Man." — A picture of a man (cut from any illustration), on which is laid a large S and an A. "Measure for Measure." — A pint-measure, around which is twined a tape-measure. "The Spy."— A telescope. "The Rose and the Ring." — A rose drawn through a ring. "The Coming Race." — A newspaper-clipping about some future yacht or horse race. " Nicholas Nickleby."— A five-cent piece, to the right of which is laid the word " as " ; then another five-cent piece, followed by the word " by." "Ivanhoe" (Pve an O).— A child, cut from an illus- The Objective Library 53 tration, holding up a large O, which may be pasted on the child's hand. "Never Too Late to Mend." — A clock, stopped at twelve o'clock, with a torn glove, needle, thread, and thimble lying in front of it. Lamb's " Tales."— A number of tails, made of cotton- wool. " Bittersweet." — A box of quinine pills with a stick of candy lying on it. " Rudder Grange."— A picture of a rudder, followed by one of a long, low house. Several variations of this game may be played. For instance, instead of books, famous men may be represented : Plato.— By a plate, on which is laid the letter O. Socrates. — A gentleman's sock, re in the musical scale, and several sample packages of teas. Gladstone. — A picture of a laughing girl with a small stone beside it. Carnot. — A toy car with a slip of paper, on which is the word " No," laid on top. Mark Twain.— By two straight lines on a piece of paper. Another way of playing this game is to represent cities : l. A bag on which is pinned a piece of paper bearing these words : " What a disrespectful boy calls his father." Answer: Bagdad. 54 The Book of Games 2. A sweet-pea pinned to a slip of paper with " Near relatives' ' on it. Answer : Pekin. 3. On an empty can is laid a slip of paper with " 2,000 lbs." written upon it. Answer : Canton. 4. A burr pinned to a slip with " A city in Massachu- setts" on it. Answer : Berlin. 5. "A vegetable growth on Hawthorne's Concord home that he found profitable; " this sentence to be fol- lowed by the picture of a cow. Answer : Moscow. 6. A glass in which is a paper with these words on it : " To depart." Answer : Glasgow. 7. " Where Henry VIII. was going when he divorced Katherine of Arragon." Answer : Havana. 8. These sentences on a paper : " Not wanted in Russia," "The French for street," and "The home of witches." Answer: Jerusalem. 9. "Part of Trilby's foot " and "An exclamation;" these two sentences on a slip of paper, with a key laid between them. Answer : Tokio. XXV Initials Materials Required : A prize. A list of the names of some celebrated per- sons should be prepared beforehand in this way. The name is written at the left of the Initials 55 paper, and on the same line, to the right, a characterization of two or more words is writ- ten suggestive of the name it follows and beginning with its initials in regular order. For example : Abraham Lincoln Absolutely Loyal Robert Louis Stevenson Rare Loving Spirit William Shakespeare Worth Studying William Makepeace Thackeray . . Wit ; Much Tenderness Edgar Allan Poe Extravagant and Peculiar David Livingston Delayed Long Richard Steele Rare Scapegrace Louis Agassiz Loved Animals H. B. Stowe Her Books Sell Mark Twain Makes Travesties H. M. Stanley He Made Search Louisa M. Alcott Left Many Admirers Christopher Columbus Conquering Cruiser Ralph Waldo Emerson Really Worth Emulating William Ewart Gladstone Who's England's Glory ? Mary Stuart Many Schemes Charles Reade Clever Romancer Oliver Wendell Holmes Oh, What Humor Thomas Carlyle Terribly Caustic Charles Dickens Cherished Deservedly The lines are then cut across so as to leave one name and its accompanying sentence on 5 6 The Book of Games each slip. When the guests have arrived and are seated around the room, the host or leader reads the short descriptive phrases aloud, one at a time, and the person who first guesses the name of the character referred to receives the slip. At the end of the game a prize is given to the player who has won the most slips. XXVI Auction Materials Required : Twenty or more arti- cles of all sizes and shapes, mostly cheap toys, all wrapped and tied up attractively ; as many cata- logues of the articles (in which they are called by fictitious names) as there are players j thirty beans in an envelope for each player y as many pencils as there are players. One of the merriest of games is here given, and although it may at first appear difficult to prepare, it really will fully repay one for the amount of trouble taken. Your local toy and confectionery shop will furnish plenty of ma- terial in the way of penny toys and candies, and the more absurd and childish these are the more fun their appearance will make as they Auction 57 come to light in the progress of the auction. For this game is an auction, with a real or ama- teur auctioneer, twenty or more articles well wrapped in white paper, and your guests for bidders. Each person receives a catalogue or list of the articles, in disguise (that is in a kind of conundrum, as shown in the example given below), and an envelope containing thirty beans. The bidding begins as soon as the guests have all arrived, are seated, and have received their money and catalogues and a pencil apiece, and continues until all the articles have been auc- tioned off . Here, for example, is a catalogue, with the real things indicated in each case in parentheses : SPECIAL AUCTION SALE BY ORDER OF SHERIFF 1. A Masterpiece — Whistler (a whistle). 2. Study of a Head (a cabbage). 3. Clothes-press (a toy iron). 4. Irish Bric-a-brac (potato). 5. Japanese Shield, Paragon Frame (small Japanese parasol). 6. Patent Skirt-lifter (chocolate mouse). 7. A Pennyworth of Solace (clay pipe). 8. Woman's Multum in Parvo (hairpins). 5 8 The Book of Games 9. A Marble Bust (cracked marble). 10. Reminder of an Impecunious Friend (sponge), 11. Emblem of Justice (scales). 12. Lubin's Tear Extract (onion). 13. Fin de Siecle Natatorium (toy bath-tub). 14. Profanity Educators (hammer and tacks). 15. Several Pairs of Nippers (clothes-pins). 16. Ode to a Sitting Hen (china egg). 17. A Pair of Blacklegs (doll's rubber boots). 18. A Perfect Foot, a la Trilby (foot-rule). 19. Maid of Orleans (stick of molasses candy). 20. Modern Instrument of Torture (toy banjo). XXVII Commerce Materials Required: Two packs of playing- cards ; fifty beans for each player ; two prizes. To play this game successfully it is quite necessary to have among your guests a clever amateur auctioneer or some gentleman who does not object to talking a good deal, and is quick and amusing. If you can find such a person the success of the game is assured. The players should be seated around a table, each with his capital of fifty beans be- Commerce 59 fore him. Two packs of playing-cards are then brought in and the auctioneer holds a sale of one pack, selling one card at a time to the highest bidder, who pays for it in beans. When the pack has all been sold, the players arrange their cards and beans on the table before them and prepare for business. Announcement is made by the auctioneer that he will begin by holding the second pack of cards in his hand and will turn up one at a time, as he does so calling the name of the card, and the player who has the duplicate of it among his cards must surrender it to the auctioneer. After the calling of each card there is an interval of three minutes for buying and selling among the players. As the object is either to secure more beans than anyone else, and so win a prize at the end of the game, or to possess the card matching the one at the bottom of the auctioneer's pack, for which another prize is given, the three-minute intervals are very ex- citing, especially when the pack in the auc- tioneer's hand grows very thin ; then anxious speculators often give their whole store of beans to buy one card, which perhaps matches 6o The Booh of Games the next one turned up by the auctioneer, and so they lose everything in a moment in a realistic Wall Street way. XXVIII Stray Syllables Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players j a prize. It is surprising how often the same syllable is used in different words. If you would like to prove this and at the same time entertain a party of people, play the following game. Ask each player to write several words on a long strip of paper, leaving spaces of about half an inch between the syllables of the different words. When this is done, cut out the sylla- bles, shuffle all together, and let each person draw three syllables. The party should be seated around a table, and each player tries with the three syllables, or with two of the three belonging to him, to construct a word. Each player tries in turn, and if it is impossible to make a word from his syllables he must re- Baby Show 61 turn two to the pack and wait until his turn comes again, when he may draw two more syllables and try again. If a prize is provided for the person con- structing the most words, an allowance of time, say twenty minutes, should be made, and the player who in that time has the most words to his credit receives a prize. XXIX Baby Show Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper or small blank-books ', for cata- logues, as there are players ; two prizes. Almost everyone has a tin-type or photo- graph to which to point in pride or humility, saying, "That was my picture as a baby." If you are planning an evening of games, ask all of your guests to bring the earliest pictures of themselves and you will have the material for a thoroughly interesting as well as amusing game. Each guest brings his or her picture wrapped 62 The Booh of Games in paper, and with the name on the outside, and hands it to the hostess. While other games are being played these pictures may be artisti- cally arranged on tables in an adjoining room ; or, if a more elaborate exhibition is desired, the owners may be asked beforehand to bring their pictures framed. In this case the hostess provides dark hangings, against which the pict- ures can be effectively grouped. All are num- bered, as at a gallery, and catalogues, more or less elaborate, may be provided, with pencils, for all the guests. Only the numbers of the pictures may appear, and these are written at the left side of the page — no names to tell who the originals of the pictures are or were. The guests are asked to guess the names and write their guesses against the numbers. Each also writes his or her vote as to which is the prettiest picture of a baby, and when all have guessed and voted and signed their names to their catalogues, the catalogues are collected and corrected and prizes are awarded to the one who has guessed the names of the most babies and to the original of the prettiest baby or child picture, as decided by the most votes Palette 63 cast for any one. The prizes, to be really ap- propriate, should be toys, rubber rattles, balls, or packages of infant's food. XXX Palette Materials Required : As many small paste- board palettes and pencils as there are players ; as many large sheets of paper, about twenty -two by eighteen inches, as there are players ; four thumb- tacks ; an easel ; as many slips of paper as there are players ; colored chalks or crayons, two each of blue, red, and black j two prizes. An easel holding a drawing-board (to which the large sheets of paper have previously been fastened with thumb-tacks) is set up in a prominent place, and the players draw their chairs into a semicircle around it. To each player is given a small pasteboard palette which has been decorated with paint in the conven- tional way, or as an artist's palette is sup- posed to look when " set up " with neat patches of paint in five or six colors follow- ing the outline of the palette. These are, of 64 The Book of Games course, dry, as the palettes are only for use as lists. On the reverse side are numbers, as many as players, one below the other, and following the outline of the palette, while in the centre of the painted side of each is a number — the one assigned to the player to whom the palette is given. The host now begins the game by calling No. 1, who comes to the easel and then re- ceives a slip of paper upon which he finds written the title of a song, old or new ; this he is requested to illustrate upon the board before him, using crayons or chalk of blue, red, and black. All the others try to guess what song their companion has tried to picture, and write their guesses opposite his number on their palettes. The drawing is now taken down and another person is called upon until all in turn have drawn pictures, when the palettes are col- lected by the host, and the owner of the one upon which there are the most correct guesses receives a prize. A prize also may be given to the artist whose title has been guessed by the greatest number of persons,, China Painting 65 XXXI China Painting Materials Required : Half as many slips of paper as there are players j half as many small, undecorated china cups and saucers as there are players ; as many common paint-brushes as there are players ; one- half pint of turpentine ; one tube each of black, yellow, blue, and red oil-paints j as many small cotton cloths as there are players ; prizes for lady and gentleman. To entertain successfully a party of people for half an evening nothing could be better than this game. Each gentleman on arriving draws from a bowl a slip of paper, and finds written thereon the name of the lady who is to be his partner for the game. Every pair re- ceives a cup and saucer, a common white plate, in lieu of a palette, with a little oil-paint of four colors (black, yellow, red, and blue) upon it, two paint-brushes, and two soft cloths. It is then requested that every pair of players shall decorate their cup and saucer (the lady the cup and the gentleman the saucer) with a design of their own. The time allowed may be 66 The Book of Games half an hour or longer, as the hostess decides. The turpentine will only be needed to wash out mistakes, or, if used at all for mixing, very little is needed to thin the paint. If this game is played in a room where the furniture is very beautiful and costly, it would be well to have the players seated around a large table with an unspoilable covering, but even without this precaution, if ordinary care is taken, there need be no accidents to furni- ture or clothing. When all the china is deco- rated it is arranged artistically on a table, and a committee on awards decides on the cup and saucer most worthy of the prizes. XXXII Shadow Pictures Materials Required : One large sheet for a curtain ; one lamp giving a strong light, or elec- tric light ; properties according to the pictures given. These pictures are so amusing that although they require a little more preparation than Shadow Pictures 67 most games, they are worth the additional trouble. The first thing to provide is a sheet, large enough to fill the space between folding- doors or any double doorway between two rooms. Secure the sheet to the frame of the doorway with small tacks, stretching it so that there will be no folds or creases. Just before the performance begins the sheet should be wet evenly with a sponge and clear water, this will make the shadows sharper and more dis- tinct. The room where the audience is seated should be darkened, and the only light in either room should be a lamp with a strong, steady flame; or in houses lighted by electricity it would be easy to have an incandescent light arranged back of the sheet-screen. The light being placed about six feet behind the centre of the sheet, the performers should play their parts between it and the sheet — as near to the latter as practicable without touch- ing it. The side of the head must always be presented toward the curtain, as the profile only is effective in shadow. The shoulder farthest from the curtain should be most care- fully managed, as it can easily make an ap- 68 The Book of Games pearance like a lump on the breast or shoul- ders of the performer. The facial expres- sions in shadow are very limited — there is hardly a movable portion of the face ex- cept the lower jaw — but false noses may be made of pasteboard, splitting open the back edge sufficiently to allow the real nose to be inserted. The opportunities for emotional expression being so limited, shadow pictures must depend for success on a rapid succession of thrilling and absurd situations, all so exaggerated as to be unmistakable in their meaning. Two per- sons in apparent conversation should be care- ful to speak one at a time, each waiting for the other to finish his pantomime before re- plying to it. Every action should be done de- liberately and distinctly, without hurry. All properties should be under the exclusive con- trol of the stage-manager and should be laid on the floor or on a table in the order in which they will be needed. These properties, if small, may be cut from pasteboard, while the cos- tumes can be fashioned of any old material and trimmed with paper. For example : Shadow Pictures 69 A suggestion for shadow pictures is to act poems in pantomime as the words are read aloud, clearly, behind the scenes. Whittier's " Maud Muller " is very funny when burlesqued in this way, the verses without action being omitted. Maud is first seen in tattered gown, large hat, and hay-rake (the hay is newspaper cut in strips, and gloves stuffed and drawn over the actress's shoes give an absurd suggestion of bare feet). She sings and rakes in pantomime, and the " mock bird " (a lively looking fowl cut from pasteboard and perched on a branch which comes from the side of the door) " echoes from his tree." The Judge in cape, knickerbockers, and slouch hat now prances in on a hobby-horse, and Maud gropes in the hay, producing a bottle and tin cup, from which she gives him a draught, and he rides away. Next is seen the Judge's wife, " of richest dower," who passes before the curtain with a haughty expression and many furbelows. This is followed by the lines : " She wedded a man unlearned and poor, And many children played round her door." A string secured at one side of the doorway (and on which five or six dolls have been strung) is suddenly pulled from the opposite side, and the dolls dance merrily. Another very funny set of pictures may be taken from "Gentle Alice Brown," one of W. S. Gilbert's " Bab Ballads." 70 The Booh of Games XXXIII Silhouettes in Disguise Materials Required : One large sheet ; a candle or lamps old hats, bonnets, masks, false noses, whiskers, and any other make-ups or cos- tumes. This game may be played in two ways. First, a sheet should be fastened to the wall at one end of the room so that it is quite smooth and unwrinkled; near this one of the players seats himself on a low stool with his face toward the sheet. A table, on which is a lighted candle, should be placed about five feet behind him, and the rest of the lights in the room extinguished. The other players now disguise themselves with the various costumes and make-ups provided and pass between the seated player and the candle, distorting their features and figures as much as possible, hop- ping, limping, etc., so as to make their shadows quite unlike their usual selves. The solitary player on the stool tries to guess to whom the shadows belong, and if he is correct the player whose shadow he recognizes takes his place. What Would You do if ? 71 One guess only is allowed for each shadow, and the guesser must not turn his head either to the right or left to see who passes. The second way is this : The sheet is hung between two rooms separated by folding-doors or an arch. Half the players are chosen as actors and the other half as spectators. The room where the spectators are seated should be quite dark, the other lighted from the back by a strong lamp or electric light. The actors go in the lighted room and dress themselves in the different costumes and disguises ; they then pose, one at a time, before the sheet, where the strong light will throw their silhouettes sharply on it, and the audience makes guesses as to whom each shadow belongs. An amus- ing test in connection with this game is to have each actor in turn put out a hand from the side of the sheet and see if the audience can guess whose it is. XXXIV What would you do if- Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of foolscap paper as there are players. 72 The Booh of Games Predicaments of the most trying and des* perate description are thought out beforehand. These are then written on sheets of foolscap paper, one at the top of each sheet, and each person is provided with a pencil and one of the papers. All are asked to write below the pre- dicaments given to them their ideas of the best ways out of them, and when this is done, and the papers are collected, another's paper is given to each person to be read aloud. For example : " Suppose you were dressing for a meeting of the Game Club and lost your only collar-button down the register, what would you do and what would you say ? " Answer : " First, cuss ; second, run down cellar, dump the furnace fire, rake over the coals and ashes (cussing all the time). Failing to find the collar-button in the ashes, would then return and upbraid my wife for speaking to me just as I was adjusting the button, thereby causing me to lose it. Also wonder why she always let the baby have my things to play with ; remark upon the number- less collar-buttons already swallowed by that omnivorous infant. Then cuss some more, and say that I was glad of it, that I always hated that cussed Game Club and was glad of an excuse to stay home. Then ask my wife what she was crying about and what I had done. Finally, find a collar-button which had miraculously Songs for Several Singers 73 escaped the all-devouring baby, put it on, dress, go to the Game Club, have a bully time, and win first prize." XXXV Songs for Several Singers Materials Required: A prize. In writing your invitations your guests should be asked each to compose a song of three or more stanzas, to be sung to a familiar tune ; for example, " Marching Through Georgia" or " Rally Round the Flag, Boys ! " and to bring their songs with them on the appointed even- ing. When the time comes and the guests have all arrived the songs are collected, and while one of the party plays the accompani- ment a group of tuneful members, gathered about the piano, sing each song in their best manner. If this is considered too easy, another method may be adopted, that of having each poet sing his own song ; but this has seemed to be rather too great a strain for the every-day person's amiability. When all the songs have been sung, a committee of three of the guests, pre- 74 The Book of Games viously appointed, decides upon the song most worthy of a prize. This game is especially appropriate in a club where the object is to acquire a Club Song to be sung at subsequent meetings. XXXVI Who am I? Materials Required : As many slips of paper as there are guests j a first prize j a booby prize. A character party, which is most amusing and comparatively new, can be given without costuming and with little or no work in pre- paring for it. After the arrival of the guests the hostess pins to the back of each a written slip of paper telling the name of the character he or she is meant to be. The only knowledge the players have as to the persons they repre- sent is gained from the comments of their friends ; from these each must guess the name of his or her character. As the opinions ex- pressed differ very widely, the guessing of one's character is often a difficult matter. The names of well-known actors, authors, politicians, mu- Location 75 sicians, characters in fiction, or local celebrities may be given. If desired, a prize may be awarded to the player who first guesses his character, as well as a booby prize for the last. XXXVII Location Materials Required : A prize. A game in which the geographical genius will shine comes from Boston, and is called Loca- tion. Two captains are chosen from among the players, and these in turn choose their sides until the party is equally divided. For con- venience it is well to seat the parties in two rows, facing each other. Chance decides which captain shall begin the game ; this he does by calling the name of a city or town, and then counting ten. Before he has finished counting his opposite opponent must locate the city or town. If he has answered correctly he in turn calls the name of a place, and the second player in the opposite row must locate it before ten is counted. But should any player fail to answer 7 6 The Book of Games before ten is counted, or answer incorrectly, he or she must drop out, and when there is only one player left, on either side, that one gets the prize — and deserves it. XXXVIII Fashion Notes Materials Required : Half as many blank cards as there are players ; as many pencils and sheets of paper (rough) as there are players ; two boxes of common water-color paints ; half as many paint-brushes as there are players ; two glasses of water ; two sheets of blotting-paper ; or, in place of the paints, two boxes of colored crayons ; two prizes, if desired. For this game cards are written beforehand, with the name of a fashion publication on each ; for example, " Harper's Bazar," " Godey's Magazine," "The Ladies' Home Journal/' " Fashions," " Revue de la Mode," " Le Bon Ton," "L'Art de la Mode," " Demorest's Magazine," " The Young Ladies' Journal," "The Delineator," "The Style," "The Queen," " Ladies' Pictorial," etc. Fashion Notes 77 When the names are written or printed, each on a card, cut the cards in halves through the titles, so that they will mean nothing until joined. It will readily be seen that there must be half as many cards as there are guests, and therefore half as many titles of publications. Put all the first halves of the cards in a bowl, printed side down, for the gentlemen to draw from, and the other halves in another bowl for the ladies to draw from ; and then those whose cards, when put together, read a title are part- ners for the game. The hostess will need to have ready water- color paints (two boxes) and half as many brushes as players, also two glasses of water and two sheets of blotting-paper; or boxes of colored crayons such as children use will do just as well. Pencils and paper (pieces of drawing or other rough paper are best) are given to the players, and it is then announced that each lady is to draw and color a fashion- plate, taking for a model the gown she is wearing. Twenty minutes are allowed for this, and then each gentleman writes a descrip- tion of his partner's gown according to the 78 The Book of Games fashion-plate she has drawn, the time limit for this being twenty minutes also. The result is sure to be very funny. When all have finished, the fashion drawings are collected, and, as the descriptions are read aloud, the pict- ures are shown. Appropriate prizes may be given to the author and artist of the best fash- ion note. XXXIX Composite Pictures Materials Required : As many pencils and pieces of paper, about three by nine inches, as there are players. To play this game the players, being seated in a circle, all receive pencils and pieces of paper. Each person having divided his pa- per into three equal parts by folding, then draws on the upper space a comic head, ex- tending the neck a little over the line into the second division, folds the paper over backward and passes it to his right-hand neighbor, who draws a body and just the beginning of legs in the lowest division. This arrangement insures A Penny for Your Thoughts 79 the connection of the three parts of the fish, flesh, or fowl drawn. The player who has drawn the body then folds the paper back once more and passes it to his right, when the player who receives it draws a pair of legs in the lowest space. A knowledge of drawing is not expected of any player, as the crudest sug- gestion of a head, a body, or a pair of legs will fill all requirements. Men, animals, birds, and fishes may contribute head, body, and legs, and the absurd combinations thus obtained make this game a very funny one. XL A Penny for Your Thoughts Materials Required : As many pennies as there are players ; as many pieces of narrow, colored ribbon, about half a yard long, as there are players ; as many sheets of paper or cards and programme-pencils as there are players ; a prize. Having provided and bored holes in the re- quired number of pennies, tie through each a piece of ribbon. Then to every sheet of paper 80 The Book of Games or card attach a small programme-pencil, and write on the left-hand side the following list, omitting, of course, the answers, which should be kept on a separate list for the leader's reference : A weapon An arrow What our forefathers fought for Liberty Name of a flower Tulip (two lips) Name of an animal Hare (hair) Name of a fruit Date A rowing term Feather What we love America Name for an ocean Sea (C) Place of worship Temple A messenger One sent (one cent) Lt . e ,. ( Ayes and noes (eyes A method of voting \ s % w ( and nose) A beverage Tea (T) Part of a vegetable Ear A gallant Beau (bow) An act of protection Shield A punishment Stripes A term of marriage United state An ancient honor Wreath Part of a hill Brow An occupation Milling Writings from the absent Letters One of the first families Indian Alliterative Literature Si When the guests arrive, everyone receives one of these unfinished fists, together with one of the beribboned pennies, and the hostess an- nounces that all the things written on the list can be found on every penny, and the object is to find them, or rather their equivalent terms, and write them on a line with the things already written. Half an hour is the time limit, or this may be lengthened to three- quarters if it is necessary; that is, if many have not finished when the half hour is up. Every paper is marked with the writer's name, and when all have finished and the papers are collected, a redistribution gives everyone some- one else's paper, and the true answers are read aloud, while all check off the correct guesses. The winner, having learned the value of a cent, will perhaps like a child's bank for a prize. XLI Alliterative Literature Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize. The party being seated in a circle, each per- 82 The Book of Games son is provided with a pencil and paper and is requested to write a story or poem, every word of which must begin with the same letter, say with " a," except that " a," " an," and " the " may be used when necessary ; the time allowed being according to the average brilliancy of the players, from ten minutes to half an hour. At the end of the agreed time all papers are col- lected and read aloud by the host or some member of the party, and a prize may be given for the best and longest story or poem. For example : Amiable Aunt Anne adored antiques and andirons, and admired all antediluvian articles. An autumn after- noon Aunt Anne ambled airily along Avenue A. At an alley appeared an alluring advertisement, " Antiques.' ■ As Aunt Anne approached, an amputated African at- tracted attention, asking alms. Aunty always attends adversity and asked artlessly, "Art actually armless?" African answered, " Ay ! " After aiding African, Aunt Anne again advanced alleyward. An agreeable, albeit avaricious, Armenian assisting at artistically arranging antiques, advised Aunt Anne's acquiring Asiatic atomizer at an amazing amount, adding adroitly, " An actual abate- ment ! " Alas ! Aunt Anne anted amazing amount and ambled away. Arriving at apartment, Aunty, admir- ing acquisition — an aged acquaintance (antiquarian au- Sight Unseen S$ thority) announced — asserts absolutely, "Atomizer an adulteration and altogether abominable.' ' Alas ! Aunt Anne. XLII Sight Unseen Materials Required : As many cards as there are ladies ; half as many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; prizes for lady and gentleman. To each gentleman, as he arrives, is given a card bearing the name of a lady, his part- ner for this game. The host then distributes to each pair a sheet of paper and a pencil. He then announces the plan of the game, which is as follows: Each gentleman and lady having decided which of the two draws best, the other one goes to the host, who gives him or her an object, common or un- common, which he or she may on no ac- count show to the partner who draws. The chairs in which the partners sit are arranged as tete-a-tete chairs are made, that is, side by side, but facing in opposite directions. The persons who hold the objects then describe 84 The Book of Games them to their partners, who draw, from these descriptions, pictures of the objects as accu- rately as they can. In a given time, say twenty minutes, all must have finished. The articles and the draw- ings which have been made of them are then arranged in combination upon a table, and a committee of two ladies and two gentlemen decides which drawing is most like the object it represents. When this is decided, a prize is awarded to the successful artist, also one to his or her partner. XLIII Household Fragrance Materials Required : Fourteen bottles, quart size, each labelled with a number from i to 14 j one tablespoonful each of coffee, tea, kerosene, vinegar, turpentine, Pond's Extract, molasses, olive-oil, Jamaica ginger, lager-beer, Listerine, ammonia, paregoric, and vanilla j as many sheets of paper and pencils as there are players ; a first prize ; a booby prize. Fourteen quart -size wine -bottles are ar- ranged around the four sides of a table, in a Household Fragrance 85 hollow square ; in each is put a tablespoonf ul of some household remedy, or any liquid hav- ing more or less odor — a list of fourteen such liquids is given on the preceding page. When the players are ready, pencil and paper are given to them and the object of the game is explained, as follows : Every player is to smell the bottles in turn and then guess what liquid is in each, and write the guesses on the paper with which each person is provided. The bot- tles are labelled from 1 to 14, and the papers also may be numbered on the left-hand side so as to save trouble for the guessers. It will be found no easy matter to recognize the familiar smells when so many are pre- sented in quick succession, and the player who finds, when the twenty minutes are up, that he or she has the most correct guesses may be congratulated, and really deserves a prize. The winner is of course found by a comparison of the guesses with a correct list in the hands of the hostess. A booby prize may console the unfortunate whose sense of smell is not up to this test and whose guesses are widest of the mark. 86 The Booh of Games XLIV Flags of all Nations Materials Required : One sheet of bristol- board ; one box of water -color paints j as many sheets of paper and pe7icils as there are players ; a first prize ; a booby prize. It is a wise person who knows all the Ameri- can flags in use in the Army and Navy and in the Revenue Service, and when it comes to the flags of all nations the cleverest peo- ple are puzzled. A new game is based on this idea. In almost any atlas or gazetteer will be found a page of flags, colored truthfully and with the country each belongs to writ- ten underneath. Anyone who can draw at all, mechanically or otherwise, will find it an easy matter to copy these flags on a large sheet of bristol-board, substituting for the name of the country a number under each. The color- ing with water-color paints is easily done, as the bristol-board takes water-color very well. Sheets of paper numbered down the side, with as many numbers as there are flags, are given one to each player with a pencil. The card of Blockade 87 flags is then hung where all can see it, and half an hour is allowed for all to guess the coun- tries the flags belong to. At the end of the allotted time each signs his or her name to the list, and the papers are collected, a redistribution giving each player another's paper. The hostess then reads from a list previously prepared, No. 1 is the Ameri- can flag, No. 2 is the Union Jack, No. 3 is the Irish flag, etc., while all check off the correct guesses and mark the papers accordingly. A very pretty prize for the winner is a dainty silk American flag, and for the booby prize the painted card of flags may be given. XLV Blockade Materials Required : Fifty or sixty miscel- laneous articles — children's toys, blocks, engines •, rubber balls, dumb-bells, strangely shaped potatoes, clothes-pins, Halma or chess-men, bean-bags, and fiat-irons ; two large, flat baskets ; a prize. Half the number of very much assorted arti- cles, say thirty, are heaped in a large basket at 88 The Book of Games one side of the room, with another pile of thirty articles across the room in another large basket. Two captains choose sides until the players are equally divided, when the parties line up, one on each side of the room, with a basket at one end of the line and a chair at the other. The captain of each side is usually stationed next to the basket. At a signal the captain takes an article from the basket, passes it to the player next him, and as fast as possible, one after another, the articles are taken from the basket and passed down the line. The rule is that if any- thing is dropped it shall be passed back to the leader and started again. The player next the chair must pile the articles on it as fast as they come to him, without dropping one, and the side finishing first is the winner. At a party where this was played the captain of the winning side received a prize, and then a tray heaped with rosebuds was brought in and the flowers were divided among the play- ers of the winning side. Domestic Architecture 89 XL VI Domestic Architecture Materials Required : As many hats and bonnets, old ones preferred, as there are gentlemen guests ; trimmings for the same number of hats and bonnets — ribbons, feathers, and flowers, the older and gayer the better ; or sheets of gayly col- ored tissue-paper, two for each hat or bonnet y two papers of pins ; a first prize ; a booby prize. This game is very amusing and may be played by any number of persons. The hats (feminine) and bonnets, as many as there are gentlemen guests, with trimmings for the same, must have been provided beforehand by the hostess, or she may ask each lady to bring one. On one table the pile of untrimmed hats is arranged and on another the trimmings. Each gentleman now selects a hat or bonnet from the collection, also trimmings and a row of pins. Fifteen minutes is the time allowed for trimming the hats, and then each gentleman puts on his own " creation." All form in line and pass before a committee of the ladies, who 90 The Book of Games decide which hat deserves the first prize. For the least successful a booby prize may be given. XL VII Blind Artists Materials Required : A black-board ; white chalk; an eraser; a large handkerchief ; a first prize ; a booby prize. At the end of the room where the players are gathered a black-board is hung; or if you have one that will stand like an easel, so much the better. Ask each player in turn to walk up to the black-board, then blindfold him, give him a piece of chalk, and ask him to draw a picture of a pig. The other players must all look carefully and critically at each pig as it is drawn, for after all have finished a vote is taken as to who drew the best pig, and that person receives a prize. This is a good opportunity to give a funny prize in the shape of a pig ; and a pig made of a lemon might be given to the one who made the worst drawing. Buying Forfeits 9* XL VIII Buying Forfeits Materials Required : As many slips of paper and envelopes as there are players. As many forfeits as there are to be players in this game should be written beforehand on slips of paper. Each of these slips is enclosed in a sealed envelope, numbered on the outside. When the players are all seated in a semicircle the leader tells them that he is about to hold an auction of a collection of envelopes, each of which holds something costly. These enve- lopes with their contents will be sold to the highest bidders, and paid for in imaginary money (every player is supposed to have a hundred dollars capital), but no one can buy more than one. Moreover, the seals must not be broken until all the envelopes have been sold. The auction then begins and does not end until the last envelope has "gone," when the disappointment and dismay on the faces of the buyers as they discover what their purchases amount to, is a funny sight to see. The re- 92 The Book of Games deeming of the forfeits follows in the order of the numbers on the envelopes. Suggestions for these penalties will be found in "Some Forfeits " at the end of the book. XLIX A Boy's Pockets Materials Required : One pair of boy's knickerbockers ; fifteen to twenty articles usually found in a boy's pockets ; as many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players y a prize. You first catch a boy — a plain, ordinary American boy — about the knickerbocker age, and having made sure that his pockets contain their usual and normal supply of miscellaneous articles, you borrow the knickerbockers and bestow them in a convenient place. The com- pany, having been supplied with pencils and sheets of paper, are requested each to write down the names of twenty articles most likely, in their judgment, to be found in a boy's pockets. This having been done the knickerbockers are produced, the pockets emptied, and the Personal Preference Pictures 93 articles found checked off on the lists. The lists may also be read separately to show the varying ideas of the guessers. The person guessing the most articles wins the prize. L Personal Preference Pictures Materials Required : A black-board ; white chalk j a cloth or eraser j as many slips of paper as there are guests j a prize. This game is a good one with which to begin an evening. As the guests arrive each receives a long slip of paper, folded so that the writing is inside, and having on it the name of the guest, with that of some object connected with a well-known hobby, or dislike, or joke relat- ing to the person who receives it. This must not be seen by anyone else. When all have arrived and are seated in a semicircle, a black- board is brought in and set up at one end of the room (or this may be done beforehand). The host then stations himself at the black- board and beginn : ng at one end of the semi- circle asks the players each in turn to come to 94 The Book of Games the blackboard and draw a picture illustrating the subject on his or her slip of paper. The other players are to guess what they suppose the drawing is meant to represent, and the first person who calls the subject correctly is cred- ited with one guess on a tally kept by the host. When all have made their drawings the player who has the most guesses to his or her credit receives a prize. If, as sometimes hap- pens, there are two or more persons who have guessed the greatest number, one of the other players is asked to draw a picture, choosing his own subject, and the first one of the win- ners who guesses this correctly takes the prize. LI Peanut Hunt Materials Required : One quart of pea- nuts ; as many Japanese napkins as there are players ; a prize. While your guests are playing a game in one room, in another someone can hide a quart or more of peanuts in sight, that is, on the tops of pictures, in folds of curtains, on Zoological Game 95 clocks and bric-a-brac, high or low, wherever there is room for a peanut to rest. When the time comes for this game the players each re- ceive a Japanese napkin by way of a game- bag for the hunt. The doors are then thrown open and the game is not ended till every peanut has been found, when to the player who has the most is given a prize, as well as the peanuts he has found. LII Zoological Game Materials Required : One sheet of white cardboard ; half a dozen sheets of silhouette- paper, black unglazed on one side and white on the other (it may be bought at any wholesale paper store, and this quantity will be enough if there are not over twenty-five or thirty players) j six pairs of scissors ; one bottle of mucilage j a lead-pencil and a sheet of white paper for each player, A sheet of cardboard is hung like a black- board at one end of the room. A piece of silhou- ette-paper, five by five inches, and a pencil are then given to each player. On the white side of each piece of paper are written the name of some 96 The Book of Games animal and the number of the player. The play- ers then draw pictures of the animals assigned them on the white sides of their paper, and cut them out. Time allowed, twenty minutes. When all are done the hostess collects the animals and pastes them on the white card- board, black side out, and numbers each ac- cording to the number of the player who made it. As many sheets of paper, with numbers down one side, as there are players are then dealt out, and each player must guess and write down opposite its number what animal he thinks each is meant to represent. The sheet of animals may be given as a prize to the player who guesses the largest number. LIII Conundrums Materials Required : Ten or twelve slips of paper, three by nine inches, upon which conundrums are written j as ma?ty pencils as there are players. The leader provides ten or a dozen slips of paper, at the bottom of which he has written conundrums, one on each slip. The slips are Compositions 97 passed to each person, in turn, who writes an answer to the conundrum at the head of the sheet, then turns the portion of the paper con- taining the answer back, so as to conceal the writing, and passes the slip to the next person. When all present have written answers to all the conundrums the slips are read and the correct answers announced. If preferred, each person may write a conundrum at the bottom of a slip instead of the leader doing so. LIV Compositions Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize. Each person is provided with a sheet of paper, at the top of which has been written a subject for a composition. This composition must be written after the school-boy fashion, and within a prescribed limit of time. The same subject may be given to all, or each may have a separate subject. When finished the papers may be collected and read, the most worthy {i.e., amusing) receiving a prize. 98 The Book of Games LV Broken Quotations Materials Required : Half again as many quotations as there are players, each written on a strip of paper and cut in two or more pieces j a paper of pins ; a prize. The following has proved excellent for start- ing an evening of games. The hostess having prepared the quotations as already mentioned, pins the slips of paper on curtains, cushions, furniture, and picture-frames before the guests arrive. When everyone has come the purpose of the game is explained in this way. Each player is to find the beginning of a quotation among the slips of paper around the room; and, having secured that, is required to find the next piece of it, and the next, until he has the whole. Then he starts with another in the same way. The game goes on until all the quotations have been taken, when the person who has the greatest number receives a prize. Photograph Whist 99 LVI Photograph Whist Materials Required : A box of photo- graphs; a prize. In almost every family there is a collection of photographs, from the yellow and faded ones, dating back to grandmother's day, to the latest one of the newest baby. This collection will prove a treasure to the hostess looking for a new game. If possible, the players should be divided into two companies, to be seated around large tables. At each table one player is chosen dealer and umpire, and half of the photographs are given to him to deal around once, faces down. At a signal from the dealer all turn up their photographs, and the one who has the plainest picture takes the trick. As may be imagined, there is a great deal of amusing discussion be- fore the winner is decided upon ; but the um- pire gives the final decision, and the game goes on. The player who has won most tricks at iLofC. ioo The Booh of Games the end of the game plays off with the winner at the other table, each using the photographs he has won. An old print of some famous beauty makes a good prize for the successful player in this match. A delightfully clever, though plain, maiden lady is said to have invented this game, and when it was played at her house her pho- tograph invariably took the trick, much tc her amusement ! LVII Celebrities Materials Required : Two large sheets of white cardboard, 50 to 70 pictures of noted people ; as many sheets of paper and pencils as there are players ; a prize. Almost everyone knows the sensation of being unable to call to mind the name of a noted person whose picture is perfectly famil- iar. This idea is the basis of a most success- ful game. The hostess, having collected from fifty to seventy pictures of celebrated men and women from old and new magazines and mag- Planting Peanuts 101 azine advertisements, pastes them upon huge sheets of cardboard, substituting numbers for their names. These cards are hung in the room where the guests are to be entertained ; and when all have arrived and have received pencils and sheets of paper, having numbers down the left side corresponding with those under the portraits, the game begins. The object is to see which person can attach the right names to the greatest number of fa- miliar faces in the given time, twenty-five min- utes. The correct list is then read aloud, each checks off his own successful guesses, and the player who has most to his credit receives a prize. LVIII Planting Peanuts Materials Required : Two quarts of pea- nuts ; two bowls ; a prize. The hostess appoints two leaders who choose sides until the party is divided equally, when, two large rugs having been spread near to- gether, a bowl of peanuts is placed in the 102 The Book of Games centre of each. The object of the game is to see which party can first place all its peanuts one inch apart on the four edges of the rug, half on the rug and half on the floor, in a sort of fringe effect. For this purpose the leaders gather their respective teams in the centre of their rug, and at a given signal all begin the planting. The peanuts are divided among the victors, and a special prize may be given to the leader. LIX Patchwork Illustration Materials Required : As many sheets of foolscap paper as there are players ; a number of pictures cut from advertisements ; two bowls ; several pens and pairs of scissors ; a bottle of ink and one of mucilage ; a prize. The hostess collects beforehand a number of advertising pictures cut from magazines ; pict- ures of men, women, and children, marvellous candy, soap, bicycles, and baked beans. These are put into two bowls, and placed in the cen- tre of a large table with the other materials. Swaps 103 Each player receives a sheet of foolscap paper with a quotation written on it, and all take seats around the table. It is announced that the object of the game /s to make a picture illustrating the quotation at the top of one's paper. The advertisement men, women, and children are to be used for the figures, and pasted upon the sheets of paper ; while the ac- cessories can be advertisements too, and the landscape drawn in with pen and ink. The time allowed is half an hour, and the results are sure to be funny and sometimes most in- genious. An exhibition of the illustrations may follow, and a prize should be given for the best. LX Swaps Materials Required : As many slips of paper as there are guests. New England is responsible for this game. The hostess, in inviting her guests, asks each to bring the one particular thing he or she 104 The Book of Games wants to get rid of ; the impossible wedding or Christmas present, for example, that has been a trial to the spirit ever since it was received. Each brings one article of this kind, neatly wrapped and tied, and, a duplicate set of num- bers having been provided beforehand (half as many numbers as there are players and these duplicated), a number is pinned to the pack- age, which is held by its owner until further notice. When all the guests have arrived and have had their numbers attached, the hostess asks them all to be seated in a circle and then calls upon the two persons having No. 1 to ex- change packages. This is done, and then " No. 2 " is called, " No. 3," and so on, till all have " swapped." Then the signal is given to unwrap the packages, and amid groans and laughter each finds that he has lost his own par- ticular trial only to gain a worse one, perhaps. At a recent game the discarded articles ranged from a cloissone plaque to a Concord grape, and included marvels in hand-painted celluloid and cr£pe paper, a very lively cat, and a dead mosquito. Nicknames of Cities 105 LXI Nicknames of Cities Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize if desired. Everyone knows that certain cities have nicknames : As Brooklyn, the City of Church- es ; Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, etc. A long list will be found in any book of general information, and a game played like Living Catalogue (p. 11) is founded on this fact. The hostess, in sending her invitations asks the guests to wear something to represent the nicknames of cities. When the guests have all arrived each re- ceives pencil and paper, and is asked to write what cities he supposes the different persons represent. There should be a limited time in which to complete these lists, and the person who has the largest number of correct guesses may receive a prize. 106 The Booh of Games LXH Biography Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize. Each having received pencil and paper, the players take seats in a circle. With his left hand neighbor for a subject, each one writes an account of the ancestry, birthplace, youth, and subsequent happenings in this person's life — the more absurd the better, of course. Fifteen minutes is allowed, and when the time has elapsed the papers are collected, and a prize may be given for the best production, if the winner is willing to acknowledge the author- ship. An example follows : A BIOGRAPHY This gentleman was born when he was quite young at a very early age. He entered this world barefoot and without teeth, and with little money in his pocket. He early made the acquaintance of his mother, but did not speak to his father for a year or more. He chose the name of Lamb because of family prejudices, and be* cause mutton was high. Talking Shop. 107 Before he was six years old he had his fifth birthday, and could speak English and talk in five tunes with one eye shut and his hands tied behind His back. He put on his first boots as soon as his feet were ripe, and was known to be in love before he was out of his teens and false teeth. His first girl's name was Mary, of course, and here originated the famous poem about Mary had a little Lamb (Her last name Smith, you know) And everywhere that Mary stayed Her Lamb he would not go. There is much more to be said which had best be said in the dark of the moon, by a black policeman with red whiskers. LXIII Talking Shop Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of foolscap paper as there are players ; prizes for lady and gentleman. Partners are chosen for this game as follows : Half of the sheets of foolscap paper provided have the name of a woman on each. These are distributed among the ladies. The other 108 The Book of Games half have characters to match for the gentle- men. For example, " Una and " is writ- ten at the top of the lady's paper ; " the Lion " on the one for her partner. Other sug- gestions are " Pyramus and — Thisbe," " Jack and— Jill," "The Lady— and the Tiger/' " Fe- lix and — Mary Anne," " The Spider — and the Fly." When all have found their partners the hostess announces that the ladies will be al- lowed five minutes in which to talk to their partners about fashions, shopping, or house- hold affairs. At the end of that time the hostess rings a bell, and the gentlemen must in ten minutes, all unaided, write an account of what their partners have told them. The papers are then signed and collected, and at a signal the gentlemen are expected to talk about their business, stocks, real estate, law, or medi- cine, whatever it may be, for five minutes. Then their partners write what they can re- member of the conversation, in ten minutes, and these papers are signed and collected. A reading of all the compositions follows, and prizes are awarded to the two most amusing. Natural History 109 LXIV Natural History Materials Required : A bowl of beans ; a prize. A leader is chosen who starts the game by saying : "I am thinking of an animal, which I will describe ; and I will give a bean to the first player who guesses its name. Should any- one guess wrong, however, he or she cannot guess again, but I will name another point about the animal after each wrong guess. This animal walks on four feet, has a long tail, short ears, and varies in color and size." Some one says " a cat," and is wrong. The leader then says, " It has a pointed nose," Some one guesses " a collie dog," and is wrong. " It is very crafty and runs fast." This time several cry " A fox ! " and the one who spoke first gets a bean, and in turn describes an animal. When the game flags the player who has won the most beans receives a prize. PART II IMPROMPTU GAMES LXV A Spoonful of Fun r Materials Required : One tablespoon or large wooden spoon ; a large handkerchief. This game comes to us from the German, and is a capital one. The players form a cir- cle, while one of their number is in the mid- dle blindfolded and has a large spoon for a wand. The players then take hands and go round in a circle to music. As the music stops they must all stop too, and the player in the middle gropes with his spoon until he touches one of the other players, who must at once stand perfectly still. The blindfolded player now tries, by deftly touching here and there, to discover who it is, and if he guesses correctly that player takes his place. All of course try to disguise themselves, for it is easier than at first appears to discover the identity of a person by this spoon-touch- ing. Some stand on tiptoe or crouch to disguise ii4 The Book of Games their height; the gentlemen turn their coat lapels forward or arrange handkerchiefs so that their shirt-fronts will not betray them, and all try to puzzle the blindfolded spoon-holder. LXVI Trades Materials Required : A book of poems or fairy tales* One player, preferably the host or hostess, holds the office of reader in this game, and should choose some short story or poem (one that is well known and quite tragic is best) to read, without telling anyone what he has se- lected, fivery player except the reader now chooses a trade or profession, which he retains throughout the game. When all are ready the reader opens his book and reads aloud from it until he comes to a com- mon noun, when he looks at one of the trades- men, who must immediately name some article which he would naturally have for sale, or some tool connected with his trade or profession. By this substitution of one noun for another the What is My Thought Like? 115 most tragic or pathetic passage is converted into a jumble of absurdities. For example : No. 1 is a butcher; No. 2, a carpenter; No. 3, a grocer ; No. 4, a mason ; No. 5, a druggist ; and No. 6, a baker. The poem is Longfellow's " Skeleton in Armor : " " Speak ! speak ! thou fearful (l) lamb Who, with thy hollow (2) nails Still in rude (3) flour drest, Comest to daunt me ! Wrapt not in Eastern (4) bricks, But with thy fleshless (5) gums Stretched as if asking (6) rolls, Why dost thou haunt me ? " LXVH What is My Thought Like? This is an old game, but will bear repeating. The leader begins by asking each of the play- ers, in turn, " What is my thought like? " to which he answers the first thing that comes into his mind, of course avoiding naming any- thing already given. The leader keeps a list of the answers he receives, and then, telling what n6 The Book of Games his thought really was, asks each player in what way it resembles the thing he or she likened it to. For example : The leader asks of each, " What is my thought like ? " No. 1 says " A furnace; " No. 2, " A skate; " No. 3, "A book;" No. 4, "Ten cents;" No. 5, "Vanity;" No. 6, " A flower ; " No. 7, " Solitude ; " No. 8, " Supper ; " and No. 9, " Sunset." Leader : " My thought was * myself.' So, No. 1, why am I like a furnace ? " No. l : " Because you often go out." Leader : " And why like a skate ? " No. 2: " Because you are bright and hard." Leader : " Why am I like a book ? " No. 3 : " Because you are well read." Leader : " And why like ten cents ? " No. 4 : " Because you sometimes pay for things." Leader : " Why am I like vanity ? " No. 5 : " Because you are in many persons' hearts." Leader : " And why like a flower ? " No. 6 : " Because you are often fresh and sometimes rosy." Leader: " Why am I like solitude ?" No. 7 : " Because you are impossible in society." Leader : " Why am I like supper ? " No. 8 : " Because we all like you." Leader: " Why am I like sunset ?" No. 9: " Because you never stay long." Cities 117 LXVIII Personal Conundrums These may serve to fill time between games. The leader propounds a conundrum comparing some one of the players with an inanimate object — furniture, an article of food, or dress. For example : The leader says, " Why is Mr. D like this table ? " No. l says, " Because he is steady; " No. 2, " Because he is polished;" No. 3, "Because he can hold many dishes;" No. 4, "Because his complexion is dark;" No. 5, " Because be is always 'round." LX1X Cities Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players. To every player a pencil and paper are given, with the request that he or she write at the top of the paper the name of the city or town in which the writer was born. Fifteen minutes' time is then allowed for all to write a sentence n8 The Book of Games suggestive or descriptive of the city or town which each has written on his or her paper. The words in the sentence must begin with the letters composing the name of the city or town, in consecutive order. The following examples will make this more clear : City— New York. Sentence— N-ew E-very W-inter Y-ou Old R-iotous K-nickerbocker ! City— Boston. Sentence— B-ritish O-utrageous S-windlers T-ea Overboard N-ow ! LXX Jenkins Materials Required : One twenty-five-cent piece. There is a fascination about this game which is indescribable. It is said to be of great an- tiquity and common to almost every nation. To play Jenkins sides must be formed, and the players seat themselves at a long table, the opposing parties facing each other. Chance Jenkins 119 decides which side shall first hide the piece, which is usually a silver quarter or something easily held in the closed hand of one of the players. The captain (whose seat is in the centre of the line of his players, facing the captain of the opposite side) puts his hands under the table, as do all the players of his side, and they then shift the piece from hand to hand so as to deceive the opposite players as to its where- abouts. The captain of the players who have not the quarter now calls, " Jenkins says hands up," and all the hands come up, closed ; then " Jenkins says hands down," and all the hands fall, palms downward, on the table. All try to make as much noise as possible in banging their hands down, so as to drown the clink of the coin as it strikes the table. The opposing side now tries to guess whose hand the coin is not under. Only the captain of this side can give the orders to the side hold- ing the quarter. He directs the players who, he or his party think, have not the piece under their hands to take their hands off, but should any other players of this side give orders, the 120 The Book of Games side with the quarter must not obey, on pain of losing it. Should the captain make a mis- take and call up a hand under which the coin is hidden, the coin remains with the same side, and the number of hands still on the table counts for the side which keeps the coin. But if the last hand left on the table covers the quarter, it then goes to the opposing players. The side which first scores fourteen points wins the game. These directions may sound as if Jenkins were a serious and intricate game. Far from it ! Try it with two captains who are clever and successful leaders, and you will find it thoroughly good fun. LXXI Short Stories Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players j a prize, if desired. Try this game some time when you are at a loss for amusement for from five to twenty people. Without telling the players what the Short Stories 121 game is to be, give everyone pencil and paper, and ask five or six persons each to suggest the name of a character in history or fiction or in real life. These everyone writes at the top of his paper, in the order in which they were given. It may then be announced that each person is expected to write a short story, using the characters given as the dramatis personce. The story may be tragic, comic, love, or even a play or a poem will do. The players are allowed half an hour in which to compose these literary gems, and at the end of that time they are all collected and read aloud. A prize for the best story may be given, though the applause of the audience will probably be glory enough. This may serve as an example : Dramatis Personce. — Dwight L. Moody, Romeo, Polly Jones, Napoleon, Mrs. Guardian, Baby McKee, and Trilby. It was a gentle spring evening in Cambridge, and the clock in Mrs. Guardian's select boarding-house for Rad- cliffe Innocents was on the stroke of nine — "Angel Guardian " the girls called her, a name invented by the popular and fascinating Trilby, the president of the class of '86, who was now sitting in a graceful attitude on 122 The Book of Games the edge of the table, feeding Baby McKee, the Maltese kitten, with sweet cream and caramels, while the parrot, who from his skill in profanity had been christened Dwight L. Moody, looked sulkily down from his perch. A ring at the bell, and Polly Jones, the Irish maid, ushered in two youths on whom the suns of scarce twenty summers had shone. Trilby, gracefully de- scending to the level of the common throng, welcomed the visitors and inquired after the health of Miss Capu- let, the fiancee of the younger man, Romeo Montague. " Gone to Mount Auburn," he said, " to make arrange- ments about the ventilation of the family vault. We are going to give a little tea there— you'll come, won't you ? Our friend Nap. says he'll be on hand." Napoleon frowned and buttoned his gray coat. The clock struck ten and they were gently but firmly fired out. LXXII The Impossible Cat This good old game is worth repeating. Two captains are chosen, who in turn choose sides, and all are seated, the two sides facing each other. One captain begins, " The Game Club cat is ambiguous/ ' and then counts ten. Before he has finished counting the opposite captain must say " The Game Club cat is agile/' or Famous Characters 123 some other adjective beginning with " a." No one can use an adjective that has already been given, and if a player cannot think of one be- fore the opposing player counts ten he is out. When the adjectives beginning with " a " have all been exhausted, those beginning with "b" are begun, and so on through the alphabet until all the players on one side are out, when the other side has won the game. LXX1II Famous Characters One of the players goes out of the room while the others decide upon the name of some famous person, which is made up of as many letters as there are players. Beginning at one end of the circle of players, to each is assigned a letter of the character's name, and each chooses another well-known person in history or fiction to impersonate, one whose name begins with the letter assigned him. The player who has gone out now returns and questions each of the others in the order in which he is told the 124 The Book of Games letters of the name come. He must ask ques- tions to which " yes " or " no " can be answered, and from the guessing of each individual char- acter he gets one letter of the whole name, and so on until the entire name is revealed, when the person whose letter suggested the name goes out. Suppose there are eight players and Dis- raeli is the character selected. The first player, having D for the initial letter of his individual character, chooses Diana; the second, having I, takes Isaac Walton; the third, having S, takes Sara Bernhardt; the fourth, having R, takes Robinson Crusoe; the fifth, having A, takes Alice in Wonderland; the sixth, having E, takes Elaine ; the seventh, having L, takes Liliukolani; and the eighth, having I, takes Ivanhoe. LXX1V Stuff and Nonsense Here is a chance for fun without effort. All of the players being seated in a circle, one starts by whispering to the person at his left Stuff and Nonsense 125 an article (this is speaking grammatically), the player thus spoken to whispers to the one at his left an adjective, and each in turn whispers to the person at his left the following parts of speech in regular sequence : an article, an ad- jective, a noun (singular), a verb, an adverb, a number, another adjective, and a noun (plural). When these words have thus been whispered to nine players, the first player tells his word, then the second, third, and so on till a complete sentence is repeated. For example : The first player whispers the article the, the second player the adjective aggressive, the third player the noun motor-man, the fourth player the verb carved, the fifth player the adverb morosely, the sixth player the number sixty-nine, the seventh player another adjective, silly, and the eighth player a noun plural, cats, to finish. Each now speaking his word aloud, the nonsense is this : " The aggressive motoij-man carved morosely sixty-nine silly cats." If the party feels equal to more of this, the sentence may be started by someone who was not of the first set. An article is whispered again, then the adjective, noun, verb, adverb, etc., as before, in regular order, and another ridiculous combination follows. 126 The Book of Games LXXV Theatrical Titles of Books Another game needing no preparation, and one which is sure to be amusing, is described as follows: Two of the players are sent from the room to choose the title of a book, poem, or song. When this is done they plan how they can best act it in pantomime for the bene- fit of the rest of the party, who are to guess the title — if they can. For instance, if one of the impromptu actors is a young girl, she may come in and sit beside her companion, ear- nestly whispering and gesticulating, to repre- sent "The Confessions of a Frivolous Girl." For "Innocents Abroad," the actors walk in carrying travelling-bags, canes, and umbrellas, one of them perhaps having a scarf tied around his hat ; then they should have guide-books and inquiring expressions as they walk about ex- amining everything closely. " Tired of House- keeping," T. S. Arthur ; " The Betrothed," Sir Walter Scott; "Kept in the Dark," Trol- lope; "I Say No," Wilkie Collins; "Twice- Orchestra 127 Told Tales," Nathaniel Hawthorne, and " The Minister's Wooing," H. B. Stowe, are a few suggestions for these pantomimes; while "Be- hind Closed Doors " may be effectively done by keeping the doors closed between the room where the actors are and the audience, until at last the audience calls for them, when they can say that the title has been acted. LXXVI Orchestra No noisier game than this can be found. The players having chosen from among their num- ber a conductor, seat themselves around him in a circle. The conductor now assigns to each a musical instrument, and shows in pantomime exactly how it is to be played. When all have been provided with their imaginary instru- ments the conductor orders them to tune up, thus giving each musician a fine chance to make all sorts of discordant noises. When the different instruments have been tuned the conductor waves an imaginary baton and begins to hum a lively air, in which 128 The Booh of Games he is accompanied by his whole band, each player imitating with his voice the sounds, and with his hands the different movements, made in performing on a real instrument. Every now and then the conductor pretends to play on a certain instrument, and the player to whom it belongs must at once alter his motions to those of the conductor and keep silence while continuing to wield the imaginary baton until the leader abandons his instrument. Should a player fail to take the conductor's place at the right time he must pay a forfeit. The fun of this game depends very largely upon the humor and quickness of the con- ductor as he abandons his baton for the in- struments of the other musicians. LXXVII Bequests Materials Required : As 7nany pencils and sheets of foolscap paper as there are players. All having received pencils and paper it is requested that every player shall draw up his or her will, leaving something to each one of Teapot 129 the other players, no matter whether it is a possession, a quality, a fault or care, a hope or a beauty; to everyone must be given some- thing, and at the same time directions should be given as to the use to be made of each legacy. When all have finished the papers are col- lected and read aloud by the host or one of the players. LXXVIII Teapot One player goes out of the room while the others think of some word which has two or more different meanings. Suppose the word " train " is selected. When the player who has been out comes into the room each of the others, in turn, says something to him — some sentence in which "train" is used, substituting for "train" the word "teapot." One says, for example, "I like to ride in the teapot" another says " I hear that Mr. Blank is going to teapot for the foot-ball match," " It is nec- essary to teapot children," " What a long tea- pot Mrs. Brown has." 130 The Book of Games When the word is guessed the player whose sentence suggested it to the guesser must go out of the room while the others choose a word, and the game goes on as before. LXX1X Dumb Motions The players separate into two sides and de- cide who shall be " masters" and who " men." The men's aim is to keep at work as long as possible and to prevent their places being taken by the masters. Having consulted among them- selves the men decide upon a trade or profes- sion to engage in, one which may be illustrated by certain actions of the body. They now form a line in front of the masters, who are told by the leader of the men the first and last letters of the trade they are about to engage in. For example: P r, for painter; M n, for motor-man; F 1, for florist; I n, for ice-man ; W r, for waiter ; and so on. The men now begin to express in dumb mo- tions the various labors belonging to the trade Scouts 131 they have chosen. Suppose they are florists, one of the players will seem to be watering flowers, another arranging them in a vase, another wiring the stems, and others will be making phantom flowers into imaginary bou- quets or " set pieces." If any of the men speak or use wrong gestures the whole side is out. One guess each is allowed the masters, and if none of them can hit upon the right trade the men tell them what it was and fix upon an- other to act. If, however, some one of the masters guesses correctly, the men are out and become masters. If any of the men wish to stop work after they have continued at it for some time, even though the masters have not all made their guesses, they may do so if they have worked a reasonable time. LXXX Scouts In this game, which is very like Twenty Questions, the players divide into two parties and go into different rooms. Each party then 132 The Book of Games sends out a " scout," and the two meet and de- cide on some difficult thing to guess (a small object in a local shop, the left eyebrow of Julius Caesar, or anything equally puzzling), and then return to the rooms, each going to his opponent's party, where questions are asked him in quick succession, as the side guessing first is the winning one and can take posses- sion of both " scouts." Only those questions which can be answered by "yes," "no," or " I don't know " are allowable. As in Twenty Questions, it is first discovered whether the ob- ject is " animal," " vegetable," or " mineral," and after this is settled the questions come thick and fast until one of the parties has won the guessing race, when a shout or a whistle proclaims the fact to their opponents. LXXXI Commercial Traveller This is one of the convenient games which can be played on the spur of the moment, and requires no materials, not even the usual pen- Commercial Traveller 133 cil and paper. The players being seated in a circle a leader is chosen, who, beginning any- where in the circle, asks questions which must be answered alphabetically; that is, the first person's words should all begin with " a," the second with " b," and so on. For example: Leader : " Ladies and gentlemen, we will suppose that you are all commercial travellers about to start on a journey to any part of the world you may prefer, on business. Will you each kindly tell me where you are going and for what purpose, naming your destinations and errands alphabetically ?" Leader : " Where are you going, No. 1 ? " Answer : "To Annapolis." "What will you do there?" Answer: "Advertise anaesthetics." "I am going to Bayreuth," says the next. "What will do there ? " asks the leader. Answer : " Boast ' Bur- nishine ' brightens boilers." Each person is asked in turn by the leader, " Where are you going ? " and " What will you do there ? " C goes to Chicago, to catch Columbian coins. D to Damascus, to dun dancing dervishes. E to England, to enjoy eagerly every entertainment. F to Florida, to find a fortune in fly-paper. G to Glasgow, to gayly gather guineas. H to Hayti, to have hard hustling. I to India, to inspect idols. 134 The Book of Games J to Jersey, to jump on jays. K to Khartoum, to keep knitted knee-caps and knives. L to Leominster, to learn lying. M to Montreal, to make money. N to Naples, to negotiate neatly. to Oklahoma, to open an oyster-shop. P to Pittsburgh, to pull in pennies. Q to Quito, to quote quinces. R to Russia, to rush rice and raisins. S to Senegambia, to sell saucepans. T to Turkey, to treat the trade. U to Uruguay, to urge the unwilling. V to Vienna, to victimize various viscounts. W to Washington, to willingly waste wages. Y to Yazoo, to yell at yielding yokels. Z to Zanzibar, to zealously sell zebras. LXXXII The Seasons The first player or leader, who begins the game, alone understands the trick or motive of this game. He begins by addressing one of the players in this way : " Will you go in the spring, summer, autumn, or winter?" The person questioned replies, naming any one of Who is My Neighbor? 135 the seasons. Suppose "spring" was answered, the game will properly proceed in this way : Leader : " What will you take with you ? " Answer : " Soda." Leader: " What will you wear ? " Answer: "I'll wear a sombrero, shooting-suit, and slippers." Leader: "What will you do?" Answer: "I'll sing songs." The words in the answers should all begin with the first letter of the season chosen. If autumn has been answered, the replies should begin with " a ; " if winter, with " w." But as no one but the leader understands the trick the replies will be haphazard, and everyone who is wrong must pay a forfeit, while the question passes to the next person. LXXXIII Who is My Neighbor? This is a lively game for beginning an even- ing, and particularly useful in an emergency, for it can be played without preparation of any kind. One-half of the company are blind- folded ; these helpless ones are then seated in 136 The Book of Games such a way that each has a vacant chair at his right hand. The remaining half of the play- ers now gather in the middle of the room, in perfect silence. The leader announces that at a given signal the unblindfolded players will each take one of the empty seats next to those who are blindfolded, and when requested to sing the unblindfolded must do so, disguising their voices if they choose. The blindfolded persons must not sing, but must listen atten- tively and each try to guess who his singing right-hand neighbor is. Each blindfolded play- er is not to remove his bandage until he gives correctly the name of his right-hand neighbor, who then takes off the bandage of the success- ful guesser, and must submit to be bandaged in his turn and to take the guesser's place. When the secret signal is given the players who are unblindfolded creep noiselessly to the vacant chairs; the leader then goes to the piano and begins to play the accompaniment to some familiar song like " Marching Through Georgia." " Sing," he cries, and all the un- blindfolded players do their best — or worst — until the leader cries " Enough." The blind- How? Where? When? 137 folded then guess who the singers at their right hand were. Those whose guesses are wrong must remain blindfolded until the next time, when perhaps, with wisdom learned from their first failure, they will guess correctly and be released. LXXXIV How ? Where ? When ? One of the players is sent from the room while the others decide upon a subject, which may be anything about which the three ques- tions, " How do you like it ? " " Where do you like it ? " and " When do you like it ? " may be asked. It should be some word with two or three meanings, as such a word renders the answers quite confusing and misleading. For instance, if vain (vein, vane) be the word chosen, one of the players may say, in answer to the first question, that he likes it "Of gold " (vein) ; in answer to the second, that he likes it " On a steeple " (vane) ; and in answer to the third, that he likes it " When it is con- spicuous by its absence " (vain). 138 The Book of Games When the out-player comes in he puts the first question to the nearest player, who re- turns a puzzling answer; he then passes to the next and repeats the same question, then to the next, and so on till he has gone around the room. If none of the answers enables him to guess the subject he tries each player with the next question, and if then he is still in the dark he asks a reply from each to the third and last question. Should he fail to guess the subject after asking all the questions he must go out again, but should he guess it during his rounds the player last questioned must go out of the room in his place. LXXXV Nonsense Rhymes Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize, if desired. Who doesn't enjoy Lear's " Nonsense Rhymes ? " His metre is so simple that al- most anyone can imitate it, in a way, and an amusing game may be played with this for the Button, Button, Negatively 139 motive. Each person receives pencil and paper, and is asked to produce a nonsense rhyme ac- cording to Lear. The following is an example : " There was a young man of Bridgeport Who sat on the stove just for sport, And though he was burned, No lesson he learned, This eccentric young man of Bridgeport." LXXXVI Button, Button, Negatively This is a new way of playing an old game. The players sit around the room in a circle or hollow square. One who is the leader then takes a button and holding it between his hands, which are pressed palms together, so as to conceal it, goes around the circle. Each player holds his or her hands together in the same way, and as the leader goes around he presses his hands between those of the other players, in turn, saying to each, " Hold fast what I give you," and being careful not to show into whose hand he drops the button. When the circuit has been made the leader goes to the first player and says, " Button, i4o The Book of Games button, who hasn't got the button ? " and this person must answer, naming someone who he supposes hasn't it. So it goes on around the ring until all have answered this question according to their be- lief, when the leader cries, " Button, button, rise ! " and the button holder does so. Then if there is anyone who guessed that the person who really held the button did not hold it he becomes a " ghost " and out of the charmed circle; the player who held the button be- comes leader and the game goes on. If no one is caught, however, the game proceeds as before, the leader changing places with the player who held the button. The "ghosts'' can only become mortal and again join the circle when they can get some player in the circle to speak to them, and then that mortal must take the "ghost's" place. LXXXVII Gardening This is gardening made easy. Each of the players is asked in turn what was planted in PHlopena 141 his garden and what came up. Articles planted may be of any description, but must come up plants of some kind whose names have some punning connection with the articles planted. For example : First player : " I planted a ball and it came up a rub- ber-plant." Second player: "I planted the United States and it came up a carnation " (car nation). Third player: "I planted a calendar and it came up dates." Fourth player : " I planted a ship and it came up in dock." Fifth player : " I planted an old coat and it came up firs" (furs). Sixth player: "I planted a watch and it came up four-o'clock." Seventh player : " I planted an unattractive girl and she came up a wall-flower." Eighth player : " I planted some steps and they came up hops." LXXXVII1 Philopena The company take seats in two lines, facing each other, leaving room between the lines for the leader to walk up and down. The leader 142 The Book of Games stops in front of some person and, addressing such person by name, asks a question. The per- son addressed must not make any reply, but the one opposite the person addressed (and behind the leader) must respond before the leader counts ten, in which case the leader tries again, endeavoring to catch someone suddenly off guard. If the person addressed directly an- swers the question by so much as a word, or if the one behind the questioner fails to answer within the prescribed time, the person at fault becomes the leader, in turn, and the previous leader takes such player's seat. This may also be played without requiring the leader to stand in front of the person addressed, but the leader may from any loca- tion address any of the company by name, when such person may not reply, but the one opposite must do so. LXXXIX Cross-questions and Silly Answers The company being arranged in two lines racing each other, preferably ladies on one side Cross-questions and Silly Answers 143 and gentlemen on the other, except two per- sons, a lady and gentleman, for leaders, the lady leader walks down the line behind the gentlemen and whispers to each a serious question to be propounded in turn to the lady opposite. The gentleman leader proceeds to whisper in the ear of each lady in the opposite line an absurd answer to give to the question to be propounded. There must, of course, be no collusion between the leaders as to the ques- tions and answers to be given. Then, starting at the head of the line, the first gentleman pro- pounds the question assigned him and the op- posite lady replies with her answer, the ques- tion and answer being repeated three times, and during such time neither he nor she may so much as smile, the penalty for so doing be- ing a forfeit. Each couple does likewise, in turn, after which two other leaders may be selected, and the game repeated, assigning the questions this time to the ladies and the answers to the gen- tlemen. Instead of forfeits, each person who laughs may be compelled to withdraw, and the one who is the last to succumb wins the prize. i44 The Book of Games XC Spirits Materials Required : A prize, if desired. From fifteen to twenty people can play this game, and if they are quick-witted it will cer- tainly be a success. The players being seated around the room in a circle, one of their num- ber, who has made himself familiar with the directions, explains the working of the game in this way : The first player names a letter, any letter in the alphabet ; the second, thinking of a word, supplies the second letter in it ; the third, with a different word in mind, gives a third letter, taking care not to finish the word ; and so on until some player is forced to give the last let- ter to a word. By so doing he incurs the penalty of a forfeit, which consists in losing an imaginary " life," of which, at the beginning of the game, each person has three. When a player has in this way lost all three lives he be- comes a "spirit," and leaves the circle. He Spirits 145 may, however, " haunt " his former compan- ions, and if he can succeed in getting one of them to speak to him or answer a question, he forces him to lose one of his lives. If a player, in naming a letter, is suspected of not having a word in mind he may be challenged, and if he cannot think of a word which his let- ter will help to make he must lose a "life;" if, however, the suspicion was unfounded and he had a legitimate word in mind, his chal- lenger loses a " life." When a word is completed the next player begins another, and the game goes on. No word can ever be finished which forms in its progress a shorter word (as "is" in island, " for " in forfeit), and, of course, any player who finishes even a word of two letters in this way loses a life. The following is an example of the way the game is played : No. 1 begins a word by the letter s. No. 2, thinking of scowl, says c (sc). No. 3, thinking of scan, says a (sea). No. 4, to avoid finishing, and thinking of scale, says 1 (seal). No. 5 gives another 1 (scall), and is chal- lenged, but answers satisfactorily that he was thinking 146 The Book of Games of scallop. No. 6 says o (scallo). And No. 7 is forced to finish the word by giving p (scallop), thereby losing a " life." While the party of spirits is being added to, the players in the circle grow fewer and fewer, until at last, when but one person survives, the game is ended, and the " living" player may receive a prize. XCI Wordy Word Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players s a prize, if desired. Each person is provided with a slip of paper and pencil. Then the leader selects some ordi- nary (or extraordinary) word of ten to twenty letters, which all write down; and, with the letters composing such word, as many other words as possible are constructed, proper names and foreign languages being barred. The per- son discovering the most words wins the prize. It will be found surprising how many other words can be constructed from the letters of Advice 147 some simple noun. For instance, the word " schedule" contains more than fifty other words. XCII Advice Materials Required : As many pencils and slips of paper , three by Jive inches , as there are players. The players having all been supplied with pencils and paper, each writes a piece of ad- vice; the slips of paper are then folded and all are collected. They are then shuffled in a bowl and each player draws one, but before opening it he must express his opinion of the advice, whether he thinks it good or uncalled for. After expressing himself freely about it, he reads the advice aloud. For example, A says he thinks his advice is about right, and then reads from the slip of paper he has drawn : " Don't be so sure of your own charms." Another game of Advice will prove very amusing for a party of people knowing one 148 The Book of Games another well. The hostess asks each one of her guests to bring a letter of advice or admo- nition addressed to one of the other guests and signed by still another person who has been invited. At supper each guest finds one of these letters at his or her place, and is asked to read it aloud between courses. A lively supper will be the result. XCIII Fire Materials Required : A knotted handker- chief. Two captains are chosen, and each chooses, in turn, his players until the party is divided equally. The sides being seated in two rows facing each other, the captain whose turn it would be to choose begins the game. Taking a knotted handkerchief he throws it suddenly at one of the players opposite, calling out at the same time either " Earth!" "Water!" " Air ! " or " Fire ! " If " Earth " is called, the player into whose lap the handkerchief falls must name some quadruped before the other // 149 can count ten ; if " Water," he must name a fish; if " Air," a bird ; and if " Fire," he must remain perfectly silent. Should the player fail to name an animal, or name the wrong one, or speak when he ought to be silent, he must drop out of the game, and the player who threw the handkerchief at him may take and throw it at someone else. But should he an- swer properly he must throw the handkerchief at a player on the opposite side, call an element, and count ten. In this way the game goes on until all of one side have had to drop out, when the opposing side has won. Those who have never played this simple game can have no idea of the absurd mistakes the different players make when called upon quickly. XCIV IT Before starting this game it will be well to inquire who knows how to play "It," for there must be at least one person in the party who has never been initiated into " It's " mysteries. iSo The Book of Games This must be diplomatically discovered, how- ever, as it is important that the player selected should not suspect a trick. When such a per- son is found he is sent out of the room ; but before going he is told that the game is a form of " Twenty Questions," and that the other players will choose some object for him to guess, and when he comes back he is to ask a question of each person, in turn, so as to dis- cover from their answers what the object is. All questions must be such as can be answered by " yes," " no," or " I don't know." After this player has gone out the hostess ex- plains to the rest, who are seated around the room, that each is to fix upon his left-hand neighbor as the object to be guessed, and an- swer all questions as they apply to this person on their left. It will be well to rearrange the party so that there will be first a lady and then a gentleman, and so on around the circle. For example : The Out-player asks of No. 1 (a lady), " Is it an ani- mal ?" No. l: "Yes." Out-player, to No. 2 (a gentleman) : " Is it a human being ?" No. 2: "Yes." Telegrams 151 Out-player, to No. 3 (a lady) : " Does it wear puffed sleeves?" No. 3 (speaking- of No. 4, a gentleman): " No." Out-player, to No. 4 : " Does it smoke ? " No. 4 (speak- ing of No. 5, a lady) : " I don't know." Out-player, to No. 5 : " Is it beautiful ? " No. 5 (speak- ing of No. 6, a gentleman) : " No." Out-player, to No. 6: "Is it's hair long?" No. 6 (speaking of No. 7, a lady) : " Yes." Out-player, to No. 7 : "Is its hair six inches long ? " No. 7 (speaking of No. 8, a gentleman) : " No." These conflicting answers will completely perplex the guesser and will be very amusing to the rest of the party for some time. XCV Telegrams Materials Required : A pad of paper j as many lead-pencils as there are players. Pencils and paper are distributed, and ten of the players are asked each to give a letter of the alphabet. These letters every player of the party writes in sequence at the top of his or her sheet of paper. The hostess then announces iS2 The Book of Games that everyone is to write a telegram, the ten words to begin with the ten letters given, in consecutive order, as : Letters given : S, A, Q, T, L, N, K, M, B, E. Telegram : " Send arnica quickly ; tell Lizzie nothing ; kitten mutilated by expressman." Or a subject may be given for all to write on — as an accident, a proposal of marriage, congratulations, condolences, or an appoint- ment. XCVI Boston Telegrams Materials Required : As many pencils and twice as many sheets of paper as there are players. This game, as its name suggests, is more difficult than the ordinary telegrams. The players are seated in a circle, each with pen- cil and paper. No. 1 writes the letter A at the top of his or her paper; No. 2, B; No. 3, C; and so on until each has a different letter of the alphabet. All are then asked to write a tele- Postman 153 gram, every one of the ten words in it to begin with the same letter — the one written on each paper. The time allowed is fifteen minutes. When this is done each passes his telegram to his right-hand neighbor, who must write a telegram in answer, every one of the ten words to begin with the letter first assigned him. For example : First telegram : " Adorable American, ardent admirer asks affection and appreciation; answer affirmatively.' ' Second telegram, answering : " Blundering British bore, begone; bright Boston banker brings betrothal bracelet." XCVII Postman Materials Required : List of as many cities and towns as there are players y a large hand- kerchief. This is an exciting game and may be played by an unlimited number, being specially adapt- ed for a large party. One of the players is blindfolded, and he is called the Postman, an- other volunteers to fill the office of Postmaster, 1 54 The Book of Games and all the rest of the players seat themselves around the room (which has been cleared of furniture as much as possible). No empty chairs must be left. The Postmaster assigns to each player the name of a city or town. It would be well to prepare a list of places before- hand, as many as there are players, in case the Postmaster's memory fails. The blind Post- man is next placed in the centre of the room, and the Postmaster takes a position where he can overlook the players. He then calls out, " I have sent a letter from St. Louis to New Haven," for example, and the players repre- senting those cities quickly change places. As they run the Postman tries to capture one of them, and if he can do this or can manage to sit down in an empty chair, the player who is caught or whose chair he has taken becomes Postman. The Postmaster is not changed unless he grows tired of his position, which is not an easy one, as he must call the mails between the different places in quick succession. If a player remains seated when his name is called he is obliged to take the Postman's place. Barber Shop 155 XCVIII Barber Shop One gentleman of the party is selected to be the victim in this game. He is invited into another room where he sees three lovely maid- ens standing behind a sofa, and does not see a small boy who is concealed back of the sofa. The leader tells him that this is a Barber shop, and asks which he will have, a " shave, sham- poo, or hair cut ? " His choice being ex- pressed, he is blindfolded and led to the sofa, where he is seated ; and at a given signal the small boy rises, leans over the back of the sofa, and kisses him on the cheek, dodging quickly back before the blindfolded one can tear off the handkerchief. Needless to say, there is much merriment among the spectators, and the feelings of the victim are better imag- ined than described. 156 The Book of Games XCIX Royal Lady This game, though not new, is highly enter- taining, and requires nothing but two or three dozen twisted paper horns or lamplighters, and a circle of gamesome people. One begins by saying to his right hand neighbor, " Good- evening, Royal Lady (or Gentleman) I, a Royal Gentleman, come from a Royal Gentle- man to say that I have an ostrich." The lady addressed in turn says to her right- hand neighbor, " Good-evening, Royal Gentle- man; I, a Royal Lady, come from a Royal Gentleman, to say that I have an ostrich with a wooden leg." Each must repeat this formula, only varying it according to whether they are addressing a a lady or gentleman, and each time adding something to the description of the ostrich, or whatever animal has been spoken of. The first player who makes a mistake or omission must be decorated with a paper horn ; and thereafter must be addressed as " One-horned Horn Monkey 157 Lady or Gentleman." The game goes on till most of the players are bristling with horns, when if there be one who is hornless, he or she is the winner. Horn Monkey Chicago is said to be the home of Horn Monkey. It is played as follows : A circle of players is formed and the hostess or leader asks one of the company to start the game by nam- ing an animal whose initial letter is " A," as Ape. The next player to the left says " Ape, Bear " (or any other animal whose initial is B), and so it goes on alphabetically around the circle, each player repeating in correct order the animals which have been given, and adding one whose initial comes next. Should any player fail in this he is called derisively a " Horn Monkey," and no one thereafter must fail to say " Horn Monkey" when he comes to the break in the sequence of animals' names. There are apt to be several Horn Monkeys, and the more the merrier ! 158 The Booh of Games CI Useless Information Materials Required : A book of useful in- formation ; a box of candy. This game originated at a well-known club in New York, whose members never weary of playing it. One of the almanacs published by a daily paper, or any other book of useful in- formation, in the hands of a fluent talker with ready wit is sufficient material for a splendid game. When the players are gathered in a circle the leader asks a question like, " What per cent, of sulphur does a man's body contain — I want the exact per cent ! " The answers are sure to be wild, but the one whose guess is nearest is the winner, and must drop out of the game until after the next question has been answered. Impromptu prizes, such as Alice in Wonderland gave in the Caucus Race may be given to the winners ; or a box of candy will furnish prizes for a whole evening if a bon- bon rewards each player who is nearest right. PART HI GAMES FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS CII New Year's Resolutions Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players. For a New Year's party, or for one given within a few days of January 1st, a good sug- gestion is New Year's resolutions. Pencils and paper are brought out, and every guest is asked to write his or her resolutions for the new year ; or, if preferred, to write someone else's resolutions (or those someone else ought to make), signed by that person. The papers are then folded, collected, and then drawn, one apiece, by the players, and each in turn reads aloud the resolutions which have come to him or her. For example : This first day of January, 18 — , I resolve to follow these rules for the coming year : I. If I can't be honest, Pll be as honest as I can. II. I will chew no more taffy with my imported ivories HI. I must walk with my right foot on the left side. IV. I must stop smoking in my sleep ; and, V. Walk around the block before rising. 1 62 The Book of Games cm St. Valentine's Day Materials Required : The reader is referred to the detailed descriptions of the following games. As the fourteenth of February draws near perhaps you will plan a St. Valentine's party. If your guests are clever people you will do well to ask each to write one or more valen- tines to bring on the appointed evening — valentines specially appropriate to some of the other guests. After all have arrived and the valentines have been collected, pin them to a huge red -heart sofa -pillow (easy to fashion of turkey-red cotton), those for the gentlemen be- ing fastened on one side and the ladies' on the other. At the top of the heart a loop of red silk cord or ribbon is attached, large enough to enable the hostess to hang it on her arm as she walks from one to another of her guests, asking each gentleman to take a valentine addressed to a lady and each lady one to a gentleman. When everyone has a valentine the hostess asks one of the players to read the one he or she St Valentine's Day 163 has aloud, and this is done, in turn, until all are read, and another round is made with the valen- tine-covered heart. If your party is informal, and your guests are friends, you will find this game delightfully amusing. Here is an example : TO THOMPSON, FROM HIS VALENTINE O Thompson, be humble; we're weary with viewing The airs and the graces you lately have worn. Pray remember that some of us sported the purple s Mid the creme de la creme 'ere you ever were born. Just because some large-hearted and pitying neighbor Sought to soothe your aspiring dissatisfied soul By lauding your manners, your voice, and your paces, You are walking on stilts and with high-rollers roll ! Your voice — well now, Thompson, you know it's not mellow, No more than a buzz-saw or tired-out loon ; And yet you have swallowed this mild piece of satire And roar out in church like a bursted bassoon ! Your high-stepping horses we know are on credit ; Your journeys to Europe all charged to the house. Swell out, if you like, 'mid your tape and your hairpins, But here, at the Game Club, be still as a mouse. To these words, my dear fellow, I trust you will hearken, And on your bad courses will draw a tight rein. Be humble, be modest, be truthful and sober, And the Game Club will dub you" nice Thompson" again. 164 The Booh of Games The sofa-pillow makes a good prize for the next game, which is a highly appropriate con- test — shooting at a heart-shaped target with a small and much-beribboned bow and gay gilded dart. The frame for the target can be made by a carpenter at small expense ; it should then be covered with red paper and a small gilt-paper heart pasted in the centre of it by way of a bull's- eye. The ladies and gentlemen shoot in turn, and the best shot receives the heart sofa-pillow as a prize. Alphabetical Compliments is a restful game after the archery contest. Each gentleman re- ceives a card or slip of paper, on which is written the name of a lady — some one of the party. The host then calls a gentleman and asks him to go to the lady whose name is on his card and pay her a compliment, each word of which must begin with the first letter of her Christian name. She must gracefully reply, using for the first letter of every word the let- ter his name begins with. For example : Compliment : " Claire's charms claim compliments." Reply : " Artless Alexander adores alliterative ambig- uous allusions and anodyne adjectives." Washington's Birthday 165 When all have given or replied to a com- pliment a vote is taken as to who paid the cleverest compliment and who made the best reply, and the prizes are awarded accord- ingly. After this game it is surely time for supper. If one wishes, and a caterer is not out of the question, it is attractive to have ices and cakes in the shape and color of hearts at supper, but this is not necessary, and of course is not pos- sible out of town without a good deal of trouble and expense. A Heart Hunt, modelled on the "Peanut Hunt " described elsewhere, may follow sup- per. The white candy hearts, red lettered in loving messages (which are to be hidden in place of peanuts), are obtainable at almost any small confectioner's. After this — Good-night. CIV Washington's Birthday A tea-party of the olden time is an appro- priate celebration of Washington's Birthday. 1 66 The Book of Games If possible, the room where the guests are to be entertained should contain a number of pieces of antique furniture. Everyone should be asked to come in eighteenth-century dress — the ladies in short-waisted gowns, powder, and patches, the gentlemen in knee-breeches, with coats of broadcloth, silk stockings, and buckled shoes. Each should be asked to bring some- thing curious and ancient — some heirloom, if possible, with a story attached to it. In these days of Colonial Dames and Sons and Daugh- ters of the Revolution almost everyone has some adventure of an ancestor or romance of an ancestress to tell; and when every guest has either told a story or shown a relic, such old-fashioned games as Hunt the Slipper, Hide the Thimble, London Bridge, or Battledore and Shuttlecock may be played. At supper in the olden time, a chronicler tells us " our fare consisted of cold ham and tongue, jellies, whips, custards, creams, blanc- mange, tarts, puddings, cheese-cakes, grapes, nuts, almonds, cakes of every variety, and confectionery." Here is certainly a long list to choose from, for this bill of fare, divided by April First 167 two or even three, would suffice for the appe- tite of the chronicler's great-granddaughter. After supper a few old-fashioned dances — contra dances, reels, and a minuet, will be quite in keeping, and at midnight the party is over. CV April First Materials Required : A prize for each game. April Fool's Day doesn't seem a very ap- propriate occasion for a party. Just because it is unusual, however, it may be most suc- cessful. When you send your invitations, if you ask each person to come prepared to do a sleight-of-hand trick the evening's entertain- ment is at least half arranged. Transparent and old tricks are not debarred, though of course new ones are most acceptable. Arrange- ment should be made for the table for the conjurers and chairs for the audience. If you have two rooms with folding double doors or portieres between, this will be the best place for the games. A box of " April-fool candy," 1 68 The Book of Games a " Jack-in-the-box," or other toy, may be given as a prize for the best trick. At supper surprises may be very apropos. Any housekeeper will think of things in the way of eatables which are not what they seem, but should all else fail ice-cream in surprising colors and shapes may be served. A prize should be given at the end of the evening to the person who has not been " April fooled " all the evening long, also to the one who has successfully fooled the greatest number of persons. CVI Hallowe'en Materials Required : The reader is referred to the detailed descriptions of the following games. To deviate from the old customs and games on this day of all others would never do, and lest some of these traditions should be over- looked or forgotten, they are repeated here. Fortune Hunting is not what its name usu- ally implies, but is very amusing. A ring, a Hallowe'en 169 piece of money, and a thimble are hidden be- forehand in different places in the room where the guests are to be entertained. This game may be the first of the evening. The player who finds the ring will be married first and " Live happily ever after ; " the one who finds the money will have wealth, and the person who finds the thimble will live unmarried to the end of his or her life. Fortunes. — A novel fortune-telling device is arranged beforehand in this way. The hostess collects a number of small articles, each sug- gestive of some profession or business : An army and a navy button, a box of sugar pills, a pen, a palette, a piece of ticker tape, a bit of coal or iron, or just a package of earth. There should be as many of these articles as there are ladies invited, and they should be wrapped in paper and popped into a large bag, which is brought out on the night of the party, and each maiden " puts in her thumb and pulls out a plum." Whoever gets the navy button will marry a sailor, the one who pulls out the package of earth will be a farmer's bride, etc. For the gentlemen a tray of sealed envelopes 170 The Book of Games is handed about and each draws one. They will be found to contain pictures of girls. In one a bicycle girl, in another a sweet little cook, while still another is golfing, and these are prophetic of the kind of wife each will have. Candle and Looking-glass Test. — Each per- son in turn walks down-stairs backward, alone ; with a looking-glass in one hand and a lighted candle in the other. It is supposed that each will see the face of his or her future wife or husband in the glass. Instead of this test, an- other, it is said, will bring the same result. This is to run three times round the outside of the house with one's mouth full of water. The Lead Test. — Each person melts some lead (it is easily done in a saucepan over a coal fire), and pours it through a key-handle or a wedding-ring into a pail or basin of water. The lead cools in strange shapes which anyone who is ingenious can interpret very amusingly. Snap-dragon, that good old sport, may be played in two ways, with raisins or with verses written beforehand on slips of paper folded very small and covered with tin-foil. They Hallowe'en 171 are placed in an earthen or tin dish and covered with water, over which alcohol is poured and set afire. Each player must try while it is burning to snatch a snap-dragon, which may be a raisin or one of the verses which is sup- posed to tell his fortune. The dish should be placed in the middle of a bare table, and great care must be taken that the drops of burning alcohol do not set anything on fire. In pour- ing the alcohol on to the water it should flow down the side of the dish gently so that it will float on the water and not mix with it. Floating Needles is great fun. Take greased needles and float them in a basin of water in this way. First lay a piece of tissue-paper on the water and place the needle upon it. Soon the paper will become wet and sink, leaving the needle floating. Each person has his own needle, and it is very funny to watch its ac- tions ; sometimes it will rush to the edge of the dish, sometimes run into another player's needle and cling to it. The way in which one player's needle behaves toward the others is understood to be prophetic. Bobbing for Apples. — This is one of the chil- 172 The Book of Games dren's favorites. A tub of water, in which sev- eral apples are floating, is brought in ; and each person in turn tries to lift one out with his teeth alone. The Water Charm. — Three dishes are placed on a table, one containing clear water, one soapy water, and one empty. The guests are blindfolded in turn and led to the dishes, which have been changed about so that the blind- folded person cannot know their relative posi- tions. He puts his finger into one. If it is the clear water he will be happily married, if the soapy water he will marry a widow, and if it is the empty one he will never marry. Kaling. — This can only be played at a coun- try house where there is a vegetable garden near by. Two players at a time are blind- folded and led to the cabbage bed, where each pulls up a cabbage stalk and returns to the house. The shape of the stalk means much to the interpreter ; if it is straight and shapely the omen is a good one, especially if there is a quantity of dirt (representing wealth) clinging to the roots. Topsy-turvy and Christmas Party 173 CVII Topsy-turvy and Christmas Party Materials Required : A miniature Christ- mas-tree ; as many numbered cards in duplicate as there are guests. Have you ever thought of giving a Topsy- turvy party — one where everything is as it ought not to be ? Here is a programme for one which is a Christmas party as well, and if given in Christmas week is pretty sure to be a success. Every guest is asked to bring a sim- ple Christmas present, appropriate for a lady or gentleman, as is preferred. PROGRAMME No. 1. The Unexpected. No. 2. Little, but oh my ! No. 3. Have a Smile with me? No. 4. A Freak of Fancy. No. 5. A Draw Game. No. 6. ? 11 The Unexpected " is supper, a very light one. " Little, but oh my ! " is the Christmas- 174 The Book of Games tree, the smallest possible tree, hung from the ceiling upside down. There should be a very tall and thin Santa Claus. The presents, neatly done up, each bear a number, and these numbers match others which were drawn by the players before the games began. As the numbers on the packages are called the play- ers who hold the duplicate numbers claim their presents, which are sure to be malapropos, as there is no possibility of anyone getting what was intended for him. The rest of the evening is devoted to sev- eral games already described. No. 3 on the programme, "Have a Smile with me?" is " Nonsense Rhyming." As a prize for the best rhyme that very curious and attractive book, "Topsys and Turvys," by Peter Newell, seems particularly appropriate. " A Freak of Fancy " is the game called " Teapot." " A Draw Game" is drawing pigs with the eyes shut ; see " Blind Artists." " ? " is the second and bona-fide supper. And after that, good- morning, for it will surely be after twelve. A Children's Party for Grown People 175 CVIII A Children's Party for Grown People An entirely novel and funny plan is to ask fifteen or twenty grown people to a children's party, where they themselves are to be the chil- dren. Raids on the nursery can be made for blocks, puzzles, balls, battledore and shuttle- cock, and other toys, and these, with such games as "A Spoonful of Fun," "Hunt the Whistle," " Teapot," and " Here we go round the Barberry Bush," will furnish amusement for the young people if it is the season for in-door games. "The Baby Show" should come just before supper. At supper bibs are used instead of napkins — those printed with outline pictures and appropriate inscriptions, such as "Our Pet," "For a Good Girl," etc., will be particularly appreciated, and they need not be embroidered, but may easily be painted in water-colors. If the party is given in sum- mer, when out-of-door games are possible, "Hide and Seek," "Tag," "Prisoner's Base," 176 The Book of Games and "Base-ball" are only a few of the de- lightful and exciting amusements which will "make me a child again just for to-night," even though the consequences may be "that tired feeling " to-morrow. PART IV OLD FAVORITES FOR CHILDREN CIX My Lady's Toilet Materials Required : A wooden plate or circular tray. This game is an elaboration of " Spin the Platter." Each player chooses the name of some article belonging to a lady's toilet, such as "mirror," " brush," " hair-pin," "scent- bottle," and so on. The leader then takes a wooden plate, or any other circular object that cannot be easily broken, and twirls it around in the centre of the room, on the floor, naming at the same time some article from a lady's dressing-table. Upon this the player who bears the name of that article starts from his seat and tries to catch the wooden plate before it falls, failing to do which he pays a forfeit and takes the spinner's place. If a player can catch the plate before it falls he has no forfeit to pay, but takes the spinner's place just as though he had failed. The person who spins 180 The Book of Games the plate generally prefaces the name of the article with a sentence like this: "My lady is going to the theatre and wants her scent- bottle" At this the " scent-bottle " springs up and tries to catch the plate. When the word " toilet " is spoken by the plate-spinner all the players change their seats, and as the spinner takes care to secure a place, one player of course finds himself without one, and is obliged to pay a forfeit and twirl the plate. When the game flags the forfeits may be redeemed. CX Hunt the Whistle Materials Required: One small light-weight whistle. Someone who has never seen the game played is elected hunter; the others form a circle, either sitting or standing, around him. The hunter, after the whistle has been shown to him, is blindfolded until it is concealed. While his eyes are closed the whistle is very carefully attached to the back of his coat by means of a Bookbinder 181 string and a bent pin. He may now unbandage his eyes. One of the players to whom his back is turned then blows the whistle and drops it, and the hunter is told to try and find it ; but this is no easy matter, as he carries the object of his search about with him. As op- portunities occur different players blow the whistle and then drop it. The hunter is some- times fairly tired out before he discovers the trick that is being played on him. It is scarce- ly necessary to say that the whistle should be very small and light. CXI Bookbinder The company is seated in the form of a cir- cle, except one person for leader, who stands in the centre. Each person extends both hands together, palms upward, and on each one's out- stretched hands a book is placed. The leader then proceeds arounds the circle and suddenly snatches one of the books, trying to strike with it the hands upon which it rested before they 1 82 The Book of Games can be withdrawn. If successful, the person struck must take a turn as leader ; if not, the book is replaced and the leader tries again. If one's hands are withdrawn because of a feint by the leader, or before the book is actually caught up, it counts against one the same as if struck. CX1I Blowing the Feather Materials Required : One large sheet or table-cloth ; one feather fro7n a pillow. A simple and successful game is the old- fashioned one called " Blowing the Feather." Having provided a sheet or table-cloth and a small feather such as sofa-pillows are stuffed with, ask your guests (all but one) to be seated on the floor in a hollow square. The table- cloth or sheet is then spread so that the players can hold the edges of the sides and ends up just under their chins, thus stretching the cloth taut about a foot and a half above the floor. Upon the cloth the small feather is placed, and the player who is left out of the square is then Magic Music 183 told that he must do his best to catch it either in front of or upon some one of the seated players, who will then be obliged to take his place. At a signal the players on the floor begin to blow and the feather flies hither and thither, never resting, while amid much laughter the player who is out flies hither and thither too until he catches it at last on some unwary individual or someone too weak from laughing to blow quickly and effectively. CXIII Magic Music This old-fashioned game is so generally known that it seems hardly necessary to de- scribe it, yet it is so useful for certain occa- sions that it is admitted here more as a re- minder than a description. One player having been sent from the room, the others arrange something for him to do upon his return. When all are agreed upon what the action is to be the out- player is summoned by magic music, which is made by one of the other play- 184 The Book of Games ers, either by tapping some metal object with a key or by rattling shovel and tongs together. The person who has been out of the room must perform the appointed task as he is guided by the musician, who so regulates the music that the sounds are loud and noisy when the puz- zled player does what he ought not and soft when he begins to do anything like the per- formance of his task. To be more explicit, we will suppose the thing to do is to take a sofa-pillow and put it behind a certain lady's back. The player entering is greeted by the confusing magic music, which at first bothers him by its clatter. He walks toward the divan where the pillow is lying, when the music grows faint ; this shows that he is going in the right direction. He touches a chair, the music grows loud ; he touches the divan, the music is faint, and ceases as he touches the cushion. He now knows that he is to do something with the cushion, and in turn tries sitting on it, holding it, throwing it down in front of someone, but the music keeps him informed that no one of these is the right action, till he puts it behind a lady, Animals 185 not the one appointed, and the music grows very faint. At last he puts it back of the right person, and his arduous task is accom- plished. The other players may in turn go out of the room and have tasks given them, but the musician generally keeps his position as long as the game lasts. CXIV Animals This is a form of Blindman's-Buff. The leader is blindfolded, and the company may remain seated or standing about the room. The leader proceeds around until he can touch some person, when the person touched must give an imitation of the noise made by some animal — a cat, pig, cow, dog, etc. — repeat- ing it three times, if requested ; and, from the voice, the leader endeavors to name the person. If he succeeds, the person named must in turn become leader, otherwise he tries again. 1 86 The Book qf Games cxv Trolley-car This game will suggest an old friend — Stage- coach. But as travelling by coach is hardly up to date we will, instead, go by electricity. The players take the following names, as they choose, and whenever in the story (which is read or simply told by the leader) their names are spoken they must make whatever action is appropriate to the name, or failing must give a forfeit: Trolley-car, when spoken of, must rise and turn around twice. Mat, must rise and stamp twice with the right foot. Rails, must rise and hold both arms in front, as the rails of a track go. Advertisements, must rise and look up, reciting some well-known street-car advertisement. Straps, must rise and swing as if by straps when the car stops with a jerk. Conductor, calls the name of a street. Bell, must rise and cry " Ding, ding ! " Motor-man, must rise and turn imaginary brake. Trolley, must rise and drop suddenly into seat. Trolley-car 187 Stove, must rise, sit down on the floor, and rise again without touching anything. Newsboy, must rise and call " Papers ! " Electricity, must rise and imitate the fizzing and spitting of electric sparks. Passengers, must all rise and sit down again. The players being seated in a circle the leader stands in the centre and begins the story, to which all listen attentively, so that each person, as his name is spoken, may go through the actions assigned to it. When the leader cries " Trolley's off! " all the players change seats, the leader getting one if he can and leaving out one of the other players, who tells another story. For example: Leader : " Going out to Lonelyville the other even- ing, to dine, I took the trolley-car (Trolley-car rises and turns around twice) and unfortunately found that every- one else seemed to be doing the same thing, for the crowd uas tremendous and there was hardly foot-room u As I pushed my way in I tripped over the mat (Mat rises and stamps twice with the right foot) and landed on the stove (Stove rises, sits down on the floor, and rises again without touching anything). Recovering myself and my dress-suit case with an effort, I tried to look cold and dignified and gazed up at the advertise- ments (Advertisements rises and looks up, reciting some 1 88 The Book of Games familiar advertisement). We bumped along over the rails (Rails rises and holds both arms out in front), the people swaying against each other as they hung on to the straps (Straps rises and swings back and forth by imaginary straps). The conductor (Conductor calls the name of a street), every time we stopped, called out, ' Pass right up forward, plenty of room in front,' and of course there was plenty of room — on top of the other passengers (All rise and sit down again). " After one of these stops, as we picked ourselves out of the heap of humanity in the forward end of the car, we found at the bottom of the pile a small and dirty newsboy (Newsboy rises and cries ' Papers ! ') who seemed to be crushed to a jelly, but managed to pull himself together enough to sell out all his papers to the sympathizing crowd. Just then the bell (Bell rises and cries * Ding, ding ! ') began to ring violently, we heard the motor-man (Motor-man rises and turns brake) cry, * Jump for your lives ! ■ Thump came the trolley (Trolley rises and drops suddenly into his seat) down on the top of the car, sparks of electricity (Electricity rises and imitates fizzing and spitting of electric sparks) lit up the darkness, crash came another car into our rear, and we were telescoped, amid shouts of * Trolley's off ! ' " (All rise and change seats, and another leader begins a story.) SOME FORFEITS Blow out a Candle Blindfolded: A lighted candle is placed on a mantel; the blind- folded victim stands with his back to the candle, takes five steps forward, turns around, advances five steps, and blows out the candle — perhaps. Walk a Tight Rope: Place a chair at the opposite side of the room, take a cane or umbrella in your hand, lean down till your forehead touches your hand, close your eyes, and turn the body around rapidly three times, then open your eyes and walk straight to the chair. Blow a Card Over : Bend over the edges at the ends of an ordinary visiting-card, at right angles, in the form of a box-lid with- out sides, place it on the table on the bent edges, so that the air can pass under it, then blow it over — if you can. Walk around the Room and Bestow a Smile on Each Person, in turn. Yawn until you Make Someone else Yawn. / 19° The Book of Games Bite the Apple : Select a very smooth apple and suspend it by a string from a chandelier to about the height of the victim's mouth, who must, without touching it with the hands or otherwise, bite a piece from it. Repeat a Verse of Poetry and Count the Words. Thus: " Mary (one) had (two) a (three) little (four) lamb (five)" etc. Hobson's Choice : Blacken one end of a cork by burning it. The victim, having been blindfolded, is asked to choose the right or left end (having first been informed that one end is black). The end chosen is drawn across the forehead or cheek. This is re- peated three times, when the bandage is removed and a mirror produced. Eat a String, Rabbit Fashion : A yard or two of clean string is produced, one end placed in the mouth and the balance drawn in by the lips, etc., without being touched by the hands or otherwise. This may be varied by tying a bonbon in the middle of the string and starting a player at either end. Guess Blindfolded who Gives you a Spoonful of Water. Some Forfeits 191 Draw a Clock-face : Take a pencil and piece of paper, draw a circle, and then insert the Roman numerals in the order they follow on the face of a watch or clock, without of course consulting a timepiece. Keep at it until the order is pronounced correct. Stand on one Foot and Count a Million,, Crow like a Rooster. Kiss your Shadow on the Wall 31J.77-3