Part 3

These rules must receive strict adherence. When all have had opportunity to skip three times, the game is finished. The winner is the one who has received the most bouquets.

Another game requires ten players, two turning and eight skipping. In this game those who turn cannot be relieved, but must turn until the game is concluded.

This time the tallest player is the first to enter, the others stand according to height, one directly back of the other. As soon as the rope is in steady motion, the first player starts, skips once, runs out and around to a rock or tree previously decided on, where she is safe, the second immediately enters the rope, after the first one runs out, the point being for the second one to tag the first before she can reach her destination. The third player, however, enters the rope as the second has run out, and is trying just as hard to tag the second, as the second is to tag the first, and so on, each rapidly following the one before, and thus this game keeps steadily on until all have been through the rope three times.

Whoever has been tagged is out of the game, and can no longer play; this decides who are the winners.

It now becomes the duty of all who have played, to gather quantities of clover or other field blossoms, enough to trim the rope from one end to the other. In this form the pretty flowers are taken home, and used for dining-room decoration. Festoon the mantel, or wind it around the chandelier, allowing the ends to drop low towards the table.

As only one person can have this rope of flowers, decide which one, by counting out.

RUNNING FOR THE CAP.

The boys must be equally divided; one set is called catchers, the other runners, and these sets must stand fifty yards apart. The catcher’s position is thirty yards from the post, and the runners’ twenty. The call, one, two, three, is given, and on the second three is spoken one boy from each party runs to the post. The runner will naturally get there first, and he has to put the cap on his head, and then replace it. He must do this with the utmost rapidity, as, should the catcher overtake him on his way back to the position which he held before starting to run, the boy becomes the catcher’s prisoner, and can no longer play.

FIRE-ARCH DISCOUNT GAME.

A strip of wood two inches thick, five inches wide, and one yard long will be required. In this cut five arches, making the centre one four inches in width, the others three inches each; stand it up on the floor or on a table, and make the starting-point six feet away. Four marbles may be rolled by each player. When a marble goes through the centre arch it counts sixty, but if, instead, it goes through either of the small arches, thirty is counted off. If a marble fails to pass through either, it is counted out of the game, and must be removed. The next turn around, the player will use only three instead of four marbles. The boy who has the highest tally has won; should there be a tie, they must roll again.

This game requires practice, or some players will find that they have lost more than they have made.

THE BAGATELLE BOARD COUNT GAME.

Chalk a floor or mark a space in exact copy of a bagatelle-board ten feet long by three wide. In the inclosure, at correct distances, mark the numbers; this may be done with chalk, or the numbers may be painted on thin wooden blocks and laid in position. Each player must start his marble at the extreme left-hand corner, and state before starting the number he wishes to roll to. Should the marble go to that number, and not roll on so as to touch another, the player counts the number selected, and can then state another number and play for that, and can so continue for seven minutes, provided his marble always hits the number selected, and though rolling on, does not touch or stop at any other. When his time is up his count is scored, and the next player follows, subject to the same rules. Should the marble stop on the number selected, it is counted double in favor of the player. Again, should the marble, having reached the selected number, still roll on and touch another, no count is allowed, and the player must stop until his turn comes again.

FUNNY QUESTIONS WITH FUNNY ANSWERS.

All the players stand in a circle and join hands.

The tallest one in the room whispers a question to her right-hand neighbor, who answers her in a whisper, and then turns and asks _her_ right-hand neighbor a question, who replies in like manner. When questions and answers have all gone around, the party who commenced states aloud the question her _left_-hand neighbor asked, and the reply her _right_-hand neighbor gave.

Example: Suppose three players.

First questions.

Second answers, then turns and ask third.

Third answers, and asks the first, who answers.

Then, questions and answers having gone all around, first says aloud, “My left-hand neighbor asked, and my right-hand neighbor answered.”

First Player: What is the brightest idea this season?

Second Player: Your eye, dear (idea).

How many blackbirds were baked in the pie?

Third Player: Four-and-twenty. What was the name of Goliath of Gath’s grandmother’s straw bonnet maker?

First Player: Nobody knows.

When all have played.

First Player, aloud: The question asked me was, “What was the name of Goliath of Gath’s grandmother’s straw bonnet maker?” the answer was, “Your eye, dear (idea).”

Second Player: The question asked me was, “What is the brightest idea this season?” The answer was, “Four-and-twenty!”

Third Player: The question asked was, “How many blackbirds were baked in the pie?” The answer was, “Nobody knows.”

The one whose question has been most appropriately answered aloud, must be entertained by the others, as he desires—by dancing, playing a favorite game, by music, recitations or any other suggested amusement.

JUDGE AND JURY.

Draw lots for a Judge and five Jurymen. Pass six numbered paper slips in a fancy bag. Whoever draws number one is Judge, and the others the Jury. All the other players take the name of a celebrated musician or composer, as Beethoven, De Pachmann, or Schubert, etc.

The Judge now takes a seat at one end of the room. The Jurymen sit at one side in a row, and the rest of the people sit at a distance. The Judge calls one of the other players up to the bar and proceeds to question him or her. The _prisoner_ is bound to answer any question the Judge may see fit to ask, and the business of the Jury is to decide the name of the musician the prisoner has assumed.

Ten questions are all that may be asked. At the end of those the prisoner seats himself and awaits the Jury’s verdict. If the first decision of the Jury is incorrect, the prisoner is released. But if correct, the prisoner takes the place of one of the Jurymen, who must draw to determine which one is relieved. The ex-Juryman then takes his place among the waiting prisoners and assumes a character.

After three trials the Judge must be a Juryman, and one of them must take his place. This, too, is decided by lot.

By so doing all are on duty all the time, and the end of the game is when the players are tired.

THE CARD INTRODUCTION.

When young people are not very well acquainted, play this game, and by the time that it is finished every one will think he must have known everybody else for the last seven years.

Place chairs so as to form a ring, and ask your friends to be seated. Then have a pack of say, authors’ cards in your hand, state that every one must say what you say, and give what you give to his left-hand neighbor. Then lifting up the top card in the pack, you say to your guest at your left, “Here’s my card, Longfellow.” The one who receives it instantly turns to the party at his left and, giving the card, repeats the same words, “Here’s my card, Longfellow.” The next card follows at once in the same manner, repeating whatever its portrait, may be, and so card follows card without a second’s delay, and the laughter and fun that is made causes even the dullest person in the room to wake up and be hale fellow for the next entertainment. Should any card drop, let it go. There will not be enough time to pick it up until the game is ended.

HARMONY SOLOISTS.

One of the young men must represent the Lord of Misrule, and in fantastic attire he goes from one to the other of the guests and asks each to draw one slip of paper from the basket which he carries.

On each slip are written four lines of any popular or well-known song. Each slip contains a different song.

As soon as the papers are drawn five of the people stand up in a line, and with the Lord of Misrule as director they each sing separately their particular four lines to the correct tune. When each of the five have sung, all sing together as chorus, each carefully keeping his own words and music.

Then another five, and then another, until all have sung. Then for a grand finale, all the guests stand as chorus and in duets, trios, quartettes sing the one stanza through, all joining in the refrain each time.

The harmony will be remarkable.

JIG-I-TY JIG.

Chairs are placed to form a circle, and all the players excepting two occupy the chairs.

One of the two players must play a polka or waltz. The other one stands outside of the circle.

The one standing outside dances as soon as the music starts, and continues dancing as long as she pleases, but all of a sudden she stops a second before a chair, and then dances up to the chair. Whoever occupies it instantly rises and dances back to her, and after a while the first dancer waves a backward movement of the hand toward her friend, thus indicating she is not wanted to continue dancing. But she must walk or waltz back to her chair and then sit down.

The first dancer continues dancing, however, and goes to another party in precisely the same way as she did to the first, and when she concludes she has the right one, she dances to that party’s seat and takes it.

The individual then on the floor continues dancing, as did the first one. When she sits down a third party dances, and so on until all have danced.

If any of the company do not dance, they should make a feint of doing so. If the individual is full of fun, much amusement is created.

CIRCLE GAME.

Make a target of brown wrapping-paper, and put the number 100 on the bull’s eye. Outside of this mark five rings, making the largest one two feet in diameter, the others proportionately smaller. Inside of these rings put the numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, the centre as stated being 100. Mark out a space on the ground for a base five feet away; place the target on the ground, blindfold a player, lead him to the base, and turn him around twice, and leave him facing the target. He is now entitled to roll three marbles, and then remove the blindfold. His count will be the added numbers in the rings at which his marbles have stopped. Should any of them stop on a line, he is entitled to the largest number adjoining. No marbles must be moved, and each boy has the privilege of trying the ground once with each marble, before being blindfolded.

THE HUNT FOR THE KEYHOLE.

A tall boy should put on the skirt of a lady’s dress. This skirt should just escape the floor. In his hands he should carry a broom, with the broom end held directly above him, and the broom handle held close in front of him.

A ball to simulate a person’s head should be secured by strong twine to the broom. This ball should have a false face securely fastened to the front of it, while, as a cover for the rest of the ball there should be a lady’s bonnet. This bonnet cannot be too grotesquely trimmed. Long plumes, brilliant flowers, natural or artificial, sunflowers, hollyhocks, cucumber blossoms, etc., would be correct decoration. The bonnet should be tied underneath the false face, being careful to have the bow ends voluminous and the streamers long. The ribbon should be vivid scarlet, or bright orange color.

Just below the bonnet and around the broom fasten a cloak, the bottom of which should reach beyond the boys waist; in this way the boy and the broom are entirely concealed.

The company should be asked to take seats at the rear end of the room, then announce that they are to be entertained by the pantomime entitled “The Hunt for the Keyhole.”

Then the door should be opened, and at once a tall, odd-looking individual enters. His appearance creates roars of laughter, as also his ridiculous actions when having bowed to the audience he turns to the door through which he has come and commences his search. The effect is ridiculous, as the head is bobbed around in every direction whichever way the boy chooses to turn, as also whichever way he chooses to move the broom. When enough amusement has been gotten, the boy again bows and comically waltzes out of the room.

The boy will need an assistant to dress, and this game should be privately practised before showing it to an audience.

ACTING PROVERBS

This is played by one of the party leaving the room, and on his return acting in such a manner as to indicate to the others a well-known proverb. Example, “A rolling stone gathers no moss,” may be indicated by the one having left the room returning with a round stone in his hand and rolling it on the floor.

GOSSIP.

This title suggests an amusing _tableau vivant_ for an evening at home.

Two girls should withdraw and put over their pretty dresses queer-looking old shawls, and cover their curls with odd-looking bonnets tied under the chin.

They should sit very close together, and with cups of tea in their hands gaze intently at each other, busily stirring the while. They must nod their heads as though one were telling a bit of scandal.

Suddenly one exclaims in a high-pitched voice, “You don’t say so!” whereupon the hostess should inquire, “Who can tell what these girls represent?”

A number of the company will naturally reply, “Gossip.”

THE FLORIST.

Whoever assumes this character should explain that he has flowers for sale, and that he will try and sell all that he has by putting questions to the persons whom he thinks will buy, and that whoever in answering his questions uses the words _flowers_, _yes_, or _no_ would have to pay a forfeit, and that he will try all that he can to get them to use one of the prohibited words.

Then the Florist should turn to one of the players and ask, “Can I sell you any fresh flowers to-day?”

“I am fully supplied, thank you.” And addressing another, “Do buy my sweet violets.”

“Not to-day, sir.”

“How about carnations?”

“I don’t wish flowers of any kind.”

And in that way a forfeit is incurred.

The questions should be rapidly asked, and as rapidly answered, or the players will not get caught.

MY LADY’S RECEPTION APPAREL.

One of the players should act the part of lady’s maid. Each of the players should take the name of something which a lady would wear to a reception, as an article of clothing or jewelry. Or a player may take the name of an article a lady would use in getting ready for a reception, as a comb and brush.

The lady’s maid should stand at one end of the room, and looking towards the players announce, “My lady is going to a reception to-night, and wishes a handkerchief,” or whatever article she may choose to select. The one named instantly rises, and steps two feet forward, makes a low bow, then suddenly starting up twists about, and turning to her right-hand neighbor says, “Change chairs.”

No sooner said than done. Everybody on the instant rushes for a chair, including the lady’s maid, and the one that is left without a chair becomes the next lady’s maid.

This person may continue the game, as did the previous maid, or she may say, “My lady is going to a reception to-night and wants her salts.”

The moment salts are desired some of the players must sneeze as if the salts were too strong, others should appear to faint, and others wave their hands forward and back as if fanning.

Any second that the lady’s maid may choose she may exclaim, “Change chairs!” and again there is another scramble, with one person left without, and there is therefore a new lady’s maid.

This maid may try yet another way, which will result in getting almost all of the players on their feet before they can change chairs. She asks the players to re-name themselves, and for nearly all of them to select articles of apparel.

Then the maid says, for instance, “My lady desires her white ivory fan.”

The person so named should rise, go two feet forward and, having bowed very low, should stand just where she is until the signal for change chairs is given.

The maid might then say, “My lady desires her white satin gown.” The person named white satin gown rises, and repeats the action of the one going before. And thus the maid continues to call, until having all the requisite articles of apparel. But when she exclaims, “My lady wishes her white kid shoes!” all rush for a seat.

Whoever is left without a chair after this method of playing must rapidly tell the bootblack story.

“As I was going down the street I saw two bootblacks. One was a black bootblack and the other a white bootblack, and both had black boots, as well as blacking and blacking brushes. The black bootblack asked the white bootblack to black his, the black bootblack’s black boot with blacking. The white bootblack consented to black the black boots of the black bootblack with blacking, but when he, the white bootblack had blacked one black boot of the black bootblack with blacking, he the white bootblack refused to black his, the black bootblack’s, other black boot with blacking unless he, the black bootblack, paid him, the white bootblack, the same as what he, the white bootblack, got for blacking other people’s black boots; whereupon, the black bootblack grew still blacker in the face, and called the white bootblack a blackguard, at the same time hitting the white bootblack with the black boot that he, the white bootblack, had already blacked with blacking.”

Should any one not leave his chair he must pay a forfeit.

Should the maid ask for an article that has not been taken for a name, she must pay a forfeit.

THIMBLE GAME.

In order to be enjoyable this game requires several players, and it is better that they should be both boys and girls, as it then has the added element of a match between the boys and girls.

Put a silver or gold thimble in full view, in any convenient room, into which your friends have not yet entered. It makes the game more difficult if this room is well filled with _bric-à-brac_, hangings, pictures, plants, etc., for the reason that the eye is confused with so much ornament and therefore cannot so easily detect such a small thing as a thimble.

State clearly the following directions before your friends enter. No one can touch anything. Each player must stand until he sees the thimble. Every one may walk about as much as he pleases, but talking is prohibited. Having seen the thimble, immediately sit down. It is a point of honor that no player will give information. When all are seated the game is finished.

Of course the girls want to get ahead of the boys, and the boys ahead of the girls, in locating the thimble. Therefore if a boy sits down first, the girls are sorry; and if a boy sits down last, the boys are sorry.

The one who first sits down is the one to receive honor, and he has the privilege of selecting the next game as well as deciding on the forfeit to be given by the boy or girl who has been the last to sit down. Sometimes the hostess gives the thimble to the one winning the game.

Players must be very cautious, or their eyes will tell what their tongues would not; therefore, having seen the thimble, at once glance in another direction, and you will thus mystify where you would otherwise assist.

THE TOUCH GAME.

This requires an assistant to whom the secret of the game is intrusted. The assistant leaves the room, the other party remains with the company, and states that during the assistant’s absence she will put her hand on some object, person, or thing, and when the assistant returns he will tell what has been touched.

The assistant now being out, the piano stool is touched. On the assistant’s return he is asked, “What did I touch?” at once he replies, “The piano stool.”

Of course this causes great surprise and the assistant is asked to go out again, the company expecting, perhaps, to be able to guess this time. For a change a girl is touched, and on the assistant’s return he is asked, “Whom did I touch?” and he promptly says, “Bessie Brown,” or whatever the girl’s name.

Then the players think there must be some look or gesture given to aid the assistant when he re-enters, and so they are given the privilege of blindfolding him before his return, but all in vain, the assistant is as correct as before and no one is able to guess.

Then the company beg: “Do tell us the secret.” So when all give up they are told that just before the assistant leaves the room, the other player secretly touches some person or thing, or perhaps indicates what the object is with his foot or perhaps sits on it, if it be a chair or stool. Occasionally, to further mystify, it would be well to simply fold one’s arms. This would signify to the confederate, “I am touching myself.” Therefore the assistant, whether blindfolded or not, can answer correctly, because he has received his clue before he went out.

Of course, this game requires an intelligent assistant; indeed, both players must be very careful, as so many eyes are on the constant lookout.

This will be found a satisfactory game for a rainy afternoon in a summer hotel, when the grown people are taking naps and there seems absolutely nothing left for young people to do, and they are tired watching the weather, and saying, “If it would _only_ clear!”

THE CONCERT.

Select a conductor. All others sit before him in a semicircle, and each is given an imaginary musical instrument.

The conductor next directs them to tune their instruments, after which, taking a cane he waves it, as if it were a baton. He also whistles or hums a gay, familiar air. In this all join, imitating by voice and gesture the instruments they are supposed to be playing on, such as the flute, the harp, the hand-organ, the cymbals, violin, cornet, etc.

Suddenly he waves his baton and the music ceases.

The conductor then calls for solos. All the musicians give close attention, and the conductor makes believe he is playing, thus indicating which instrument he wishes to hear.

The player having that instrument must at once obey, imitating both sound and gestures. Should he fail, he must pay a forfeit.

A CURIOUS CAT.

This is a trick to be played only where the people know each other very well.

A tall screen is required, a cat, a saucer of milk, a table and a showman.

The showman is the most important, for on his ready wit and tactful manner the success of the trick depends.

He stands by the screen and says to the audience,

Come behind this screen and you will see A cat with her head where her tail ought to be.

One by one, the guests may go, and each must observe a discreet silence, so that the rest may not guess what the trick is.

As each goes behind the screen, a table is seen on which is a cat with her tail towards a saucer of milk, where, were it not for the showman’s efforts, her head would naturally be. This foolish trick will always cause a hearty laugh.

A BOAT RACE.

Girls who do not care to row should act as umpires. A grand stand may be a massive rock ornamented with a tangle of vines and for a canopy a wide-branched tree.