Chapter 18

An uneven number of players are required for this game. Enough chairs are placed in a circle to allow one chair to each two players and one for the odd player, that is, half as many chairs as there are players, with one player over. A player sits in each chair, all facing inward. Behind each chair stands a second player, who acts as guard. There should be one empty chair with a guard behind it. This odd player winks at some one sitting in the circle, who at once tries to slip out of his chair without being tagged by his guard and take his place in the empty chair. He may not go if he be tagged by his guard. The object of the guards should be to avoid being the keeper of an empty chair, and therefore the one who has to wink. The players try to evade the vigilance of the guards by the quickness and unexpectedness of their movements. The guards may not keep their hands on their prisoners, but must have them hanging at their sides until they see their players winked at. They may not dash around the sides of the chairs which they guard, but must stay all the time behind them.

Nodding the head may be used instead of winking, but is more apparent to the guards.

WOLF

_5 to 30 or more players._

_Out of doors._

This is an admirable hide and seek game where there are many hiding places, as in a village or the country.

One player is chosen for the wolf, who goes off and hides. The rest of the players are sheep, with one of their number as leader. A place is chosen for a pen where the sheep must stay and blind their eyes while the wolf is hiding. This pen may be a tree or rock or a square or circle drawn on the ground. The leader counts one hundred, to give the wolf time to hide. The sheep then start out, but must all follow their leader "like sheep," looking for the wolf in each place where the leader may search for him. This game differs from most other hiding games in that the searchers are the ones who have to flee for safety when the hider is discovered. As soon as the wolf is spied, the leader cries:--

"All my sheep Gather in a heap; For I spy the woolly, woolly wolf!"

The sheep at once stand still until the wolf has taken a jump toward them, which he must do before he may chase them; but immediately that the wolf has made his leap, the sheep all turn and run for the sheep pen, the wolf following. As the wolf may not run until he hears the word "wolf" at the end of the leader's lines, the latter often tantalizes the wolf by saying, "I spy the woolly, woolly--lamb!" or "the woolly, woolly--cat!" or names any other animal he chooses, with a pause before the name, to prolong the suspense of the impatient wolf, finally ending up with "the woolly, woolly--wolf!"

Any sheep tagged by the wolf becomes a wolf and joins the wolf the next time, hiding either in the same den with him or in a separate den. When there is more than one wolf, the leader halts his sheep whenever he spies a wolf, whether it be the original wolf or not, and all of the wolves join in the chase when the sheep run back to the pen. The game ends when all of the sheep have been caught.

The wolf has several resources at his command for catching sheep in addition to a simple chase. If at any time while in hiding he spies the sheep before they spy him, and considers their position in relation to the goal advantageous to himself, he may call, "Stand your ground, three feet!" whereupon the sheep must instantly stand still and then take three steps toward the wolf and stand again until he jumps toward them, when the chase for the sheep pen begins. The wolf may also exercise considerable finesse by running directly for the pen if he be in a position to reach it quicker or more directly than by chasing the sheep. Should he reach the pen first, he may then tag the sheep as they run in. One sheep may act as a decoy to engage the attention of the wolf while the others run into the pen.

WOOD TAG

_3 to 30 or more players._

_Out of doors; gymnasium._

This is a game of tag. When there are more than thirty players, it is desirable to have two or more who are It, or taggers. The players venture as near as possible to the one who is It, taunting him by crying, "Ticky, ticky, touch wood!" Any player may seek immunity from being tagged by touching a piece of wood. No growing thing, however, such as a tree or shrub, is to be considered as wood. No player may stay very long in any place of safety, and the moment his hand or foot be taken from the wood he is liable to be tagged. A player who is not near wood may gain a few minutes' respite by calling out "Parley!" but he must stand perfectly still in the place where he then is, the tagger being able to tag him if he makes the slightest move of any part of his body. When such a player decides to run again, he calls out, "Parley out!"

This game affords opportunity for a great deal of sport through the making of false starts and the daring approach to the one who is It, who, in turn, may make sudden and unexpected sorties in different directions.

Like Iron Tag, this game is very ancient, and has evidently come from an old superstition that to touch iron or some other particular substance gave immunity from the spell of evil spirits.

WRESTLING

(See "_Contests for Two_" under "Feats and Forfeits.")

YARDS OFF

_3 to 30 or more players._

_Out of doors._

This is a form of I Spy or Hide and Seek, and seems indigenous to New York. All players properly caught by the spy become prisoners, but may be freed in a prescribed way. The procedure which gives time for hiding is also distinctive.

Two players are chosen, one to be It and one for stick thrower. All the players stand grouped around a goal, and the stick thrower throws a stick as far away from the goal as he can. As soon as the stick touches the ground, all of the players, including the thrower, but not the one who is It, scatter and hide. The one who is It must walk to the stick (never run), take it up, bring it back, and stand it up, resting against the goal. He then starts to hunt for the hidden players. He must run back and touch the goal for any player whom he discovers, saying, "One, two, three, for--!" naming the player. Any one caught in this way becomes a prisoner at the goal. Any player who has not been detected by the spy may run in to the goal at any time and throw the stick away, whereby all of the prisoners, _i.e._ those who have been spied and previously caught, become free and hide again. Whenever this freeing of prisoners happens, the spy must return to the goal, walk to the stick, pick it up, walk back with it to the goal again, and go on with the play as before. This continues until the spy has touched the goal for all of the players, though they need not all be prisoners at once. Any player spied who reaches the goal before the spy, is thereafter free; _i.e._ out of the game. The last one caught becomes spy for the next game.

QUIET GAMES

QUIET GAMES

NOTE.--The games in this division are not necessarily noiseless or lacking in movement; but are distinguished from the active games largely by the lack of chasing or other vigorous exercise.

AUTHOR'S INITIALS

_2 to 60 players._

_Parlor; schoolroom._

Each player is given a piece of paper on which is written various series or groups of words, each group descriptive of some author, and each word beginning with one of his initials in regular order. The player wins who guesses the largest number of authors. The following are suggested; others may be devised:--

1. Juveniles firmly conquered (James Fenimore Cooper). 2. Name honored (Nathaniel Hawthorne). 3. Bright humor (Bret Harte). 4. One wholesome humorist (Oliver Wendell Holmes). 5. Really lasting stories (Robert Louis Stevenson). 6. Cheerful laborer (Charles Lamb). 7. Tender, brilliant author (Thomas Bailey Aldrich). 8. Heroism wisely lauded (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow). 9. Just, gentle writer (John Greenleaf Whittier). 10. Poetry bridged skyward (Percy Bysche Shelley). 11. Clever delineator (Charles Dickens). 12. Rare brain (Robert Browning). 13. Weird imagination (Washington Irving).

"B" GAME

_5 to 30 or more players._

_House party._

Each player is given a sheet of paper with numbered questions prepared like the following list. The answer to each question is to be written opposite it, and must consist of the letter B as an initial and added to it the number of letters designated, the whole conforming to the definition given. The following examples will illustrate:--

1. B and one letter, meaning to exist.--Be. 2. B and two letters forming a sack.--Bag. 3. B and three letters forming a storehouse.--Barn. 4. B and three letters, side of a stream.--Bank. 5. B and three letters, a young creature.--Baby. 6. B and three letters, a bag of goods.--Bale. 7. B and three letters, without hair.--Bald. 8. B and three letters, a surety.--Bond. 9. B and three letters, timber.--Beam. 10. B and three letters, a vegetable.--Beet.--Bean. 11. B and three letters, a poet.--Bard. 12. B and three letters, a drink.--Beer. 13. B and three letters, a globule.--Bead. 14. B and three letters, part of a bird.--Beak. 15. B and three letters, a vessel.--Boat. 16. B and four letters, an appendage.--Beard. 17. B and four letters, a tree.--Beech. 18. B and four letters, to commence.--Begin. 19. B and four letters, a strand.--Beach. 20. B and four letters, a receptacle.--Basin. 21. B and four letters, a kind of meat.--Bacon. 22. B and five letters, a combat.--Battle. 23. B and five letters, a hound.--Beagle. 24. B and five letters, a signal.--Beacon. 25. B and five letters, a cup.--Beaker. 26. B and eight letters, a demon.--Beelzebub.

The player wins who answers correctly the largest number. This game may be devised for any initial letter.

BARGAIN COUNTER

_5 to 30 or more players._

_House party._

Each player is provided with a paper and pencil. The following is either written on the papers in advance, or by the players from dictation, minus the underscoring. Each player is then required to find in the text the names of twenty-five textiles that may be purchased in a dry goods store, none to be mentioned twice, indicating each by underscoring. The player wins who has the largest number correct.

Dolly Varden, immaculately dressed, sat in the window ledge and heard from the church near by the mellow chords of the organ dying slowly away. Her silken hair was well drawn back from her forehead low and broad. Clothed as she was in pink and green, she made one think of the spring. She was considered musical; I considered her brilliant in every way. I was before the dresser, getting ready to go out, and taking a forkful of cold slaw now and then, or some mock duck. "I want to send a line north, Henrietta," said Dolly, bringing ham sandwiches; for she saw I felt hungry. She then wrote this letter: "I marvel, veterans, if you pause in your good work for lack of cash, merely as is represented. You should canvas for a book or paper, Caleb, some handy volume, possibly a duodecimo. Hairsplitting terms like this I do not often employ, but, blessings on the head of Cadmus! linguists must sometimes use their hands as well as their wit, weed gardens, if need be, but spare the mullein, for it seems to me like a flower. Always remember that, though the light burns dim, it yet will burn."

BEAST, BIRD, OR FISH

_10 to 30 or more players._

_Parlor; gymnasium; playground; schoolroom._

The players stand or are seated, preferably in a circle. One player stands or sits in the center with a soft ball, made by crushing paper or knotting up a handkerchief. This is thrown at one of the players by the one in the center, who says quickly, "Beast, bird, or fish!" then repeats one of these classes and immediately counts ten, whereupon the player who has been hit by the ball must name some beast or bird or fish, according to the class last named by the thrower. This must be done before the latter has finished counting ten. For instance, the thrower will say as he throws, "Beast, bird, or fish!--Bird!" whereupon the player hit by the handkerchief must name a bird while the thrower counts ten. This must not be a repetition of any bird previously named in the game. Should the player who is hit by the ball fail to meet the requirements, he changes places with the thrower. Should he succeed, the thrower repeats the game by hitting some other player.

IN THE SCHOOLROOM this game may be played with all the players but one in their accustomed seats.

An old English form of this game substitutes the words "Fire, air, and water," for "Beast, bird, and fish," the players being required to name some animal that lives in the air or water when those elements are named, but to keep silence when fire is named. In this form the game is supposed to be a survival of fire worship.

BUZZ

_5 to 30 or more players._

_Playground; gymnasium; schoolroom; parlor._

This is a quiet game, as distinguished from those requiring much muscular activity. One of the players starts the game by saying "One"; the next says "Two," the next "Three," etc., until the number "Seven" is reached, when the word "Buzz" is substituted for it. The next player says "Eight," and so on up to a multiple of seven, such as fourteen, twenty-one, twenty-eight, etc., on each of which the word "Buzz" should be used instead of the right number. The word "Buzz" is also substituted for any number in which the word seven occurs, even though it should not be a multiple of seven, such as seventeen, twenty-seven, thirty-seven, etc. When seventy is reached, the counting proceeds as "Buzz-one," "Buzz-two," etc., and seventy-seven is "Buzz-buzz."

Whenever a player says a number instead of "Buzz," or says "Buzz" in the wrong place, or calls out a wrong number, he must pay a forfeit and start the game over again by saying "One."

The game may also be played by having each player who misses drop from the game. Where this is done, and the player retains his seat but is silent, the game becomes even more confusing for the players who remain.

CAKE SALE

_Any number._

_Parlor._

Each player is given a card or sheet of paper prepared with the following questions, or they may be dictated at the time. The one wins who has the largest number of answers correct.

What kind of cake would you buy for--

1. Sculptors? (Marble cake.) 2. Politicians? (Plum cake.) 3. Geologists? (Layer cake.) 4. Advertisers? (Cream puffs.) 5. Dairymen? (Cream cake.) 6. Milliners? (Ribbon cake.) 7. His Satanic Majesty? (Angel's food.) 8. Babies? (Patty cakes.) 9. Lovers? (Kisses.) 10. The betrothed? (Bride's cake.) 11. Gossips? (Spice cake.) 12. Carpenters? (Plain (plane) cake.) 13. Idlers? (Loaf cake.) 14. Pugilists? (Pound cake.) 15. One who lives on his friends? (Sponge cake.) 16. Dynamiters? (Raisin cake.) 17. Invalids? (Delicate cake.) 18. Convalescents? (Sunshine cake.) 19. "Boodlers"? (Dough-nuts.) 20. Those who sample all these too much? (Stomach ache.)

CAT PARTY

_5 to 30 or more players._

_House party._

Each player is provided with a sheet of paper on which are written the following questions. Each question is to be answered with a word, of which the first syllable is cat. The player wins who writes the largest number of correct answers, the list of answers being read by the host or hostess at the close of the time allowed for the game.

Examples of questions are given below:--

1. What sort of cat is allowed in a library? (Catalogue.) 2. What sort of cat makes you think of reflected sounds? (Catacoustics.) 3. What sort of cat unites well with a toilet article? (Catacomb.) 4. What sort of cat requires a physician's attention? (Catalepsy.) 5. What sort of cat is feared by soldiers? (Catapult.) 6. What sort of cat is bad for the eyes? (Cataract.) 7. What sort of cat is to be dreaded? (Catastrophe.) 8. What sort of cat is allowed on the table? (Catsup.) 9. What sort of cat goes to Sunday school? (Catechism.) 10. What sort of cat do girls most detest? (Caterpillar.) 11. What sort of cat makes small boys weep? (Cat-o'-nine-tails.)

CRAMBO

_10 to 30 players._

_House party._

Each player is provided with two slips of paper, and also with another full sheet of paper and a pencil. On one of the slips he writes a question. This may be as serious or absurd as fancy dictates. On the other slip of paper he writes a word, either a common or proper noun. The slips containing the questions are then collected in a box or hat, and those containing the nouns in another receptacle. The questions are thoroughly mixed and passed around, each player drawing one. The same is done with the nouns.

Each player must then write a verse which shall answer the question and contain the word that he has drawn, no matter how irrelevant they may be. A time limit is generally given for this performance, varying with the facility of the players.

The following may serve as examples. The author recalls a very grave banker, not suspected of humor, who drew the question, "How long should you roast a leg of mutton?" The word drawn was "Finger." He wrote:--

"To roast the mutton, let it linger Longer than to roast your finger."

Another business man drew the question, "What is the difference between doughnuts and sponge cake?" The word was "Youth." He wrote:--

"Sponge cake is delicate and sweet to the taste, While doughnuts are tough as thunder; And the youth who partakes of the first in haste Will tackle the latter with wonder."

The game may be made more difficult by each player writing on a third slip of paper a verb or an adjective, these to be collected and redistributed with the nouns and questions.

CROSS QUESTIONS

_10 to 60 players._

_Parlor; schoolroom._

All but one of the players sit in two rows facing each other, those directly opposite each other being partners. The odd player walks around the rows behind the others, asking questions of any player facing him from the farther row. The question must be answered, not by the player addressed, but by his partner or _vis-a-vis_, who sits with his back to the questioner.

Any player answering a question addressed directly to him, or failing to answer one addressed to his partner, or giving an incorrect answer to a question, changes places with the questioner, or pays a forfeit, as may have been decided on beforehand.

FOR THE SCHOOLROOM.--When played in the schoolroom, the adjacent rows should form a group and face each other so as to leave free aisles between the groups in which the questioners may walk, as shown in the diagram of "Old Man Tag."

The game may be made to correlate with almost any subject in the school curriculum, the questioner asking, for instance, for capital cities, boundaries, mountains, etc., for geography; for dates or the names of heroes in great events, for history; or even for brief problems in mental arithmetic.

DUMB CRAMBO

_10 to 30 or more players._

_Parlor._

The players are divided into two parties. One party goes outside of the room, and those remaining choose some verb, which is to be guessed and acted by the other party. The outside party is then told some word which rhymes with the chosen verb. They consult among themselves, decide on a verb which they think may be the right one, enter the room, and without speaking act out the word they have guessed. The inside party must decide from this pantomime if the correct verb has been guessed. If not, they shake their heads. If right, they clap their hands. No speaking is allowed on either side. If the outside party be wrong in their guess, they retire and try another word, repeating this play until they hit upon the right word, when the two sides change places.

FIND THE RING

_10 to 30 or more players._

_Parlor; gymnasium; schoolroom._

The players sit in a circle, holding in their hands a long piece of string tied at the ends so as to form a circle large enough to go around, a small ring having been put upon this string. One player is chosen to stand in the center. The players who are seated then pass the ring from one to another, the object being for the player in the center to detect who has the ring. The other players will try to deceive him by making passes to indicate the passage of the ring when it really is not in their vicinity. When the player in the center thinks he knows who has the ring, he calls out the name of that player. If right, he sits down, and that player must take his place in the center. This game may be played by the players repeating the following lines as the ring is passed around the circle:--

"Oh, the grand old Duke of York, He had ten thousand men; He marched them up the hillago, And marched them down again.

"And when they were up they were up, And when they were down they were down; And when they were halfway up the hill, They were neither up nor down."

This game may be played out of doors around a bush, in which case the player who is It must circle around the outside of the ring formed by the other players instead of standing in the center.

FLOWER MATCH

_2 to 10 players._

_Out of doors._

This is one of the pretty Oriental games recorded from Korea by Mr. Culin, and is played by the children of that country, Japan, and China.

The players each gather a handful of meadow bloom--blossoms and grass indiscriminately, not selecting the contents of the bunch. All sit down in a group. The first player lays out one from his pile, say a buttercup. All of the players around the circle try to match this, that is, each one who has buttercups lays all of them in a pile with that of the first player, who appropriates the entire pile when this has gone around the circle. Then the next player lays out something which all must try to match. The one wins who has the largest number of grasses or blossoms all counted together at the end. Different sorts of grasses and leaves count in this game as well as different kinds or colors of blossoms.

GRASS BLADE

_2 to 10 players._

_Out of doors._

This is a pretty game for little children, recorded by Mr. Culin, as played by the children of Japan, China, and Korea.

Each child gathers a handful of grass, the soft, flexible grass blades being best for the purpose. The players are all seated in a group. One child makes a loop of a blade of grass by holding the two ends in his hand. Another child loops a blade of grass through this and the two pull; the one whose grass blade breaks loses, and the two pieces as trophies are given to the successful player, who then matches his grass blade with the next, and so on around the circle until his grass blade breaks, when he loses his turn and the next player has a similar turn. The one wins who has the greatest pile of trophies at the end.

HANDS UP--HANDS DOWN

_10 to 60 players._

_Schoolroom._

This is a schoolroom adaptation of Up Jenkins, and is designed especially for use as children assemble in a class room before the opening of the school session. The only material required is a small paper or worsted ball of a size that may be hidden in the clinched hand.

The players are divided into two groups, each group seated, partly facing the other (indicated by arrows in the diagram) with a captain standing before each side at _C_.