Chapter 5

A more difficult game is "Riddles." At the top of the paper is written anything that you can think of: "A soldier," "A new dress," "A fit of the blues," "A railway accident"--anything that suggests itself. The paper is passed on and anything else is written, no matter what. It is passed on again and opened. Suppose that the two things written on it are, first, "A school-teacher," and second, "A pair of skates." The duty of the player is to treat them as a riddle, and, asking the question either as "Why is a school-teacher like a pair of skates?" or "What is the difference between a school-teacher and a pair of skates?" (whichever way one prefers), to supply a reasonable answer. This game, it will be seen, is suited particularly to clever people.

Rhymed Replies

This is a game that needs a certain amount of readiness and some skill with words. Each of the party writes at the top of a piece of paper a question of any kind whatever, such as "How old was Cæsar when he died?" or "What is your favorite color?" The paper is folded over and passed on, and the next player writes a word--any word--such as "electricity," "potato," "courageously," "milk." The papers are then passed on once more and opened, and the task of each player is to write a rhyme in which the question on his paper is answered and the word on his paper is introduced.

Missing Information

Every one is supplied with a piece of paper and pencils and tries to write down correct answers to questions about everyday things which we none of us know. A suggestive list is given but any one can add to it indefinitely.

1. How big do you think a postage-stamp is, in inches--a five dollar bill?

2. Draw a picture of a clock's face with the hands pointing to five minutes of twelve.

3. How tall do you think a man's silk hat is, a derby?

4. Draw the design in panels of the door to the room you are in. (Of course without looking at it.)

5. How many holes are there in a high laced shoe--your own?

6. How many toes has a cat, a dog?

7. How many legs has a fly?

8. How does a cow lie down? A horse?

9. About how many petals has a common daisy? A wild rose? A sun flower?

10. How high from the ground is a street-car?--a railway car?

The person who can answer most correctly the greatest number of questions is the winner.

Consequences

"Consequences" is always a favorite game when a party has reached its frivolous mood. The method of playing is this: Sheets of paper and pencils are handed round, and every one writes at the head (1) an adjective suitable to be applied to a man, such as "Handsome." This word is then folded over so that it cannot be read, and each paper is passed on to the next person. The name of a man (2) is then written, either some one you know, or a public person, such as the president or Mr. Carnegie. This in turn is folded over and the papers are passed on. The word "met" is understood to be inserted at this point. That is to say, the completed story will tell how Handsome Mr. Carnegie met some one. The next thing (3) is to put down an adjective suitable to apply to the woman whom he met, such as "Buxom," and then (4) the woman's name, again either some one you know, or a public person,--the papers being folded and passed on after every writing. The remaining items are these:--(5) The place where they met--say, on the pier. (6) What he said to her--say, "I hope your neuralgia is better." (7) What she said to him--say, "There's nothing like rain for the crops." (8) What the consequence was--say, "They were married." (9) What the world said--"All's well that ends well."

It must be remembered that unless there are very few players, when it is less fun, you do not get the chance of writing more than once, or at most twice, on the same sheet of paper, so that it is of no use to have a reasonable series of remarks in your mind. The specimen given above is an average one. In print nothing could be much less funny, but when the company has the spirit of "Consequences," even so tame a story as this might keep the room merry. The game is always full of the unexpected, and the people who meet each other are almost sure to be laughing-stocks. The results are often better if all the papers are handed to one player to read.

Consequences Extended

The form of "Consequences" above given is the ordinary one and the simplest. But in certain families the game has been altered and improved by other clauses. We give the fullest form of "Consequences" with which we are acquainted. As it stands it is rather too long; but players may like to add to the fun of the ordinary game by adopting a few of these additions:--

Adjective for a man. The man. What he was wearing. What he was doing. (Met) Adjective for a woman. The woman. What she was wearing. What she was doing. The person he would much rather have met. Where they met. What he thought. What he said. What she thought. What she said. What he gave her. What she did with it. Where they went. What they did. What the consequence was. What the world said.

Example:--

The honorable Theodore Roosevelt, who was dressed in a Moiré antique bath-towel and was eating walnuts, met coy Aunt Priscilla in a Khaki tea-gown playing with her Noah's Ark, when he would much rather have met Madame Tussaud. They met at South Hampton. What he thought was, "Here's this woman again," but he merely said, "That's a very chic costume of yours." What she thought was, "I wonder if he's seen Peter Pan," but she only said, "That's wet paint you're leaning against." He gave her a piercing glance, and she swallowed it. So they went to prison together and learned to ride the bicycle, and the consequence was they caught influenza, and the world said, "It's an ill wind that blows nobody good."

Composite Stories

Another folding-over and passing-on game is "Composite Stories." Paper is passed round, and for five minutes each player writes the opening of a story with a title prefixed. The papers are passed on, and each player reads through as much of the story as has been written and for five minutes adds to it. And so on, until each player has written once on each paper. The papers are then passed on once more, with the result that each paper will be found to be lying before the player who began it. The next and last five minutes are then spent by each person in reading through the story and bringing it to an end, sometimes a difficult enough task. If six persons are playing and allowances of five minutes have been given, there will be at the end of thirty-five minutes six complete stories to read aloud.

Another Story Game

A variety of the story game is for each player to write the name of a well-known person or friend of the family on the top of the paper, fold it over, and pass it on. This happens, say, five times, which means that when the papers are opened the names of five persons will be found on each. A story has then to be written introducing these people.

Improbable Stories

Another story game is one in which each player attempts to tell the most improbable or impossible story. In this case the papers are not passed on, but a certain amount of time is given for the stories to be written in.

The Newspaper

This is a rather elaborate but really very easy game to play. One player, who acts as editor, takes as many sheets of paper as there are players and writes at the head of each the title of a section of a newspaper. Thus on one he will write, Paris Correspondence; on another, English Correspondence; on another, Berlin Correspondence; on a fourth, Political News; on a fifth, Our Fashion Page; on a sixth, Reviews; on a seventh, Weather Report; and so on. Each player then, for a given time, writes on the subject allotted to him, more or less in the manner of the daily press, and at the end the result is read aloud by the editor.

The plan is easily adapted to family or village life. The heading may refer to domestic matters, such as Nursery Correspondence, Kitchen Gossip, Fashions for Gentlemen (an account of father's new suit), Garden News, Village Chatter, and so on. Or, instead of a newspaper, a popular magazine may be contributed, with illustrations.

Predicaments

This is a good game for a company of ingenious people, and it will be found that almost every one is ingenious when confronted with a difficult situation and given time to think out a solution. Every one is given paper and pencil (or this is not necessary since the solutions may be oral). Then one player starts the game by suggesting some predicament and asking the company "What would you do in such a case?" Five minutes are given for reflection, and fifteen if the answers are to be written. Then each in turn must say how he would have extricated himself from the scrape.

A few suitable subjects are given here. If you found yourself in a strange city, where you didn't know a soul, with no money and nothing you could pawn, what would you do?

If you should wake up in the night and see a burglar just entering the room, what would you do?

If you should look out of your school-room door and see smoke and fire in the hall, what would you do?

If you should be in a foreign country, not able to speak the language and wanted to order a room and breakfast, what would you do?

TABLE AND CARD GAMES

Card Games and Others

Card games proper, such as Bezique and Cribbage and Whist, do not come into the scope of this book. Nor do games such as Chess, Draughts, Halma and Backgammon. It is not that they are not good games, but that, having to be bought, their rules do not need enumerating again. The description of a few very old and favorite games with cards, and one or two new ones, is, however, given, because they can be made at home.

Letter Games

On page 178 will be found the simplest letter game. Letters can be used for a round game by one player making a word, shuffling it, and throwing it face upward into the middle of the table. The winner is the player who first sees what it spells.

Distribute a box of letters among the players, dealing them face downward. In turn each player takes up a letter at random and puts it face upward in the middle of the table. The object of the game is to make words out of these letters. Directly a player sees a word he calls it out, and taking the letters places them in front of him, where they remain until the end of the game, when each player counts his words and the owner of the greatest number is the winner. If, however, a word has been chosen which, by the addition of another letter or so from the middle of the table, can be transformed into a longer word, the player who thinks of this longer word takes the shorter word from the other player and places it before himself. Thus, A might see the word "seat" among the letters, and calling it out, place it before him; and then B, noticing another "t," might call out "state," and adding it to A's word, take that to himself. If, however, A then detected an "e" in the middle and called out "estate" the word would be his again. These losses and reconquests form the chief fun of the game. An "s" at the end of a word, forming a plural, is not allowed.

Patience, or Thirteens

Many games of "Patience" can be played as well with numbered cards as with ordinary playing cards. It does not matter much what size they are, but for convenience, in playing on a small table, they may as well be about an inch wide and two inches long, with the number at the top. Thus:--

+------------+ | | | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------------+

A "Patience" set consists of four packs of cards each containing four sets of thirteen cards numbered from 1 to 13. These can be made at home perfectly well, and a little bag to hold each pack should also be made. The simplest game is to arrange the four sets in their right order. One player empties her four bags into a basket, shakes them up, and calls them out as she picks them out (at random). The others, who have the cards spread before them, then arrange them in four rows as well as may be, until a 1 is called and there is a chance to begin packing the others upon it. With inexperienced players five rows are sometimes allowed. We do not give other games of "Patience," for two reasons. One is that it is not exactly a children's game, and the other, that it is one of the games which can be properly taught only by personal instruction. Varieties of "Patience" are very numerous, and good books can be had on the subject.

Snap

There can be no real need to describe "Snap," but perhaps it may be useful to have the rules in print here in case of any dispute. A pack of "Snap" cards is dealt round, any number being able to play; and the game begins by the players taking their cards one by one from their hands and in turn laying them face upward on the table before them. If a card is turned up similar to a card already on view on the table, the player who turns it up or the player who owns the similar card cries "Snap," and the cards go to the player who says "Snap" first. As it is sometimes difficult for the players to distinguish which says "Snap" first, it is well to have an umpire. In the case of an undoubted dead-heat the game should go on as if nothing had happened. The player who won the cards gathers up also into his hand all the cards which were before him and continues the game. When a player has transferred all his cards from his hand to the table he waits until his turn comes and then takes them into his hand again. This is a very exciting moment, because, if his top card were snapped, then he would lose everything.

In good "Snap" packs there are several sets of cards which are intentionally made nearly but not absolutely alike, and it is very common to say "Snap" by mistake when one of these turns up. In that case the cards of the player who cried "Snap" are placed in the middle of the table, where they stay until some one turns up a card exactly like the top one and "Snap Centre" is called, when both the centre pack and the pack in front of the turner-up belong to the player who cried "Snap Centre." It may of course be the turner-up himself, but is very likely somebody else, because whereas under ordinary conditions only the owners of similar cards may cry "Snap," when there are cards is the middle too any one may cry "Snap Centre." (In some houses any one may cry "Snap" all through the game, but that is not the best way.)

When a player has lost all his cards he is out of the game until there are cards in the middle again, when an opportunity comes of snap-centring them and getting into play again. The game goes on until one player has all the cards.

Grab

In "Grab," a very rowdy variety of "Snap," a cork is placed in the middle of the table. The rules are the same as in "Snap," except that, instead of saying "Snap," you snatch for the cork; in the case of "Snap Centre," snatching and saying "Centre" too.

Snap Cards

"Snap" cards may just as well be home-made as bought. They either can be painted, in which case you must be careful that the sets of four articles are just alike, or you can cut out shapes of different colored paper and stick them on. A bundle of wall-paper patterns is splendid material for a pack. The only advantage that bought "Snap" cards have over home-made ones is that they slip better.

Old Maid

This game can be played by any number, either with a home-made pack or with ordinary playing cards from which three of the queens have been taken away; the remaining queen being the old maid. The cards are then dealt and each player first weeds out all pairs, such as two knaves, two aces, two fives, and so on. All having done this, the player who begins offers her hand, with the cards face downward, to her neighbor, and her neighbor takes one. She then looks through her cards to see if it pairs with any that she already has, and, if it does, throws the pair on the table. Having finished her examination she offers her cards in the same way to the next player, and so it goes on. As the possessor of the old maid card is, at the end, the loser of the game, each one who gets it does all in her power to induce the next player to take it. As the cards get fewer and fewer the excitement grows and grows.

"Old Bachelor" is played in the same way, except that three of the kings are then thrown out.

Pig

"Pig" is a very noisy game. It is played with ordinary cards, unless you like to make a "Pig" set, which would be very easy. Having discovered how many persons want to play, you treat the pack accordingly. For instance, if five want to play you throw out all cards except five sets of four; if six, or three, you throw out all cards except six sets of four or three sets of four. Thus, if five were playing, the cards might consist of four aces, four twos, four threes, four fours, and four fives; or, if you began at the other end, four kings, four queens, four knaves, four tens and four nines. The cards are shuffled and dealt round, four each, and the game is for each player to complete a set of four. You do not, as in "Old Maid," select one from the cards that are offered, face downward, but each player hands whatever card he likes to the next player, who is bound to accept it. Directly a player has a set of four complete he lays the cards on the table, either very stealthily or with a bang, whichever he likes. Immediately a set is laid on the table (or directly the other players notice it) all other cards have to be laid there, too. The player who is last in laying them down is Pig. The game is played for as many rounds as you like, the player who was last the fewest times being the winner. The word Pig alters with each round. The last player to lay down his cards in the second round is not merely Pig, but Little Pig; in the third, Big Pig; in the fourth, Mother (or Father) Pig; in the fifth, Grandmother (or Grandfather) Pig; in the sixth, Ancestral Pig; in the seventh, Venerable Pig; in the eighth, Primeval Pig; in the ninth, Crackling.

Prophecies and Characteristics

This is a memory game and a very amusing one. It is played with two packs of cards of any sort. One pack is laid in a heap, face down, in the middle of the table. The other pack is distributed to the players, who lay them face upward in rows; each person should not have more than twelve cards since it is practically impossible to remember more than that number. Any one can begin by giving either a prophecy or a characteristic--thus: "Who will inherit a fortune inside a year?" or "Who will be the first in the room to wear false teeth?" at the same time turning up a card from the centre pile. Whoever has the card matching this, takes it, lays it face down on his card repeating the prophecy, "I will be the first to wear false teeth." The next in turn gives a characteristic, "Who has the worst temper?" or "Who has the most unselfish disposition?" This process continues around, until all the centre cards are matched. Then the memory test comes in. Every player in turn tries to remember and repeat all the prophecies and characteristics which have fallen to his share, giving them aloud in rapid succession. He is allowed for deliberation on any one only the time while ten is being counted. The one who remembers the greatest number is the winner.

The Old Maid's Birthday

This game is utterly foolish, but it can lead to shouts of laughter. It has been founded on an old-fashioned card game called "Mr. Punch." The first thing required is a pack of plain cards on which should be written the names of articles of food and clothing, household utensils, and other domestic and much advertised things: such, for example, as a frock-coat, a round of beef, a foot-warmer, a box of pills. A story, somewhat on the lines of that which follows, must then be prepared and copied into a note-book. The company take their places and the cards are handed round. These should be held face downward. When all is ready one of the players reads the story, pausing at each blank for the player whose turn comes next to fill it in by calling out whatever is on his uppermost card. No matter how often the game is played (provided the cards are re-shuffled) the unexpected always happens, and it is usually so absurd as to be quite too much for a room all ready for laughter. The number of blanks in the story should be equal to the number of cards, and in order that the story may run on smoothly it is well for the next player always to glance at his top card just before his turn, so as to bring it out readily and naturally. The following story, which makes provision for nearly fifty cards, should be found serviceable until a better and more personal one is written. It will add to the amusement if the player who reads it substitutes the names of real shops and, if he likes, real people:

Attention. It was Miss Flitters's birthday, and she woke with a start and hurried down to see what the postman had brought. There were five parcels and a letter. The letter was from Miss Bitters. "Dear Miss Flitters," it ran, "I am so sorry to hear of your cold, and in the hope that it will do you good, I am sending you a ----. I always find it excellent, although mother prefers ----. We both wish you many happy returns of the day." The other presents were, from Miss Ditters a handsome ----, from Miss Glitters a delicate ----, and from Miss Hitters a particularly refined ----. "Dear me!" said Miss Flitters, "what a useful gift! just exactly what I wanted." She then sat down to breakfast, which, this being a special day, consisted of ----. "I did my best to do it to a turn," said the cook, as she laid it on the table with her own hands. "Mary said as how you'd prefer a ----, but, bless your 'eart, Miss Flitters, I know your tastes best." "You do, indeed," said Miss Flitters. "The thing is perfectly cooked. It's delicious. It reminds me of ----. To-day," she added, "I am giving a party, and I want you to let us have a very charming meal. I will get the things directly after breakfast. What do you think we shall need?" "Well, ma'am," said the cook, "you may please yourself about everything else, but we've done without a ---- for so long, that I must have one." "Quite right," said her mistress.

She then prepared for going out; and seeing that it looked like rain, took a ---- from the cupboard and on her head tied a ----. "Bless your 'eart, mum," cried the cook, "you've forgot your smelling salts. Suppose you was to feel faint--what then? Never mind," she added, "this'll do just as well"--handing her a ----. Miss Flitters hurried off at such a pace that she ran right into the minister. "I beg your pardon," she exclaimed, "I mistook you for a ----." "May I come with you?" asked the minister. "Most certainly," said Miss Flitters.

They went first to Buszard's for a ----, and selected two particularly juicy ones. Then to Marshall and Snelgrove's for a ----. "Is this for the complexion?" asked the minister, picking up a ---- from the counter. "La, sir," said Miss Flitters, "how little you know of domestic life!" Then they went to Fuller's for a ----, and to Jay's for a ----. "It's too dear," said Miss Flitters. "Give me a ----instead." At the stores they inspected ----. "Haven't you anything fresher?" asked Miss Flitters: "I'd as soon buy a ----." None the less she bought two and slipped them into her reticule, adding as a little gift for the cook a ----.