Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium Part 50

SCAT

_2 players._

_Indoors; out of doors; schoolroom._

One player holds on his upturned palm a ruler, a paper knife, or a small thin strip of wood. The other player takes this quickly and tries to "scat" or hit the opponent's palm with the ruler before he can withdraw his hand. The game will be made more interesting by feints on the part of the player who has to take the ruler, he giving several appearances of taking it before really doing so. When a player succeeds in hitting his opponent's hand with the ruler they change parts in the game. Count is kept of the unsuccessful hits, the player winning who has the smallest score when the play ends.

This is one of the diversions useful for rainy day recesses in school, or for pupils who congregate before a session opens.

SEEKING FOR GOLD

_5 to 15 players._

_Out of doors; seash.o.r.e._

A handful of small pebbles is collected, and the players sit on the ground in a circle. One of the players scatters the pebbles on the ground in the center of the circle, as jackstones are scattered. This player then draws a line with his finger between any two of the pebbles, and tries to snap one of these two so that it will hit the other, as marbles are snapped at one another. If successful in hitting the pebble, the same player has a second turn, keeping each time the two pebbles. .h.i.t. Should this player miss, another gathers up the pebbles, scatters them, draws a line between any two of them, snaps them, etc.

The one wins who at the close of the game has the largest number of pebbles. It will be seen that a small number of players is better for this game than a large group. Nuts may be used instead of pebbles.

This game is played by children in China.

SHAKESPEAREAN ROMANCE (A)

_Any number of players._

_House party; schoolroom._

Each player is provided with a sheet of paper prepared with the following questions, or the questions may be dictated at the time.

Each question is to be answered with the t.i.tle of one of Shakespeare's plays. The player wins who has the largest number correct at the end of the time allotted for the game.

Other questions may be devised.

1. Who were the lovers? (Romeo and Juliet.) 2. What was their courts.h.i.+p like? (Midsummer Night's Dream.) 3. What was her answer to his proposal? (As You Like It.) 4. About what time of the month were they married? (Twelfth Night.) 5. Of whom did he buy the ring? (Merchant of Venice.) 6. Who were the best man and maid of honor? (Antony and Cleopatra.) 7. Who were the ushers? (The Two Gentlemen of Verona.) 8. Who gave the reception? (Merry Wives of Windsor.) 9. In what kind of a place did they live? (Hamlet.) 10. What was her disposition like? (The Tempest.) 11. What was his chief occupation after marriage?

(Taming of the Shrew.) 12. What caused their first quarrel? (Much Ado about Nothing.) 13. What did their courts.h.i.+p prove to be? (Love's Labor Lost.) 14. What did their married life resemble? (A Comedy of Errors.) 15. What did they give each other? (Measure for Measure.) 16. What Roman ruler brought about reconciliation? (Julius Caesar.) 17. What did their friends say? (All's Well that Ends Well.)

SIMON SAYS

_2 to 60 players._

_Parlor; schoolroom._

The players sit around a table, or if played in the schoolroom, sit at their respective desks. Each player makes a fist of each hand with the thumb extended. One is chosen for leader, whom the others follow.

The leader says, "Simon says, 'Thumbs up!'" whereupon he places his own fists on the table before him with the thumbs upward. The players must all do likewise. The leader then says, "Simon says, 'Thumbs down!'" whereupon he turns his own hands over so that the tips of the thumbs touch the table, the others imitating him. He may then say, "Simon says, 'Thumbs wiggle waggle!'" whereupon he places his fist on the table with the thumbs upward and moves the thumbs sideways, the players imitating him.

If at any time the leader omits the words "Simon says," and goes through the movements simply with the words "Thumbs up!" "Thumbs down!" or "'Wiggle waggle!" the players must keep their hands still and not imitate his movements. Any player imitating him under these circ.u.mstances must either pay a forfeit or become leader, or both, as may be decided on beforehand.

SKETCHES

_3 to 60 players._

_Schoolroom; parlor._

The game here described for use with history may be used simply as a diversion in describing animals or any inanimate objects; or it may be used to correlate with English (authors), picture study, etc.

Each player is provided with a sheet of paper and pencil and writes a description of some historical character; the object being to give a description that shall be perfectly truthful and yet puzzling or misleading for the other players who are to guess the ident.i.ty of the character in the writer's mind.

One player is called on to read his description. The other players may have the privilege of asking questions that may be answered by "Yes"

or "No" only; but it is considered much more of an honor to guess correctly without this a.s.sistance. The one guessing the character correctly reads his description next. A description for instance might read:--

"The person whom I would describe was a very tall man; very vigorous; used an ax on occasion; had much to do with legislators; was widely known outside of his native country, and has been the subject of many biographies."

As this description would apply equally to Was.h.i.+ngton, Lincoln, Gladstone, and several others who might be mentioned, there is opportunity for considerable guessing before the right character be found.

TIDBITS FARMER (THE)

_5 to 30 players._

_House party._

Each player should be given a card or slip of paper on which the following verses are written, the last of each line being left blank.

The game consists in filling in the blank s.p.a.ces each with a double letter of the alphabet, as indicated in parentheses. The player wins who has the largest number correct.

There is a farmer who is (YY) Enough to take his (EE) And study nature with his (II) And think on what he (CC)

He hears the chatter of the (JJ) As they each other (TT) And sees that when a tree de (KK) It makes a home for (BB)

A yoke of oxen will he (UU) With many haws and (GG) And their mistakes he will ex (QQ) When plowing for his (PP)

He little buys but much he se (LL) And therefore little (OO) And when he hoes his soil spe (LL) He also soils his h (OO)