GROUP GAMES.
_Games for Small Groups._
Altruism.
Each one is asked to write out a stunt that any ordinary person could
do. These stunts are collected, mixed up and then passed around,
although nothing has been said about this having been planned! Each
person is then requested to do the stunt written out on the slip of
paper given him, whether he can or not!
Cruelty.
In this game each one is asked to write out a stunt that he would
hate to have to do himself. When these stunts are all written out, an
announcement is made to the effect that, in turn, they will all please
perform the stunts they so kindly thought of.
Noise.
Each guest is asked to choose the part of some very well-known barnyard
animal. The leader is to read a story she has written which is all
about barnyard animals and which makes frequent mention of all of them.
As she mentions each different animal, the noise it makes is to be
imitated by the one who chose that particular animal. But whenever she
speaks of the donkey everyone in the room is to imitate the donkey to
the best of his ability and at the top of his lungs!
The Toyshop.
The entire group is supposed to have been on a shopping expedition on
which toys only were purchased. They are not to tell what they bought
but when called on, each one is to imitate the sound and action of her
toy, and is to continue doing so until the name of the toy is guessed.
Smile!
Guests are either sitting or standing in two lines facing each other.
The hostess, who holds a boy’s cap in her hand, tells one side that the
inside of the cap is the signal for them to act, and the other side
that the top of the cap is their signal. She stands between the rows
and throws the cap up into the air. If it lands on the floor bottom
side up, the side which has the inside of the cap for a signal must
immediately go into roars of laughter, or they may giggle, simper,
tee-hee, or show mirth in any way in their efforts to make the other
side smile even the least little bit. Anyone who does smile at all goes
over to the side of the enemy in disgrace.
The hostess acts as timekeeper and after a few seconds she throws the
cap into the air again, and if it lands right side up the other group
becomes hilarious and puts forth every effort to gain new members.
After about three minutes of this, the hostess announces that each
side will have one more turn (she manages to throw the cap so that
will happen), that a count will be taken at the end of that time, and
that the side which gained the most new members gets almost all of the
refreshments, and the other side almost none of them!
And I.
Choose three people who are quickwitted. The first of the three goes
around the circle quietly giving everyone a name; the second, an
action; and the last one a place. When each guest has been told a name,
an action, and a place, the hostess begins the fairy tale by making
a sentence of the three things told her, adding however “and I” to
the name given her. For example, she has been given the following.
“Grandmother,” “Cracking the whip,” “Baptist Church.” Her sentence
would be “Grandmother and I were cracking the whip in the Baptist
Church!” The one to her right then takes up the tale. Her assignment
was: “Hired man,” “Getting a permanent wave,” “In the shade of the
old apple tree.” Her sentence is, “The hired man and I were getting a
permanent wave in the shade of the old apple tree.”
So it continues around the circle, and a weirder set of experiences
never occurred!
Impromptu Artists.
Pass around pencils and paper. Assign a “model” to each artist, in
every case having model and artist across from each other if possible.
This arrangement makes every guest both an artist and a model. At a
signal they begin their artistry and are given three minutes in which
to draw portraits of the models assigned. All artists must put their
names on their pictures, but models’ names are omitted. The pictures
are collected at the end of three minutes, are shuffled and again
passed around.
Each guest must decide who he thinks was the model for the picture he
holds. He writes that person’s name on the picture and when all have
done that, the pictures are given to the suspected models. Violence has
been committed with less cause! _Occasionally_ someone picks a wrong
model! That is why, at a signal from the hostess each one in turn turns
over his picture and reads aloud the name of the artist as well as the
name written on the portrait, and the artist is compelled to tell who
his model was, regardless of what the picture looks like.
That is a good time to break up the party!
Excuse Me!
A question is put to the group as a whole: “Why weren’t you at the
meeting last night?” In two minutes each one is to be ready to give his
excuse, and the only requirement is that the excuse is to be put in
terms of one’s own initials, and to be preceded by “Because I was----”
For example, one guest’s initials are “C. F. B.” When asked why she
wasn’t at the meeting last night she glibly replied, “Because I was
curling Father’s beard!”
Invitations.
Guests are standing about informally. The topic of conversation is,
“Why I want you to come to call!” Each girl is asked to choose a man
whom she will invite to call on her. Sue Lawson chooses Ned Parsons,
and she is to urge him to accept her invitation to call but she will
have to give him a mighty good reason for wanting him. He is to accept
and is to tell her why he is so glad to come. In both cases one’s
partner’s initials are of importance, for the reason one gives is to
be based on them. Miss Lawson tells Mr. Parsons that he just must come
to call because he “needs protection,” and he tells her that he will be
glad to because she is “so lovely!”
Three minutes are given for invitations and their acceptances at the
end of which time the leader starts calling for a report. “Ted Frazer,
who invited you to call?”
“Gertrude Field. She said she wanted me to call because I was ‘turrible
funny,’” whereupon the leader calls upon Gertrude Field to ask why Mr.
Frazer wanted to accept her invitation. She replies, “To get a ‘good
feed’!”
Elastic Spelling.
Let the host start spelling a word by giving the first letter. For
example, he may have in mind the word “kitchen.” He says “K,” and the
one to his left who is to give the next letter is thinking of “kill”
so he says “I,” while the next one who is thinking of “kimono” says
“M,” each one trying not to give a letter that will complete a word.
The penalty for completing a word is to become a third of a goat. At
the second offence the penalty is to become two-thirds of a goat, and
at the third, a whole goat. A whole goat is compelled to “Baa, baa” at
his turn instead of giving a letter. There are always more “Baa-ers”
than one would anticipate, for even though you had in mind the word
“kidnap,” when at your turn you added the letter “d” to “k--i--,”
k--i--d spells kid, at least in the English language, so you go on
record as part of a goat.
There is always somebody who will take a chance and give “any old
letter,” just so he won’t finish a word. Each player has the privilege
of challenging three separate times. When challenged, a player is
obliged to tell the word he had in mind, which sometimes he had not! A
player cannot be challenged after the next player has given his letter.
It is not only the English language that is stretched in this indoor
pastime. Minds and imaginations stretch to the bursting point in a way
that gives one a new respect for one’s capacity for laughter.
Twentieth Century Blind Man’s Buff.
Instead of just one being blindfolded, all but one are blinded, and it
is the business of the game to catch this lucky one. He is not as lucky
as it might appear, however. He has a little bell hanging around his
neck on a cord, and to say the least, it advertises his whereabouts. He
cannot leave the room, must keep moving, and cannot silence the bell in
any way. At that, in the average room he can elude his pursuers for a
few minutes at least, if he is nimble at all, for you know how utterly
helpless one is when blindfolded (and how very graceful!).
As soon as the bell man is caught he is blindfolded and the one who
caught him is “it.” The game is a hilarious success for about four or
five minutes, but do not let it run on any longer than that or people
will be getting uncomfortable and taking off their blindfolders and
“Just watching this time, thank you!”
Are you wondering how in the world you could ever get enough large size
handkerchiefs to blindfold a whole party? Don’t wonder. Instead, make
blindfolders out of strips of gauze long enough to go around one’s
head. Just about where the eyes would come put pads of absorbent
cotton, using adhesive tape to hold them in place. These blindfolders
are very inexpensive and far more hygienic than the usual handkerchief,
and it isn’t half as easy to peek through them either!
Employment Bureau.
Guests are divided into two equal groups lined up against opposite
walls of the room. One side is designated as the first to ask for
employment. They go into secret session to decide on some trade. When
ready, they advance to the middle of the room where the other group is
standing in a line waiting for them. The first group says, “We want a
job.” The others ask, “What can you do?” Then the first group begins
to act out its trade in pantomime. For example, they have decided to
be veterinarians. Some act as horses and cows while the others act
as the doctors who examine their teeth, their tongues, look at their
heels, make them run, etc., etc. As soon as their opponents call out
“Veterinarians!” they break and run for their side of the room. Any of
them who are tagged before they reach the wall go to the ranks of the
enemy.
The other side then has its turn, and after about ten minutes of this,
announce that the next act will be the last, and that a count will
be taken to see which side lost and which won the most members. The
winners get a double share of refreshments!
Automobile.
All of the guests but one are given chairs, and they are seated
informally about the room. The one who has no chair is the assembler.
To every other player is given the name of some part of an automobile,
a list of which names has been prepared beforehand to avoid the
uninteresting delay that is inevitable when a hostess has to stop to
think of names to assign people. For example, there are the radiator,
the clutch, the steering wheel, gears, speedometer, tonneau, brakes,
all the different parts of an automobile which are easy enough to think
of when one is at leisure and can sit down with pencil and paper and
work out such a list, but a slightly different proposition when one is
before a group of guests who are waiting.
That list is given to the assembler and he begins his story of a trip
to the country one Sunday, a trip which was a series of mishaps. He
tells how he prepared for the trip, bringing in the names of the
various parts, and as he calls out the various parts they “assemble”
in a line directly in back of him, with hands on the shoulders of the
one in front of them. The story goes on, all about the accidents and
hard luck of the day, how he stripped his gears, etc., etc., until
all of the parts are assembled in line behind the assembler, when the
automobile starts running around the room, at first slowly, but getting
faster and faster until all of a sudden the leader stops abruptly,
calls out “Honk! honk!”--at which time it is the immediate business
of life to break ranks and get a chair. There is a mad scramble for
chairs, successful for all but one.
This unfortunate is the assembler for the next time. Everyone is given
a different part and the game goes on as before. At the end every
effort is made to make this assembler, who was too slow to get a chair
the first time, just as unsuccessful this time. At any rate, the one
who doesn’t get a chair is the assembler for the next and last run, and
if it has been possible to keep some person from getting a chair two
successive times he is obliged to pay the corner forfeit, which compels
him to cry in one corner, laugh in the next, dance in the next, and
sing Home Sweet Home in the last.
Be Definite!
The hostess calls out the following words and expressions, assigning
one to every guest in turn, and immediately each one must give his
definition of the word or expression given him. The fun in this venture
(and the fun may be endless!) lies in the word given out. For example,
“Goatee.” Everybody knows what a goatee is, but mighty few can give
an intelligent definition of it. Almost invariably the answer will be
“Oh, you know. Something that--something that--well, you know--” and
then will come the downward stroking of the chin! But no pantomiming is
allowed, although you have said nothing about it. Anyone who pantomimes
is punished by being given an extra word, the second, much harder than
the first. The following may be included:
1. Goatee.
2. A feeble effort.
3. A puff of wind.
4. A good impression.
5. An accordion.
6. A spiral staircase.
7. A deep sigh.
8. A mere whim.
Help!
Get a piece of cardboard about the size of the back of a tablet. Tell
the one at your right that he is to take that cardboard exactly as
you give it to him and in exactly the same place, and that he will
then give it to his neighbor in the same way. Put the short side
between your nose and lip, holding it there until your neighbor takes
it from you, not with his hands, but between his nose and lip. Even
the handsomest person in the room is a caricature when he screws down
his nose and stretches up his lip in his efforts to hold the cardboard
there until his pugnosed neighbor can overcome his unholy laughter long
enough to get his features in the right shape to take it.
It is a good plan to start three or four cards at different places in
the circle.
Human Adjectives.
Divide the group into two equal sides. A leader is chosen for each
group.
Each side is to decide upon some noun that has just as many letters in
it as the team has members. Every member is assigned a letter. He is to
decide on some adjective beginning with that letter, and he will “act
out” that adjective for the edification of the members of the other
team who are acting as audience for the time being. It is the business
of the audience to guess what adjective is being dramatized. As soon as
they hit upon the right adjective, they take its first letter as the
first letter in the noun the team is dramatizing. Then the next human
adjective takes his turn and so on until all the letters of the noun
have been dramatized.
As an illustration, a team takes the noun “stone.” There are five
members in the group and five letters in the word. The first actor has
“s” for his letter. He chooses “silly” for his adjective, and he acts
as silly as he possibly can and continues to do so until someone in
the audience calls out the correct guess, “You’re acting silly!” The
audience has the first letter to the word, “s.” Next comes “t.” The
adjective chosen was “tired.” Then “o”--ornery; next “n”--noisy; and
last “e”--empty. Taking the first letters of these adjectives in turn,
the audience has the word “stone.”
Then the opposing team acts out adjectives describing the first
letters of its noun, and so they take turn about, and if real snap
and enthusiasm are put into the acting out of the adjectives this can
be the game of the evening as far as genuine and sideach-y fun is
concerned. Can’t you just see the minister of the Baptist Church acting
“ornery,” pushing people about, twitching Beacon Jones’ nose, pulling
Susie’s hair and in general, making himself an unmitigated nuisance and
showing up a truly ornery disposition?
It is surprising always to find how many people enjoy acting ornery,
and noisy, and silly, and all the other forbidden adjectives!
Parlor Slapjack.
Guests are standing in a circle, hands outstretched behind them. The
one who is “It” walks around the outside of the circle, suddenly slaps
an outstretched hand and, without stopping an instant, continues to
walk around the circle in the direction he was going. The one whose
hand was slapped immediately starts walking in the opposite direction,
the objective for both walkers being the place that was just vacated.
It belongs to the one who reaches it first, while the other becomes
“It.” They are to walk only. No running is allowed.
But--certain rites must be performed before either one may take the
place in the circle. “It” and the one whose hand was slapped are bound
to meet on their way round the circle. When they do, “It” does whatever
he wishes in the way of a stunt, and the other must imitate exactly
before they may continue their race for the empty place. The following
stunts are very good because of their esthetic value:
1. Make a deep bow.
2. Shake hands.
3. Sing up the scale.
4. Make an awful face.
5. Hop the rest of the way with one foot.
6. Run with hands waving in a flying motion.
Boast!
All guests are seated and are roughly divided into two groups. A
representative is chosen from each side. Each one is to proclaim the
merits of the members of his group. The only drawback is that they are
to do it at the same time. Impartial judges are chosen, and they are
to base their judgment on delivery, continuity of thought, and last,
but most important, on truth! The speakers face the audience, and at a
signal, start to speak at the same time, each one trying his best to
drown out the other.
It goes without saying that it is a comparatively simple matter to
speak intelligently and logically, and at the same time to speak as
loudly as you can, especially when a rival is doing all these things at
the same time.
A Mixup.
Two slips of paper are given each one, together with the request that
a perfectly good question be written on one, and a perfectly good
answer to it on the other. All questions and answers are gathered, the
questions in one box and the answers in another. They are thoroughly
mixed and then passed around, each one taking both a question and an
answer. They are called on in turn to read their slips, and some of
them are slips to be sure! At one party one of the men drew, “What did
you do last Saturday?” and the answer was, “A permanent wave, a henna
rinse, and a facial!”
Flattery.
Each guest writes his initials on the top of a piece of paper. These
papers are collected, mixed up, and then passed around again. Players
are to use the initials on their slips in writing out the most unctuous
words of flattery they can think of about the owner of the initials,
every word they use, however, having to start with the initials on the
paper. The results are startling!
The papers are again collected and at refreshment time are passed out
to their rightful owners to be read aloud.
Amateur Vaudeville.
The names of very well-known popular songs are written out on separate
slips of paper. One of these slips is pinned on each guest as he comes
in. Instead of greeting each other as usual, they are to shake hands
with everyone and without saying a word in greeting, are to sing the
song with which they are labelled. Anyone who is caught talking
instead of singing his song is required to sing it alone before the
group.
May the leader have mercy on her guests and not keep up this gentle
game of greeting for more than four or five minutes!
Progressive Nonsense.
Tables are arranged as for any progressive game, the winning two
advancing to the next table. Guests are in couples, two couples to
a table. At table No. 1 the ladies are to compete in doing a sum in
arithmetic, while the men’s contest centers around three buttons which
are to be sewed on a piece of cloth.
At table No. 2 the ladies darn a sock with their left hands, while the
men compete in paring one large potato apiece.
At table No. 3 the men write out a recipe for mince pie, while the
ladies write a fifty-word essay on politics, which they must read aloud
to the judges.
At table No. 4 the ladies tie their partners ties, the hostess acting
as judge, while the men darn socks.
Further competitions may center about the following events:
_For the Ladies._
1. Write a four-line limerick.
2. Write out your version of baseball and read it aloud.
3. Drive ten nails in a board.
_For the Men._
1. Make a complete menu.
2. Embroider a very simple design on a doily.
3. Trim a hat and wear it the rest of the evening.
Almost any of these events may serve as separate contests, rather than
as events in a progressive game.
Trades.
Each one chooses a trade for himself, the action of which he is to
pantomime when the person who has been sent out of the room is called
back in. This person is to guess what trades are being represented, and
the first one whose trade she guesses correctly is the one to go out
the next time.
At the entrance of this one, who has been outside the room, all begin
pantomiming their trades at the same time. No one is to tell anyone
else what trade he has chosen so that the same trade can be used over
and over until it is guessed.
Transitions.
A very good quiet game for small groups is one in which transitions
between words are made. For example, let the word “ship” be the
starting word. From ship we wish to evolve the word “boat,” changing
only one letter at a time. The transition might be as follows: Ship,
shop, shot, soot, boot, boat.
Other very simple ones are the transitions between man and boy, boot
and shoe, bed and cot, hog and pig, fun and joy, dry and wet.
Initials.
Each guest is given a sheet of paper and a pencil. He is to answer
the questions written out on the paper, using only such words in his
answers as begin with his initials. After about five minutes the papers
are collected, mixed up and passed around again, and each one in turn
is to read the paper he holds.
The questions run as follows:
1. What is your name?
2. Your occupation?
3. Your favorite pastime?
4. Your favorite food?
5. Your favorite color?
6. The thing you most abhor?
7. Your best feature?
8. Your one pride?
9. Your one embarrassment?
10. What do you long to be?
Typical answers are:
1. Charles Berner.
2. Combing beaches.
3. Caddying blithely.
4. Corn bisque.
5. Corn blue.
6. Cootie bites.
7. Cute bones.
8. Cunning baby.
9. Cracked bridge.
10. Colossal boob.
Stunts.
The group is divided into two sides. Both sides take a few minutes to
see what resources they have in the way of stunts. They then throw up a
coin to see which side is to perform first. The side which wins, that
is, does not have to perform until the other side has given its stunt,
starts to count slowly, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5,” and so on up to ten. If some
member of the other side has not started to give a stunt by the time
they count to ten, one point is gained by the counting side. If someone
has started to perform however, they are to stop counting the minute
the stunt begins.
Then their turn to put on a stunt comes, and the other side starts to
count to ten. If they fail to have a stunt ready before “ten,” they
lose a point to the other side.
There is always an intermission of one minute after a stunt has been
completed, to give the opposite side that long to get a stunt ready.
The stunts may include any possible kind of entertainment, from doing
an esthetic dance to “speaking a piece” or a funny story. After ten
minutes of this, the side that has the most points gets the most
refreshments.
_Games for Large Groups._
The Changeable Grand March.
There is nothing more valuable than the Grand March for a group of
guests who don’t know each other and who have very little in common
(as yet!). Just the ordinary Grand March will not do at all. It must
be a grand Grand March, one which will thaw out every particle of ice,
one which will cause the kind of laughter that creates that wonderful
feeling of fellowship and friendliness. With that feeling once created
you have nothing to fear for the success of your evening.
Guests are lined up in two lines, men in one, ladies in the other.
There is something so blessedly impersonal about the Grand March in
which no one, however bashful and embarrassed, is an individual but
rather just a part of a long line, that you can almost invariably get
every person present to “step into line.” Don’t make the mistake then
of asking them to take partners. Rather, have the men march to the
right and girls to the left, meet at the back of the room and come
marching up the middle of the room with partners. That saves endless
embarrassment and confusion.
The fun is on! Ladies take their partner’s arm, and the leading couple
starts the line of march around the room. They are to start it with a
walk, but suddenly the whistle will blow, and without stopping, they
are to change their method of locomotion to the one called out by the
leader. For example, they are walking along quietly and peacefully when
the leader’s whistle blows and she calls out “Hippity-hop,” and they
all hippity-hop. Next comes the order, “Fly like birds!” and away they
all go, waving their arms like birds flying, and running on tiptoe.
Then reverse and walk; walk forward on tiptoes.
Other directions may include orders to walk with eyes shut; reverse and
limp every other step; walk and clap hands; stoop every other step; toe
out; on heels; on one foot; get a new partner any place; walk and sing
any song that no one else is singing; toe in; walk backwards taking
large steps; forward and hum; whirl arms in circles; swim; keep feet
together and hop like a toad; flap arms to the side and crow like a
rooster; bend forward and swing heads from side to side; clap hands,
first over head, and then behind back; whistle whether you can or not,
and so on, changing the directions quickly and unexpectedly and in a
good-natured way demanding immediate and accurate response. You’ll
never get it.
It is not wise to continue this for longer than three or four minutes,
or to give more than eight or nine changes. Your group will agree with
you that that will be quite enough!
The Treasure Hunt Grand March.
Hide peanuts or small favors or covered candies in every conceivable
spot. Guests are lined up with partners as if for a Grand March. The
line of march is around the room without coming up the middle. When the
music begins leaders start marching. Suddenly the director’s whistle
sounds as the signal that the hunt is on. They break ranks and scramble
to find the hidden peanuts. Two whistles sound sharply, the signal to
discontinue the search at once, find your partner and get into the
line of march, which is straggly and uneven at best, but it makes no
difference as long as everyone is in it and no one is hunting peanuts.
The music and marching continue until another single whistle proclaims
an open season for peanuts, the last one.
At the double whistle they continue their marching as before except
that the leaders bring the line down the center, and all halt while the
director finds out who didn’t get any peanuts and who got the most.
The winner is called out, stationed in front of the line, and they are
all obliged to pass by him and give him all their peanuts. They do this
with weeping and wailing until they hear your announcement at the end
that as a punishment for his greediness he in turn is to give up all
his peanuts to the unfortunates who didn’t get any!
The Harmonious Hunt.
Are you looking for the kind of game that leaves guests exhausted with
that comfortable exhaustion that comes from helpless laughter?
Divide your group into teams, each team having a captain and an
individual team call. Calls may be braying like a donkey; mooing like a
cow; cock-a-doodle-doo-ing; whistling; cat-calling; meowing; barking;
quacking; baa-ing; gobble-gobbling; or imitating sounds of instruments
like the drum, rubba-dubb-dubb; the piccolo, tweedle-deedle-dee;
the trombone, boom-boom-boom; the triangle, knick-knock-knock; the
mandolin, plank-plank-plank; the cymbal, zum-zum-zum; the accordion,
yea-yea-yea, in each case pantomiming the action as well as imitating
the sound. The action for the accordion inflicts real punishment on its
imitators. Arms are bent upward and elbows are thrust out sideways and
drawn in rapidly. This is particularly good for stout people.
Each team is assigned one of these calls and must use only that way of
calling to the team captain. Peanuts or candy or favors are hidden in
every conceivable spot. When the signal is given the hunt is on. No
one, however, except a captain, is allowed to touch a peanut. That is
the reason for the call. As soon as a person finds a peanut he stands
beside it and sends out an S. O. S. for his captain, using his team
call as the signal for help. The captain answers each call by running
to the spot and picking up the peanut. After a definite length of time
the closing signal is given and the hunt is over. Each captain counts
his find, and the losing teams must give up all their peanuts to be
divided equally among the winners in spite of inevitable protests.
This game may be used for either indoor or out-of-door parties.
The Inverted Spell-Down.
The formation for this game is two lines facing, partners side by side,
twenty-six in each line. Two sets of alphabet letters, one set red and
the other black, are given out, one to each line. In playing this with
a small group where there are not enough guests to have twenty-six in
each line, two or even three letters may be given to one person, those
holding “unpopular” consonants like X. Y. Z. Q., etc., being given the
extra letters. The leader calls out words, necessarily easy ones, and
those from each group holding the letters making up that word must
run to the appointed place and form the word, each one holding his
letter high and facing the judges. The only rule to be observed in the
spelling is that each word be spelled backwards. For example, kitty
is not spelt k-i-t-t-y, but y-t-t-i-k! If a letter is used twice in a
word the one holding that letter must go first to one place and then to
the other. For example, in excel, e takes his place before x and then
runs over to the place between c and l. In case of a double letter the
letter is simply jiggled back and forth.
The place to stand in spelling a word should be chosen with the
audience in mind. If the two lines are standing lengthwise in the room
those forming a word should be at one end of the room and the judges
and any audience at the other. In that way everyone can see. Those
holding red letters when forming their words stand close to the red
side, while those holding black letters stand close to the black. In
this way one avoids having one color standing in front of the other.
The judges decide which side forms the word first and the score is
kept and announced before each new word.
The time limit is left to the leader who tries within a reasonable time
to run up a tie score, when, of course, interest is at its highest
point. Then the announcement that the next point is the deciding one
naturally creates a real tension which is hardly relieved when the
leader calls out something like Mississippi or Pennsylvania for the
last word!
Street and Alley.
Use a march to get your guests into lines, eight abreast, with enough
room between the lines for passing. Lines must be straight. At a
whistle from the leader each one is to make a quick quarter turn to
the right, immediately joining hands with his new neighbors. Another
whistle means another quarter turn to the right again joining hands
with neighbors at once. Each whistle calls for a turn to the right and
a joining of hands with one’s new neighbors. It is a good plan to let
them practice the response to the whistle before the game itself begins.
When ready to begin, the lines face the front of the room. A policeman
and a thief are chosen, a man for the policeman and a woman for the
thief. The thief is given a very short start, and at a signal the
policeman starts after her, chasing her in and out of the passageways
or “streets” made by the lines of guests. Suddenly the whistle blows.
Everyone takes a quick turn to the right, and new passageways or
“alleys” are formed, with the policeman still doing his best to catch
the elusive thief. Neither policeman or thief is allowed to break
through a line or dodge under it.
The leader watches the chase very closely and blows his whistle at very
short intervals, changing streets to alleys and alleys to streets, in
some cases to help the thief escape and in others to help the policeman
catch her. A good part of the fun of the game depends on the leader’s
blowing her whistle at critical moments. When a thief is caught, the
leader, who had already in her mind chosen a new policeman and thief,
names these victims and they change places with the first policeman and
thief.
Men almost always run faster than women, so it is a good plan to choose
stout policemen and lively thieves.
_Games for Either Large or Small Groups._
Musical Ruth and Jacob.
This is particularly for a group of guests who could in no sense be
called musical. The guests are standing in a circle with a man and a
girl in the center. If the group is large, have them crowd in to make
the circle space smaller so that it will not make Jacob’s work too
difficult. The game is played like the old-fashioned “Ruth and Jacob,”
both of them being blindfolded, it being the task of Jacob to catch
Ruth. Instead of calling “Ruth,” however, Jacob sings up the scale,
whether he can or not, and Ruth answers by singing down the scale, both
of them using “Loo” instead of do-re-mi.
The game is infinitely more ridiculous if neither one can sing, and
if the leader has created the right atmosphere, even though a man
protests, “I just _can’t_ sing,” he will usually finish up by making a
noble effort to do it anyhow!
When Jacob catches Ruth, the leader, who has in the meantime been
looking over the circle, immediately announces the next two victims and
almost invariably public opinion will be with her to such an extent
that they step forth, willy-nilly.
Mimic.
If there are more than fifteen or twenty guests, choose about six men
and six girls to form the circle. Even “Mimic” becomes monotonous in
a large circle. Those forming the circle are seated, men beside their
partners, the leader taking the part of one of the girls. She begins
the action by doing something to the man at her right who in turn
must mimic her action exactly to the girl to his right, and so the
action goes all around the circle till it comes back to the leader who
starts a new one. This may continue for about four or five rounds, and
can be made the best game of the evening if the leader has planned
sufficiently diabolical actions. For example, her first might be to do
a funny step in front of him, at the time tra-la-la-la-ing in a high
key. Her right-hand neighbor must imitate her to the very best of his
ability. Her next action might be to sing up the scale to the highest
note she can reach; next, she might cry as realistically as possible;
and then laugh as musically as she can!
Shun the Circle.
Guests form a large circle, the men on the right side of their
partners, all of them faced for marching. Four or more circles about
four feet in diameter have been roughly drawn in chalk on the floor.
The distance between them depends on the size of the circle formed by
the group. When the music starts, everyone begins to march around in
circle formation with the one rule that everyone must walk straight
across each of the small circles described on the floor. Suddenly the
leader’s whistle blows, the music stops, all movement halts, and anyone
caught in any of the small circles is discarded. If the leader has a
watchful eye she can blow the whistle at a bad time and make it mighty
uncomfortable for some couple, just poised, to take the first step into
one of the circles, or another couple just on the outer edge of the
danger zone. The precarious balancing in either case is choice!
This continues at the leader’s discretion. Almost never is it advisable
to carry it through till the last couple is caught.
Friendliness.
Men are in one line, girls in another. It is the object of the girls
to be so friendly that the men, who are perfect glooms, cannot help
smiling. The girls may laugh or giggle or smirk or make faces in their
efforts to break the gloom that seems to be holding the men. Any man
who forgets his manliness to the extent of smiling, even the least
little bit, goes over to the side of the ladies. At the end of the
three-minute time limit, all the men whose gloom has not been broken
and who confidently wait for the prize they think forthcoming, are
fined ten cents for being killjoys.
Another friendly effort is the revised version of the popular song
“Smiles.” At first it is sung correctly, but the next time the word
“smile” is omitted, and in its place, each singer smiles his sweetest
possible smile at his neighbor. It is painful!
A Chinese Spell-Down.
The idea is like that of a regular spelling-match with two sides
competing, except that words must be spelled backwards. The time given
each person to reverse his spelling and think the word backwards is
decidedly limited, according to the leader, who makes a pretense of
timing each one. Instead of discarding those whose tongues and brains
could not reverse, a score is kept of each error, and the score
announced as each new word is given out. This will create a healthy
competition, and if the leader will hint that the winning side will
be favored at refreshment time such a hint usually acts as a powerful
mental stimulant.
The time limit is left to the leader who tries within a reasonable time
to run up a tie score, when, of course, interest is at its highest
point. Then the announcement that the next point is the deciding one
naturally creates a real tension which is hardly relieved when the
leader announces the word “Hippopotamus!”
Dodge!
All guests are in a circle. Count off by twos. All No. 1’s go into the
center of the circle. Three or more beanbags are passed out to No. 2’s
who form the circle. At a signal they start to toss the bags at the
ones who are in the center, no one being allowed to leave his place
to get a better aim. It is the big business of life for those in the
center to avoid the beanbags tossed at them, for anyone who is hit must
get out of the center and take his former place in the circle. If a
beanbag is caught it does not count as a hit.
When all No. 1’s have been hit, No. 2’s go into the center and take
their turn acting as targets, while No. 1’s aim at them with the
beanbags. When they have all been driven out of the circle, the last
No. 1 and the last No. 2 to be hit by a beanbag go into the center and
become targets. The one who stays in the longest without getting hit
gets a prize, a bean.
Extry!
Ask your guests to line up in two lines, men in one and girls in the
other, to march down opposite sides of the room to the back, meet
their partners there and come marching up the center. As they pass the
leader and her assistant, each one is handed a newspaper and a small
strip of pins, after which they are to march to the back of the room.
When everyone has been supplied with newspapers and pins the leader
announces that partners will help each other make costumes out of
the papers, and that the only requirement is that all costumes must
definitely represent some character of history, or fiction, or popular
interest, or be patterned after the mode of dress in some country.
Sounds impossible? You will find that there will be at least fifteen
Hawaiians, eight Santa Clauses, nine babies, five Mary Pickfords with
newspapery curly hair, seven Topsys and eleven Charlie Chaplins!
Several pairs of scissors are available, and the hats from the
cloakroom may be used. A period of twenty minutes is given for
dress-making, which means working at top speed. At the end of that
time there is a Grand March past the judges, and after everyone has
passed the reviewing stand, the line is halted at the back of the room.
Then the first couple is announced by the leader, “Punch and Judy,”
and they walk slowly up the room past the judges. The second couple
is then announced, as is each couple, with not too great an interval
between couples so that monotony may be avoided. Prizes are given the
most hideous, the most beautiful, the best made and the poorest made
costumes, judges being careful to choose the costume made by some
well-known, good-natured person for this last prize. The prizes, which
are presented with much ceremony, range from a paper of pins to a
week-old newspaper.
The Hunting Ground.
If tables the size of an ordinary kitchen table are procurable, and
are placed end to end, they make an admirable hunting ground. However,
chairs can be used if they are arranged so that they cover about the
same space that the tables would, the seats turned in. A man and a
girl are placed at diagonally opposite corners of this territory, both
are blindfolded, and at a signal must begin to go around this unknown
country, their only guide being the table on which they must keep
their hands. It is the business of the man to catch the girl, whose
aim in life, however, is to frustrate his plans. As both are holding
on to the edges of the tables, feeling their way around it, and both
are moving as quietly as possible in order to hear any movement of
the other, it is inevitable that the girl in her stealthy efforts to
evade her pursuer will eventually walk straight into his groping hands!
When she is caught another man and a girl are chosen, with perhaps one
more couple to follow them. If the audience is given strict orders to
keep absolutely quiet and to refrain from all laughter, it makes for a
ridiculous situation!
Laughter!
Does it seem stupid to exact forfeits of people who were unfortunate in
a game that demanded skill or speed or ingenuity? That all depends on
the forfeit. Four or five men, who are the left-overs in a game which
provides the chance to get a partner, can be made to pay a forfeit
that is a real one! These left-overs are lined up in a row facing all
the other guests. They are told that they are to be given a chance to
vindicate themselves in a try-out of a particular talent. The first
test is as to the musical quality of each one’s laugh. Each in turn
laughs for the audience in as musical a tone as he can muster up. The
audience votes for the best. Next, each in turn must laugh as long as
he can without taking a breath. The next test is for shrillness; the
next for the heartiest laugh, and the last for the most contagious
laugh!
The Quizz.
Some five or six people are chosen for the class which is to be
quizzed. The teacher has her back to the guests, and her class faces
them. She has prepared a list of questions which she puts to different
members of her class, pointing to one of them at a time. All other
guests are to act as judges, and as a question is answered they call
out either “Right” or “Wrong.” The faction that shouts the loudest
gets a verdict. A scorekeeper keeps a bogus score of points made by
each member of the class, and at the end the prize is given to the one
who made the poorest showing, although all through the quizz much ado
is made about how close the score is between different members of the
class.
The questions in the quizz can be on any subject under the sun, and the
more impossible the better, for every member of the class must give
some answer to the question put to him. “I don’t know” is not allowed
under any circumstances. The following set of questions is typical:
1. Where do we get kerosene?
2. Who is the best looking man (or woman) present?
3. What man in this room is a model husband?
4. Who wrote Gray’s Elegy?
Hear! Hear!
This may be used as a penalty, but it is always wise to choose your
victim with care. This victim is asked to stand before the other guests
and then told to make a speech on some subject in which you are sure
both he and the audience are very much interested. But--he is to take
the opposition. For example, if he is a staunch Republican and most
of the guests are Republican in sympathy ask him to say the harshest
things he can think of about the Republican party. Or if he happens to
be the Baptist minister, ask him to denounce the church; or if he is
a man who is constantly boring his friends with tales of the wondrous
deeds of his children, ask him to speak on “The Despair of My Life, My
Children.”
The speaker is to pause after each statement, and everyone present must
applaud loudly and call out “Hear! hear!” Anyone who neglects this
little ceremony is in danger. The leader acts as monitor and announces
that anyone whose applause is found to be unsatisfactory is liable to
be the next one to be asked to make a speech. Here again the leader
uses her judgment and cuts off the speaker just at the right time,
calling for anyone she chooses as the next speaker, disregarding his
assurance that he clapped hard!
With some groups it is mighty successful to use more personal subjects.
For example, at a Methodist church party a man might be asked to speak
on “Why the Baptist women are so much better looking than our Methodist
women,” and the unfortunate Methodist ladies who would like to tar and
feather him must clap their hands loudly and call out “Hear! hear!”
In spite of their wrath, most of them remember to applaud, but Miss
Brownleigh in the front row is laughing so hard, and is so busy shaking
her fist at the speaker that she forgets all about her obligations and
up on the platform she goes as the next speaker!
Scramble.
Ask everyone to bring his chair nearer to the center, to make a
circle. Remove four or five chairs, the number depending on the size
of the group, asking their previous tenants to come to the center of
the circle. When the march time music begins, everyone must get up
and start marching around to the right, those who are without chairs
joining the line of march, no one touching a chair till the leader’s
whistle blows and the music stops. Then it is up to everyone to get a
chair or go into the middle of the circle. This is continued for four
or five rounds.
Then the leader asks them to hippity-hop instead of march, at the
leader’s whistle scrambling for a chair as usual. After three or four
rounds of hippity-hopping they are to walk backwards instead, and
for the last few rounds, they are to hop on one foot, and woe be
unto those who are left in the middle at the end! Warn them of this,
promising dire punishment, just before the last round, and you will
have the funniest situation of the evening.