Barnyard Chorus

Each player in the group is given some barnyard noise to represent. The leader takes his place in the centre of the room. If he holds up his left hand, all is quiet; if he holds up his right hand, they all imitate their various noises in concert. Should one of the players make a noise while the leader is holding up his left hand, that player must stand up before his chair and imitate the noise he has been given to imitate, until some member of the group can guess what the noise is supposed to represent.

Donkey Solo

This is a good game to follow immediately after the Barnyard Chorus.

The leader announces that he is to whisper to each member of the group the name of some animal that is to be imitated by that member in chorus with the others. He then goes about and whispers in the ear of every member of the group that he is to keep perfectly quiet, excepting to one individual to whom he suggests that he is to imitate the braying of a donkey. He then takes his position in the centre of the group and instructs the players to give as much volume to their imitation as possible. He gives the signal to start. Naturally, all are quiet except the poor donkey who brays his solo, to the amus.e.m.e.nt of the other members of the group.

Shifting Seats

The group is seated in a circle. There is one more chair than there are players. One individual is selected to be "It" and takes his place in the centre of the room. "It" gives the command to shift right.

Thereupon, the one at the left of the vacant chair moves into the vacant chair, leaving his own chair vacant. The one at the left of his chair, moves into that, each one trying to get into the vacant chair to the right before "It" can succeed in touching him. "It" can give the command "Shift left" at any time, which means that they must move into the vacant chair to the left. Should "It" succeed in sitting in an empty chair, the one who should have occupied that chair becomes "It".

Guess the Sound

The group is arranged in a circle. The one selected to be "It" is blindfolded and takes a position in the centre of the circle. After the blindfolded player has been spun around a few times so that he does not know his location, he is given a wand or short stick. He holds this stick out in front of one member of the group. That member must grasp the end of the stick. Then "It" names some animal which the player on the other end of the stick must imitate by some sound. Thereupon, the blindfolded player tries to guess who has hold of the other end of the stick. Succeeding, the player guessed is blindfolded.

Rapid Transit

The players form in a circle. To each is given some article to be pa.s.sed. These articles should vary in size anywhere from a peanut to a flat iron. The game starts by the leader commanding them to pa.s.s to the right. He then pa.s.ses his article on to his right hand neighbor and receives in turn from his left hand neighbor the article coming to him.

The pa.s.sing continues until the leader gives the command "Change". Then the articles are pa.s.sed in the opposite direction. Should a player drop one of the articles to be pa.s.sed or should any one of the players have in his possession more than two articles at one time, that individual drops out of the game, taking one article with him. The game continues until but one is left in the circle. The pa.s.sing can be complicated, if so desired, by having one or two of the articles pa.s.sed in the opposite direction.

Feather Tag

The group sits in a circle in the centre of the room, holding a large sheet stretched tightly between them. A fluffy feather is placed in the centre of the sheet. One of the group who is "It" endeavors by running about, to catch the feather. Those sitting around the edge of the sheet keep the feather from "It" by blowing it beyond "It's" reach. Should "It" capture the feather, the one sitting at the edge of the sheet nearest to the feather becomes "It".

Birds

All the players sit in a circle. Each is given the name of a bird. The keeper takes a position in the centre of the room and begins to tell a story about birds. When a bird's name is mentioned, that bird must stand up and turn around once in front of his chair. Failing to do this, he must pay a forfeit. When the keeper utters the word "migrate"

in his story, all of the birds must change seats and he tries to get one of the seats. Succeeding, the one left without a seat, continues the bird story. Otherwise the first keeper continues his story.

Simple Simon's Silly Smile

The group is arranged in chairs around the room. The one who is selected to be "It" goes from one to another asking questions. All questions must be answered by "Simple Simon's Silly Smile", without laughing. Should the one questioned laugh, he must take the place of the one who is "It".

Wink

Chairs are arranged around the room in a circle, with the boys standing behind each chair. There should be one more chair than there are girls in the group. The boy standing behind the empty chair winks at one of the girls who endeavors to get to the vacant chair before the boy in whose chair she is sitting can tag her. If she succeeds, the boy behind the chair last vacated continues the game by winking at another girl.

Hush

The group sits in a circle in a room which is semi-dark. The leader goes around inside of the circle and slips a b.u.t.ton in the hands of one of the players. He does this after making an offer to do it to several others, so as to disguise where he finally deposits the b.u.t.ton. All then have a turn to guess in whose hands the b.u.t.ton lies. The one who guesses right becomes the leader, and the leader becomes a ghost. The game then continues as before. The ghost asks questions of any of the players, and they are not supposed to answer any question asked them except by the leader. Should they do so, they also become ghosts. As the ghosts multiply the game becomes more difficult. The game continues until but two are left of the circle.

Jack's Alive

The group sits in a circle in the room. A lighted splinter is handed to one of the group in the circle. It is then pa.s.sed around the circle, still lighted. Should the flame become extinguished, the one in whose hand the splinter rests at that time must pay a forfeit. The forfeit sometimes demanded is that a mustache be made on the upper lip of that individual with the charred end of the splinter.

In pa.s.sing the splinter the player must say Jack's Alive; failing to do this the splinter is returned to him and should it become extinguished before he can say this, it counts against him.

Going to Jerusalem

The chairs are arranged in a circle in the center of the room, with the seats away from the center. There should be one less chair than there are partic.i.p.ants in the game. The partic.i.p.ants form a line around the outside of the chairs and march forward around the chairs, while the piano, phonograph, or some other musical instrument is being played.

The instant the music stops each player tries to sit in a chair. The one failing to get a chair drops out of the game. A chair is taken from the circle and the group starts marching again with the music. When the music stops they seek chairs as before, the one failing to secure one dropping out. A chair is taken out of the circle after each scramble and so the group diminishes until all are eliminated except one, who is crowned King of Jerusalem. If the group be large more than one chair can be eliminated at a time.

CHAPTER V

TRICK GAMES FOR SOCIABLES

Hindoo Blind Reading

Slips of paper are given to all of the guests and they are instructed to write thereupon a brief sentence of three or four words and to carefully fold the paper. These messages are then collected, and the Hindoo Mystic proceeds to amaze his auditors by rubbing the messages, still folded, one after another across his forehead and telling what is written on the folded paper.

The Trick--The message reader has an accomplice who is instructed to acknowledge that he wrote the first note read by the mystic, no matter what that note may be. The mystic makes up in his mind a brief sentence after rubbing the first slip of paper on his head. This sentence is acknowledged by the accomplice. The mystic, after having the note acknowledged, opens it apparently to corroborate his reading, but in reality he is reading the note written by someone else. Upon rubbing the next slip of paper across his forehead, he announces the contents of the note last read, which naturally is acknowledged with wonderment on the part of the individual who wrote it. He then apparently looks at this slip of paper, but in reality he looks at the paper which he next intends to read.

Mental Telepathy

The group is told that if enough people think hard enough about one object they can communicate the thought to a person who knows nothing about it. One or two "unwise" persons are asked to leave the room and nothing is decided upon. But the group is told that when each "unwise"

person comes in in turn, the second thing that is named must be admitted to be the right object. Great disappointment should be shown at his failure to get the right object the first time and he should be heartily congratulated on his success the second time. This continues until he realizes that he is duped.

The Paper Artist

A sheet of newspaper or any other kind of paper can be used for this game. The accomplice is sent from the room. The one performing the trick then holds the paper in front of the face of one of the individuals in the room. Returning to his seat, the accomplice is called into the room and handed the sheet of paper. The accomplice then studies the paper carefully and announces to the group whose photograph he sees thereupon.

The Trick--The one who takes the impression of the individual a.s.sumes the same sitting position that the individual photographed has a.s.sumed, thus portraying to the one who left the room whose photograph is on the blank paper.

Magic Answers

An accomplice is sent from the room. Those remaining in the room determine upon some object, this object to be recognized by the accomplice. When the object has been selected, the accomplice is called back. The one who is to deal with the accomplice asks if several objects in the room are the thing which has been suggested. The accomplice answers, "No," but answers correctly when the object selected is mentioned.

The Trick--The one asking the questions of the accomplice names some black object immediately preceding the object which is the correct one, thus giving the clue.