Victorian Parlour Games
Lookabout
The host shows everyone a little knick-knack in the room. All the guests are to leave while the host hides it. When they return, everyone is to look for the item until they spot it. They are then to sit down. The last one to find it loses (or has to be "it"). It makes it a bit more difficult if guests continue to mill for a few seconds before they sit down.You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile
One person is selected to be "it." That person is the only one in the group who is allowed to smile. He or she can do anything they want to try and get someone to smile. If the person smiles, he or she becomes it. The person who never smiles is declared the winner.Blindman's Bluff
One person is blindfolded, and all other guests scatter around the room. When the blindfoled person catches someone, they then have to tell who it is they have captured or the prisoner is then freed and the blindman must continue his/her pursuit until he/she can identify the person caught. The blindfold then changes hands.Change Seats!
This is a variation on a Victorian game, but a warning to those attempting this one, clear the room of precious little decorations, it can get a little wild! All but one person sits in a chair. The person in the middle asks someone in the circle "Do you love your neighbor?" The person selected then has to state either "No." at which point the people in the chairs on each side of him/her have to change seats QUICKLY. If they aren't quick enough, the person in the middle may slip into one of the vacated seats, making the unseated neighbor it. The chosen person may instead answer, "Yes, I love my neighbor, except those who (fill in the blank....are wearing blue, or have brown hair, or play tennis, etc) Everyone who fits the description (ie is wearing blue for example) has to jump up and change seats, while the person in the middle tries to steal one. The person left standing has to ask another person if he/she loves his/her neighbor, beginning a new round.Charades
This is a classic Victorian game with which most people are quite familiar.Pass the Slipper
We used to play this at church when I was little. You take an object, the "slipper." Pick a person and put them in the center of the circle. They must close their eyes while the "slipper" is passed from person to person behind their backs. When the center person opens his/her eyes, the passing immediately stops and he/she must hazard a guess as to who holds the "slipper." If he/she is correct, they trade places. If wrong, the eyes are closed and the passing begins again.Forfeits
We played a version of this when I was little as well. One person is chosen to leave the room. All the other guests must "forfeit" a special item that belongs to them. All of these items are placed in the center of the room and then the "auctioneer" is brought back in. He/she picks up an item and tries to describe it as one would an item about to be sold. In order not to forfeit the item, the owner must "fess-up" and do something amusing/embarrassing to win back the item (sing, dance, do an imitation, recitation, tell a clean joke, etc.)
The Name Game
Provide each guest with 10 small pieces of paper, and a pen or pencil. Ask them to write down the names of 10 famous people, leaders, movie stars, authors, sports figures, politicians, artists, inventors, scientists, etc. Encourage them not to make it too easy! Fold the papers, and put them into a hat, bowl, or basket. Seat guests in a large circle. Each round is limited to 30 seconds, so have a watch with a second hand available. Player One pulls out a name, and tries to get the person beside him/her to guess the name by giving clues, but never actually saying the name or what it starts with. Gestures are also no allowed. After the name is guessed, the clue giver can continue pulling names out of the hat until their time is up. The guesser gets to keep their pieces of paper, and the clue giver gets credit also. The bowl is the passed to the next person and the clue giver now becomes the guesser and there is a new clue giver. The bowl proceeds around the circle until everyone has guessed and everyone has given clues. The one with the most guesses correct wins.Example: Name - Abraham Lincoln Clues: He lived in a log cabin. He was president during the Civil War. His wife's name was Mary Todd. He wore a stove pipe hat and had a beard. He was assasinated by John Wilkes Booth.
I'm Thinking of Something
One person picks something and commits it to memory (Mount Rushmore, the ocean, an item in the room). They do not tell what this item is but they say, for example, "I'm thinking of something large." The guests are then allowed to ask yes or no questions. "Is it a building?" "No" "Is it an animal" "No." "Is it a monument?" "Yes." "Is it in Europe?" "No" and so on until one person guesses the item correctly. If the person guesses incorrectly the game still ends and the wrong person must chose a new somtething. Players should never guess until they are completely sure they know the answer.Alphabet Minute
Have everyone write a general topic of conversation down on a slip of paper, along with a letter of the alphabet. Pick two or three people at a time to play the game. Have them pick a topic out of a hat or basket. They then must start a conversation with one another regarding the topic. The catch is that they have to begin each sentence with a letter of the alphabet, beginning with the letter written in the slip of paper. They must follow the conversation through the alphabet, ending back with letter in which they started.Example:
Topic: Shopping
Letter: H
Player 1 - "Hey, I have to go shopping, wanna come?"
Player 2 - "I'd love to, but I don't have much money"
Player 3 - "Just come anyway; it'll be fun!"
Player 1 - "Kim said she would meet us at the food court."
Player 2 - "Last time she was twenty minutes late!"
Player 3 - "Maybe she'll make it on time today." And so on until they arrive back at H to finish. You can either time them and cut them off at 60 seconds. The go on to another group and see who gets the farthest in 60 seconds, or you can let them finish the alphabet and see which group finishes their topic and alphabet in the fastest amount of time.
Dictionary
We used to play this with family friends when I was growing up. Each person needs paper and a pen or pencil. You need at least one dictionary to play this game. Each person uses the dictionary in turn to look up a word (hopefully one unknown to most people) and writes down the real definition (in simplified form) and then makes up two or three others. The word and the definitions are read to the rest of the players and each has to guess which deifinition they believe is the correct one. The player gets points for each person he/she fools. The dictionary makes as many arounds as you would like, and the player with the most points at the end wins. Example:Somnambulist
a. a person who practices rituals
b. a person who likes to be alone
c. a person who sleep walks
d. a person who is solemn and serious
(answer is c)
Similes
Similes is a fun Victorian Parlour Game, and can actually be used in classrooms to teach similes. A simile is a figure of speech that compares to unlike things using like or as. One of the most famous come from Robert Burns, who wrote "My love is like a red, red rose." To play this game, you need a list of similes and a group of people. One person, we'll call him/her the "teacher," goes around the room and picks people. The "teacher" picks one person and begins a simile "Love is like a......" the player must finish the simile by stating...."rose." If the player finishes the simile incorrectly, the "teacher" thanks them but gives them the correct ending and moves on. The "teacher" should be fairly well versed in well-known similes so as to be able to accept variations or answers that are close (or even very creative!)Click Here for a few well-known similes to print and and use for your party.
Name the Nursery Rhyme
How Well Do You Know Your Nursery Rhymes? Using a list of lines from nursery rhymes, do your best to guess the title (usually the first line) of the nursery rhyme.Example: What! Lost your mittens? Answer: Three Little Kittens
Examples of parlor games include:
- Are you there Moriarty?
- Squeak Piggy Squeak
- Carnelli
- Charades
- Consequences
- Dictionary (Fictionary)
- Snap-dragon
- Twenty questions
- Blind man's bluff
- Mafia/Werewolf
- Elephant's foot umbrella stand
- Wink Murder
- The Minister's Cat
- Tiddlywinks
- Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
Younger children may not know where the term 'parlour games' comes from. You can explain to them that in Victorian times the late 1800's, before electricity and television, people spent their evenings playing games with friends and family. These games were usually played in a room called the parlour which is the equivalent to our family room.
Do You Love Your Neighbour?
Players- Five or more
Duration- A few minutes for each round
Equipment- Chairs, one less than the number of players
The chairs are lined up with all players sitting down except for one. The standing player asks one of the other players, 'Do you love you neighbour?' If he replies no, then the two players either side must quickly jump up and swap seats. He may reply yes, but must attach an exception. Eg 'Yes, except for those wearing blue jeans' or '...except for those with blonde hair.' Then all of those players must jump up and find a new chair.
Whatever the answer, while players are attempting to find a new seat the player who asked the question can try to sit down. Whoever is left standing asks another player, 'Do you love your neighbour?'
Hot Boiled Beans or Hot and Cold
Players- Three or more
Duration- A few minutes for each round
Equipment- An object that is easy to hide
One player is sent out of the room, while those remaining hide a small object such as a ball, pen or a watch. The player returns to the room as the others call, "Hot Boiled Beans and Bacon for supper, hurry up before it gets cold." The player attempts to find the missing object while everyone else calls out that her supper is getting "very cold", "freezing cold", "hot", "very hot", or "burning" in relation to how close or far she is from the hidden item. Once the item is found a new player is sent from the room and the object (or a new one) is hidden in a different location.
Lookabout
Players- Four or more
Duration- About 10 minutes for each round
Equipment- Any object that is easy to hide
Players are shown a little knick-knack -a teaspoon, pen, thimble, anything small- and are then asked to leave the room. A player remains in the room and hides the item. When they return, everyone is to look for the item until they spot it. They are then to sit down without saying anything. It is recommended to wander around for abit longer after finding the object so as not to reveal the hidden item to the other players.
The last one to find the object hides a new item for the next round.
Pass the Slipper
Players- Six or more
Duration- A few minutes for each round
Equipment- Traditionally a slipper, but any similarly sized object will do
Players form a circle, sitting on chairs or the floor with one person standing in the middle. They must close their eyes while the 'slipper' is passed from person to person behind their backs. When the center person opens her eyes, the passing immediately stops and she must hazard a guess as to who holds the 'slipper'. If the guess is correct, they trade places. If wrong, the eyes are closed and the passing begins again.
The Name Game
Players- Four or more, better with larger groups
Duration- A few minutes for each round
Equipment- Slips of paper, pencils, basket or hat
Provide each guest with 10 small pieces of paper, and a pen or pencil. Ask them to write down the names of 10 famous people- movie stars, authors, sports figures, politicians, artists, inventors, scientists, etc.
Fold the papers, and put them into a hat or basket. Seat guests in a large circle. Each round is limited to 30 seconds, so have a watch with a second hand available. The first player pulls out a name, and keeps giving clues to the person beside him, but never actually saying the name or what it starts with. Once the name has been guessed within the timeframe the guesser scores a point, as does the clue giver.
The hat is the passed to the next person and the clue giver now becomes the guesser and there is a new clue giver. The game continues around the circle until everyone has guessed and everyone has given clues. The one with the most guesses correct wins.
You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile
One of the sillier parlour games, of which there were many. Parlour games often involved a person being required to perform silly actions in order to win the game.
Players- Four or more
Duration- A few minutes for each round
Equipment- None
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