Games for Everybody | Page 7

a
forfeit because the letter "P" comes in that word.
There is a catch to this as everyone thinks that the vegetable "Peas" is
meant instead of the letter. Even after everybody has discovered the
trick it will be difficult to think of words, and if a player fails to answer
before 5 is counted, a forfeit must be paid. "My grandma doesn't like
tea (T)" is played in the same way.

HOLD FAST, LET GO.
A simple game for small children is the following. Each child takes
hold of a small sheet or tablecloth, the leader holding it with his left
hand, while he pretends to write with his right hand.
The leader says: "When I say 'Hold fast,' let go; and when I say 'let go,'
hold fast." He calls out the commands one at a time and the rest do just
the opposite of what he says. Whoever fails must pay a forfeit.

SIMON SAYS.
One child is selected to be Simon. The rest of the children sit around in
a circle. Simon stands in the middle and gives all sorts of orders for the
children to follow. Every order which begins with "Simon says" must

be obeyed, whether Simon performs it or not, but if Simon should give
some order, such as "Thumbs down," whether he puts his thumbs down
or not, it must not be obeyed by the others because it was not preceded
by "Simon says."
All sorts of orders such as "Thumbs up," "Thumbs down," "Thumbs
wiggle-waggle," "Thumbs pull left ear," etc., are given. The faster the
orders are given, the more confusing it is. A forfeit must be paid by
those who fail to obey the orders.

OLD SOLDIER.
One child, who represents the old soldier, goes around to each child in
turn and begs for something, saying that he is poor, hungry, blind, etc.,
and asks what they will do for him.
In answering the old soldier no one must use the words, "Yes," "No,"
"Black," or "White." As soon as a child is asked, he must answer
immediately. If he does not, or says any of the forbidden words, he
must pay a forfeit.

HIDE AND SEEK.
One child is chosen out. This one stands by a post or in a corner which
is called "base," and hides his eyes. The children decide among
themselves how much he shall count while they are hiding. Suppose
they choose 100, then he counts 5, 10, 15, 20, etc., until he reaches 100,
and then he calls out:
"Ready or not, You shall be caught."
Each child having hidden in some place while he was counting,
remains perfectly still while he is hunting for them. If he passes by
some child without finding him, that one can run to the "base" and say
"One, two, three, I'm in free!" As many children as can try to get in

"free," but if the one who is out tags any of them before they reach
"base," the first one tagged is the next to hide his eyes.

HANG-MAN.
Two children may derive a great deal of amusement from this simple
pastime. At the top of a piece of paper write all the letters of the
alphabet. Underneath, the child who has thought of a word or short
sentence puts a dash down for every letter contained in the word
thought of.
Suppose the words thought of were "Gamebook," it would be written
thus: --------
The other player asks if the word contains "a," and the other puts it in
its proper place, crossing the letter off of the alphabet above. The other
guesses different letters at random, every right one being put in its
place, while for every wrong one a line is drawn to help construct a
gallows for the "hang-man." If there are many wrong guesses, the
"hang-man" may be completed and then the word is told the other
player. The players take turns in giving out and guessing the words.
The gallows is made thus for every wrong guess:
[Illustration: The gallows and hang-man is drawn progressively, one
line at a time.]

BIRD, BEAST, OR FISH.
A simple little game for amusing two children is the following. Write
on the top of a slate or paper the words "Bird, beast, and fish."
One child thinks of the name of some animal and puts down the first
and last letters of the word, marking dashes for the other letters. His
companion thinks over all the names of animals he knows containing

that number of letters, until finally he has guessed what it is or else has
given up. If he guesses correctly it is his turn to give either a bird, beast,
or fish.

PETER PIPER.
This is an