 In the Early America, these games helped children learn skills that they would need later in life as a farmers and parents. Games taught children how to aim and throw, how to solve problems and do things with their hands, and how to follow directions and rules. They also leaned to be fair, to wait their turn and to use their imaginations.
 Parents encouraged children to play guessing games because these games were good brain exercises.

 Word games were used to increase their vocabulary and help them think quickly.
Often it is easier to understand and remember a word if you can first use it in a fun way and then repeat it in different ways.

 The company are ranged in a circle, with one in the centre, who places the fore-finger of her right hand upon her knee and all the others put their forefingers around it. If the one in the centre raises her finger, saying at the same instant, "fly away, pigeon!" or "Fly away, sparrow!" the others must raise their fingers in the same manner; but if for the sake of mischief, she exclaims, "Fly away, trout!" or "Fly away, elephant!" the others must be careful not to move their fingers, else they must pay a forfeit. That is, the fingers must all rise if a creature is mentioned that can fly; and kept quiet if a thing which cannot fly is named. As it is done with great rapidity, it requires quick ears and quick thoughts. Sometimes things which fly only by accident are mentioned; such as a feather, a leaf, a sheet of paper, thistle-down, a veil, &c. In this case, all the players never make up their minds soon enough; some fingers will rise, and some keep still; and often debates will arise to determine which is right. "I am sure a leaf don't fly," says one; "I am sure it does fly in the wind," says another,
&c. The one in the centre decided all disputed questions. This game brings laughing and forfeits in abundance. (Child, 35-6)

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This is a favourite game among children. One stands up in a chair who is called the "Grand Mufti." He makes whatever motion he pleases, such as putting his hand on heart, stretching out his arm, smiting his forehead, making up a sorrowful face, &c. At each motion he says,
"Thus says the Grand Mufti!" or, "So says the Grand Mufti!" When he says, "Thus says the Grand Mufti!" everyone must make just such a motion as he does; but when he says, "So says the Grand Mufti!" every one must keep still. A forfeit for a mistake. (Child, 42-3)
The above two games, "Fly Away Pigeon" and "Thus Says the Grand
Mufti," are very similar to "Simon Says." Please do not stand on chairs and remember to use period words and actions.

 A little girl says to her companion, I love you, A, because you are amiable; B, because you are beautiful; C, because you are careful; D, because you are diligent; E, because you are elegant; F, because you are funny; and so on to the end of the alphabet. X is of course omitted, for no English word begins with that letter. Any letter omitted, or a reason given which does not begin with the letter you name, demands a forfeit. (Child, 20)

 Cupid’s Coming was a fashionable
19 th Century parlor game. All who were gathered followed these rules:
A letter is chosen, and they syllable
“ing.” For Example, say the letter
“p” is chosen. The first player says to the second player, “Cupid’s coming.” “How is he coming?” Asks the second. “Playing,” replies the first. The second player then says to the third player, “Cupid’s Coming.”
“How?” “Prancing,” and so the “p” and ending with “ing” --piping pulling, pining, praising, preaching, etc. Those who cannot answer the questions spontaneously pay a forfeit.

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In this game the party sit in a circle; one throws a handkerchief at another, and calls,
"Air!" The person whom the handkerchief hits, must name some creature that belongs in the air, before the caller can count ten, which he does in a loud voice as fast as possible.
If a creature that does not live in the air is named, or if the person fails to speak quickly enough, a forfeit must be paid. The person who catches the handkerchief throws it to another, in turn, calls out "Earth!" The person who is hit must call out elephant, or ox, or any creature which lives upon the earth, in the same space of time allowed the other. She then throws the handkerchief to another and calls out, "Water!" The one who catches the handkerchief observes the same rules as the preceding, and is liable to the same forfeits.
Any one who mentions a bird, beast, or fish, twice, is likewise liable to a forfeit. If any one player calls out, "Fire!" every one must keep silence, because no creature lives in that element. (Child, 31)
Everyone sits in a circle. One girl throws a handkerchief to another and names one of the four elements, water, earth, air, or fire. She then counts to ten loudly and quickly.
The girl who caught the handkerchief must name an animal that lives in that element. If she fails to name an animal in the time allotted, names an animal that does not live in the element called, or names an animal already named, she must pay a forfeit. Remember to name animals with which your character would be familiar.

 This game has probably a "relative" in every country. The British one is "London Bridge is falling down". The game symbolizes the children's wish to grow up and become good and strong adults.
Two taller kids are standing in front of each other, with their hands up, forming a sort of gate (or an arcade/ a vault).
The others are moving in line through the gate, singing:

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London Bridge
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down,
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.
How shall we build it up again,
Up again, up again?
How shall we build it up again,
My fair lady?
We will build with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, wood and clay,
We will build with wood and clay,
My fair lady.
But wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, wash away,
Wood and clay will wash away,
My fair lady.
We will build with iron and steel,
Iron and steel, iron and steel,
We will build with iron and steel,
My fair lady.
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But iron and steel will bend and break,
Bend and break, bend and break,
But iron and steel will bend and break,
My fair lady.
We will build with silver and gold,
Silver and gold, silver and gold,
We will build with silver and gold,
My fair lady.
But silver and gold will be stolen away,
Stolen away, stolen away,
But silver and gold will be stolen away,
My fair lady.
We'll put a man to watch all night,
Watch all night, watch all night,
We'll put a man to watch all night,
My fair lady.
Suppose the man would fall asleep,
Fall asleep, fall asleep,
Suppose the man would fall asleep,
My fair lady.
Take the key and lock him up,
Lock him up, lock him up,
Take the key and lock him up,
My fair lady.

 When the children finish the song, the two "gate-keepers" put their hands down and capture a "prisoner". He or she is asked to select one of the two "gate-keepers." The child is standing behind his favorite, increasing the solidity of the
"bridge".
The game goes on until all the children choose one of the two leaders. They are divided now into two teams. They draw a demarcation line between the teams.
Every child embraces the waist of the one who is in front of him, and the gatekeepers hold tight each other's hands.
Each row pulls the other. The team that is pulled over the demarcation line loses the game.

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In this game, the kids form two opposing lines and attempt to "break through" the opposing team's line.
At first, two teams are chosen of equal size, and they form two lines, facing each other and holding hands.
One side starts by picking a person on the opposing team and saying "Red
Rover, Red Rover, send <Jason> right over"
Jason then lets go of his teammates and begins a headlong rush for the other line. His goal is to break through the line by overpowering the kid's hold on each other.
If Jason breaks through, he chooses one person for the opposing team to join his team, and they both go back and join in their line.
If he fails to break through, Jason becomes part of the other team.
Each team alternates calling people over until one team has all the people and is declared the winner.
Note that since all the players are on the winning team at the end, there really are no losers in this game.

 The first player begins the game by saying “I have a basket” the person beside her asks her “What’s inside?” the first person has to name something that starts with the letter A The second person has to name an object starting with the letter B, and so on.
The game get more difficult if you are at the end of the alphabet as you must remember all the other letters.

 Players take turns being the actor. Each player writes down a word, name, or phrase on a piece of paper and puts it in a container.
The first person takes a piece of paper from the container. He or she must act out the mystery word or phrase within one or two minutes. Sometimes the person gives clues like pulling on one’s ear a gesture that means" sounds like” and then acts out the word that rhymes with the word on the paper. The player that guesses the word becomes it.

 One person thinks of a person, place or thing. The other players try to guess who or what it is by asking questions that can be answered “yes” or “no.” The game continues until the players discover who or what the person is thinking of or until twenty questions have been asked whichever comes first.

 Divide into two teams. To start the game, one person says, “I spy with my little eye, something that begins with the letter____.” The person on the opposing team must locate the item that begins with the letter and then spell its name correctly.
Teams receive one point for each correct answer. The team with the most points wins.

 While everyone covers their eyes one person places a small object such as thimble where it is visible but hard to see. When the thimble is placed, the player who hides it calls out, “Hot
Buttered Beans! Please come to supper!” The rest of the players then uncover their eyes and search for the thimble. When players are far from it, the hider calls out “COLD” when they get close he calls out “WARM”. Also the closer they get it gets warmer and then HOT are used. The person to find the thimble gets to hid it next game.

 One of the players thinks of any person or thing, and the rest sit round and ask him questions about it, which he answers with “yes” or
“no” taking care to give no other explanations. From the gained, each gives a guess as to what the thought was. If the questions are ingeniously framed, the solution is generally discovered, unless the
“thought” be peculiarly abstruse.

 We played this game when it was raining. It is an inside game. A student played the part of the dog. He or she sat in a chair with their back to the class. An eraser or another object was put under the chair. That was the bone. While the dog was turned around with his or her eyes closed someone would sneak up and steal the bone and hide it somewhere on his person. Then everyone would sing:
Doggy, Doggy, where's your bone? Somebody's stole it from your home . Guess who it might be you. Then the dog has three chances to guess who took it. Sometimes it was left under his or her chair. If the dog guessed right then he got to do it again. If he guessed wrong than the person who had the bone got a turn as the dog.

 Seven students were in front of the class. The class laid their heads on their desk . The seven went out and each touched a person. That person would stick his or her thumb up. Then the seven would say "heads up seven up" and each student got one chance to guess which of the seven touched him If they guessed right than they changed places. If they did not the same person got to stay up.

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Spelling Bee
Sparkle
Anagram
Taboo
I Love My Love
The Preacher Cat
Initials
Crambo
Rebus
Sentence Relay
Rigamarole
Buzz
No Problem
Multiplication and Division Relay

 Spelling Bees were popular during settler’s times. A week of classes would often end with a spelling bee on
Friday. The class divides up into two teams. The teacher gives a word to the
1 st team if they spell it correctly she gives a word to the second team. If the word is missed that person is out of the game. The last person left is the winner.

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Students form a circle.
The teacher reads one spelling word aloud.
One student is chosen to start the word, saying the first letter of the word.
Then it goes clockwise having each student say the next letter of the word.
When the word has been spelled correctly, the next student in line says "Sparkle."
Then the next word is given.
If a student says the wrong letter, they are out of the game and must sit down.
Or if they get the word sparkle they are out of the game.

 To ply children use alphabet tiles. The players take turns turning over one square each. As soon as someone sees enough letters to make a word, he or she calls out the word and takes the letter.
New letters are then turned over. If any of these can be added to an old word to make a new word, a person can call out the new word and “steal” the letters to make a new word. Players can also rearrange letters to make a new word and steal the tiles. Anagram players must think fast to hold onto their letters.

 Taboo players decide on a letter of the alphabet that will be forbidden in the game.
One person is chosen to be it. The other players ask it questions that might force him or her to use the forbidden letter. The questioning continues until it is forced to use the taboo letter. For a more advance game have the person answer in a sentence and not use the letter.

 This is a word game where players choose a letter of the alphabet and list a person’s name, the place in which he or she lives, and a personality trait. For Example for the letter E, a player might say, “I Love my love with an E because his name is Eric, and he lives in England, and he is excellent.”

 The Preacher’s Cat is similar to I Love My
Love, but the rhyme is different. The first player starts the letter A. He or she might say, “The preacher's cat is an angry cat, and her name is Abigail.” The next person uses words beginning with B and the game continues until all the letters of the alphabet are used.

 The game is played by two people. One person asks the other a series of questions. The other person must answer the questions using the letters of his or her initials. A girl named Delaney Nelson would need to answer the questions with a D and an
N.

 What is your Name?
 What do you like to Eat?
 What do you study in school?
 Which are your favorite Colors?
 What are some of your favorite animals?

 Delaney Nelson likes to eat dairy and nuts.
Her favorite animals are dachunds and nematodes. Her favorite colors are daisy yellow and navy. She likes to study numbers and drawing in school.

 Crambo is known as I’m Thinking of a
Word. The object of the game is to guess a mystery word. One person says, “I’m thinking of a word that rhymes with____.”
The other players take turns asking questions to help them guess the word.

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I’m thinking of a word that rhymes with fat?
Is it on the floor beneath your feet?
No, it isn’t a mat.
Is it a child that misbehaves?
No, it isn’t a brat.
Is it a rodent?
No, it isn’t a rat.
Is it a furry pet that chases mice?
No, it isn’t a cat.
Is it something to wear on your head?
Yes, it’s a hat.

 This is a type of game that combines pictures with letters to create words and sentences. The puzzle to the left says: When did
Ellis Island first open?

 For a sentence relay, divide the classroom into two teams. Each player takes a turn writing one word on the blackboard. To make the game more difficult, the teacher can tell each player the type of word her or she must write, such as a noun, verb, adverb, or adjective. The first team that completes a sentence wins the relay.

 Rigamarole is a tongue twisting memory game. It is best played in a group of three to six players.
Players make up an alliterative phrases using the first letters of numbers. Each player must remember the phrases and repeat them before giving his or her own phrase. To begin, the first person makes up a phrase using words that begin with the letter O, such as “One orange octopus.”
The next person repeats the phrase for the number two using the letter T, such as “Two tiny thimbles.” and so on

 When early American children grew up many of the jobs they had to do required good mathematic skills. For example, farmers needed to know basic math such as addition, subtraction, division and multiplication in order to get a fair price for their crops and livestock. Math helped dress makers calculate the amount of fabric needed for a given project. Store keepers used it to keep track of barters, and credit that they extended to their customers.

 The game of buzz showed how well children knew their numbers and multiplication tables. Everyone sits in a circle and begins to count in turn.
When the number seven, a number with seven in it, or a multiple of seven comes up the player must say buzz instead of the number.
 If the player does not say buzz at the proper time, he or she is out of the game. The counting continues until one player is left.

 Arithmetic puzzles helped settler children improve their problem-solving skills. You can test your math skills with a game called nine digits. To play, cut nine small squares of paper. Number each square from one to nine. Arrange the numbers in three rows (as shown in the diagram) so that when they add across, up and down, or diagonally, they always add up to fifteen.

6 7 2 15
1 5 9 15
8 3 4 15
15 15 15 15

 In this game students try to solve math problems as quickly as possible. The teacher passes out cards with Math problems on them. Each row of students make up a team. When the teacher says,
“Ready, Set, Multiply and Divide.” The first person in each row takes a card and goes to the black board to solve the problem as quickly as they can and then returns to their seats. Then the next person does the exact same thing until one team completes their row. The first team done with all correct answers win’s.

 In geography class, students memorized the names of countries, capital cities, lakes, rivers, and mountains.
These games helped to make learning
Geography Fun.

 Students played this geography game using the globe in their classroom. To play, one person names a place that begins with the letter A, such as Africa. The next person must think of a place that begins with the last letter in
Africa, which is also A. If a person can not come up with a place they are out of the game.
And this is played until all players are out. The person left wins the game.

 In this version the players name places in Alphabetical
Order. A for
Australia, B for
Brittain, C for
Chattanooga, D for
Detroit and so on.

 For this game a teacher puts the names of several places in a hat. Each player picks a a location from the hat and makes a list of souvenirs that they would bring back from that country. Then each student reads their list and the class has to guess the place that they had.

 One person thinks of an historical figure. The rest of the class asks questions to try and figure out who the historical figure is. Players can only ask one question each and they must be answered with a yes or a no answer. There is a limit to the question of 20. If the person stumps the audience he is the winner. If someone guesses the person they are the winner.