A Colonial Toys and Games Book
Colonial Children Play and Learn
Do you ever play naughts and crosses, draughts, all hid, lummelen, or hop
frog? You may not think so, but you probably do! These are the names of games
that children played in the 18th century and that you might play today. In the 21st
century, however, we know them by different names: naughts and crosses is tictac-toe and draughts is checkers. Can you guess what all hid and hop frog are?
They are hide and seek and leap frog. What about lummelen? That's keep away.
Next time you play one of these games, stop and think how amazing it is that
you're playing the same game that children played 300 years ago!
The early settlers had little time for games or amusements. Nevertheless, young
people did spend some time at play, whether at school (where learning was
incorporated into the game-play), after doing chores or just to burn some energy.
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Word Games: Games that involved letters and words helped children learn language skills. Even
young children could play some word games once they knew the letters of the alphabet. Word
games were popular with parents because they were educational and children were not rowdy while
they played.
 I Have a Basket: To play this game, the players form a circle. The first player begins the game
by saying "I have a basket." The person beside him or her asks "What's inside?" The first
person has to name something that starts with the letter A. The second person has to
name an object that begins with the letter B, and so on. The game gets interesting when
the players reach the letters Q and X. What Q word would you put into your basket?
 Cupid's Leaving: Cupid's Leaving is similar to I Have a Basket. To begin, all the players pick a
letter, for example, S. The first player calls out "Cupid's leaving," and the next person asks
"How?" The first person has to think of a word that starts with S and ends in "ing" to describe
how Cupid is leaving. He or she might answer "singing." The second player then calls out
"Cupid's leaving," and the third player asks "How?" The second player might say "sobbing."
The game continues until someone is unable to think of an answer. The players then
choose a new letter.
 Anagrams: To play Anagrams, children used small squares of paper with letters of the
alphabet written on one side. (You can use the tiles from a Scrabble game.) All the
squares are placed face down on a table.
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 letters. New letters are
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 from the person who holds them. Players
are also allowed to rearrange letters to make new words. Anagram players must think fast
to hold on to their letters!
 Taboo: 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. For example, if the letter D were chosen, one player might
ask "What animal has hoofs?" It would answer "a lamb." If It answered "deer," he or she
would have used the forbidden letter. The questioning continues until IT is forced to use
the taboo letter. In a more difficult version of the game, the person who is It must answer
in sentence form without using the taboo letter anywhere in the sentence: "The little lamb
follows Mary to school on its four little hoofs."
 Gliffes: Pilgrim children played word games, like gliffes. Gliffes are tongue twisters. Tongue
twisters and "brain games" encouraged children to use their minds while playing. Children
used gliffes to challenge how they spoke and "raced" with one another to see who could
say the tongue twister fastest. A popular tongue twister that seems quite difficult that the
Colonial children practiced during chore time was, "The skunk sat on a stump and thunk
the stump stuck, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk."
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Classroom Games: Classroom games made learning more fun. Some were played at any time,
whereas others were reserved for Friday afternoons.
 Buzz: 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. For example, the count around the circle would go like this: "One... two...
three... four... five... six... buzz... eight... nine... ten... eleven... twelve... thirteen... buzz...
fifteen... sixteen... buzz... eighteen..." If a player does not say "buzz" at the proper time, he or
she is out of the game. The counting continues until only one player is left.
 Alphabet Geography: Alphabet Geography is a real brainteaser! One person names a city,
country or continent — "France," for example. The next player has to name a place that
starts with the last letter in "France," so he or she might say "England." The player after that
might say "Detroit." Can you think of a place that starts with T?
 Spelling Bee: Spelling bees were popular in settler times. A week of classes often ended with
a spelling bee on Friday afternoon. On winter evenings adults held spelling bees of their
own. The class divides into two teams that line up along opposite walls of the classroom.
The teacher gives a word to one team member. If that person cannot spell the word
correctly, he or she sits down and is now out of the game. Then the word is given to a
player on the opposite team. The game continues with new words until only one player is
left.
Run for your Seat!: Children today have loads of energy. The children of the past were no different.
They enjoyed games that allowed them to run and compete with one another. These games are
similar to Musical Chairs. They require children to run for their seats!


Spin the Trencher: Many settler families owned large wooden trenchers. Trenchers were long
shallow dishes that were used for preparing or serving food. Trenchers also had another
purpose — they were used for playing Spin the Trencher. You can use a large plastic bowl
when you play Spin the Trencher. The bowl is put on the floor, and the players sit in a circle
around it. Each player chooses the name of an animal. One player is It. He or she spins the
bowl and calls out the name of one of the animals, such as "woodchuck." The player who is
the woodchuck has to run to the bowl and keep it spinning. As the woodchuck gets up, the
person who is It takes his or her spot. Now the woodchuck is It. If a player allows the bowl to
stop spinning, he or she is out of the game.
Post Office: In this game, each player chooses the name of a city. One player is the postal
clerk. The rest of the players sit in a circle. The clerk calls out "The mail is going from Chicago
to Toronto" (or any other two cities). The players who chose those cities have to exchange
seats without letting the postal clerk steal either of their seats.
Duck, Duck, Goose: This game is still very popular. All players sit in a circle, except the player
who is It. He or she walks around the outside of the circle and touches each player's head,
saying "duck." After calling out "duck" a few times, It suddenly calls out "goose." The player
who is the goose has to jump up and chase IT around the circle. If It runs around the circle
and sits in the goose's spot without being tagged, the goose becomes It.
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
Outdoor Games
Although boys and girls played many of the same games indoors, they often played different games
outside. Boys did not take part in clapping, skipping, or string games. Some outdoor games were
rough -- even dangerous! The goal was to show which boy was the strongest and bravest. Girls were
seldom allowed to participate in team sports or contests such as tug-of-war, as parents believed that
rough play was "unladylike."
Individual Games:
 Battledore and Shuttlecock: This game is an early version of badminton. The battledore is the
racket and the shuttlecock is the birdie. The goal of the game is to keep the shuttlecock in
the air as long as possible.

Graces: The game of Graces was an outdoor game played by
two players. It was considered a proper game for young
ladies, although boys sometimes joined in, the players then
being either two girls or a girl and a boy. Each player had a
stick. Using the sticks, the players tossed a hoop to one
another. Some people say that it got its name because it
encouraged children to make graceful movements. To play,
you’ll need:
o
four wooden dowels, about 18 inches long
o
a wooden hoop about 9 inches across
o
several pieces of brightly colored ribbon
o
Wrap the wooden hoop with the ribbon, leaving the ends hanging off. The ribbon
cushions the hoop, making it softer to catch, and the hanging ends flutter in the
breeze and slow the flight of the hoop through the air.
o
Each player has two dowels. The players stand a few feet apart, facing each
other. One player crosses her dowels in front of her like a pair of open scissors,
hanging the hoop near the cross. When she pulls the sticks apart, the hoop flies off
toward her opponent. The other player tries to catch the hoop on her sticks. It
takes some practice to be able to aim the hoop correctly.
o
Keep track of how many times you catch the hoop. The first person to catch the
hoop ten times wins

Scotch-Hoppers is actually the Colonial name for hopscotch. Hopscotch is a game that is
played with a rock you throw onto a line of squares painted on the ground. Then you hop
through the diagram, on one foot, beginning with square one. Either foot may be used. You
straddle the side by side squares. When the player reaches the end of the diagram he turns
around and hops back in the reverse order and picks up his marker. After successfully doing
this the player continues his turn by tossing his marker into square two. If while hopping
through the diagram at any time the player steps on a line, misses a square, or loses his
balance and falls, his turn ends. The first player to finish the course for all the numbered
squares wins.

Tag: One player is "it" and chases the other players. If the player who is "it" tags one of the
other players he or she is now "it." And the game continues changing "its" many times.
Sometimes there is a "base" where you are safe, for a short time, and cannot get tagged.
This game may have developed from the idea of fleeing an evil spirit.
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
Knickers or Marbles: These were very popular with pioneer
boys, who saved and traded them, carrying their marble
bags with them everywhere they went. The first marbles
were made of clay. Later, marbles were made of glass.
These were more popular because they were more
beautiful and more perfectly round, which made them
easier to play with. The most sought-after marbles were
made of a mineral called agate and known as aggies. A
shooter marble is slightly larger than the others (called nibs ) and is used to knock the other
players’ marbles out of the circle. Most of the time marbles were played “for keeps”- if a
player captured a marble in a game, he took it home with him.
o Blow-Out : This game is only for two players, and is one of the oldest marble games
known where the goal is to try to win marbles from each other. The first player
tosses a marble on a smooth surface. The second player tries to hit the marble
by tossing another marble at it. If successful, the second player wins the marble.
If not, the first player has a turn to hit the second player's marble.
o Ring Taw: The most popular marble game in settle times was called Ring Taw, for
four to six players. You can play this game today. Two circles are drawn on the
ground. The inner circle is about two feet in diameter. Each player places four to
six marbles (nibs) in the inner circle. Then the outer circle, called the "taw," is
drawn about seven feet in diameter. The players then crouch outside the large
ring (taw), and each player takes a turn flicking a shooter into the circle. The
goal is to knock other marbles out of the circle. Each player keeps the marbles
he or she knocks out. A player’s turn goes on until he fails to hit a marble or sends
his shooter out of the larger circle. The winner is the player with the most marbles.
Quoits: Also called horseshoes, English soldiers
introduced horseshoe pitching when they arrived
in the Colonial New York area. Many settlers, who
followed, brought along quoits. Thus, both games
had devotees in the 17th and 18th centuries in
America. American soldiers, in the Revolutionary
War, settled upon the horseshoe game. Quoits,
round metal rings, had to be carried along, but
horseshoes were available wherever there was a
“smithie
Painting of colonists playing quoits.
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
Nine Pins
Games were frowned upon if they were considered to be wastes of time
or immoral. Ninepins, a popular tavern game, was outlawed because
people placed bets and gambled on the games. How did people later
get around the law so they could continue enjoying the game legally?
Answer: They added a pin and changed the name to ten pins. There
was no law against ten pins.
Team Sports:

Tug-of-war: Tug-of-war was not really a war, but it was still a pretty tough
game! Two teams were formed, and a line was drawn on the ground between them..or the
teams positioned themselves on either side of a mud puddle. The teams held on to a thick rope
and pulled with all their might. The goal was to pull the other team across the line -- or into the
mud. Participants had to have strength, endurance, and very strong arms!

Shinny: Shinny was a popular boy's game. It was similar to ice hockey but was played in open
fields or on empty lots. Each player had a stick and used it to hit a small ball into a goal area.
Most children used tree branches for sticks and everything from a ball of yarn to a crushed tin
can for a ball. In some places, organized shinny teams hit leather balls with well-made sticks.

Rounders: This popular sport in colonial America was played on a diamond with a base in each
corner. A “striker” with a bat would stand behind the fourth base and try to hit balls thrown by a
“pecker”. If he hit the ball fair, the striker could earn a run by “rounding” the bases. If the striker
missed the ball three times, or if his hit was caught before touching the ground, he was “out”.
After a certain number of outs, the offensive and defensive teams switched. Here are some
additional rules of the game.
o
Infinite swings. The striker has no limit on tries to hit the ball.
o
Ball must be fed where striker pleases. The Feeder must throw the ball where the Striker wants
it. If the Striker is unhappy with the Feeder, The Striker may request a new Feeder.
o
Any hit – RUN! Anytime the ball contacts the stick, even a "tip", it is valid and the Striker must
run. The ball must be struck anywhere!! The runners at the sanctuaries may begin running as
soon as the ball is struck – whether it is a good hit or an Out. It doesn’t matter, once the
runner begins to run, KEEP GOING!
o
Run Clockwise! Upon hitting the ball, The Striker then must run clockwise around the
sanctuaries and may run anywhere as long as he passes outside of each sanctuary.
o
Striker is Out. The Striker is out if the hit is caught in the air or on one bounce.
o
Runner is Out. The runner is out if he is plugged (hit with a thrown ball) while running. He is not
out if he grasps a sanctuary before he is plugged. Note: The Striker becomes a runner as
soon as he begins running.
o
Sanctuaries Work Once. Once a runner has touched a sanctuary, he may not let go of it and
then grasp it again – it has been used up for that runner.
o
In until Out. A player is "in" until he has been gotten out. This also applies to the castle – all
players that are "in" must remain in the castle. If they step out they are "out."
o
Undefended castle is vulnerable. If there are no Defenders, the attacking team may capture
the castle by plugging the castle stone.
o
Everybody Out. The teams change sides when the entire defending team is "out", or when
the castle has been captured.
o
Two Rounders. If the last Defender hits the ball and makes it all the way back into the castle
in one run twice in a row then everyone on his team is back "in" again.
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Parlor games were generally played indoors on rainy days. They were
also popular at birthday and tea parties. The main object of parlor
games was to have fun. Sometimes the people watching the games
had more fun than the people who were playing!
Silly Games: These parlor games require no skill. Their only purpose is to
make people laugh. Try them and see if you think they are funny.

The Cudgel Game: This game was a favorite among boys in the
late 1800s. A cudgel is a stout club. Instead of real cudgels, the
blindfolded players are given rolled-up newspapers. They lie on
their stomach, head to head, holding each other by the left hand. One player calls out "Are you
ready?" When the other player replies "yes," the first player tries to swat him or her with the
newspaper. Since the swatter is blindfolded, he or she usually misses. The other player then asks
"Are you ready?" and tries to whack his or her friend. There is no point to this silly game, but it is fun
to play and watch.

Pinch, No Smiling: Pinch, No Smiling was a parlor game that tested self-control. To play Pinch, No
Smiling, everyone sits in a circle. One by one, each player turns to a neighbor, and pinches his or
her nose. The first player to smile or laugh has to pay a forfeit such as jewelry or a favorite toy.
After everyone in the circle has been pinched, all the losers must "pay" to get their forfeits
back. The wheeling and dealing is as much fun as playing the actual game! A player buys back
his or her forfeit by performing a silly trick, such as acting like an animal, hopping around the room
on one foot, or staying perfectly still and silent for a period of time. The winners of the game
decide what the losers must do!
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Word Games: Games that involved letters and words helped children learn language skills. Even
young children could play some word games once they knew the letters of the alphabet. Word
games were popular with parents because they were educational and children were not rowdy while
they played.

I Have a Basket: To play this game, the players form a circle. The first player begins the game by
saying "I have a basket." The person beside him or her asks "What's inside?" The first person has to
name something that starts with the letter A. The second person has to name an object that
begins with the letter B, and so on.

Cupid's Leaving: Cupid's Leaving is similar to I Have a Basket. To begin, all the players pick a letter,
for example, S. The first player calls out "Cupid's leaving," and the next person asks "How?" The first
person has to think of a word that starts with S and ends in "ing" to describe how Cupid is leaving.
He or she might answer "singing." The second player then calls out "Cupid's leaving," and the third
player asks "How?" The second player might say "sobbing." The game continues until someone is
unable to think of an answer. The players then choose a new letter.

Anagrams: To play Anagrams, children used small squares of paper with letters of the alphabet
written on one side. (You can use the tiles from a Scrabble game.) All the squares are placed
face down on a table. 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 letters.
New letters are 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 from the person who holds them. Players
are also allowed to rearrange letters to make new words.

Taboo: 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. For example, if the letter D were chosen, one player might ask "What animal has
hoofs?" It would answer "a lamb." If It answered "deer," he or she would have used the forbidden
letter. The questioning continues until IT is forced to use the taboo letter.
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More Parlor Games
Guessing Games: Parents encouraged their children to play guessing games because these games
were good brain exercises! Charades and Twenty Questions are still played at parties today.

Charades: Charades is a fun game to play when people come to visit. 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
hat. The first actor takes a piece of paper from the hat. He or she must act out the mystery word
or phrase within one or two minutes. Sometimes the actor gives clues such as pulling on an ear, a
gesture that means "sounds like," and then acts out a word that rhymes with the word on the
paper. The player who guesses the word or phrase is the next actor

Blind Man's Bluff: This is a good game for four or more people. To play Blind Man's Buff, pick one
person to be It. That person is blindfolded and stands in the middle of the room, perhaps after
being spun around a few times to disorient him.
There are several variations of this game:
o
The other players form a circle around the blindfolded person within a confined area.
The blindfolded person moves about to catch one of the players (who are not allowed
to move). The first person caught by the blindfolded person becomes the next
blindfolded person.
o
The other players dart around It, who tries to tag them. They try to get as close as
possible to It without being caught
o
Another variant is when the player who is It catches another player, he tries to guess
who it is by touching their face and hair. If he doesn't guess on the first try, other players
can give hints. When he guesses their name, that person becomes the new It.

Hunt the Slipper: This is a game for six or more players, who sit in a circle. One player (the hunter)
leaves while the others hide a slipper or other object. When the hunter returns, the other players
pass the object around secretly while the hunter is not looking. The hunter is allowed to ask
questions and has three guesses on the whereabouts of the object. When the slipper is located,
the hunter exchanges places with the player who has the object and the game starts over

Twenty Questions: The settlers loved to pass the time playing Twenty Questions. It is still a fun
game. 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." For example, a peron may be thinking
of a blacksmith. If another player asks "Are you thinking of an animal?" the answer would be "no."
If the next question is "Are you thinkning of a person?" the player answers "yes." The game
continues until the players discover who or what the person is thinkning of or until twenty
questions have been asked — whichever comes first.

Dumb Crambo: Two teams are needed for this game. Team 2 leaves the room while Team 1 picks
a word, such as "pie," as well as a rhyming word to offer as a clue. Team 2 re-enters the room and
is told that the secret word rhymes with "sky." Team 2's job is to act out the secret word. If the
players on Team 2 are wrong, the Team 1 players hiss loudly. Team 2 keeps acting until the players
guess the right word. Then it is Team 1's turn to leave the room while Team 2 picks a new word.
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Table Games: Some table games required a steady hand or quick wit to win. In other games, victory
depended on the luck of the draw.

Dominoes: Playing dominoes was a favorite pastime in the late 1800s. The game is still played
today. Dominoes are flat, rectangular blocks called "tiles" or "bones." Each tile has two groups of
dots on one side. The dots range in number from zero to six. Tiles with the same number of dots on
both ends are called doublets.
One dominoes game is called Draw. The tiles are put in the middle
of the table, face down. Each player draws three tiles and looks at
them. The rest of the dominoes are left face down in the "boneyard."
Whoever has a doublet with the most dots lays it on the table. The
second player puts a domino with a matching number of dots against
the doublet. Doublets are put down sideways, as shown on the left.
The next player must lay a match at the free end of a tile. If he or she cannot, the player must
turn over new dominoes until a match is found. The first player to lay down all of his or her
dominoes wins.

Tiddlywinks: Almost everyone has heard of tiddlywinks, but few people know how this game is
actually played. Players use a disk called a shooter to flip smaller disks called winks into a cup
that sits in the middle of the playing area. The object of the game is to be the first player to sink all
of his or her disks into the cup. In the past, players took this game very seriously and practiced
flipping winks in their spare time.

Pick-up Sticks (Jackstraws): Pick-up sticks, or jackstraws, have been
played for hundreds of years, and was a very popular game among
North American Settlers. To play, all you need is a pile of straws or wood
splinters, although fancy versions of the game with whittled sticks in
different colors can be purchased or made.. Some fancy pick-up-stick
games had ivory "straws." Modern versions of jackstraws use wooden or
plastic sticks. Hold the bundle of straws perpendicular to the ground (the
straws point straight up) about 1 foot off the ground. Drop the straws,
letting them land in a messy pile. Each player takes a turn removing one
stick from the pile. The challenge is to do so without moving any of the
other sticks. You can only move the straw you are trying to pick up. If any
other straws wiggle or fall, your turn is over. The player who has the most
straws when the pile is gone is the winner.

Cards: In the early 1800s, most children's card games were designed to
be educational. Card games helped children learn about math,
geography, history, and science. Some card games even taught girls
about cooking.
In 1819 a Philadelphia playing-card manufacturer, James Humphreys,
decided to alter the faces of the cards he was about to produce. He
replaced the conventional Kings with American political and military
leaders -- George Washington became the King of Hearts, John Quincy
Adams, the King of Diamonds, Andrew Jackson, the King of Spades and Thomas Jefferson, the
King of Clubs. He also substituted Greek and Roman goddesses for the Queens, and famous
American Indian chiefs for Jacks.
In the 1850s, people began to play card games for fun. Decks of cards were very colorful. Our
Birds taught about the birds of North America. Old Maid and Old Bachelor were fun card games,
which are still played today. Parents did not allow their children to play with regular playing cards
because they did not want to encourage gambling.
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Board Games: Some of the board games the settlers played had been around
for centuries. Chess, checkers, and backgammon are examples of old
favorites, but many new board games were also created in the 1800s. Some
helped players learn about history, geography, or science. Others taught
children the value of working hard and behaving well.
In most board games, players moved pieces across squares on a board. To
determine how many moves they could make, they spun a teetotum or a
number disk (i.e. a spinner). Many people did not use dice because dice were
associated with gambling.

Checkers: The game of checkers, also called draughts, is played with two people. Each
player has a set of twelve discs called checkers. One set is black and the other is either white
or red. The checkers are placed on a board with white and black squares. The checkers can
only go on the black squares. There are 64 equal square spaces on this board.
The object of the game is to clear the board of the opponent’s checkers or block their
checkers so they cannot be moved. You may move diagonally only, one square at a time.
Or you can jump over the opponent’s checker and then remove it from the board. If there is
an empty space, and then another checker you can jump over it also and remove it. This is
called double jump. When either side gets to the opposite it is crowned. A second checker is
placed on top and called a king. A king also has to move diagonally but can move either
backward or forward.
Nine Man Morris: Also known as Merels, this is one of the oldest board games, going back at
least to the ancient Egyptians. This is a game for two players
o
Equipment: game
board, nine men for
each player (use two
different colors of
beans, or buttons, or
stones)
o
Object of the game: To
remove your
opponent’s markers
from the board. The
player who ends the
game with the most
men remaining on the
board wins. Or, play
until 1 player only has 2
markers, and so
cannot make a "mill" (3
in a row).
o
To Play: Each player
takes turns placing his
markers at intersecting
lines. When one player
builds a "mill" by placing three men in a row, he may remove one of his opponent’s
men. After all nine men have been played; each player then slides one marker to
any adjacent intersection of lines.
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
Fox & Geese
In colonial times, this game was played by two people on a checkerboard with 17 geese and a fox.
The goal of the game is to "shut up' the fox so that it cannot move. The fox moves in a straight line in
any direction. The geese move only forwards or sideways. The fox may jump a goose and remove it
from the board, but the geese may not jump a fox. The fox wins if it breaks the line of geese in front of
it; it loses if it is cornered and blocked in.
Today this game is played as a form of solitaire in which thirty two pegs are placed on the board so
that only the fox's starting position in the center is empty. The player then jumps, removing the peg
that was passed over. Play continues until only one peg remains on the board. The player wins the
game if the last move puts the last peg into the fox hole. Only one peg may be moved at a time, and
no peg may jump another unless it stands next to it without an intervening hole.
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