What Shall We Do Now?: Five Hundred Games and Pastimes Part 13

Proverbs

One or two players go out. The others sit in line and choose a proverb having as many words as there are players. Thus, if there were eight players, "They love too much who die for love" would do; or if more than eight, two short proverbs might be chosen. Each player having made certain what his word is, the others are called in. It is their duty to find out what proverb has been fixed upon, and the means of doing so is to ask each player in turn a question on any subject whatever, the answer to which must contain that player's word in the proverb. If the first round of questions does not reveal the proverb, they go round again and again.

Shouting Proverbs

In this game, instead of answering questions one by one, when the guesser or guessers come in the players at a given signal shout the words which belong to them at the top of their voice and all together.

The guessers have to separate the proverb from the din.

Acting Proverbs

This is a very simple acting game. The players should divide themselves into actors and audience. The actors decide upon a proverb, and in silence represent it to the audience as dramatically as possible. Such proverbs as "Too many cooks spoil the broth," and "A bad workman quarrels with his tools," would be very easy--almost too easy if any stress is laid upon guessing. But, of course, although the guessing is understood to be part of the fun, the acting is the thing.

Acting Initials

Two players go out. The others choose the name of a well-known person, public or private, the letters of whose name are the same in number as the players left in the room. Thus, supposing there are seven persons in the room, the name might be d.i.c.kens. The letters are then distributed; each player, as soon as he knows which letter is his, selecting some well-known living or historical character beginning with the same letter, whom he has to describe or personate. To personate is more fun than to describe. The players seat themselves in the right order to spell the name, and the other two are called in.

When they are ready the first player, D, is called on to describe or impersonate his letter; and so on in the right order.

Acting Verbs, or Dumb Crambo

In this game the company divides into two. One half goes out, and the one that remains decides upon a verb which the others shall act in dumb show. A messenger is then despatched to tell the actors what the chosen word rhymes to. Thus, if "weigh" were the verb fixed upon, the messenger might announce that it rhymes to "day." It is then well for the actors to go through the alphabet for verbs--bay, bray, lay, neigh, pay, prey, pray, play, stay, say; and act them in order. When the word is wrong the spectators hiss, but when right they clap. If the word chosen has two syllables, as "obey," notice ought to be given.

Guessing Employments

A very simple game. One player goes out. The others decide on some workman to represent, each pretending to do some different task belonging to his employment. Thus, if they choose a carpenter, one will plane, one will saw, one will hammer, one will chisel, and so on.

Their occupation has then to be guessed. It is perhaps more interesting if each player chooses a separate trade.

Stool of Repentance

One player goes out. The others then say in turn something personal about him--such as, "He has a pleasant voice"; "His eye is piercing"; "He would look better if he wore a lower collar." Those remarks are written down by one of the party, and the player is called in and placed on a chair in the middle. The recorder then reads the remarks that he has collected, and the player in the middle has to name the persons who made them.

Eyes

A sheet, or a screen made of newspapers, is hung up, and two holes, a little larger than eyes and the same distance apart, are made in it.

Half the players retire to one side of it, and half stay on the other.

They then look through the holes in turn, while those on the opposite side try to name the owner of the eyes. The game sounds tame, but the difficulty of recognition and the false guesses made soon lead to laughter.

Making Obeisance

This is a trick. Those in the company who have never played the game go out of the room. One of the inside players, who is to represent the potentate, then mounts a chair and is covered with a sheet which reaches to the ground. At the point where it touches a shoe is placed, the toe of which is just visible. In the potentate's hand is a sponge full of water. One of the players outside is then invited in; he is told to kneel down and kiss the toe; the potentate on the chair leans forward a little to bring his sponge immediately over the subject's head; and a shower-bath follows. Then another subject is admitted, but after a while there is enough water on the floor to make them suspicious.

Mesmerism

Another trick. The players who are to be mesmerized--among them being the one or two who do not know the game--stand in a row, each holding a dinner-plate in the left hand. The mesmerizer, who also has a dinner-plate, faces them, and impresses on them very seriously the importance, if they really want to be mesmerized, of doing exactly what he does and not moving their eyes from him in any direction. He then holds the plate flat, rubs the first finger of his right hand on the bottom of it, and makes an invisible cross on his forehead, on each cheek, and on the tip of his nose. That is all. The trick lies in the fact that the plates of the players who do not know the game have been held in the flame of a candle until they are well blacked. This means that when the mesmerism is over they each have black marks on their faces, and know nothing about it until they are led to a looking-gla.s.s.

Thought-Reading Tricks

In all thought-reading games it is best that only the two performers should know the secret. Of these two, one goes out of the room and the other stays in, after having first arranged on the particular trick which will be used. Perhaps the company will then be asked to settle on a trade. Let us say that they decide on a chemist. The other player is then called in, and his companion puts questions to him in this way:--"You have to name the trade which we have thought of. Is it a grocer?" "No." "Is it a draper?" "No." "Is it a goldsmith?" "No." "Is it a fruiterer?" "No." "Is it a lawyer?" "No." "Is it a chemist?"

"Yes." This will look rather mysterious to some of the company; but the thing is really simple enough. The questioner merely arranged with his companion that the trade thought of should follow a profession.

Perhaps on the next occasion the company will be asked to think of an article in the room. Let us say that they fix on the clock. The questions will then run something like this:--"You have to name the article in this room which has been thought of. Is it the piano?"

"No." "Is it the curtain-rod?" "No." "Is it the carpet?" "No." "Is it the fireplace?" "No." "Is it the sideboard?" "No." "Is it the armchair?" "No." "Is it the clock?" "Yes." This again is bewildering; but again the trick is very simple, the questioner having arranged that the article shall follow something that has four legs.

A third way is for an article to be touched and for the thought-reader to be asked to name it. "Is it this?" "Is it this?" "Is it this?" is asked of one thing after another, the answer always being "No." "Is it that?" "Yes." The secret is that the article touched is always signified by "Is it that?" But in this case, and in that of the others already described, the effect of mystification can be increased by arranging beforehand that the article in question shall not follow the key phrase immediately, but, say, two questions later.

A fourth way is for the questioner to begin each question in due order with a letter of the French word for the article touched. Thus, if it were the bell, he might say, "_C_ome now, was it the table?" "_L_ook, was it the armchair?" "_O_r the piano?" "_C_ome now, was it this book?" "_H_ow about this hearth-rug?" "_E_ndeavor to be quick, please.

Was it the clock?" By this time "Cloche" has been spelled, so that the next question is, "Was it the bell?" "Yes."

In another form of "Thought-reading" the two players who know the secret remain in the room long enough for the trick to be made sure.

One stands in a corner and the other calls loudly, "Ebenezer, do you hear?" (Ebenezer is the usual name, but a more attractive one would do.) Ebenezer says nothing, but listens attentively to hear who among the company speaks first. The other player repeats the question and still there is no answer. Soon after that some one will perhaps make a remark, and then Ebenezer, having got what he was waiting for, says, "Yes, I hear." "Then leave the room," says the other player, and Ebenezer goes out. The other player then makes a great show of choosing some one to touch, but ends by touching the person who spoke first after the game began. This done, Ebenezer is called in to say who was touched, and every one is puzzled by his knowledge.

To Guess Any Number Thought of

With these thought-reading tricks may be put one or two arithmetical puzzles. Here is a way to find out the number that a person has thought of. Tell him to think of any number, odd or even. (Let us suppose that he thinks of 7.) Then tell him to double it (14), add 6 to it (20), halve it (10), and multiply it by 4 (40). Then ask him how many that makes. He will say 40. You divide this in your mind by 2 (20), subtract 6 (14), divide by 2 again (7), and astonish him by saying that the number of which he thought was 7.

To Guess Any Even Number Thought of

In this case you insist on the number chosen being an even number. Let us suppose it is 8. Tell him to multiply by 3 (24), halve it (12), multiply by 3 again (36), and then to tell you how many times 9 will go into the result. He will say 4. Double this in your mind and tell him that he thought of 8.

To Guess the Result of a Sum

Another trick. Tell the person to think of a number, to double it, add 6 to it, halve it and take away the number first thought of. When this has been done you tell him that 3 remains. If these directions are followed 3 must always remain. Let us take 7 and 1 as examples. Thus 7 doubled is 14; add 6 and it is 20; halved, it is 10; and if the number first thought of--7--is subtracted, 3 remains. Again, 1 doubled is 2; 6 added makes 8; 8 halved is 4, and 1 from 4 leaves 3.

A more bewildering puzzle is this. Tell as many persons as like to, to think of some number less than 1,000, in which the last figure is smaller than the first. Thus 998 might be thought of, but not 999, and not 347. The amount being chosen and written down, you tell each person to reverse the digits; so that the units come under the hundreds, the tens under the tens, and the hundreds under the units.

Then tell them to subtract, to reverse again, and add; remarking to each one that you know what the answer will be. It will always be 1089. Let us suppose that three players choose numbers, one being 998, one 500, and one 321. Each sets them on paper, reverses the figures, and subtracts. Thus:--

998 500 321 899 005 123 --- --- --- 099 495 198

The figures are then reversed and added. Thus:--

099 495 198 990 594 891 ---- ---- ---- 1089 1089 1089

Guessing Compet.i.tions