GAMES FOR ADULTS

Riddles
Few children think they will ever tire of playing games; but all the same, towards the end of a long evening, spent merrily in dancing and playing, the little ones begin to get too weary to play any longer, and it ...

Advice
Each player is given a slip of paper and asked to write a piece of advice--the ladies write to the gentlemen and vice versa. The slips are collected and again distributed and each player is asked to read the advice...

Adjectives
A slip of paper and a pencil is given to each player, who must then write a number of adjectives upon it. The slips are collected and given to the principal player, who has undertaken to read out a short story, sub...

Animal Vegetable Or Mineral?
This is a capital game for a large party, for it is both instructive and amusing. One player is selected who has to guess what word or sentence the remainder of the company has chosen. He goes out of the room, and ...

Acting Rhymes
For this game, half the players go outside the door, whilst those who stay in the room choose a word of one syllable, which should not be too difficult. For instance, suppose the word chosen be "Flat," those who ar...

The Bird-catcher
To play this game you must first decide which one of you is to be the Bird-catcher; the other players then each choose the name of a bird, but no one must choose the owl, as it is forbidden. All the players then sit...

Buzz
This is a very old game, but is always a very great favorite. The more the players, the greater the fun. The way to play it is as follows. The players sit in a circle and begin to count in turn, but when the number ...

Birds Fruits And Flowers
In this game every one in the company has to describe in a riddle, first a bird, then a fruit, and finally a flower. The others must guess. Whoever guesses the most is the winner of the game. Here are examples of...

Cities
Materials required.--As many sheets of paper and pencils as there are players. The players seat themselves round a table, and each one is provided with a sheet of paper and a pencil. The hostess then asks them to...

The Cook Who Doesn't Like Peas
One of the players commences the game by saying to his neighbor, "I have a cook who doesn't like peas (p's); what will you give her for dinner?" The person addressed must avoid the letter P in his answer. For insta...

Consequences
One of the most popular games at a party is certainly "Consequences"; it is a very old favorite, but has lost none of its charms with age. The players sit in a circle; each person is provided with a half sheet of n...

Cross Questions And Crooked Answers
To play this game it is best to sit in a circle, and until the end of the game no one must speak above a whisper. The first player whispers a question to his neighbor, such as: "Do you like roses?" This questi...

The Curate
A player is chosen to represent "The Curate." The other players are assigned such names as printer, plumber, jeweler, butcher, druggist, shoemaker, etc. "The Curate" starts the game by saying, "Mr. Butcher (or an...

Definitions
A subject is given to the company by the "teacher" and those joining in the game are each to define the subject in as terse a manner as possible, in epigram or verse, written on a slip of paper. The cards are then ...

Earth Air Fire And Water
To play this game seat yourselves in a circle, take a clean duster or handkerchief, and tie it in a big knot, so that it may easily be thrown from one player to another. One of the players throws it to another, at ...

The Farmyard
This game, if carried out properly, will cause great amusement. One of the party announces that he will whisper to each person the name of some animal, which, at a given signal, must be imitated as loudly as possib...

The Forbidden Letter
The idea of this game is to try how many sentences can be spoken without containing a certain letter which has been agreed upon. Supposing, for instance, the letter "f" is not to be introduced, the first player migh...

The Forbidden Vowels
The players seat themselves and are questioned by the leader of the game and must answer without bringing in a word containing a forbidden vowel. Say the vowel "a" is forbidden, the leader asks--"Are you fond of pl...

Fortune Telling
The Fortune Teller must provide the person who is to have his or her fortune told with a piece of paper and a pencil and then proceed to say: 1. Write "Yes" or "no." 2. "State a gentleman's or a lady's na...

The Game Of Conversation
To play this game successfully two of the company privately agree upon a word that has several meanings. The two then enter into a conversation, which is obliged to be about the word they have chosen, whilst the re...

Guilty Or Innocent?
One of the company gets himself up to represent the old man of the woods, the rest take the names of various animals, such as lion, tiger, leopard and so on. The players seat themselves round the room, and the ol...

Guessing Groceries
Into bits of muslin should be tied samples of groceries--tea, coffee, starch, rice, beans, spices, etc. The players are allowed one guess for each sample, depending entirely upon the sense of feeling, and the one g...

Gossip
The leader writes out a short story. It may be a bit of gossip, a newspaper incident or anything he wishes, it should however be rather excitable in character. He reads the story over, that he may whisper it to one...

How? When? Where?
One of the players goes out of the room and the players decide upon an object. Let us suppose that the word chosen is chest. The word being agreed upon, the other player is called in. The game is for this player to...

I Love My Love With An A
To play this game it is best for the players to arrange themselves in a half-circle round the room. Then one begins: "I love my love with an 'A,' because she is affectionate; I hate her with an 'A,' because she is ...

It
One of the players is asked to go outside whilst the company think of some person in the room, and on his return he has to guess of whom the company has thought. The players then arrange themselves in a circle, a...

Jack's Alive
A match or small piece of wood is lighted and when well afire blown out. It is then passed from one player to another with the words, "Jack's alive," and may be handed about so long as a live spark remains. The tri...

The Menagerie
To each member of the company is given the name of a bird or animal by the "Keeper" who is to relate a story of adventure in which the names of the birds and animals are frequently mentioned. At the mention of the ...

The Minister's Cat
This game is very similar to that of "I love my love." Each of the players must describe the minister's cat, going right through the alphabet to do so. "The minister's cat is an angry cat," says one; "an anxious ca...

Magic Writing
In this game a confederate is necessary. The player states to the company, after a few remarks on ancient sign-language, that he is able to read signs made with a stick on the floor, and agrees to leave the room wh...

The Mimic Club
This is a game which causes much amusement to a company of children, and even grown-ups may join in. All the players, with the exception of two, leave the room. One of the outside party is then called in, and tol...

My Lady's Toilet
The leader gives to each of the party the name of some article used by a lady--a glove, fan, handkerchief, slippers, veil, belt, ribbon, brooch, back comb, collar, hairpins, cloak, etc. The players to whom the names...

Partners Pair
Partners Pair The players divide themselves into ladies and gentlemen, if the ladies predominate they must personate gentlemen, and vice versa. The gentlemen then proceed to choose lady partners. One of the play...

Proverbs
"Proverbs" is a game that will always remain popular. One of the players is sent out of the room, and during his absence the others decide upon a well-known proverb which he must, by asking questions, guess on his ...

Questions And Answers
Each player is furnished with a pencil and two slips of paper. On the first slip a question must be written. The papers are then collected and put into a bag or basket. Then the players write an answer on their s...

Ruth And Jacob
One player is blindfolded, the rest dance in a circle around him till he points at one of them. This person then enters the ring, and when the blind man calls out, "Ruth," answers, "Jacob," and moves about within t...

Rhymes
A number of slips of paper are passed among the players and each one is asked to write upon one of the papers, two words which will rhyme. These papers are collected and in turn read aloud, the players then writing ...

Sketches
Each player is asked to draw a haphazard line on a piece of paper. The line may be anything he wishes and does not need to suggest or resemble any object. The papers are collected and again distributed. Any player...

Traveler's Alphabet
The players sit in a row and the first begins by saying, "I am going on a journey to Athens," or any place beginning with A. The one sitting next asks, "What will you do there?" The verbs, adjectives, and nouns use...

Thought Reading
This is a very good game, which always causes considerable amusement, and if skilfully carried out will very successfully mystify the whole company. It is necessary that the player who is to take the part of tho...

The Little Dutch Band
The players sit or stand around the room in a circle. The leader assigns to each some imaginary musical instrument--horn, fife, drum, trombone, violin, harp, flute, banjo, etc. Some well known, but lively air is gi...

What's My Thought Like?
The players sit in a circle and one of them asks the others: "What's my thought like?" One player may say: "A monkey"; the second: "A candle"; the third: "A pin"; and so on. When all the company have compared the t...