What Shall We Do Now? by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (unputdownable books .TXT) 📕

In this game you go through the alphabet, applying adjectives to your love. "I love my love with an A because he [or she] is so admirable"; "I love my love with a B because she is so beautiful," and so on, keeping to each letter as long as possible. On pages 88 and 89 will be found more difficult varieties, less suitable, perhaps, to be played when walking.

Another alphabet game requires adjectives to be put before the word cat. You begin with A. "An artful cat," one player may say; and the next, "An avaricious cat." Perhaps "An awful cat," "An adhesive cat," "An arrogant cat," and "An attractive cat," will follow. A is kept up until no one can think of any more; or—if you play in that way—until no one can think of any more while ten is being counted. Then B: "A bushy cat," "A bruised cat," "A bellicose cat," "A bumptious cat," and so on.

In this game the players each contribute a letter toward the spelling of a word, their object being never to be the one to complete it, but to force the next player to do so. Thus (with four players) the first player may say "p," and the next, thinking of "prim," may say "r," and the next, also thinking of "prim," may say "i." But the fourth player, running his thoughts quickly over possible words beginning with "pri," may light upon "prism" and say "s." This saves her, but puts the first player in danger, which is only averted by her thinking of "prison" and saying "o," in which case the next one is bound to be the loser.

A favorite old game which can be played as well on a walk as indoors is "The Grand Mogul." "The Grand Mogul does not like E's," says one player; "what will you give him for dinner?" Each player answers in turn, but none of the dishes named must contain the letter E, or the player either stands out, or (indoors) pays a forfeit. Thus, the answers to the question may be "apricots," "mutton," or "soup," but not "apples," "beef," or "porridge." On a walk the letter E might be persevered with until every one failed, and then the other vowels might be tried.

This is a counting game in which, whenever the number 7 comes, or a multiple of 7, such as 14, 21, 28, 35, or a number with 7 in it, such as 17, 27, 37, the player whose turn it is must say "Buz." Otherwise, out-of-doors, he loses a round or two, or, indoors, he must pay a forfeit. When 70 comes you say "Buz" in the ordinary way, but for 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, and 79 you say "Buz 1," "Buz 2," and so on. For 77 you say "Buz Buz."

In this game one player thinks of a word and gives the others a rhyme to it. Thus, she may think of "coal," and she would then say, "I've thought of a word that rhymes to pole." The others have to guess what the word is, yet not bluntly, as, "Is it mole?" but like this: "Is it a little animal that burrows?" "No," says the first player (who thus has a little guessing to do herself), "No, it is not mole." "Is it a small loaf of bread?" "No, it is not roll." "Is it something you eat bread and milk from?" "No, it is not bowl." "Is it something you burn?" "Yes, it is coal." The player who thought of "coal" then finds a word for the others to guess.

The "Apprentice" is an old game for two or any number. One says, "I apprenticed my son to a [mentioning a tradesman or craftsman], and the first thing be sold [or made] was a [mentioning, by its initial only, something peculiar to the trade or craft]." The player who first guesses what the initial stands for then makes a similar remark. Thus, one player may say, "I apprenticed my son to a blacksmith, and the first thing he made was a D. K." (Door Knocker). Another, "I apprenticed my son to a grocer, and the first thing he sold was S. S." (Soft Soap). Another, "I apprenticed my son to a gardener, and the first thing he grew was a C. B." (Canterbury Bell). Another, "I apprenticed my son to a firework manufacturer, and the first thing he made was a G. R." (Golden Rain).

This is a somewhat similar game bearing on geography. Suppose there are three players. One chooses a well-known place, say Boston, and begins, "I know a place where they sell boots," or whatever it may be beginning with B. The next player then knows what letter the place begins with and at once starts thinking of what place it is likely to be. Perhaps she settles on Birmingham, in which case she would say, to indicate that the second letter of the word was "I," "I know a place where they sell isinglass" (or icicles, or inglenooks). "No," says the first player, and the third therefore has to try. Perhaps she decides that the place is Brighton, in which case she will say, "I know a place where they sell rockets" (or rump-steak or raisins). "No," says the first player again, and then it being her turn she gives them another light on the right word by saying, "I know a place where they sell oranges" (or oil, or ocarinas), and so on, until the place is spelled through.

Other games suitable to be played when walking are "P's and Q's" (p. 89), "Suggestions" (p. 91), "Clumps" (p. 93), "How, When, and Where" (p. 95), "Coffee-Pot" (p. 95), "Throwing Light" (p. 96), and "Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral" (p. 96).

Iron hoops are the best, but it is a matter of taste whether a stick or a hook is used for them. If the stick is a stout one you get rid of the skidding noise made by the hook, and there is more satisfaction in beating a thing along than in, as it were, pushing it. It should be every one's aim to make the hoop do as much as possible with as little treatment as possible. After a very fast run it is equally interesting to see how slowly a hoop can be made to travel. To make it keep as straight a course as may be is very absorbing. Bought hoops can be strong, but to get exactly what one wants it is necessary to go to a blacksmith. A hoop standing as high as its owner, through which he can run to and fro as it rolls, is a possession which only a blacksmith or working-ironmonger can supply.

Hoop games are few in number, and, with the exception of "Posting," not very exciting. With a large hoop and a small hoop two players can learn to time the pace of a hoop very exactly and then bowl the little one through the big one as it rolls.

There is also a game called "Turnpikes," in which several players and one hoop take part. The turnpikes, of which there are as many as the players, less the one who begins with the hoop, are two stones an inch or so apart, through which the hoop has to be bowled without touching, the faster the better. If it touches, or misses, the player who has been bowling it gives the hoop to the turnpike holder, who then tries his fortune with it, keeping it until he fails at any of the stones.

A very good hoop game for several players is "Posting." The idea is that a distance is to be covered (as in the old posting days) as quickly as possible by relays of riders, and the first thing to do is to station four posts at various points along the route. Then, when they are ready, each with hoop-stick or hook, the player with the hoop starts and bowls it as fast as he can to the first post. Immediately it reaches him that post takes it on, without stopping the hoop for an instant, to the next, while the first one takes the place left by him; and so on, as often round the ring as you like. When there is a time-keeper and you post against time it is even better fun. The advantage of standing in a large circle is that the hoop need never be checked; but if the circle is impossible, you can go up and down a long line, with checks only at each end.

A long journey in a train—say from New York to Chicago—can, even if you have a window seat, be very tiring; but without a window it is sometimes almost unendurable. The hints which follow are mostly adapted for two players, but one or two will be found useful if you are alone with no one to play with.

A map of the country which the train passes through is an interesting thing to have on a long journey. It tells you the names of the hills and villages you see from the windows and you can very likely fix the exact moment that you cross from one county or state into another.

Two persons can have good competitions. They can agree beforehand that the game is to go to whichever of them sees the more horses, or cows, or sheep, or men driving, or bicyclists, or rabbits, between two given points, say one station and the next. It is not necessary to be at different windows; in fact a new kind of excitement comes in if both are at the same window or at windows on the same side, because then in addition to seeing the things there is the fun of not letting the other think you have seen them.

This is a kind of "Roadside Whist," the rules for which will be found on page 163. As has been said there, most players will prefer to draw up their own scoring table; but the following things and figures may be found useful as a foundation:—