Mouchard

A great little game for both adult and children's parties that goes under many names but I learnt it as Mouchard.Everyone spreads about the room and then closes their eyes. The party leader then chooses one player to open their eyes (by a tap on the shoulder). The game begins. Players walk around the room (eyes closed) and when they meet someone they must hold hands and say, "Mouchard?". If the

Family Snap

You are having a party with your bright young friends (maybe to celebrate exemplary examination results) and Winterton Bell-Morris pipes up, "Let's play a party game - what shall we play?"Family Snap is a game in which success depends entirely upon keenness and quick-wittedness.Before the game make a list of names which resemble each other enough to be confusing. If there are 12 players then the

Bell Battle

A great lost party game. Bell Battle is the perfect game to make even the most lumpish partygoer into a model of delicacy.Simply pair up players (one large with one smaller). The stronger of the pair gives the smaller a piggy-back. Each rider is given a handbell to carry. The team whose bell is last to ring is the victor.For added complexity play the game with each rider wielding a sword as well

Toe Fencing / Metatarsal Manoeuvre

All the best games have a bizarre, brutish element to them. Toe Fencing is one such game - basic and brutal.For two players. Each faces the other and holds hands firmly. Each tries to stomp on the other's toes. The first person to stamp three times on their opponent's toes winsstrange games no:43...category:playground games STUPID GAMES

Numbered Seats

A game with no end, no winner and the ability to cause headaches after only a few minutes play. Numbered Seats is a great party game for groups of any age.Get ten chairs and arrange them into a horseshoe formation. Number them 1 to 10. Partygoers sit on a chair (remembering its number).One person starts by calling out a number (between 1 and 10) and the person occupying that chair must call out

Thieves

Another blindfold game that has sadly declined in popularity. Thieves is probably the most fun you can have with just a blindfold, some handbells and a stick.One player is blind folded and sits on the floor in the centre of the circle with his treasure close by in front of him. The treasure can be anything, but we used to play with a set of handbells. He has in his possession a stick (or rolled

Drawing Room Acrobatics # 1: Furthest Penny

There are many feats which can be performed in a small room without injury to either furniture or oneself. Furthest Penny is one of the finest.For two persons of equal height. Keeping your feet behind a line you must stretch along the ground supported on your left hand ONLY and place a penny as far away from the line as possible using your right hand. You must then (still supporting your weight

Trussed Fowls

Amongst the legion of really strange party games Trussed Fowls stands out as being truly bizarre (although I have played Battle le Trec, more of which later).Trussed Fowls is a game for two partygoers at a time. Each is trussed. This means wrists are firmly tied, ankles are firmly tied and then the player crouches down so his elbows are below his knees. A long stick is then slipped over one elbow

Kittiwake

Another brilliant blindfolded game that has strangely fallen out of fashion. Pair up the partygoers ( 3 or 4 pairs are a good number to play with but you can experiment). One person in each pair is taken out of the room and blindfolded. Their partner is then given a common, short phrase or word, we always used "kittiwake", "rag 'n' bone", "boiled onions", and told to pick a spot somewhere near

Slave Market

I first came across this game in the 1950s but by its nature I'm sure it has a longer history than that. Slave Market is a game so politically incorrect that it must surely be due to make a resurgence in a post-modern ironic kind of way.Divide the partygoers into slaves (say 6 people), an auctioneer, and the slave buyers (the rest). Each buyer is given a set number of counters to act as money (

Ten Step Blindman

Ten Step Blindman is a superior variant of Blind Man's Buff. One player is Blindfolded and stands in the centre of the room. All other players stand by him and then they all walk ten (normal size) steps away from him in any direction they want. The Blindman now has ten steps, and only ten steps, of his own to try and touch a man. Players are allowed to twist and move their body any way they like

Rhubarb Race

An elementary, brutal, garden game. Rhubarb Racing is three legged racing's minacious cousin. Simply sort your players into groups of five or six. Bind each group of players together at waist level using copious amounts of rope (like sticks of rhubarb). Then the groups race against each other over a set distance. For more fun each player should shout "rhubarb" as they run and spectators can shout