Activities: How To Play Victorian Parlour Games
The Victorians made Christmas a festival for the family and children, and any gathering was a good excuse to play parlour games. These were a popular form of entertainment and guides on how to play were printed by the hundreds in the books and magazines of the period.
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1. All players sit in a circle
2. Each player takes it in turns to say "Ha", "Ho" or "Hee".
3. The first player to start laughing loses and is out of the game.
4. Continue until everyone is out of the game.
5. The person who manages not to laugh for the longest is the winner.
1. Choose one player to be The Sculptor.
2. All other players stand in a still position.
3. The Sculptor must then move the other players into strange poses that are difficult to hold.
4. The other players must not laugh, break pose or move.
5. The Sculptor can distract the other players and encourage them to laugh, but they must not touch them.
6. The first player to move or laugh, loses and becomes The Sculptor.
1. One player needs to think of the name of an object. Tip: Make it more difficult by thinking of a word with multiple meanings, like male (masculine), mail (letters) and mail (armour).
2. The other players try to discover what it is by asking (only once) the following four questions:
How do you like it?
Why do you like it?
When do you like it?
Where do you like it?
3. Player 1 must answer the questions truthfully. Alternate between the meanings as appropriate for each question.
4. The person who guesses correctly wins, and then takes the role of Player 1.
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we play threwing a smile i was told this is an victorian game you have to threw your smile at someone the keep a stright face yourself!!
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We were delighted to see the set of lozenge cutters shown in the programme tonight as we have a set and always wondered what they were. The only likely suggestion had been that they were an apprentice piece to show off a metalworkers skill. Thanks for a wonderful series.
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