Web Page 3077 16th November 2023 First Picture: Blind Mans Buff

Second Picture Musical Chairs

Third Picture: Pin the tail on the donkey

Fourth Picture: The Farmers in his den

Birthday Party Games When I was a child birthday parties were fairly small affairs and were always held in the birthday child’s home with a handful of their schoolmates and young relatives invited. We always had a birthday tea and a cake with candles on it and the rest of the time was filled with party games. It’s interesting that some games we are very familiar with from childhood, appear in similar forms all over the world. Are there reasons why we play them which are common to all people? A lot of these games have a different appearance due to the culture they’re from, but are constructed in the same fashion Blind Man’s Buff A version of the game was played in Ancient Greece where it was called “copper mosquito.” The game is played by children in Bangladesh where it is known as Kamanchi meaning blind fly. One individual is blind-folded in order to catch or touch one of the others who run around repeating, “The blind flies are hovering fast! Catch whichever you can!” The game was played in the Tudor period, as there are references to its recreation by Henry VIII’s courtiers. It was also a popular parlour game in the Victorian Era. I have recently learned that the name of the game is now considered offensive by some and that the blindfolding of a child can be looked on as dangerous. Musical Chairs The origins of the game’s name as “Trip to Jerusalem” is disputed. However, it is known to come from its German name Reise Nach Jerusalem (“The Journey to Jerusalem”). One theory suggests that the name was inspired by The Crusades wherein several heavy losses were incurred. Pin the Tail on the Donkey Pin the tail on the donkey is a game played by groups of children. The earliest version listed in a catalogue of American games compiled by the American Game Collectors Association in 1998, is dated 1899, and attributed to Charles Zimmerling. My parents bought a a commercial set complete with a picture of a donkey and a fabric tail and then we all had a go at pinning the tail on the donkey. Pass the Parcel Research tells us that this is of British origin unlike Blind Man’s Buff which crops up in many cultures. Back in the 1950s the music was either played on a gramophone or on a piano. The parent operating the stop-start music kept a careful eye on the passing of the parcel to make sure everyone had a turn and to ensure that the birthday child was not the one to open the last layer which contained the prize. Back then it was something small like a chocolate bar. Musical Statues It seems that this game appears in various countries and has quite a long history. Some countries know it was Freeze Dance or Frozen Statues. Some homes had a parent who played the piano and some had a gramophone with a parent lifting the stylus – just like Pass the Parcel and Musical Chairs. Spin the Bottle/ Plate On a personal note, I absolutely hated forfeit games! At some of the bigger parties like village parties there was the dreaded spin the plate/ bottle game. If the bottle finished its spin pointing to you or if you spun the plate and didn’t get back to your seat in the circle you had to do a forfeit. This usually involved having to sing a song, recite a poem or do something like hop around the room. My worst nightmare!! The Farmers I his den A version of tag where the children all stand in a circle and one is designated the farmer and he has to walk round the outside of the circle and then taps one child on the shoulder, a race around the ring then ensues to see who can get back to the space first. These were the days of innocence! Stay in touch Peter GSSeditor@gmail.com