Our Childhood Games

Good as Ever

by Carol Sutton

WE ALL HAVE FOND MEMORIES of the childhood games we played, but if your’e scratching your head trying to remember the details of how to play some of them, scratch no more. Here is a listing of all of the Guild favorites and instructions for how the Guilds played them. If you introduce these to your kids or grandchildren you’ll be keeping a channel of creative play open. It’s worth noting that these games require nothing more than just “being there” or some minor prop such as a can or button or handkerchief. They also involve touching contact you just can’t get from a toy or computer; all valuable contributions for the healthy socialization of kids. Once your youngsters learn these, you can be sure they will remain powerful memories in their minds and hearts throughout their adult years.

“YOUR IT!”

The first thing to be decided in many games is who will be “It”, who goes first, and how to divide up the teams. Remember the rhyme we used to say? Eeeny, meeny, miney, moe, Catch a tiger by the toe, If he hollers, let him go, Eeeny, meeny, miney, moe. My mother says to choose the very best one, and you are It. As the rhyme is said, the counter goes around the circle pointing at each player with each syllable he speaks. At the end of the rhyme the person the counter points at is “It” or on his team. TAG

Two or many players. The simplest game ever. One person is arbitrarily named “It” by saying, “your’e It!”, and everyone else runs from that person. “It” tries to touch (tag) any other person they can catch by chasing them and that person becomes “It.” That tagged person tries to touch another person who is then “It,” and so forth until the game becomes tiring or boring.

For little kids

The first game Mom taught the Guild children. The players stand in a circle and join hands. They sing this traditional rhyme and fall to the ground as they sing the last line: Ring around the rosy, Pocket full of posies, Ashes, ashes, we all fall down. A note: Lyrics originally referred to The Plague Ring around the rose—Plague sores started with a red ring Pocket full of posies—Kept flowers in pockets to mask the stench of bodies about Ashes ashes, we all fall down—Victims became ashen before dying, also their bodies were burned

One person is designated as “It” and is given a handkerchief. The rest of the players form a circle facing in and hold hands. “It” walks slowly around the outside of the circle, chanting:

A tisket, a tasket, A green and yellow basket I wrote a letter to my love, And on the way I dropped it Dropped it once, I dropped it twice, I dropped it three times over. ALL CHANT: A little child picked it up, And put it in its pocket.

“It” may drop the handkerchief behind anyone in the ring on any of the three times he/she says the word “dropped” at his/her option. When that player realizes that the handkerchief has been dropped behind him/her, he/she must take off at a run in pursuit of “It.” “It” tries to get around to the empty spot in the circle before being tagged. If “It” is tagged before reaching the other player’s spot, he/she must continue as “It” and drop the handkerchief again. But if he/she reaches the empty spot, the player left on the outside the circle becomes the new “It.”

One person is chosen as the leader, then the rest of the group must do everything the leader does. Each player follows the other in a line close behind the leader. The leader could skip, jump, run, hop, jump over things, or turn somersaults and cartwheels. The leader should figure out interesting, unusual, or even difficult things to do. After a few minutes change leaders so that everyone has a chance to be the leader.

Two players are chosen to form the bridge. They face each other, raise their arms above their heads, and join hands. The other players form a single-file line at one side of the bridge. Together all the players sing: London bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down, London bridge is falling down My fair lady. While singing, the players march in a line through the arch formed by the bridge players. As they exit the bridge they return the other side of the bridge where they started and continue to pass until the words, “My fair lady.” Then the arch players lower their arms over the player who happens to be standing underneath, taking him/her “prisoner.” The prisoner is parceled away from the group as the bridge players waltz them away and back while all sing the second verse: Off to prison he/she must go, He must go, he must go, Off to prison he must go, My fair lady. The prisoner is released and becomes the next partner in making the bridge. The other partner joins the line and the players march again through the succeeding verses of the song. A player is imprisoned with every “My fair lady.” And each succeeding prisoner gets a turn being half of the bridge, until all have had a turn in the line and as a bridge partner. I found these additional verses but we did not know of them:

Build it up with iron and bars, Iron and bars, iron and bars, build it up with iron and bars, My fair lady

Iron bars will rust away, Rust away, rust away, Iron and bars will rust away, My fair lady

Build it up with steel and stone, Steel and stone, steel and stone, Build it up with steel ad stone, My fair lady

Steel and stone will bend and break Bend and break, bend and break, Steel and stone will bend and break, My fair lady.

The second verse is always: Off to prison he/she must go, He must go, he must go, Off to prison he must go, My fair lady. BLIND MAN’S BLUFF

One player is blindfolded and stands in the center of a circle formed by the other players. Players in the circle join hands and move the circle around in one direction until the signal of three handclaps is given by the “blind man.” When the blind man claps, the circle stops moving, and the blind man points at one of the other players. The blind man then gets one chance to guess the identity of the player he has pointed out. If the guess is correct, the blind man and the player exchange places. If the blind man is wrong, the other player must step into the center of the circle. While still blindfolded, the blind man attempts to tag the other player in the center, who tries to avoid being caught. Once tagged, however, this player must remain still while the blind man tries to identify him by touching clothing, facial features, and hair. This player, once identified, is blindfolded for the next round, and the blind man joins the circle.

BUTTON, BUTTON, WHO’S GOT THE BUTTON?

One person is “It” and has a button between the palms of his/her hands. The rest of the players sit on the couch in the living room with their hands pressed together (as in prayer) in front of them. The person who is “It” runs his closed hands between the player’s closed hands and drops the button secretly in someone’s hands. Then each person takes turns guessing who has the button. The person who has the button must bluff while guessing so as not to disclose that he/she has it. The person who guesses right is “It” for the next round.

Make a large circle (twenty to fifty feet in diameter) and segment it into eight sections (like pieces of a pie) by stamping the snow down with your feet. One player is chosen to be “It”. To begin the game, “It” stands at the center of the circle and the players line up on the circle’s outer edge. The player’s run away from “It” to avoid being tagged. However, all players, including “It.” may only run along the lines marked in the snow. A player becomes “It” when tagged or if he/she runs off the lines.

Choose a player to be “It.” Use a tree or a wall for home base. “It” stands at home base, closes his/her eyes, and counts to 100 while the other players scatter around the playing area in search of hiding places. Upon reaching 100, “It” uncovers his/her eyes and announces in a loud voice, “Ready or not, here I come!” “It” starts searching the area for hiding players. The hiders wait for an opportunity when “It” is looking the other way to rush to home, calling, “home free” upon reaching it. If “It” spots a player on the way home, a race to the base ensues. “It” tags any runner before he/she reaches home, that player is the next person to be it, and the game starts over. If other players are still hiding when “It” has caught someone, anyone calls “Ally, ally, oxen all in free!”

Choose a Hopscotch pattern and mark it on the sidewalk or pavement in chalk or draw it in the dirt with a stick. The pattern used by the Guilds had ten spaces. (the Hopscotch pattern is called a court) The first player stands outside the pattern and tosses a rock into the square labeled “1.” The marker must land completely within the space or the player forfeits a turn. The player then hops through the pattern on one foot for single spaces and two feet for side-by-side or double-spaces. The player alternates from one foot to two as required by the pattern (single spaces on one foot, side by side spaces on two feet) When they reach the top two spaces they must do a two-footed turnaround and hop back through the pattern. As the player works his/her way back through the pattern, he/she must stoop on one foot, or two depending on where they are in the pattern, and pick up their rock and carry it out with them. If the players miss their rock throw they forfeit their turn. If they step on a line or out of the pattern they must quit their turn, and must throw their rock into that same space on their next turn. When all the players have had a turn, the first player throws the rock into the next higher numbered space (where he or she left off) and hops through the pattern and back again. The first player to navigate all the spaces successfully wins the game.

The players gather in a circle, seated on the ground. They all face the leader, who is seated in the center. The leader begins the game by tossing the potato to one of the other players. The leader then closes his/her eyes while the other players continue to pass the potato at random, keeping it in their possession for as short a time as possible, as if the potato were steaming hot, right out of the oven. After a short period, the leader calls out, “Hot!” The player caught holding the hot potato is eliminated and the leader begins the toss again. The game continues until all players but one have been ousted from the circle. This player is the winner.

One player is chosen to “spy” an object he/she sees in the room or the immediate environment. He/she begins the game by saying, “I spy with my litle eye something red” (or any other color ). The other players call out their guesses, in no particular order. The “spy” tells them whether or not they are correct. The player who first guesses correctly gets to “spy” the next object. This game can also be played by using the first letter of the object. For example: “I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘T’”

A Guild Girls’ obsession

The basic Jacks game was onesies, twosies, threesies. Usually sitting, the first player scatters the jacks on the floor or sidewalk. In onesies, the player picks up one jack at a time, with one toss and one bounce and catch of the ball. After picking up all ten (one by one), you move on to twosies. In this round you pick up the jacks two at a time and so on. When a player misses a jack or the ball, her/his turn is over, and the other player begins. The first player to make it successfully through basic tensies wins. Once a player has successfully completed Basic Jacks through tensies she/he goes on to more difficult variations, again starting with onesies and proceeding through tensies.

Sweeps: Instead of picking up the jacks, we swept them close to our body. Eggs in the Basket: We tossed the ball, picked up a jack and put it into our left hand before catching the ball. Double Bounce: We let the ball bounce twice before catching it. Crack the Egg: We tapped (cracked) each jack on the ground with the right hand before putting it in the left hand. Pigs in the Blanket: We tossed the ball, picked up the jack and nestled it under our left hand, which was cupped.

ONE O’CLOCK AND THE GHOST ISN’T HERE. (See page 20, Barb’s memories for Guild rules.)

(Pure Guild Version.)

Kick the Can is the favorite American version of Hide-and Seek. We often played this in the street in front of 3209. The player selected to be “It” has the pleasure of choosing who will kick an old tincan as far as possible to signal the start of the game. The instant the can is kicked the players run to find hiding places, usually within prescribed boundaries. (For instance, our yard and McFarland’s yard only.) If the kicker purposely doesn’t kick the can hard the players chide him, shouting, “baby kick” and make him or her kick it over again. “It” then runs after the can, replaces it in its original spot, now called “home base”, and counts to fifty out loud, with eyes closed, usually with face to a tree trunk, to give the other players that amount of time to hide. “It” can cheat by skipping numbers but must start over if caught by someone near enough to hear. After “It” has finished counting, he/she proclaims, “Ready or not, here I come!” and sets out in search of the hiding players. When “It” spots a player, he/she calls out the hider’s name and rushes to beat that player back to put his foot on the can. If “It” gets there first he calls the person, “out,” and the hider is captured and must remain silent or else he/she becomes “It.” When all players are caught the last payer is “It” on the next turn. Captured players can be freed by a hiding player who gets to the can without being spied by “It” and manages to kick the can, yelling, “Home free!” “It” tries to protect the can from this but may not pick it up to do so, and may not carry the can around with him in searching for hiders. We allowed tripping, shoving, and tackling to protect the can. If he fails, everyone then gets to hide again. And “It” is still it and has to start the game over. In this manner, one inept kid can be forced to be “It” for the whole time the game is played if the other kids decided to be mean, which we sometimes most definitely were.

To start off, one person is designated the “King” and he/she stands on the top of a small hill or mound, ready to guard against attacks from the other players. The other players try to push or pull the King down from the hill so that they can take over the “Kingdom.” This game results in a continual turnover in who rules as the “King of the Hill,” because players are constantly dethroning each other. This game usually turns into plain roughhousing if it goes on too long.

MOTHER, MAY I?

Choose a player to serve as “Mother” and designate start and finish lines, about twenty-five feet apart. The player selected to be Mother stands at the finish line, the others line up at the start. One at a time, the players suggest how they would like to move toward Mother, and Mother tells the players how they may move. For example, Carol asks, “Mother, may I take two giant steps?” Mother may respond, “No, Carol, but you may take five baby steps.” Carol must then ask, “Mother, may I?” If Mother replies, “Yes, you may,” Carol is allowed to take five baby steps toward the finish line. Mother also has the option of refusing Carol permission: “No, Carol, you may not.” In this case, she is not allowed to move. This continues along the line of players until all are moving toward the finish. Any player who advances without asking, “Mother, may I?” must return to the starting line and begin again. The first player to reach Mother wins. This game is admittedly controlled at the whim of Mother, but if each player is given a chance to be Mother and direct the game in his or her own fashion, all will end well.

The players form a circle and sing the following children’s rhyme, while acting out the motions described in the verses: (Walk around the circle) Here we go ‘round the mulberry bush, The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush. Here we go ‘round the mulberry bush, So early in the morning. (Make clothes-washing motions) This is the way we wash our clothes, Wash our clothes, wash our clothes. This is the way we wash our clothes, So early in the morning. (Kneel on the ground and make ironing motions) This is the way we iron our clothes, Iron our clothes, iron our clothes. This is the way we iron our clothes, So early in the morning. (Pretend to sew) This is the way we mend our clothes, Mend our clothes, mend our clothes. This is the way we mend our clothes, So early in the morning. (Pretend to sweep the floor with a broom) This is the way we sweep our floors, Sweep our floors, sweep our floors. This is the way we sweep our floors, So early in the morning. Players can take turns making up their own verses to add like: Wash our hair. Rock our baby. Spank the kids, etc.

Two teams of equal number, each with a Captain, are formed. One team lines up, holding hands. The other team stands opposite them in a row. The Captain of the team now holding hands designates a member of the other team by calling out, “Red Rover, Red Rover, let Bobby come over.” Bobby runs over to the line and tries to break through the line of arms and hands. If he is successful, a member of the team holding hands must be forfeited to the other team. If he is unsuccessful, he must join the team he just tried to break through. The other team now lines up holding hands and the process is repeated. The team with the most players, after a given amount of playing time, wins.

(A lazy, but fun, game)

One player is chosen to be the “sculptor” and the others will be the “statues.” The sculptor takes each player by the hand and twirls him/her around twice, then lets go. The twirled player freezes into a statue form. The statue can be funny, elegant, athletic, anything the player wants. The statues must hold their positions until all the players have been twirled. The sculptor then chooses a favorite statue, who becomes the next sculptor.

One player is chosen to be the leader, “Simon.” The leader faces the group, issues any command he makes up, such as: “Simon says, clap your hands.” while demonstrating the action. The group must perform the activity commanded only if the leader states “Simon says, clap your hands” If the leader simply says, “clap your hands “ without saying the words, “Simon says,” the group is not to copy Simon’s action. If they do the action anyway, they are out of the game. Also, if the player does not properly imitate Simon’s movement, that player is eliminated. Simon should try to confuse the other players by giving commands so rapidly the players will have a hard time keeping up, and try to slip in a “Do this” without a “Simon says” in order to fool the players into following. The last player remaining wins and becomes Simon for the next round.

Appoint captains who will choose their teams. It’s best to try and have teams of matched strength as this adds drama to the game. Establish a center-line in the pulling area. The teams line up single file on either side of this line. Tie a rag around the rope to mark its center and place the rag over the center-line. Each player should hold onto the rope, with three or four feet between players, and with players alternating on each side of the rope. A particularly strong team member should be positioned at the end of the line as an “anchor.” At a signal, both teams attempt to pull the first member of the other team over the center-line with the rope. The game may end when that player steps over the line but more likely will finish with a bang as all the players go sprawling across.

(See Bernie’s memories for more about marbles.)

Draw a three-foot circle in the dirt on level ground. Everyone playing, places a predetermined number of marbles in the circle (usually 5) and then takes turns trying to shoot them out. All opponent’s marbles shot out are kept as the shooter’s winnings and the shooter may continue shooting as long as the previous shot knocks an opponent’s marble out. You may not shoot your own marbles out to protect them. You can use any size shooter that you can manage. The shooter is placed in the crook of the second joint of the index finger and flicked out with the thumbnail. Players may not place their shooting hand inside or above the ring but may launch their shooter from above ground-level outside the ring. Shooters may thrust their whole hand forward to gain momentum just before shooting, but lose their turn if they move over the line. When you shoot an opponent’s marble out, and your shooter stays in the ring, you may proceed to take your next shot from that point inside the ring but may not thrust your hand and must shoot “knuckles down” on the ground. If you shoot an opponent’s marble out of the circle and your shooter goes out of the circle, too, you must return their marble to anywhere in the ring, and your turn is over. If you fail to shoot an opponent’s marble out on any turn, your turn is over and the next player takes his/her (Marsha Johnson was the only girl who played) turn. The game is over when only one person has a marble or marbles left in the ring. He/she is declared the winner. The real winning is the loot of the marbles you have won. Players establish if the game is being played “for keeps” or not before the game begins. As a strategy, the weaker players should try to eliminate the strongest player’s marble from the ring first but may not plot together to do so.

(Had no name.)

After playing marbles, two or more players try to stick their knife as close to the middle of the circle drawn in the dirt as possible. The play begins when the players flip their knives, in turn, trying to stick them as close to the center as possible. Players, whose knives actually stuck in the circle rush in after the last player has tossed to make their claim by drawing their line with their knife to carve out the largest parcel and become the winner. MARKING OFF RULES: Players mark off the portion of the circle in a straight line projected to either side of their knife’s blade in a line that goes in the same direction as the width of the blade entered the ground. The lines in the circle were rubbed out and the play continued. This was a wild and dangerous game. Someone once got a knife cut in the face, but no one remembers who. There was a version of this game called “Kingdom” where the play continued beyond the first throw. Each player got subsequent turns to try to increase their part of the circle until one person owned the whole circle. This was done by sequential knife throws and annexing as much to your part of the circle as you could by connecting your knife blade line (same marking of rules) to your part and the nearest edge of the circle. Two good players can make this a good long game with much strategic planning to finally gain the whole circle. If, near the end, the opponents portion was smaller than his hand, he forfeited his last bit and lost the game.

Place your hand on the table or the ground. Stab your pocketknife between your outstretched fingers as fast as you can without cutting yourself. Go forward, then back. Do not pause between stabs or when you reverse direction. Yikes!

As a pastime, and for improving skill, a player balances an open pocketknife on the back of his hand and tries to flip it off with his other hand with a downward motion against the handle, in a manner that will cause it to stick when it lands on the ground.

(Guild version, for boys only.)

2 players stand 2 paces away from each other and take turns throwing their pocketknife near the feet of their opponent. On his turn the player tries to stick his pocketknife into the ground as close to his playmate’s closed feet as possible. If it doesn’t stick, the targeted player doesn’t have to move his feet. If it does stick, the playmate must move his feet to the spot where the knife sticks. Play continues as each takes turns throwing at the other’s feet until one is doing the splits and can stretch no further and the other player is declared the winner.

(A good indoor game.)

(We played it like they played it on the TV show: “Is it bigger than a breadbox?”)

The game needs two or more players. One of the players thinks of an object, secretly writes it on a piece of paper, and turns the paper over and uses the other side to keep count. The player then announces the object’s composition as animal, vegetable, or mineral. The other players then asks a cumulative total of 20 questions—not each—to try to guess the object. As each question is put to the player, he must reply either “yes,” or “no,” or “possibly,” as appropriate. If a player gets a “no” answer, the play proceeds to the next player and the count to 20 continues. Players ask questions of a general nature, to narrow down the possibilities in as few questions as possible rather than make random guesses, until they feel confident that they are near to knowing the object. The first player to guess the object correctly is the winner and gets to choose an object for the next round of play. If no one has guessed the object by the time 20 questions have been asked the person answering the questions wins and discloses his/her object, the players are told what it was. The same person then gets to choose an object for the next round.

At least six people sit in a line. The first person whispers a short (made up) story into the ear of the person next to him. That person whispers the story to the next person and so on until the last has heard the story. The last person then tells the story aloud. This inevitable leads to a very different and often funny version of the original story. Purposely changing the story is not allowed though many do.

Cops and Robbers Cowboys and Indians Croquet Drop the Clothespins in the Bottle Patty--cake Leap Frog Musical Chairs Pick Up Sticks

Pin the Tail on the Donkey Scavenger Hunt Treasure Hunt Baseball Football Basketball Ice-skating Roller-skating: Fasten skates to your shoes with a key. We used the neighbor’s sidewalks and paved driveways because the streets had no sidewalks. Spin the bottle Tug of war

Ball on a Paddle (Dad could do this so fast and never faltered.) Bean Bag Toss (Mom made the bags and filled them with beans.) String games like Cat’s Cradle, etc. (Explained in Carol’s memories.) Cootie Catchers (Explained in Bernie’s memories.) Tiddlywinks. Little round plastic or Bakelite coins called winks. Shot from where they lie into a cup. Pick Up Sticks (without moving any other stick in a pile.) Wood burning, coloring, cutting out paper dolls, bead stringing, making comic books out of the newspaper comics, paper airplane making, dress-ups, playing house, plaaying school, and playing doctor. Hand Shadows - Turn off all the lights but one and create figures against the wall by manipulating your hands and fingers. Bunny, flying bird, an Indian’s profile, etc. Spinning Tops - The top is set in motion either by twisting the spindle quickly between the palms of the hands or by winding a string around the upper part and jerking it free. With practice, players can make the top spin for a remarkable length of time before it slows and falls over. Also, boys annoyed girls by taking a jack and spinning it like a top.

Three objects (scissors, paper, and a rock) are indicated by three different hand gestures: a. Two fingers (index and middle) making a V-shape represent scissors. b. An open hand represents a piece of paper. c. A clenched fist represents a rock. The number of rounds announced at the time the game is played and the player who wins the most rounds wins the game. Each player hides one hand behind his back and forms his/her fingers into one of the three gestures. One of the players calls, “One, two, three” and as the third number is called out the players simultaneously show their gestures. The winner of a round is decided by whether his hand gesture is stronger than his opponent’s. Scissors can cut paper, paper may be wrapped around a rock, and a rock can blunt the scissors. If both players use the same hand gesture, the round is a draw.

One at a time, the players recite a tongue twister as many times as possible before tripping over their tongues. Whoever recites the most twisters, such as these, before making a mistake wins: “She sells seashells by the seashore.” “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many peppers did Peter Piper pick?”

YO-YO’S

A Filipino yo-yo salesman would come to the school yard for two days to demonstrate the various tricks you could perform with a Duncan loose-loop yo-yo with the hope that you would become so intrigued, you would go to a store and buy one. We always did. If you bought your yo-yo right away and brought it back the next day the Filipino fellow would quickly carve your name in it. You wound the string around the spindle inside the yo-yo halves and inserted your index finger through the loop at the end of the string while holding the yo-yo in the other hand. You then released the yo-yo and let it ride down the string. When it was almost at its fullest extent, you jerked the string to bring it back up to your hand and then you released it again. This movement could be continued indefinitely. Once you mastered the basic yo-yo technique, you could make a number fancy plays by throwing the yo-yo briskly to its free-spinning position (loose-loop) at the end of the string, where it continued to spin until you jerked the string to make it return to your hand. While at its free- spinning position, the yo-yo could be made to travel along the ground (Walking the Dog) or the string could be gathered up, while the yo-yo continued to spin, and could be manipulated into many different figures like “Cat’s Cradle”, “Swing”, “Trapeze”, etc.

Bingo Checkers Chinese Checkers Dominoes Monopoly Parcheesi Sorry Clue

Set up the game by drawing a square grid made up of dots. Four dots on each side is a good size to begin with. Choose one player to go first. This player draws a line between any two dots horizontally or vertically. The second player then draws a line connecting two or more dots. Eventually, one of the players will be able to form a box. That player puts his/her initial in the box and is given another turn. He/she may continue adding lines as long as each line forms a new box. If a new box can’t be made, the game resumes with the other player taking a turn. The player with the most boxes when all the dots are connected is declared the winner.

One player is chosen to be the “hangman.” He/she selects a word and records a series of dashes on the paper to represent the letters of the word. If the word is “mystery” the hangman will draw seven dashes: _ _ _ _ _ _ _. The first player tries to guess a letter that might be in the word. If the guess is correct, for example, a “Y,” the hangman fills in the corresponding blanks. If the player makes a wrong guess, however, the hangman begins to draw the victim on the gallows. For the first incorrect guess, the base is drawn, Subsequent incorrect guesses add the upright, then the arm, the support, the rope, the figure’s head, body, right arm, left arm, right leg, and left leg. If the left leg is added to complete the drawing before the word has been discovered, the hangman wins. When a player makes an incorrect guess, the hangman records the letter so that the other players don’t repeat the mistake. Any player who guesses the word before the figure is completely drawn beats the hangman.

Bernie would amuse us for hours playing this game. This is a game for two people, each of whom should have a piece of paper, and a colored pencil different in color from the other player’s. Each player scribbles very quickly on his piece of paper; the more abstract the squiggle, the better. Players then exchange papers and set themselves a time limit of about two minutes in which they must use every bit of the squiggle to make a picture. Ingenuity is more important than artistic ability.

Draw a simple diagram consisting of two vertical lines crossed by two horizontal lines making 9 boxes. One player takes “X” and the other “O” as his mark. Determine which player will go first. The player to go first marks his X or O in one of the boxes formed by the diagram. The other player then places his/her mark in one of the boxes. Both players attempt to get a row of three Xs or Os, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Continue alternating marks until one player has made a row of three marks, in which case he/she is the winner, or until all the boxes are filled and no one has a row, in which case the game is a draw. If both players concentrate, this game will always be a draw.

Crazy Eights Rummy War Go Fish Slap Jack 52-Card Pickup! (Bob’s favorite.) Old Maid Spoons