A summary of what games the colonists played

By Daniel Charnis 7C3 ID2

I would like you to know that the colonists had huge families, so therefore it was not rare to find games like “Boys vs. Girls” or

“Family vs. Family”

Believe it or not, games like checkers, fox and geese, etc were played with corn as

counters. Corn was often grown in plantations, and since there was plenty of it, they used it for games. With that aside, lets

take a look at what games the colonists played!

Nine Man Morris was popular among the kids. Even though most people played it with acorns on the dirt, it can be played on paper. Using pennies, and sometimes corn, each player uses a penny to line up with a dot. If you get three pennies in a row, you capture the other players’ pennies. You can block your opponent from

getting three in a row by putting a penny on the dot. To win the game, you have to get the other player down to two pennies. Adults’ sometimes keep the

loser’ pennies.

Blind Man's bluff was a family game. One person from the family (not necessarily a male) was blindfolded. Even though anyone could be the blindfolded person, it was mostly the adults, since the children could easily get hurt. Usually, one member of the

family supervised the blindfolded person. It is traditional that the blindfolded person is to spin five times before hunting. During this time, the other players would run away. While he or she finished

spinning, the other players must stop in place. The players scream “Blind man’s BLUFF!”, and the goal of the game was for the blindfolded person to find the other players with vocal clues.

Jack straws was a very simple, yet very fun game. The colonists would gather wooden sticks.

One person would drop all the sticks into one pile. One person would try to take a stick out without moving the others. If another stick

moved, then the point would not count. Then using your first stick, you pick up the others. The

person with the most stick wins.

Hide the Slipper was another basic, but very fun game. Everyone (known as cobblers) except one person would line up in a circle. The non-cobbler

would close his eyes, and the cobblers would pass around a slipper. The non-cobbler would ask

questions about the slipper. He had three guesses. Once the game was over, the person

that had the slipper last became the non-cobbler.

Blow out is one of the oldest games in history. Each

player gets five marbles. It is a two player game. The first player tosses a marble, and tries to hit the

opponents marble. If he or she hits it, the shooter keeps the marble ,and that person gets another

opportunity to shoot again. If he or she misses, the next person goes. The objective is to own all of the

players marbles’. Sometimes adults keep them for life.

Even though the colonists and their families’

were constantly working, they did find time to have fun. Many of the fames they played were also originating from their old homeland. They

also learned/played many games with the Indians when they first settled. Some families created their own games, and passed them down from generation to generation. Some of the games

evolved into others.

Colonial Family Picture: http://www.history.org/Almanack/images/famwdct.jpg

Nine Man Norris Picture- http://mahan.wonkwang.ac.kr/link/med/folk/game/9manmor.gifCorn Picture- http://image.fg-a.com/food_0020w.gif

Blind Man’s Bluff Picture- http://www.1771.org/images/col_day/games_blind_man.gif Jack Straws Picture-

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28129/28129-h/images/illus058a.png Hide the slipper: http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/44340-large.jpg

Marbles picture- http://thepqnation.com/livingwicked/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/marbles.jpg

Conclusions picture- http://www.historicaltoymaker.com/09FamilyLife_colwb_colonial_playing_horse.jpgWorks

Cited "17th-Century Pastimes and Sports (Colonial Times Reference, 3rd-8th Grade) -

TeacherVision.com." Teacher Lesson Plans, Printables & Worksheets by Grade or Subject - TeacherVision.com. Web. 20 Dec. 2009.

<http://www.teachervision.fen.com/sports/activity/5772.html>. "Colonial Games." Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County. Web. 20 Dec. 2009.

<http://www.ssdsbergen.org/Colonial/games.htm>. Heinrichs, Ann. Maine (America the Beautiful. Third Series). New York: Children's, 2008.

Print. Morse, Earle, Alice. Home life in colonial days. Stockbridge, Mass: Berkshire

Traveller/Berkshire House, 1992. Print. Morse, Earle, Alice. Home life in colonial days. Stockbridge, Mass: Berkshire

Traveller/Berkshire House, 1992. Print.