RAINY-DAY GAMES
This is a chapter written to meet the needs of several children shut up together in bad weather. The chapter on "Indoor Occupation and Things to Make" gives suggestions for a single child, but here are a few suggestions for several occupations for a group of children, which do not mean the destruction of the furniture.
Any one of the games given in the chapter "In the Train" is suitable for rainy days.
There are of course many games treated elsewhere in this book which can be played on rainy days indoors. Many of the parlor and outdoor games are equally suitable for indoors. All the card games and back-gammon, checkers, etc., are invaluable resorts in case of a long dreary day, but there are a few other recreations which, in some families are saved for such occasions.
Bean-Bags
One of these is the old fashioned game of bean-bag. One rainy morning can be spent in making the outfit. The girls can be occupied in making the cloth bags, from six to ten inches square, partly filled with beans: and the boys in making the board which is shown in the illustration.
It should be about three feet square of any sort of boards and propped up at one side so that it forms an inclined plane. Five holes are cut in it, about seven inches square, all but the centre one which is only five inches square. The players stand off from six to twelve feet according as their skill increases with practice and try to throw the bags through the holes. There are various rules for playing the game which you can arrange to suit yourself, or to make a change. One way is have the bags in sets of six, each six being of one color, different from the others. The players stand in a line and all throw at once, trying to get their six bags in the holes as soon as possible. When they have thrown their bags they rush up to the board, gather up those which have gone wild and run back to the firing line. The one who gets his six bags in first wins the game. A bag thrown through the small centre hole counts as two.