To play this game successfully two of the company privately agree upon a word that has several meanings. The two then enter into a conversation, which is obliged to be about the word they have chosen, whilst the remainder of the company listen.
When a member of the party imagines that he has guessed the word, he may join in the conversation, but if he finds he is mistaken, must immediately retire.
To give an illustration: Supposing the two players who start the conversation decide upon the word box. They might talk about the people they had seen at the theatre and the particular part of the house in which they were sitting. Then they might say how nice it looked in a garden, and one might mention that it grew into big trees. Perhaps one of the company might imagine that he had guessed the word correctly and join in, when the conversation would be immediately changed, and the two would begin to converse about a huge case in which a very great number of things were packed away. By this time possibly the person who joined in the conversation will leave off, completely mystified.
If, however, the word should be correctly guessed, the person guessing it chooses a partner, and they together select a word, and the game begins again.
GUILTY OR INNOCENT?
One of the company gets himself up to represent the old man of the woods, the rest take the names of various animals, such as lion, tiger, leopard and so on.
The players seat themselves round the room, and the old man standing in the centre tells them that some of their number have committed a crime and he is about to question them, in order that he may discover the guilty ones. He then begins—"Now, Mr. Lion, where have you been hunting, and what have you eaten to-day?" "I hunted in the forest and caught an antelope." "Then you are twice guilty and must pay two forfeits," says the old man; and the lion must pay his forfeit without being told the crime he has committed. The old man passes on to a Polar Bear. "Where did you hunt and what have you eaten?" he asks.—"I hunted in the water and had a fine fish to eat." The Polar Bear is pronounced innocent. The real game is that no animal may bring in the letter "o" either in their hunting ground or the food they eat. "Forest" and "Antelope" both have an "o" in them, so the lion has to pay two forfeits whereas "Water" and "Fish" having no "o" the bear was declared innocent. The great fun is for the old man to keep the secret of "guilty" or "innocent" to himself; but even if the other players know the secret, it is very difficult not to make a slip, as the answers must be given promptly.
When the game is over the players must pay for their forfeits in any way the old man decides.
GUESSING GROCERIES
Into bits of muslin should be tied samples of groceries—tea, coffee, starch, rice, beans, spices, etc. The players are allowed one guess for each sample, depending entirely upon the sense of feeling, and the one guessing the largest number correctly is given a prize. The hostess should have the samples numbered in order to keep count of the guesses. One young lady has a lot of pretty little silk bags filled with these samples and uses them again and again, and they always bring the same amount of fun.