Buzz
Have you ever wondered how people entertained themselves at parties with friends before the advent of stereos, TVs, and the Internet? Party Fun: Wholesome Games From Around the World, a 1938 compilation by Helen Stevens Fisher, offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of party games enjoyed during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Fisher details some quirky and awkward party game ideas sent to her by hosts and hostesses from across the globe. These 10 games reveal just how desperate people must have been for entertainment to come up with such unusual concepts for their dinner parties.
10. Colonial Mitten
Fisher notes that the mitten game was a favorite pastime of George and Martha Washington when they hosted guests at their home. In fact, this peculiar American dinner party tradition persisted all the way into the 1930s.
Upon arriving at the host's house, partygoers were immediately forced to wear thick wool mittens, with their fingers tightly packed together, leaving only their thumbs free to move.
Guests were then instructed to race one another, using their mittened hands to complete nearly impossible tasks. They were required to button baby clothes, pick up individual grains of rice from the floor, and more. The host was also encouraged to create additional challenges to make the tasks even more difficult.
At dinner, guests had to eat while still wearing their mittens. The game suggested that the most challenging foods be served—foods that were difficult to eat without the use of fingers.
The person who managed to complete all their tasks most successfully by the end of the evening was declared the winner.
9. Vegetable Hop
Before the guests arrived, the host or hostess would scatter a variety of vegetables—ranging from tiny onions to large pumpkins—across the backyard and set a finish line.
Once the game began, the guests were set loose to pick up and carry as many vegetables as possible using only their hands, all while hopping on one foot. They were prohibited from using pockets, baskets, or any other tools to carry the vegetables.
If any player lost their balance while hopping on one foot, they were required to drop all their vegetables where they stood and restart the challenge.
Small vegetables were worth five points, medium were worth 10 points, and larger vegetables were worth 20 points. The game didn’t stop until all of the vegetables were picked off the ground.
At the end of the game, the person holding the vegetables totaling the highest number of points won.
8. Dogs And Cats
Before guests arrived, the host or hostess took an entire deck of playing cards and hid them around the house—under couch cushions, in drawers, inside of magazines, etc.
The captains were selected to lead teams called the 'Dogs' and the 'Cats.' Once the teams were chosen, the Dogs began searching the house for black cards, while the Cats hunted for red cards.
When a Dog discovered a black card, they had to freeze in place and bark loudly until the captain arrived to retrieve it. Similarly, when a Cat found a red card, they had to remain still and meow loudly until their captain collected it.
If a player found a card belonging to the other team, they had to hide it. They could even choose to conceal their opponent’s cards in harder-to-reach spots to make it more difficult for the opposing team.
The game came to a close when one team successfully gathered all the cards in their half of the deck.
7. Curio Party
This event was essentially an adult version of show-and-tell. Invitations instructed guests to bring along their most unusual or cherished item. Once gathered, the objects were laid out on the host’s dining table, and guests took turns sharing the backstory of their item, its significance, and where it came from.
By 1938, automobiles had been around for just a few decades, and road trips were still a fresh concept. It wasn't easy for people to discover new items, particularly those picked up during travels to different states or countries.
In an era when many people in the same community used similar everyday products, owning something unique or exotic in comparison to your neighbors was considered a novelty.
6. Sweet Spelling
The host prepared four sugar cubes, each with letters inked on every face. Guests then took turns tossing the cubes like dice, hoping the letters facing upward would form a word, even though the chances were incredibly slim.
According to the book, the host should write a different letter on each side of the sugar cubes, leaving out J, M, Q, V, X, and Z. The group continued throwing the sugar cubes onto the kitchen table until someone successfully formed a word. Like in Scrabble, players could have a dictionary nearby to settle any disputes over whether a word was valid.
The winner received the sugar cubes as their prize, albeit in a messy, ink-stained condition.
5. Kitchen Sounds
In the kitchen sounds game, guests stood in a room next to the kitchen, out of sight of the action. A screen or blanket might be draped across a clothesline to keep everyone, except the host, from seeing what was going on in the kitchen.
The host would then create a noise in the kitchen—whether mixing ingredients, cracking peanuts, sweeping the floor, chopping veggies, or something else. The guests had to listen carefully and try to identify what the sound was.
The first person to guess correctly would earn a point. As soon as the host heard the right answer from behind the curtain, they would move on to the next sound, continuing until there were no more noises left to make.
The guest who guessed the most kitchen sounds correctly was crowned the winner. This game must have been particularly popular in the 1930s, as the author mentioned it became “a very intense competition.”
4. Peanut Hunt
Peanut hunts were a popular activity in the 1920s and ’30s, much like the traditional Easter egg hunt, but with peanuts as the prize. Before the event started, the host would secretly hide peanuts in various spots around the house—behind furniture, inside books, and other surprising places.
At the start of the party, guests would race to find as many peanuts as possible, and whoever collected the most by the end would win a special prize. Afterward, everyone could enjoy the peanuts they gathered as a tasty snack.
This game became so well-loved that the author introduced a fancy version known as the “fancy peanut hunt.” This involved meticulously attaching colored ribbons to each peanut before hiding them, so guests could only keep the peanuts with the correct color ribbons tied to them.
3. Paper Bag Party
When the guests arrived at the party, they were handed paper bags with eye and mouth holes cut out. They were instructed to place the bags over their heads and secure them with a rope or ribbon, ensuring their faces were completely hidden.
Each partygoer had a number pinned to the front of their shirt. Along with a pencil and piece of paper, they were asked to guess the identities of their fellow guests hidden under the paper bags. They had to write down the numbers and the names they thought corresponded with each number.
The guest who correctly matched the most identities by the end of the event was declared the winner.
2. Hobo Party
The idea behind the hobo party was to take a dark, somewhat mocking approach to the plight of homeless individuals. The invitations asked guests to arrive in their oldest, most tattered clothing.
The celebration began in the basement, which had been filled with the oldest, most rusted items the family could scrounge up, creating a setting that embodied the theme.
The game of 'hopping a freight car' was designed to recreate how homeless men once climbed aboard moving trains as they tried to travel across the U.S. after the Great Depression. The host set up a series of wooden crates stacked together to simulate the train cars.
As guests wore their hobo outfits, music played, and they had to circle around imaginary freight cars. When the music halted, they had to race to jump on top of a wooden crate before anyone else. With fewer players, there were fewer crates to land on. Essentially, it was a more perilous, adult twist on musical chairs.
The second part of the hobo party involved an awkward, grown-up version of trick-or-treat. Guests were sent to knock on neighbors’ backdoors, begging for sandwiches and beer while still dressed in their hobo costumes.
Naturally, the neighbors had been informed in advance. The partygoers were then made to eat their meals outside on the back stoop, rather than in the comfort of the host’s kitchen.
1. Swinging Shoe
For the swinging shoe game, the host found an old, discarded shoe, tied a rope to it, and stood in the backyard. The guests were instructed to form a circle around the host. The host then began swinging the shoe in a circle by spinning the rope.
It’s important to remember that most shoes in the early 1900s were made of heavy leather. To avoid getting hit, guests had to jump whenever the swinging shoe came near their feet.
Given the nature of the game, it was practically impossible for the host to crouch low enough to keep the shoe from touching the ground. A fast-moving leather boot could easily take out a guest's ankles or calves.
