Are you there, Moriarty? Ouch!

The Victorians were a jollier lot than you, perhaps, suppose, to misquote WS Gilbert.

Could you identify these arcane Victorian games?

1. One word, three syllables, children's book. Starts with ….mime moggie stalking mouse… What are you playing? Charades.
2. You need bedroom shoes to play this game. Okay, we might let you use a flip-flop. What is it? Pass the Slipper.
3. You hock your personal items by putting them in a box. Then you have to do something crazy to get them back. What is this called? Forfeits.
4. 'It' hides an object in plain sight. Everybody else tries to guess. This could be fun, but what's it called? Lookabout.
5. It involves a pillow, a blindfolded farmer, and much sitting on laps. Racy for its day. What was the name of this game? Squeak Piggy Squeak. (The 'piggy' has to squeak, and the farmer has to identify the squeaker. Oh, the excitement. Be still, my heart…)
6. Named for a clergyman who should have been investigated, we think. Everybody holds hands in a circle – but not the hand of the person next to them. Then they disentangle in an insane standing version of Twister. Imagine doing this in Victorian dress. Do you know the name of this weird cultic practice? Reverend Crawley's Game. Nobody knows who this Reverend Crawley was, but Milton Bradley would probably have hired him.
7. This one is all Rudyard Kipling's fault. You list things you see on a tray after seeing them for only a short time. What's this spy training exercise called? Kim's Game.
8. Blindfolds again. Dueling newspapers. And a reference to Sherlock Holmes. What's it called? Are You There, Moriarty? We suggest an updated version with nerf bats.
9. Players in a circle list items they bought in a store, starting with the one the game is named for. Some players are 'in the know', others are clueless. The 'in the know' players allow or disallow the objects until the clueless players guess what the underlying principle is. This is more fun than it sounds like, but what did the Victorians call this game? Hint: it's named after an object you'd better not have in your home these days, or PETA will picket you. Elephant's Foot Umbrella Stand. (The next item has to start with the next letter in that phrase. It's like 'scissors crossed and uncrossed' without the scissors.)
10. Random words are chosen by the group. Then a story is read aloud, inserting the random choices. Hilarity ensues. What do you call this form of group composition? Consequences.

Wow. Those Victorians were pretty exciting. Okay, they didn't form raid teams to go after the monsters in the virtual dungeons. But you know? They probably had a pretty good time. No word on how many times the emergency crew were called out to disentangle the Reverend Crawley's Game players.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

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