Pioneer Games
Jen (thanks Jen for sharing these with us)
Kona, Hawaii Stake
I Have a Basket
To play this game the players for a circle. The first player begins the game by saying “I have a basket.” The person beside him or her asks, “What’s inside?” The first player has to name something that starts with the letter A. The seconds person has to name an object with a B and so on.
Post Office
In this game each player chooses the name of a city. One player is the postal clerk. The rest of the players sit in a circle. The clerk calls out “The mail is going from Salt Lake City to Chicago” (or any other two cities). The players who chose those cities have to exchange seats without letting the postal clerk steal either or their seats.
Ring Taw
Draw a large ring in the ground. Draw a smaller circle inside it and place several small marbles, called nibs, in the circle. The players crouch outside the large ring. From there, each player takes a turn flicking a large marble, called a shooter, into the circle. The goal is to knock other marbles out of the circle. Each player keeps the marbles he or she knocks out. The winner is the player with the most marbles.
Shinney
Shinney was a popular boys game. It was similar to ice hockey but was played in the open fields or on empty lots. Each player had a stick and used it to hit a small ball into a goal area. Most children used tree branches for sticks and everything from a ball of yarn to a crushed tin can for a ball.
Other Toys and Games
Hoop and Stick
Graces
Jump Rope
Battledore and
Shuttlecock
Kick the Can
Hide and Seek
Ninepins
Yo-yo
Tops
Jacks
Puddle Jumpers
Mancala
Checkers
Sominoes
Card Games (Old Maid)
Tic-Tac-Toe
Jacob’s Ladder
Cat’s Cradle
Pecking Chickens
Buzz Saw
Cup and Ball
Corn Cob Darts
Climbing Bears
Jack Straws (Pick up Sticks)
Marbles
Dancing Man
Acrobats
Jaw Harps
Pendulum Toys
Stiching Blocks
Spool Loom
Dro Spindle
Tin or Wooden Whistles
Horns
Dolls
Square and Folk Dancing
