The Games in Lanes to amuse the Mundanes!

[Orphena]

Greetings! I am looking for suggestions / ideas / descriptions / variations of games that can be played in the lanes - I'm not talking the type of games that are paid for, or involve tournaments or lots of equipment, but more something casual that can be started and stopped at any time. 

For example, I've noted several courts playing a simple game of Forfeits - a roll of the dice, lowest number must fulfill a challenge (or a dare) or a task that is set by the highest number.

At our Piratefest, we've played a simple version on Loo - or Lutterloo, using a chest of treasure to wager with - it moves quickly, and people can sub in - and it makes for great photo ops as well!

What other types of games have you seen / participated in, etc.?  Some historical accuracy would be nice, but not strictly required.

[LadyFae]

Hopscotch!  =)  Not just for kids, it is HILARIOUS seeing adults bouncing around on the board scratched out in the dirt...

[Rowan MacD]

   We play something loosely related to Bocci ball (just the marker and 2 balls).
   The game makes as much sense as flamingo crochet, and the crazier the participants act the funnier it is.   Patrons in the way can sub as "hazards' and are worth arbitrary extra points.
   It's OK in crowds up to a point, but won't work with out some clear areas.
   You roll the balls and follow where they go, so you are constantly on the move.

   A wagering game designed for the average illiterate, was a game that even very young children can play.  I saw it a few years back...
  There is a cloth 'board' with 4 squares on it-each square is marked with a suit symbol: hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades.
   You 'wager' by placing your doubloons on the suit symbol you think will show when the top card is flipped on the deck. I'm pretty sure that's all there is to it.  The pirates would issue a patron or child a few plastic doubloons, and have the child attempt to 'win' a jewel or string of beads.
  The board is made by painting a handkerchief or some other square of  fabric.   

[Prima]

What about a variation of corn hole?  You could accomplish the basics of the game with or without a board and would only need bean bags which are a simplicity to make.  I vaguely remember a game similar to corn hole being played years ago by BARF cast member involving sicks and "rats".  Not very queenly, but I'm sure you can "class" it up!

[Sir Ironhead]

.  I vaguely remember a game similar to corn hole being played years ago by BARF cast member involving sicks and "rats".  Not very queenly, but I'm sure you can "class" it up!

They call it Rat-Pucking.  It kinda-sorta follows the same rules as golf.  You have to be sure of your pronunciation as there can be a bit of innuendo is some of the "plays".   

[Aderin]

I enjoy verbal games like naming related topics and competing to see who can name more items or who can keep from saying a certain word while continuing a conversation

but I understand that the game needs to be visible, so how about a little tag with a twist! if you tagged then you must stand on your head for 10 seconds! haha what a laugh.

[Jade]

but I understand that the game needs to be visible, so how about a little tag with a twist! if you tagged then you must stand on your head for 10 seconds! haha what a laugh.

Yikes!  You'd see my  bloomin'  bloomers!

[Aderin]

but I understand that the game needs to be visible, so how about a little tag with a twist! if you tagged then you must stand on your head for 10 seconds! haha what a laugh.

Yikes!  You'd see my  bloomin'  bloomers!

HAHAHA thank you for this Jade.

I forgot about the lovely women and their period attire!

[Orphena]

Great suggestions! Rowan, I like the sound of your wagering game - simple for anyone, short term, etc!

I've witnessed rat plucking as well, looks like fun, but I'd think you would need a somewhat dedicated following to get a game going.

Hopscotch... Oooooo well, perhaps at our pirate festival, but I'm not too sure about the queen starting such a thing, but a good idea for a challenge to a child, or, oh to have a court compete..such potential!

Word games... Yes please! Other suggestions or details on these? A good way to pass the time should it rain!

Anything else, perhaps with a historical-ish feeling?

[Orphena]

Prima, lovely suggestion, but I'm not worried about me being bored...I'm actually looking for ways to interact..not just at the fest where I am playing queen, but in general as well!

When I visit faires, I often observe games of some kind going on, but don't always catch the entire objective of the game... Just wondering what games are played in general....

[Gauwyn of Bracknell]

I finally had to look up the game corn hole - here in Iowa that mean a whole 'nother thing 

[Aderin]

Prima, lovely suggestion, but I'm not worried about me being bored...I'm actually looking for ways to interact..not just at the fest where I am playing queen, but in general as well!

When I visit faires, I often observe games of some kind going on, but don't always catch the entire objective of the game... Just wondering what games are played in general....

not the greatest suggestion, but how about renn trivia? Lots of old english words appeal to all of us rennies but I for one don't know many of them. Whoever knows the definition gets a prize! For all the history buffs, an arousing who won xyz war and who was killed by xyz, hehe!

[amy]

At Tennessee and Kentucky we play a lot of liars dice.  We abridge the game for short versions by starting with only 3 perhaps and we always attract a crowd.  We have played at Louisianna and had a penalty imposed by the nobles for each time one lost a die.   That was huge fun.  We saw things like singing "Im a little teapot" and having to propose to passers by or get them to allow us to try on their hat for a picture.   Sadly I had to kiss a sheep.   Never play games near the livestock.

[Aderin]

At Tennessee and Kentucky we play a lot of liars dice.  We abridge the game for short versions by starting with only 3 perhaps and we always attract a crowd.  We have played at Louisianna and had a penalty imposed by the nobles for each time one lost a die.   That was huge fun.  We saw things like singing "Im a little teapot" and having to propose to passers by or get them to allow us to try on their hat for a picture.   Sadly I had to kiss a sheep.   Never play games near the livestock.

This is the kind of game I was thinking of, thank you SO much for sharing your knowledge I HAVE to try this!!

[Jade]

I  love  liars  dice!

[Aderin]

We all will have to play via the forum sometime!!

[Prima]

Anyone have rules- whether official or unofficial to rat pucking? 

[DonaCatalina]

http://www.thewildhunt.com/thegreen/ratpuck.shtml

There are as many versions as there are Faires.

[groomporter]

Not all practical but an interesting list I put together a while ago

The Elizabethan "Playground"

A selection of activity games and sports (not all intended for children) mentioned in the plays of Shakespeare

Bear-baiting
   Shakespeare made reference to Bear-baiting in several of his plays. It had been popular since the Middle Ages, and by the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, bears were specially bred for the sport. The Master of Bears even had the authority to commandeer dogs to fight the bears in  the ring. In addition to bears, donkeys horses and other animals were baited for sport as well.

Blindman's Bluff
   -Is an ancient game mentioned in Hamlet, although by a different name: "What devil wasn't that thus hath cozen'd you at hoodman-blind?" (Act III. iv. 76-77)

Bowling
   Bowling games, in various forms, appeared in almost every country of Europe. Henry VIII considered it a "harmful pastime" which interfered with the practice of archery. In an early English version the players would stand facing each other some distance apart, each with a cone standing at his feet, and the players would take turns trying to knock over each other's cone. The cones were eventually replaced with a single ball called a "jack" and the players took turns aiming at the jack.

Cherry-pit
   A children's game where the players tried to pitch cherry stones (seeds, or pebbles) at a small hole in the ground. "What man! 'Tis not for gravity to play at Cherry-pit with Satan." -Twelfthnight III. iv. 129.

Cockfighting
   -was so popular that the sport was sometimes even held on board ships, and Henry VIII had a private dim bulb-pit in the palace at Whitehall.

Fast & loose
   Also known as "Pricking the belt"(or girdle), this was a gambling game. A leather belt was folded in a complex manner so that one fold appeared to be at the center of its length. A player would then thrust a knife, or skewer through that fold in hope of making it fast to the table. The other players would then make bets as to whether the belt was "fast or loose."

Football
   Variations on football, or rugby-like games became so dangerous and violent that they had been banned in the Middle Ages by Edward II. Some versions are said to have included the entire village as the playing field with the goals and opposite ends of town. In spite of the ban these games continued to be popular. By 1531, Sir Thomas Elyot described it as "nothing but beastly fury and extreme violence whereof proceedeth hurt" Later in the century, there are descriptions of  players suffering broken back and necks, and a player intentionally elbowing an opponent over the heart in an attempt to maim, or kill. Both Henry VIII and Elizabeth both made unsuccessful attempts to eradicate the sport, and gradually rules were drawn up to make the games safer.

Handy Dandy
   A simple children's guessing game everyone has played. One player holds a small object in one hand and the other guesses which hand it is in. If they guess correctly, the players switch roles, otherwise the first player must try again.

Hide & Seek
   Both the plays "Hamlet" and "Love's Labour Lost" make reference to Hide and Seek games.

Leapfrog
   Another ancient, but well-known game mentioned only in "Henry V": "If I could win a lady at Leapfrog" (Act V. ii. 140)

Loggats
   Loggats is one of the many ancestors to bowling or ninepins, and was also known as Kayles. The target was a number of pins, but rather than using a ball, a stick, or cudgel was thrown at them to knock them down.

More Sacks to the Mill
This seems to be the name for the modern rough-housing game known in some areas of the United States as "Hog-pile" where a group of boys throw one of their number to the ground and all pile on top of him calling out "bags to the mill!"

Muss
   A game where some ball, or object is thrown on the ground and boys would make a mad scramble to be the first to grab the ball. My memory of this type of game as a child was that it would often turn into "More Sacks to the Mill", or a "hog pile."

Prison Base
   Two teams are formed, and the teams attempt to tag each other's members to capture them. Captured players must stay in the opposing team's "prison" -usually standing around a base such as a tree, or marked spot on the ground. Captured players can escape from prison if one of their own team members is able to run in and touch them.

Proverb-capping
   Like the poetry contests portrayed in the movie "Dangerous Beauty," this is a contest of wit. A subject is announced, and the object is to outlast your opponents by quoting proverbs that relate to that topic. This game sounds like a possible inspiration for scripted "bits" for clever performers at renfairs, or bardic challenges at SCA events, although it also seems to have a dangerously high potential for some very bad puns. A scene in Henry V (Act III. vii. 123-132) can serve as an example of this form of battle, and check your local library for collections of proverbs with which to arm yourself.

Push pin
   Like some of the simple desk-top games played in modern school rooms, this game requires a flat table. It was also known as "Blowpin." The players try to gently blow straight pins, or small sticks across the table so that their pin will lies across their opponent's pin. It is a simple game that conmmon at least until the Regency era of England.

Shoeing the Wild Mare
   The term Wild Mare was sometimes used for a see-saw, but another description is that one person would be picked as the "mare" and would have to try to out-run the rest of the players who would try to catch and "shoe" the mare. There was also a game with the same name in Gaelic which involved a beam, or "mare", precariously hung by two ropes from a tree, or rafter. The object is for the "smith" to try to stay seated on the beam, without holding the ropes, while "shoeing" the mare. The smith must drive in the "nails" of mare's shoes by hitting the bottom of the beam with eight strokes of a stick, four times, representing eight nails for each hoof.

Span Counter
   Usually a two-player marble game. One player shoots his marble, and the second shoots, trying to hit the first players' marble, or span the distance between them. If he misses, his marble becomes the target for the first player.

Tops
   "Since I plucked geese, played truant and whipped top" (Merry Wives V. i. 26) Whipping tops was an children's game in many cultures. The whip is made of a cord, or strap, often tied to a stick. The cord is wrapped around a large top and the top set spinning by whipping it out over a flat surface. The whip is then used to keep the top spinning.
   

[Rani Zemirah]

While performing as Gypsies we have played at something we called "Gypsy Ball", involving a ball made from grapevine woven into a lose ball shape and tied onto the end of a long piece of twine, around 2.5 ft or so, and usually with a small loop tied in the other end... the object being to try and affix it to someone's clothing without them noticing, making the victim "it", and leaving them in possession of the ball until they can surreptitiously pass it on again.  If they are caught in the attempt they are generally made public sport of, and shown to be a poor sort of footpad, then left to try and pass on the ball again. 

In our group's backstory this game evolved from the enforcement of the King's "no purse cutting" laws, and the desire to keep up with certain "skills" thought to be useful to those who walked the Good Road... without losing our heads in the process!  It's fun, and often hilarious... 

[Rowan MacD]

   It's been a long time since anyone's wrote about it on the Wench's Guild forum-but 'Rose Tag' was a popular game at faire; though it's not an old or (as far as we know) HA game:

   You send a rose and a task to your 'target'.  If they accept the rose, they must do the task to either yours or a 3rd parties' satisfaction.

    Once this is done: you pass the rose, or buy a new one and pass it (and another task) to the next victim. 

    You cannot "Tag Back'.

    Keep it PG.