Victorian Parlor Games

My Dot Moms column is up, if anyone is interested.

Thanks to all for the suggestions on birthday plates. I may try the dollar store and see what I find. Since it’s for his daycare party, there may be around 24 kids there. Last year the plates were a big deal when I splurged and got him the Lion King set. Why oh why did I set myself up with that?

And! And, and! I was writing last night and thought I’d look at some primary sources to see if I could find some plot solutions. Although I didn’t, reading some stories from Harper’s Magazine in 1858 really gave me some good ideas. I found references to old parlor games like “Clap In, Clap Out” and “Copenhagen.” So, of course, I had to look those up. “Clap In, Clap Out” sounds like a chaste version of Post Office. There is a circle of chairs and the men stand behind a chair. The women leave the room. Then one of the men sends a message for a particular woman to come in. She has to guess who sent for her by sitting down in the chair in front of that man. If she guesses right, then they pair off and go stand in the corner. If she guesses wrong, he claps his hands together above her head, and she has to leave the room (humiliated). You can bet I’m going to work that one into a book.

The other game, Copenhagen, was much tougher to track down. Apparently the players hold onto a string and form a circle. Someone stands in the middle and the person who is “It” has to try and slap the hands of one of the players holding the string. The players try to jerk their hands away and move past, without getting their hands slapped, and they can’t let go of the string. If they are tagged, then they stand in the center. Sounds like a fun one.

Anyway, just thought I’d share those. One game I found references too, but I’m not certain if I tracked down the right one. It’s called “Puss in the Corner” and it sounds as if it’s a version of Freecell solitaire. Anyone ever heard of it or played it?