A group of at least eight people stand in a circle and hold hands with every other person. As a group, try to untie the knot without releasing hold of each other’s hands. You can step over each other’s arms or crawl underneath them. You win when the knot unties into a single ring (rarely, there are two rings).
Hang a sheet or tablecloth across an area in the room or hall, put a candle behind it (or flashlight) and turn off the lights. Have one person sit in front of the sheet and guess who is walking behind it. The other players can disguise themselves or simply walk in front of the candle, behind the sheet. If a player is guessed correctly, they must pay a forfeit (see Forfeits).
1. A player thinks of the name of an object.
Tip: Choose a word with multiple meanings, like bows (ribbons for hair) and beaux (male suitors).
2. The other players try to discover the object by asking the following questions (only once):
How do you like it?
Why do you like it?
When do you like it?
Where do you like it?
3. The player who picked the object must answer honestly, but can alternate answering between the different meanings of the word.
4. If you guess the object correctly, it is your turn to choose an object.
Pick a king or a queen to sit in a chair in the front of the room. The courtiers (all the other players) sit in a circle around the monarch. Whatever movements the king or queen makes, the courtiers must imitate, no matter how silly. If any of the courtiers smiles or laughs while copying the monarch, they must pay a forfeit (see Forfeits).
To kiss every lady in the room Spanish fashion. The person to whom this forfeit is assigned usually imagines that an agreeable task is before him; but he is thus enlightened. A lady rises from her seat to conduct him round the room, and she proceeds to each lady in turn, kisses her, and then wipes the gentleman’s mouth with her pocket handkerchief.
To make a Grecian statue. To do this the gentleman must stand upon a chair, and take his pose according to the pleasure of the company. One person may stick his arm out, or bend it into an awkward position; another may do the same by a leg; a third may incline his head backward, with the chin elevated in the air; and so they may proceed, until his figure is sufficiently removed from the “Grecian” to satisfy the party. He is bound to be as plastic as possible while the statue is moulded.
Say half-a-dozen flattering things to a Lady, without using the letter l. This may be done by such phrases as “You are pretty,” “You are entertaining, &c,” but such words as graceful, beautiful, and charitable are, of course, inadmissible. *You can choose different letters of the alphabet.
To play the Learned Pig. To do this, the gentleman must first put himself as nearly as possible in the attitude of one. He must go on all fours, and he is then to answer questions that may be put to him either by the company or by somebody who may volunteer as his master, to show his attainments. The questions asked are something like the following: “Show us the most agreeable person in the company,” or, “the most charming,” “the greatest flirt,” &c. After each question, the victim is to proceed to any one whom he may select and signify his choice by a grunt. The learning as well as the docility of a pig has its limits, and the game must, therefore, not be prolonged too far.
To choose one of three signs. To do this, he is to stand with his face to the wall, while any lady present makes three signs behind him—of a kiss, of a pinch, and of a box on the ear. He is then asked whether he chooses the first, the second, or the third, not knowing the order in which they have been made, and receives the corresponding action.
To say “yes” or “no” to three questions by the company. The lady must go out of the room, while the company agree as to each of the questions to be asked. To each of these the lady must give one or other of the plain monosyllables. Ladies of Experience say the safe answer is always “no”; but this hint must be reserved to readers of these papers.
Opportunity. To stand in the middle of the room, and spell opportunity. If, after the lady has spelt the word, a gentleman can reach her before she regains her seat, he may avail himself of the “opportunity” offered, under the mistletoe.
To kiss the gentleman you love best in the company, without anyone knowing it. There is only one way of paying this penalty, and that is, to kiss every gentleman in the room, leaving them to settle the question as to “loving best” among them.
To kiss each corner of the room. When this forfeit is declared, a gentleman stations himself in each corner, and the lady has to pay an unexpected penalty.
To sing a song, or play a piece of music. This is given either to elicit the musical capabilities of a lady who may be shy, or to make an agreeable interlude in the round of other forfeits. If the lady called upon can really do neither, another forfeit is allotted to her.