Victorian And Vintage Parlour Games: 18 To Play In A Living Room

Before television, an evening at home needed filling, and the Victorians got very good at it. A surprising number of their games are better than anything invented since.

These need a living room, a few chairs and nothing else. A couple of them are the direct ancestors of games you already play.

Word and memory games

• The minister's cat: go round the alphabet describing the cat - 'the minister's cat is an angry cat', then a bashful cat, a curious cat. Hesitate and you're out.
• I packed my bag: each player repeats the list and adds an item.
• Consequences - folded paper, each person writes a line then folds it over. Still the best party game on paper.
• The parson's cat, twenty questions and animal, vegetable, mineral.
• Buzz: count round the circle, but say 'buzz' for any multiple of seven or any number containing a seven.

Guessing and acting games

• Charades, which in its original form was acted out in whole scenes, syllable by syllable.
• Dumb crambo: one team picks a verb, the other team is told a word that rhymes with it and has to act out guesses until they hit it.
• The sculptor: one player poses the others as a scene, an outsider guesses what it is.
• Adverbs - a player leaves, the room picks an adverb, and on their return everyone answers questions in that manner until they guess it.
• Who am I, with names pinned to backs.

Physical parlour games

• Are you there, Moriarty? Two blindfolded players lie head to head holding rolled newspapers, one calls 'are you there, Moriarty?', the other answers and then rolls aside as the first swings. Utterly ridiculous.
• Blind man's buff and hunt the thimble.
• Squeak piggy squeak.
• Hot cockles, oranges and lemons, and the old game of snapdragon - which involved snatching raisins from a dish of burning brandy, and which you absolutely should not play.
• The chair game: one fewer chair than players, walking round to music. Musical chairs is Victorian.

Quiet games for the end of the evening

• Reading aloud - a chapter each, which was the original box set.
• Cards: whist, cribbage and beggar my neighbour.
• Riddles and conundrums, read from a book of them.
• The memory tray, laid out and then covered.
• Forfeits - a ribbon or object surrendered for every mistake, redeemed at the end by performing a task. It's how Victorians ended every game evening.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• Consequences is the one to start with - everybody gets it instantly.
• Forfeits at the end turn a set of games into an evening.
• Do not attempt snapdragon.

Where to shop next

• Traditional British party games explained
• Church hall and village fete games
• Wartime and 1950s party games
• Irish, Scottish and Welsh party games
• Seaside and beach games
• Clapping games and skipping rhymes
• Card games your nan taught you
• Dice games explained
• Pen and paper games
• Playground games we all played
• Board games hub
• Kids' party games by age
• Nostalgic quiz questions
• Free feel good tools
• Shop cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are Victorian parlour games?

Games played at home in the drawing room before television - the minister's cat, consequences, charades, dumb crambo, blind man's buff and are you there Moriarty. Most need nothing but chairs and a few people.

How do you play the minister's cat?

Go round the circle describing the cat with an adjective starting with A - 'the minister's cat is an angry cat' - then everyone does B, then C, and so on. Hesitate or repeat and you drop out.

How do you play are you there Moriarty?

Two blindfolded players lie head to head holding rolled-up newspapers. One says 'are you there, Moriarty?', the other must answer 'yes' and then immediately roll aside as the first swings at where the voice came from.

What is consequences?

A paper game where each person writes one line of a story - a man's name, a woman's name, where they met, what he said, what she said, what happened - folding the paper over each time before passing it on. Then you unfold and read them out.

Do you sell games?

No - we make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. Every game here needs a pack of cards, some dice, a pencil or nothing at all, and the only products on this page are our own cards.