Wartime And 1950s Party Games: 18 From When Nobody Had Anything

Wartime party games had one design constraint: nothing could be wasted and nothing could be bought. What survives is a set of games that need a newspaper, a spoon and a lot of good humour.

They're perfect for a VE Day street party, a 1950s themed birthday or a care home reminiscence afternoon.

Games that need nothing at all

• The parson's cat and I packed my bag - memory games to fill an air raid shelter, and they still work.
• Twenty questions, animal vegetable mineral.
• Charades and dumb crambo.
• Simon says and O'Grady says, the wartime version.
• The yes and no game: answer questions for a minute without saying yes or no.

Games with whatever was in the house

• Pass the orange under the chin, no hands.
• The matchbox game - pass an empty matchbox cover nose to nose.
• The button game: sew or thread buttons on a string against the clock.
• Newspaper dancing - a couple dances on a sheet of newspaper, folded in half each round until only one couple can stay on.
• Balloon games, when there were balloons.
• Apple bobbing, which needed only apples and a tin bath.

Music and dancing games

• Musical chairs and musical statues to whatever was on the wireless.
• The Palais Glide, the Lambeth Walk, the Hokey Cokey and Knees Up Mother Brown - dances that everybody knew and anyone can learn in two minutes.
• The excuse-me dance, where anyone may tap a shoulder and take over.
• A singalong with a songsheet: Roll Out The Barrel, We'll Meet Again, Run Rabbit Run.

For a reminiscence session or themed party

• A ration book quiz: what you got a week, what things cost, what you couldn't get at all.
• Guess the object - old kitchen and household items passed round.
• Songs from the era with the words left out, everyone fills in the line.
• Old money sums: how many shillings in a pound, what a farthing was worth.
• Photographs of the local high street then and now.
• Simple, short rounds and no timers - the point is the conversation each question starts.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• No timers for a reminiscence session.
• A songsheet is worth more than a playlist.
• Old household objects start better conversations than photographs.

Where to shop next

• Traditional British party games explained
• Victorian and vintage parlour games
• Church hall and village fete 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 games did they play in the 1940s and 1950s?

Pass the orange, the matchbox game, newspaper dancing, musical chairs, charades, the parson's cat and the yes-and-no game - all played with whatever was in the house, because nothing could be bought.

What is newspaper dancing?

A couple dances on a single sheet of newspaper. Each round the sheet is folded in half, so the space shrinks until only one couple can still stay on it without touching the floor.

What games work for a VE Day or 1940s themed party?

Newspaper dancing, pass the orange, musical statues, a singalong with a songsheet, and the Lambeth Walk or Hokey Cokey. Add a ration book quiz and a guess-the-object round with old household items.

What games work for a reminiscence session in a care home?

Short, seated rounds with no timers - guess the object with old kitchen items, songs with a missing line, old money sums and photographs of the local high street. The conversation each question starts matters more than the answers.

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.