Victorian Parlor Games & Puzzles for a Pandemic

Parlor (or parlour) games were popular during the Victorian era in Great Britain and the United States. They were often played in a “parlor”, the most formal room in a traditional Victorian house for social gathering and entertaining.  Today, the living room has replaced most of the functionality of the parlor with televisions and computers providing most of the entertainment.

The word “parlor” originated from the Latin word “parlare” (“speak”) and the Anglo-Norman French word “parlur” (“place for speaking”.)  The parlor was the speaking room or audience chamber where both men and women interacted during leisure time. Many parlor games involved logic, word-play, dramatics, and simple creativity without the use of any equipment that would not be readily available in the parlor.

Feel free to throw on your best hat, make some tea and finger sandwiches, and unplug from the 21^st century for a while with a parlor game…it is great fun!

The Perfect Parlor Game if….

You and Your Family Are Looking for a New Spin on Charades

The Shadow Game does not require anything you do not already have a home. You will need a sheet and a way to light it from behind. Once you have darkened the room so your hand gestures are more pronounced on the sheet, have your family members guess which animals you are trying to portray.

You Want To Expand Your Vocabulary (And Really, Who Doesn’t?)
To play Fictionary, all you need is a dictionary. One person searches for the most obscure word they can find and reads it aloud to the group. Then, everyone else writes down what they think the definition of the word might be. They pass their definitions to the person holding the dictionary, who reads all of the definitions to the group, including the correct one. Players then choose which definition they think is correct. The made up definitions each get one point for every time they are selected. Players also get points if they choose the right definition.

You Want To Show Off Your Inner Artist
A Sculptor of the group is chosen while the others stand still. The “sculptor” then goes to everyone else and positions them into the pose of their choosing. Those being “sculpted” are not allowed to react to being repositioned – laughing and additional movement is prohibited. If someone breaks, then the “sculptor” becomes a statue and the other person assumes the “sculptor” role.

You Just Need Some Company
“The Old Man’s Face is also a very comical amusement, and productive of much merriment. The only requisite for producing it is a person’s hand...and a little India-ink.”

You Have Really Big Family (Or Too Many Roommates)
“Two operators put their index fingers under the person’s shoes, two others place their fingers under each elbow, and a fifth under the chin of the subject. At a given signal each person lifts his hand and the person is easily lifted up, as in the illustration. The result may seem very surprising…”

Note: Please don’t actually attempt this one.