Lost Games
I can remember playing several games when I was a kid that you never see kids playing now. In fact, they wouldn't even know what the game was about if you didn't tell them. How many of you reading this know what Mumblety Peg is?Mumblety Peg is a game where two people usually compete. They throw pocket knives and try to get the blade to stick into the ground. They get points for the way the blade sticks. Truthfully, the game was before my time. I barely remember a couple of times seeing someone play the game. Obviously, it was an inexpensive game because all you needed was a pocket knife, and most boys back then had pocket knives. I think now that kids are prohibited from carrying knives to school so that lets out Mumblety Peg as a school game.
Marbles was another olden game and I do remember playing that with my cousin. We each had our supply of marbles and we played for keeps when we played the game. I don't remember much about it except that you drew a big circle in the dirt and placed your marbles in the circle. Then you took turns shooting your marble, the taw or shooter, as it was called, at your opponent's marbles. You used your thumb and forefinger to shoot the marble. If you knocked any of your opponent's marbles out of the circle they were then your marbles. There were certain rules that you had to follow and my memory is fuzzy about the rules.
Ball and Jacks, Hopscotch, Hide and Seek and Horse Shoes were other games which were often played when I was a child. These games were very inexpensive to play. They took little equipment, if any at all, and were a lot of fun.
Nowadays, children have to have, or think they have to have, expensive computer games or other games which need elaborate equipment in order to play. Many of them require little movement or exercise except to sit at a computer and use joy sticks. I really think that the kids of today would enjoy playing the old fashioned games if they were introduced to them and encouraged to play. I can remember how much fun I used to have playing them and I do not think I was that much different than modern kids!
These kinds of games would be advantageous in three ways: First they would be more economical because most of them require little or no equipment: Second, they would get kids outside into the fresh air and give them more exercise: Third, the children would be interacting with other children a lot more than with a video game.
These games will be lost forever to kids of the future if someone doesn't get them started again. I don't know who that will be because most of the people who remember the games are too old to get out and play them now. It is a shame that such fun games will be lost forever in the future!
posted by kyra lafain @ 6/21/2008 12:30:00 PM
1 Comments:
Pickup Stix is one that I remember playing a lot. I guess now, though, those pointy sticks would get the company sued. Remember when all us cousins would have Monopoly games that lasted for days? And we invented games -- I can remember us playing Queen where one of us, usually LK sat on the throne (the tree swing), and the rest of us were cooks, gardeners, chauffeurs, etc. We also played the now-politically incorrect cowboys and Indians. I just somehow think these games were healthier for mind and body than all the computer games. I guess the healthiest of all would be a balanced mix of the two.
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