Believe it or not, Victorians loved to play games…especially at Christmas.

Tired of the same old activities for your holiday season? Why not try something new…or old, as the case may be. Here are some nineteenth century games that you might want to play.

Lookabout

The host shows the guests a small item, such as a Christmas ornament or a small, wrapped gift. Then the guests are instructed to leave the room while the host hides the item. When hidden, all come back and try to spy the item. When they do, they sit down. The last one to find it loses.

How? What? Where? When?

One player is chosen to be "it." That person thinks of the name of an object. Then the other players try to discover what that object is by asking (only once) the following four questions:
1. How do you like it?
2. Why do you like it?
3. When do you like it?
4. Where do you like it?
The person who's it must answer truthfully. The person who guesses correctly wins, and then takes on the role of being "it."

Shadow Buff

Hang a sheet across the room and put a single candle on a table behind it, then turn out the lights. One person sits in front of the sheet while everyone else goes between the sheet and the candle. The person in front has to guess whose shadow is whose. The shadows can disguise themselves in any way, but if they are guessed, they are out.

The Laughing Game

All players sit in a circle. Each player in turn says, "Ha," or "Ho," or "Hee." The first player to start laughing loses and is out of the game. Continue until there's only 1 person left.

Wink Murder

This game works best for larger groups. Draw lots and mark one piece of paper for the murderer and one for the detective. Pass out the papers and have everyone keep their role a secret. The conversation can continue as normal. The murderer tries to "kill" people by making eye contact with them and winking. As soon as they're winked at, they must dramatically drop dead. The detective, of course, is trying to figure out who is doing the winking. If he doesn't figure it out before everyone is killed, he's the loser. If he does call out correctly the winker, he wins.

And here's a game you don't have to wait for Christmas to play. Enter to win 1 of 12 signed copies of 12 Days at Bleakly Manor…