Switch off your screens, gather the family, open up 60 Classic Indoor Games and remember how simple it is to play and laugh together. Inside this wonderful little book are new, classic and beloved (but often-forgotten) family games that are perfect to keep the children from their screens or tearing the house down on rainy days. It’s great for entertaining visiting grandparents and brilliant at getting everyone’s imagination going!
Create your own family traditions with Katie Hewett’s compendium of classic games like Charades, Sardines and Are You There, Moriarty? as well as new favourites like Kangaroo Racing, Sprouts and Fish Flap.
Includes everything you need to know to play over 60 classic games ordered alphabetically for quick and easy reference. Suitable for all ages, it’s a lovely gift to pass on for future generations to enjoy.
DOWNLOAD THE BELOW GAME INSTRUCTIONS, GATHER YOUR FAMILY AND START PLAYING!
Why we need to bring indoor games back into the mainstream…
by Katie Hewett
In an age where you can even play games on your mobile phone, traditional indoor games, or parlour games as the Victorians called them, could be regarded as a thing of the past. However, I think there are many reasons for us to bring them back into the mainstream.
I grew up in the 1970s, some of it in Jersey in the Channel Islands, where television programmes didn’t even begin until 4p.m. I also spent two weeks of the year with my grandparents in south-west Ireland and their tiny portable television was stowed away in a cupboard until the evening news started at 6p.m. Here, in spite of the beautiful countryside and glorious beaches, we tended to spend a great deal of time inside because it rained – a lot. Hence my fondness for indoor games (and endless fudge- and toffee-making – but perhaps that’s for another book).
Indoor games work because they are simple, cost virtually nothing, require very little equipment, exercise the mind creatively and intellectually, and cut across generations – can remember crying with laughter while playing a game of Consequences with my grandmother – but, most of all, because they are fun.
This book contains everything you need to play over 65 games, divided into sections depending on what sort of mood you are in: silly, energetic, clever, dramatic or quiet. There are games for the whole family to play together, games for mums and dads (and their friends), as well as children’s games that most of us should remember, even if the rules are a little fuzzy around the edges.
Over the last few winters, heavy snowfalls have meant that thousands of children have been forced to stay at home for days at a time. So, once the snowmen have been built and the socks and gloves are drying on the radiator, rather than reach for the remote control why not play a few of these parlour games instead?
Some games to get you started: LIGHT AND SHADE
This game will remind you of shadow theatre. How will you hide your true identity from the audience?
ALPHABET RACE
A homemade version of a very famous game, but no less of a challenge!
HANGMAN
A classic exercise in verbal fluency
MURDER IN THE DARK
Play this whodunnit in the dark for some extra suspense!
WHO AM I?
Celebrity name-guessing game for the little ones
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES