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Victorian Games for Girls

In the 19th century, parents believed children should be seen and not heard. Because of this, children were not encouraged to run and around and play as they are today. Instead, children, especially girls, were encouraged to read, take walks, ride horses, play a musical instrument, cook or sew. Some games were deemed acceptable both physically and socially, especially when visiting with friends. Many of these games are still played in some form by children today.

Parlor Games
- Parlor games are played by small groups in the living space or parlor of a home. Lookabout is a game where the host shows everyone a small item in the room. All of the guests leave while the host hides the item. Everyone then returns to look for the item. As each guest finds the item, they don't say anything, but instead sit down. The guests try not to show where they found the item, but instead wander around the room and casually go to sit back down. The last person to sit is "it." Games like charades, pin the tail on the donkey and 20 questions are all parlor games children played.
Sports
- Women and girls were thought too weak and fragile to play any sport requiring strength or endurance. Croquet, lawn tennis and cycling were allowed, but only in occasional or social form.
  
  Croquet is a lawn sport where players use a mallet to knock a ball through wire hoops called wickets. The course itself is set up however the players like, although a formal set up is recommended. A traditional court measures 50-by-100 feet and the wickets are set up in two diamond patterns within the court. The object is to be the first person to hit your ball through all the wickets and to hit the last stake -- a striped, wooden stake beyond the last wicket. Croquet was one of the few games where girls and boys were encouraged to play together.
  
  Lawn tennis was originally only encouraged as batting the ball back and forth until women became more competitive and started keeping score. Cycling was not a competitive sport for girls, but they were allowed to ride bicycles for fun and transportation.
Card Games
- Children, particularly girls, were not allowed to play regular card games because it was thought that it would lead to gambling -- unacceptable for young ladies. Children were encouraged instead to build houses of cards and play card games designed for educational purposes. Cards were available to teach girls about cooking, math, history and other academic subjects. Fun card games like Old Maid, Old Bachelor, Dr. Busby and others were allowed among girls.
Outdoor Games
- Battledore and shuttlecock was a precursor to badminton. Girls were given a battledore, or racket, and encouraged to keep the shuttlecock, or birdie, lofted for as long as possible. There was no net in the original version. The needle's eye is a game similar to the modern red rover. Two groups of children lined up in rows about 8 feet apart and hold hands. The chant is sung and then one child runs to the other side and tries to break through the hands of the opposite side. If they succeed, they get to bring someone back to their team with them. If they are caught, they must remain on the other team.
  
  The Farmer and eell, kick the can, blindman's bluff, marbles, hoops and sticks and tug of war were all popular games for both girls and boys in the Victorian era.

Kids Games