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What Games Did the Children of the Mayflower Pilgrims Play

Page history last edited by Jason Barefoot 11 years, 3 months ago

What Games Did the Children of the Mayflower Pilgrims Play?

The youngest pilgrims did play traditional English games; many that are still popular today.

On September 6 1620, 132 people boarded the Mayflower to travel from England to North America. These people were the Pilgrims, the original settlers of the Jamestown colony. The Pilgrims came to America bringing with them many of the cultural traditions that they had developed back in England, including traditional English children's games.

All Hid

  • Though there is not much original record of the types of games that Pilgrim children might have played, they likely played the same children games as were popular in England at the time. One of those was called "All Hid." It is the Old English version of the game now known as "Hide and Seek." The rules would have been exactly the same as every modern version with one person designated as "it" and other players hiding while the "it" player counts and then runs to find the others.

Naughts and Crosses/Draughts

  • Another game that Pilgrim children played was "Naughts and Crosses." "Tic-Tac-Toe" is what modern children call it. Also, they played "Draughts," or "Checkers" as it is currently known. The rules for each of these games were exactly the same as they are today. Pilgrim children, because they did not have many modern conveniences, played "Naughts and Crosses" by drawing a #-sign in the dirt with a stick (instead of playing the game on notebook paper with a wooden pencil or pen).

Knickers

  • Another popular English children's game of the 1600s was called "Knickers." It is the same as the basic, modern game of marbles. The word "knicker" comes from the Old Dutch term "knikker" which means marbles. Just about any game at the time that was played with marbles would have been referred to as "Knickers." Also, the marbles that Pilgrim children used were most likely made of clay or even stones.

Hopfrog, Lummelen and Other Activities

  • Pilgrim children played other traditional games that children still play today. "Hopfrog" (known today as leap frog) was one of them. They played "Lummelen," or "Keep Away" as American children would recognize it. They played skipped rope (played jump rope) and stickball.

 

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