Hunt the thimble (also known as hide the thimble or hide the handkerchief in both the US and the UK) is a party game in which one person hides a thimble, or other small object, somewhere in the room, while all other players wait outside. (In some versions of the game, it must be hidden in plain sight.) When everyone returns, they race to locate the hidden object. [1] The first to find it is the winner, and hides it for the next game. [2]
Huckle buckle beanstalk (or Huckleberry bean stalk) is a similar childhood game which can be played with two or more players, one being the hider, or the person who is "it," and the other(s) being seekers.
The game has also been known as hot buttered beans in the US since at least 1830, [3] and other names for it include hide the object and hide the key. William Wells Newell described a version called thimble in sight in his 1883 Games and Songs of American Children.
The game is known in various European countries. It is called cache-tampon in France. In Germany the game of Topfschlagen involves a blindfolded player trying to find a pot guided, by calls of hot or cold, [4] and similar versions (without the blindfold) are played in Poland (Ciepło-zimno) and in Russia (Kholodno-goryacho, both meaning "hot and cold"). The game is played under names such as La candelita (The Little Fire) in Spanish speaking countries.
The seekers must cover their eyes and ears or leave the designated game area while the hider hides a small, pre-selected object. When the hider says to come and find it, or after the seekers have counted to a specific number, usually sixty or one-hundred, the seekers come out and attempt to be the first to find the object. When a seeker has the object in hand, he or she alerts the other players.
Brian Sutton-Smith and other writers put this in a category of "central person" games which give one individual child a central role. The set-up can be reversed with that role given to a single seeker, while all the other players try to keep an object hidden from the odd-one-out, either by sending him out of the room while hiding it, or by passing it round behind their backs. This is a common way of organising 'Hide the Key' or 'Hunt the Slipper'.
In some versions of the game, the hider tell the searchers what "temperature" they are based on proximity to the hidden object—the closer they get, the hotter they are; thus, the further they are from the object, the colder they are. [2]
Other variations involve only one person leaving the room and everybody else hiding the object. [2] In Singing Hunt the Thimble, the hiders sing louder when the searcher is close to the object and softer when they are further away. [2]
A variation of the game has the person who finds the object, continue by pretending to look for the object and then call out "Huckle Buckle Bean Stalk" to draw the other seekers attention away from the objects location. As the other seekers find the object, they perform the same deception until all the seekers have found the object. The winners take pride in how quickly they find the object and how much time passes between them and the next player who calls out "Huckle Buckle Bean Stalk".[ citation needed ]
Games played like this, sometimes with children forming a circle round the seeker, sometimes with one child blindfolded, pre-date Victorian parlour games. In 1838 Hunt the Slipper, played as a single-seeker circle game, was said by one writer to be "nearly out of fashion" in Southern England. [5] In 1766 Oliver Goldsmith described it being played in The Vicar of Wakefield , calling it a "primaeval pastime". [6]
Both one-seeker and one-hider approaches have been associated with Hot Boiled Beans. A seeker may be called to enter the room and look for something hidden with, "Hot boiled beans and butter; walk in and find your supper!" This can be traced back to at least the mid-19th century. [7] Several similar rhymes from different parts of England were recorded by 19th century folklorist Alice Gomme. They were sung or recited in games with one or more hiders: for example, "Little pigs come to supper/Hot boiled beans and ready butter." Other names were 'Hot Broad Beans' and 'Hot Beans and Butter.' In the US, the variations 'Hot Beans and Butter' and 'Hot Peas and Butter' require that the hidden item be a belt, which is placed in a secret location by a single hider. The other players are seekers. The first seeker to locate the belt can then attempt to whip the other players with it as they run for the safety of a designated home base. [8]
A modern and more adult variation of Huckle Buckle Beanstalk is Geocaching.
Often, especially when there is only one seeker, the game is played using "hot or cold," where the hider informs the seeker how near he is to the object, telling him he is cold when he is far from the object (or freezing or if he is extremely far), and hot when he is extremely close to the object. If the seeker is moving further from the object, he is told he is getting colder, and if the seeker is moving closer to the object, he is told he is getting warmer.
Charles Dickens refers to this in Edwin Drood :
" . . . like the children in the game of hot boiled beans and very good butter, he was warm in his search when he saw the Tower, and cold when he didn't see it. "
In the season 4 episode of Full House titled "Ol' Brown Eyes," Michelle plays this game with Joey using Becky's engagement ring.
The game is also referenced in Planetfall where one of Floyd's behaviors mentions "Hucka-Bucka Beanstalk".
Hide-and-seek is a popular children's game in which at least two players conceal themselves in a set environment, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one chosen player counting to a predetermined number with eyes closed while the other players hide. After reaching this number, the player who is "it" calls "Ready or not, here I come!" or "Coming, ready or not!" and then attempts to locate all concealed players.
I spy is a guessing game where one player chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye something beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players attempt to guess this object. It is often played as a car game.
The shell game is a public gambling game that challenges players to follow the movement of a marker hidden under one of several covers (shells). In practice, the game is almost always run as a confidence trick that uses sleight of hand to transfer the marker between covers. In confidence trick slang, this swindle is referred to as a short-con because it is quick and easy to pull off. The shell game is related to the cups and balls conjuring trick, which is performed purely for entertainment purposes without any purported gambling element.
Kick the can, is an outdoor children's game related to tag, hide and seek, and capture the flag, played with as few as three to as many as several dozen players. The game is one of skill, strategy, stealth, and stamina.
A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items that need to be found, which the participants seek to gather or complete all items on the list, usually without purchasing them. Usually participants work in small teams, although the rules may allow individuals to participate. The goal is to be the first to complete the list or to complete the most items on that list. In variations of the game, players take photographs of listed items or be challenged to complete the tasks on the list in the most creative manner. A treasure hunt is another name for the game, but it may involve following a series of clues to find objects or a single prize in a particular order.
The Simpsons: Bart & the Beanstalk is a platform game released in February 1994 for the hand-held console Game Boy. It was developed by Software Creations and published by Acclaim Entertainment, and is based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The game is a parody of the fairy tale "Jack and the Beanstalk"; a large beanstalk grows far up into the sky outside the home of Bart Simpson, whom the player controls. Bart climbs the beanstalk all the way to the top and adventure ensues. Bart & the Beanstalk has received mixed reviews from critics.
Soup beans is a term common in the Southern United States, particularly the regions around the Appalachian Mountains. Soup beans are usually served with cornbread, greens, and potatoes and may be topped with raw chopped onions or ramps. Soup beans are considered a main course, but also serve as a side dish. In rural areas, where food was scarce during the winter, these dried beans were a staple food.
Tavče gravče is a traditional Macedonian dish. It is prepared with fresh beans and can be found in many restaurants in North Macedonia. It is also commonly eaten by the Macedonian diaspora. This meal is baked and served in a traditional unglazed earthenware pot. The name of the dish may be translated as "beans on a tava". Tavče gravče is considered the national dish of North Macedonia. "Tavče gravče Tetovo style" is a popular regional variation.
Treasure Mountain! is an educational video game published by The Learning Company in 1990 for DOS, Windows and Macintosh. It teaches children aged five to nine reading, basic math, and logic skills. Treasure Mountain is the third installment of the Super Seekers series.
Mixed-Up Fairy Tales is a graphic adventure game released by Sierra On-Line in 1991. It is a follow-up to Mixed-Up Mother Goose and was made for younger players than those of Sierra's King's Quest or Space Quest series. In it, the player controls a child - selected from one of six and named at will by the player. Commercial copies of the game provided a fairy tale themed coloring book with a set of crayons.
Muscle reading, also known as "Hellstromism", "Cumberlandism" or "contact mind reading", is a technique used by mentalists to determine the thoughts or knowledge of a subject, the effect of which tends to be perceived as a form of mind reading. The performer can determine many things about the mental state of a subject by observing subtle, involuntary responses to speech or any other stimuli. It is closely related to the ideomotor effect, whereby subtle movements made without conscious awareness reflect a physical movement, action or direction which the subject is thinking about. The term "muscle reading" was coined in the 1870s by American neurologist George M. Beard to describe the actions of mentalist J. Randall Brown, an early proponent of the art.
Traditional Filipino games or indigenous games in the Philippines are games that are played across multiple generations, usually using native materials or instruments. In the Philippines, due to limited resources for toys, children usually invent games that do not require anything but players. There are different kinds of Filipino traditional games which are well-suited for kids, and the games also stand as one of the different cultural and traditional games of the Philippines. Due to the variety of skills used in these games, they serve an important purpose in the physical and mental development of Filipino children. These games are also an important part of Filipino culture.
Smörgåsbord is a buffet-style meal of Swedish origin. It is served with various hot and mainly cold dishes.
Duck, duck, goose is a traditional children's game often first learned in preschool or kindergarten. The game may be later adapted on the playground for early elementary students. The object of this game is to walk in a circle, tapping on each player's head until one is finally chosen; the chosen player must then chase the picker to avoid becoming the next picker.
Traditional games of Andhra Pradesh, like many other traditional games played in India, involve games which are played mostly by children. These games may also be enjoyed by other people of any age, as it reminds them of their childhood. Despite the advent of computers and technology, with children preferring to spend their times indoors, these games are still very popular in the Andhra Pradesh. They are also played in great and small towns all over India and Pakistan, especially in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, as well as Cambodia and Italy..
Blind man's buff or blind man's bluff is a variant of tag in which the player who is "It" is blindfolded. The traditional name of the game is "blind man's buff", where the word buff is used in its older sense of a small push.
Sepak Tekong is a traditional children's game from Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia similar in play to hide-and-seek. It is played in many regions around Indonesia. The name comes from the Minangkabau language. The word sepak means menendang or menyepak in Indonesian, which roughly translates to "kick" in English; and tekong means kaleng in Indonesian, which translates to the word "can" in English. Sepak Tekong therefore roughly translates to "kicking the can" in English.
Thai traditional games have been an integral part of Thai culture and traditions since ancient times. The Sukhothai period marked the earliest known traditional games in Thailand, as recorded in the stone inscription of King Ramkhamhaeng. Since then, Thai traditional games have evolved and been adapted over time, leading to the development of a wide variety of games across different eras. These games were originally designed to foster good relationships between adults and young people, as well as to provide entertainment, relaxation, and exercise. They are played with a set of rules and often feature music or songs to enhance the experience. Moreover, many traditional Thai games incorporate natural items such as sand, bamboo, rattan, mud balls, or banana tree stems, etc.