Family Game Night in the 1920s

A deck of cards, a checkerboard, or a chess set seemed a little hum-drum for my intrepid Three Snowbirds. I couldn't picture the ladies playing the Cootie Game they had been in France and seen first hand the infestations the troops suffered. This just wouldn't be Cornelia's idea of a fun evening with the family gathered around a board depicting a WWI battlefield where players moved little red cooties across the board to the "cootie trap." 

This led me to look into what sorts of games a family might gather around the dining table to play. The first one that caught my attention was Snakes and Ladders. Yes, the same board game I played with my daughter in the late 1970s was around in the 1920s. The board has hardly changed. 

I discovered a game called Hokum, which was one of the most popular of the decade. Since the game was unfamiliar to me I wanted to know how it was played. It turns out that Hokum is the forerunner of Bingo and the rules are very similar. 

In 1921 a new sensation hit the market, a board game based on The Wizard of Oz series. This was more than a decade before Judy Garland was carried off to Oz through the magic of Hollywood. The board game doesn't just take us on a tour of Munchkin Land, but all the magical lands in the kingdom of Oz. 

While we're talking of magic, let's not overlook the fascination with all things magical and mystical among us, Parker Brothers introduced a game called the Venician Fortuneteller. It never became as popular as the Mystifying Oracle Ouija or the Ouija Board as it is known today. I don't know about Cornelia, but I'm sure Teddy tried her hand at speaking to the spirit world. Her natural curiosity wouldn't let her miss out on Ouija.