Good morning everyone! It is another nice morning and should be a beautiful day with the temp getting up to about 46F (8C). Coffee is ready, so come, grab a cup and help yourself! I had a nice surprise yesterday, one of my chipmunks came around! It was Coffee and he remembered exactly where to go to find peanuts, right outside my door. I was unable to get him to come over to me, but he was the last to do so last year. I’m sure it won’t take long to get him back on my lap. He wasn’t scared of me at least, I could stand beside him and talk with him. We’ll see how much longer before the other chipmunks show up. Seeing the chipmunks is a real sign of spring. I’m sure some of our summer birds will be arriving soon as well.

Now it’s time for more games:

The Game of Steeplechase This is a game with a huge number of variations and has been around since at least the 1800s, likely early in that century. No one really knows who invented the game but it likely originated in France and it became very popular and many game manufacturers made it, with each having their own version of the game. However the main play remained the same, but some used dice and some more recent games used a spinner for moving the game pieces. Mine is from the 1940s and uses the spinner. Some games actually had a horse and rider game pieces, others used regular game pieces. If a player lands on certain spots the horse stumbles and falls, so the player must wait for all other players to pass before proceeding. Other times landing on a certain spot will give the player an advantage.

The Game of Pitch Ball This is a simple game for younger kids, just toss the ball and hopefully get it to land in one of the squares in the box to get points. Not so easy, the wood balls like to bounce out of the spaces provided. The first to get a certain number of points wins the game. My game is from England, likely where the game was invented and is from the 1940s.

Tiddledy Winks Although many consider this just a children’s game, it started out as an adult game in 1888 and became very popular in the 1890s with adults and children. There are simplified rules for kids and tougher rules for adults. The game has enjoyed popularity off and on over the years and competitions both national and international began in the 1940s in Britain and the U.S., and these competitions continue to this day. The game was never too popular outside of Britain and N. America for some reason. My game is from about 1920. Many different names have been used for the game as well and “Tiddly Winks” seems to be the most popular. I hope you all have a great day and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2021 Steve McLeod.