Since the pandemic, we have been spending a great deal of time at home. We imagine you have tried a variety of indoor games to bring your family together and nurture your relationships. In case you run out of ideas for indoor games, we have your back! We have searched our collections and found you some ideas for indoor activities. We hope these games will keep everyone entertained and brighten up your day.
Charades
The photograph shows the Simpsons Charade Team played on CHBC-TV in their charade contest in December 1960. This word guessing game can be so exciting that it spices up your evening.
Let’s Play Charades, 1960-12
If you are playing this game with kids, you can check out The British Columbia readers : beginner’s reader (1915) and The British Columbia readers : first reader (1915) from the BC Historical Documents collection to get a list of interesting words.
The British Columbia readers : beginner’s reader, 1915
The British Columbia readers : first reader, 1915
Riddles
If you love difficult riddles, you’re in the right place. This Chinese riddle book from the Chung Collection is perfect for Cantonese-speaking teens and adults. It contains 14 tricky riddles that challenge readers. Check out the riddles with answers from this book.
Chinese riddles, [between 1890 and 1910?]
Crossword Puzzles
Let’s try these crossword puzzles at your next family gathering and see who can find all the right words first! You can find the answer of the health & safety crossword on page 9 of the “On Cue” newsletter issued in February 1992, and the answer of the Railway Crossing crossword on the last page of CP Rail news issued on June 13, 1984.
[CUE newsletters], 1992-01 – 1992-05
CP Rail news, 1984-05-23
For those big fans of crossword puzzles out there, we have found you several puzzles with answers from the Canadian Pacific gazette in the Chung Collection:
- Canadian Pacific gazette, between 1933-08-30 and 1933-08-31
- Canadian Pacific gazette, 1936-07-20
- Canadian Pacific gazette, 1937-09-16
- Canadian Pacific gazette, 1938-06-26
- Canadian Pacific gazette, between 1938-08-09 and 1938-08-10
- Canadian Pacific gazette, between 1938-08-29 and 1938-09-02
Mahjong
The Chung Collection has a set of Mahjong pieces created in the early 20th century. Playing this tile-based game might improve players’ memory because it requires players to use cognitive skills. Time to master a game? UBC students who are interested in learning or playing Mahjong can join the UBC Mahjong Club. If you are a beginner, you can find the game rules from our blog post from August 2018.
Mah Jongg set, [between 1920 and 1929?]
Utagaruta
The One Hundred Poets Collection contains several sets of Utagaruta which is one of the classic Japanese card games. Similar to playing Mahjong, playing Utagaruta helps develop players’ muscle memory. You can find other beautiful sets of Utagaruta in the One Hundred Poets Collection, and the game rules from our blog post from April 2018.
Hyakunin isshu shimo no ku eiri, [Late Tokugawa period]; [徳川時代後期]
We hope you are enjoying these games and staying safe & healthy during this unprecedented time. If this post has piqued your interest in our collections, we welcome you to explore them. There are a lot of hidden gems in our collections just waiting to be discovered. Have fun!
