So we got this book recently called
Playground and Indoor Games for Boys and Girls by Winifred Wilson, originally published around 1910. It's incredible. We'll post some of the best games here, and you guys should play them. Seriously, they're fun. First up, A Comical Concert!
The players sit round the room, each pretending to play an instrument agreed upon, each performer choosing a different one. There is a conductor, who keeps time, and who suddenly stops the performance, and asks one of the performers why he is not playing more accurately, or some similar question. The reply has to be given instantaneously, and must agree with the nature and capability of the supposititious instrument. Thus, should the conductor pounce upon the drummer with the enquiry "what is the matter with your drum?" he must give an answer that would really apply to a drum being out of order, such as the parchment has given way, or the cords have come loose. he must not give the same answer twice, consequently it becomes a little difficult to invent a fresh misfortune for the drum, when the drummer is pounced upon several times. It is the same with the other music instruments. The ingenuity of the company is taxed to find new disorders for them, after they say their mouth-pieces are lost, or come loose, or their strings snapped, or bridges broken, or pegs dropped, as the case may be. If the player is unable to find an excuse, he must leave the band.
A couple notes - from our experience, it is funner if the players make noises w/ their mouth that mimic their invisible instruments, a capella style. Also, it sucks when a chipmunk crawls into your supposititious tuba.
