Games In The Victorian Era
During 1837-1901 was the Victorian Era was the years of Queen Victoria’s reign. From June 20, 1837, to her death on January 22, 1901. During this era, Children usually helped their parents in factories and sweatshops. The Victorians also loved their board games and some of these were invented well before the Victorian era such as chess, dominoes and backgammon but still played widely by the Victorians. However, many new children’s board games were invented in the Victorian era that were educational as well as fun.
Pages in category 'Video games set in the 19th century' The following 135 pages are in this category, out of 135 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. 3 Skulls of the Toltecs; 80 Days (2005 video game) 80 Days (2014 video game) 1453–1821: The Coming of Liberation. In the Victorian era this game was typically played outside but had indoor variations as well. It is still a popular indoor pub game in some areas of the UK and United States. It consisted of a round hard ball and several Skittles, usually around nine. The object of the game was to roll the ball and knock down as many skittles as possible.
Recreational activities were very much dependent on the class bracket that the Victorian fell into to dictate what hobbies would be done. The prospect of socialising was considered overly important to the Victorians and this depending on to the class brackets as the upper and middle classes would be unlikely to socialise with the lower classes due to the pride of reputation and prejudice. Therefore, activities were often divided up between classes as the working classes not only would be segregated from the upper and middle classes but also had less money and less time for recreational activities. Therefore, recreational activities, although considered important to a Victorian era society, were often segregated and many Victorians would never participate in any socialisation due to the demands of work and the lack of money gained by the poor and the working classes.
The working class had little money and little spare time, meaning that they often spent time drinking in pubs and socialising with people of a similar class. Sports were popular with the working classes as well as the higher classes as it required little money to play, meaning that sports such as football took off during this era and professional football clubs as we know them today were quickly developed due to the high interest in the sport. Other sports such as cricket were also popular and had been growing in popularity since the early 18th century. Board games, when affordable, also became popular pastimes for both adults and children and allowed families to convene and socialise, which was common during the nineteenth century in the lower classes.
Middle and upper-class Victorians, however, had different forms of recreational actions. The Music Hall was a popular recreational activity that involved a plethora of different activities from music to mime artists, which was not only an opportunity for the Victorian’s to socialise, but also to enjoy new forms of entertainment that had not been seen before this time period. Furthermore, the theatre was also a popular socialising and entertainment leisure activity for the Victorians. Shakespeare and Wilde were popular and renowned for their impressive plays, meaning the theatre was seen as an exciting and interesting place to spend extra time in order to be entertained in the nineteenth century. Sports also quickly became popular in the Victorian era specifically, and games like football and cycling were becoming favourable past times for men who had finished working for the day. This contributed to the impeccable diet of many Victorian people as sport and exercise was frequented and helped most Victorians to stay fit and healthy, as well as entertained. Excursions were also popular to visit the seaside when available due to the improved technology, meaning that the holiday business quickly began to boom with the wealthier Victorians.
Children also spent much of their time committed to recreational activities if their parents were in the middle or upper classes. Hobbies such as learning instruments, learning extra languages and sports would have been popular with children outside of school. However, similar to adults, the working class, and poor children would have been much less likely to spend time doing recreational activities as many poorer children would be working from a young age or unable to afford any extra events. As such a large proportion of children during the Victorian era abstained from going to school due to the demand to work to support the family, this meant that middle and upper classes established the privilege of recreational activities and created almost an exclusive group, meaning that life for less fortunate children in the Victorian era was often hard and dull, as they were thrown straight into adulthood with no extra time for hobbies or to enjoy themselves.
From, The Victorian Blogger
by Nathan and Colby
During 1837-1901 was the Victorian Era was the years of Queen Victoria’s reign. From June 20, 1837, to her death on January 22, 1901. During this era, Children usually helped their parents in factories and sweatshops. As Time went on, the Factory Acts were passed. The acts limited the amount of time the children could work. Then, this led to a growing demand of toys, which led to a mass production for toys to occupy the children. There was an abundance of toys for kids to play with. Just to name some, there was the leather football, toy soldiers, the diabolo, marbles, and the jumping rope.
Leather football
Different kinds of the modern football and soccer ball have been around since between 2500-5000 B.C, and leather or animal skins have been used to make them just about as long. Football was played on the lawns or in the streets by all classes of people. The rich children could own a fancy professionally made ball but the poor children could easily make their own. Most kids would struggle to get enough money for a football they could buy at the store but most of the lower class kids wouldn’t be able to ever afford one.
Toy Soldiers
Many of today’s war video games have taken the place of toy soldiers. Kids would use their imagination to fight wars and battles with their toy soldiers. They would collect there soldiers then muster up as a group and fight with everybody’s soldiers. This was a very fun way to imagine fights and wars as a kid but in a clean and nonviolent way.
The Diabolo
There is a string with two sticks attached at each end. It also comes with a plastic or maybe metal spool. The toy came from China and became very popular in the UK. You are supposed to throw the spool up in the air then catch it on the string. Many kids after a while learned how to do many cool and different tricks.
Marbles
Marbles are still used today, but aren’t as popular as they were in the Victorian era. Many games were played with marbles. To name some, Bouncers, Shooting, and Hundreds were all played with marbles. Poor children usually had clay marbles, while the rich had real marbles made from real marble.
Skipping Rope
The jumping rope is a toy and an exercise still popular today. We know it as the Jump Rope, but in the Victorian era, it was the Skipping Rope. It was more popular with girls than boys. The rich had skipping ropes with fancy carved handles, but the poor could easily make their own.
Works Cited
“Victorian Toys and Victorian Games.” Victorian Children, www.victorianchildren.org/victorian-toys-and-victorian-games/
“The Victorian Era Play (1837-1901) | Collections.” Boston Children’s Museum, www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org/exhibits-programs/collections/victorian-era-play-1837-1901.
“Victorian Parlour Games.” The Victorian School, www.victorianschool.co.uk/parlour%20games.html.
“Primary History – Victorian Britain – Toys and games.” BBC, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/victorian_britain/toys_and_games/.
Games In The Victorian Era Game
Chayer, Alex. “Toys and games children played in the Victorian era.” Prezi.com, 22 Jan. 2016, www.prezi.com/wjmmtfdttzgr/toys-and-games-children-played-in-the-victorian-era/
What Games Were Popular In The Victorian Era
HYPERLINK WITH: Bill, Matt, and Lenahjaa – Parlour Games