Fun & Games
Pret
en spel • Spaß und
Spiel
 hildren used to amuse themselves with games that
required no toys, or games that required no more than found objects,
such as sticks and stones, vats, or coopers’s hoops. Few children had to play
alone. In times of virtually no birth control there were always plenty
of children
around. Older children, especially girls, had to
mind younger ones and had to develop games with maximum supervision,
such as circle games and play dances. Some game playing lasted into adult
age, especially competitive games,
those that could be played
indoors, and those that lent themselves to betting. These
were primarily men’s games, as women were too busy working at all times and were not supposed to
be seen in public drinking houses in which these games tended to be played.
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