POPULAR GAMES

IN 11th CENTURY SLOVENIA

Children spent most of  their free time in nature. They played chase, hide-and-seek, and made grinders near water. Boys made whistles from willow leaves, and later marbles became popular. Girls played with rag dolls. The toys of country children were linked with their own imagination and creativity, whereas city children played with bought toys. Many toys and games described here are still very popular among children today.

The oldest children played with the flying dragon. It was made from cloth, not from paper. Children chased rings along the coast, down backyards and roads or played with marbles or Boules. They played with leather balls filled with wool. Little girls also had baby dolls while older girls had dolls with movable arms or legs. A well-known game which was still known a century ago was 'blind mice'. A child was blind-folded with a scarf, so that he/she could not see and that child was the 'blind mouse'. Then all the other children danced around the blind mouse and suddenly fled . The blind mouse tried to find the other children, but, of course, tripped and fell in doing so. The aim of the game was for the blind mouse to catch someone. When he/she did, the game was over. The game could be made more difficult by having the blind mouse identify the person caught.