A parlour game is a group game played indoors. During the Victorian era in Great Britain, these games were extremely popular among the higher classes. They were played in a parlour, hence the name.
During the 19th century, wealthy men and women had more leisure time than people of previous generations. This led to the creation of a variety of parlour games to allow these gentlemen and ladies to amuse themselves at small parties. Parlour games decreased in popularity in the first half of the 20th century as radio, movies, and later, television captured more of the public's leisure time.
Many parlour games involve logic or word-play. Others, such as blind man's bluff, are more physical games, but not to the extent of a sport or exercise. Some also involve dramatic skill, such as in charades. Most do not require any equipment beyond what would be available in a typical parlour. Parlour games are usually competitive, but cumulative scores are not usually kept and the only reward for winning a round is the admiration of one's peers. The length and ending time of the game is typically not set; play continues until the players decides to end the game.
Parlour games decreased in popularity in the first half of the 20th century as radio, movies, and later, television captured more of the public's leisure time.
Parlour games are usually competitive, but cumulative scores are not usually kept and the only reward for winning a round is the admiration of one's peers.
The length and ending time of the game is typically not set; play continues until the players decide to end the game.
A game is a recreational activity involving one or more players, defined by a) a goal that the players try to reach, and b) some set of rules that determines what the players can do.
All through human history, people have played games to entertain themselves and others, and there is an enormous variety of games types; for specific information about any type, see links at the end of this article.
In Philosophical Investigations, philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein argued that the concept "game" could not be contained by any single definition, but that games must be looked at as a series of definitions that share a "family resemblance" to one another.
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