Summary

Game name (and type): 'King and Queen' (creeping game)
Alternative types: guessing game

Handwritten description of the creeping game 'King and Queen' written for Dr Dorothy Howard by Janet Payne, a student at Double View Government Primary School, presumably on 25 March 1955. Payne describes 'King and Queen' as a game requiring a long hall and at least five children. Players select a 'king' and 'queen', who must stand at the far end of the hall. While the 'king' pretends to sleep, Payne explains that the 'queen' points at a 'princess', who slowly creeps towards the 'king'. If the 'king' hears her approach, the 'princess' is eliminated and must sit down. The process is repeated with the 'queen' sleeping as a 'prince' steals towards her. Payne notes that the game continues until all players have had a turn.

One of a collection of letters describing a children's games written to children's Folklorist Dorothy Howard between 1954 and 1955. Dr Howard came to Australia in 1954-55 as an American Fulbright scholar to study Australian children's folklore. She travelled across Australia for 10 months collecting children's playground rhymes, games, play artefacts, etc. This letter, together with the other original fieldwork collected by Dr Howard during this period, is preserved in the Dorothy Howard Collection manuscript files, part of the Australian Children's Folklore Collection (ACFC), Archive Series 3. The ACFC is an extensive collection documenting children's folklore and related research.

Physical Description

Handwritten game description in pencil on lined paper. Features borders ruled in red pencil; text printed on one side only.

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