Kim’s game

Today as part of our party activities at my English conversation group we played Kim’s game. This is a party game I remember from when I went to parties when I was a child; there is a tray of random objects which is covered by a cloth once it has been observed, and everyone has to try and remember the objects. I seem to remember we were shown a tray of things, and then one was removed,and then another, and anther and soon, and the person who lasted the longest with items removed was the winner… and without bragging, I have to say I usually won this game! I don’t have  completely photographic memory, but I have an almost photographic memory!

We played a simpler game this morning; ten objects on a tray, shown, then covered… what is remembered! I had the sort of feeling that Kim’s game was something to do with Rudyard Kipling, whether that was because he wrote a book called ‘Kim’ I don’t know. I investigated and found that Kim’s game is particularly associated with the Scout and Guide movement;  however, the game comes from Kipling’s book Kim, where the hero is trained to remember things by using a version of the game we now play. It is then called  the Play of the Jewels and the Jewel Game.

Here is a link to more about it:

http://www.gmbservices.ca/Jr/KimGame.htm