1887 McLoughlin Bros. Grandmama’s Sunday Game

Part of a six set series, the 1887 McLoughlin Bros. Grandmama’s Game of Old Testament contains 100 Bible questions for players to answer.

During a time before television and video games, families would gather together and ask questions to each other. The Grandma’s series of games included six such trivia type games and taught players on a variety of subjects.  The titles in the series were as follows:

Game of Riddles
Game of Geography
Game of Arithmetic
Game of Useful Knowledge
Game of Old Testament
Game of New Testament

Playing these games was a way for families to not only share knowledge in a fun manner, but also a way to spend a bit of leisure time together.  The colorful cover suggests it was a ‘Sunday Game’; a game to play on the day of rest and for enjoyment.

Depicting Daniel and the Lion, the cover reveals the wonderful bright artwork the McLoughlin Bros. game company is known for.  The beautiful game boxes, using the latest printing techniques for the time, are one of the reasons why McLoughlin Bros. games are highly collectible.  Displayed in a game cabinet, the games provide an array of charming images.

However, the contents and game play of the McLoughlin games can be just as fantastic as their boxes.  In the Game of Old Testament, there are 100 tiny question cards and one answer booklet.  Glancing through the questions, a person realizes the information which can be learned by playing the game.

The game is a simple question/answer game.  The directions instruct players to select one person to act as the ‘Preceptor’ and hold the book of answers.  In the older 1860’s version of Grandmama’s Game of Useful Knowledge, the directions stated that the ‘oldest person’ held the answer booklet.  Obviously, as McLoughlin learned, Grandmama got tired of holding the book all the time.

The cards of the game are then shuffled and dealt to any number of players, called Scholars.  Starting on the left, a ‘Scholar’ picks one of his cards and reads the question aloud.  If he is able to answer it correctly, he keeps the card and play continues to the next player.  If he can’t provide a correct answer, the card passes to the next player and so on until the answer is known.  Whoever answers it, keeps the card.  If no one is able, the Preceptor will read the answer from the book.

The winner of the game is the Scholar with the most cards.  He would be the player who answered correctly the most questions.

The questions of the Old Testament game ask about the many characters found in the Bible.  Some examples are as follows:

Whose son did Elisha raise to life?
Who anointed Saul?
Who was the wisest man who ever lived?

Others ask, “What happened to the Prophet Jonah?” or “What judgment befell King Nebuchadnezzar?”

The old game played today would still provide and share knowledge in a fun manner.  As a collectible, it provides a delightful game to appreciate and enjoy; both in playing or just sitting on a shelf.