Hot potato is a
party game
Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillian; ...
that involves players gathering in a
circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is con ...
and tossing a small object such as a
beanbag or even a real potato to each other while music plays.
The player who is holding the object when the music stops is eliminated.
Origins
The origins of the hot potato game are not clear. However, it may go back as far as 1888 when
Sidney Oldall Addy
Sidney Oldall Addy (9 January 1848 – 15 November 1933) was an English author of books on folklore and history. He was born in Norton, Derbyshire, to coal merchant and landowner James Addy and his wife, Sarah. He studied classics at Lincoln Col ...
's
Glossary of Sheffield Words describes a game in which a number of people sit in a row, or in chairs round a
parlor
A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necess ...
.
["Addy, Sidney Oldall (1888). "The Geographical or Ethnological Position of Sheffield", A Glossary of Words Used in the Neighbourhood of Sheffield." London: Trubner & Co. for the English Dialect Society.] In this game, a lit
candle
A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time.
A person who makes candle ...
is handed to the first person, who says:
The one in whose hand the light expires has to pay the forfeit.
See also
*
Bagholder
In financial slang, a bagholder is a shareholder left holding shares of worthless stocks. The bagholder typically bought in near the peak, when people were hyping the asset and the price was high, and held it all the way through steep declines, los ...
*
Musical chairs
Musical chairs, also known as Trip to Jerusalem, is a game of elimination involving players, chairs, and music. It is a staple of many parties worldwide.
Gameplay
A set of chairs is arranged with one fewer chair than the number of players ...
*
Pass the parcel
Pass the parcel is a classic British party game in which a parcel is passed from one person to another.
In preparation for the game, a prize (or "gift") is wrapped in a large number of layers of wrapping paper or reusable fabric bags of different ...
*
Passing the buck
References
{{Party games
Children's games
Party games