Kim's Game facts for kids

Kim's Game is a fun and helpful game that teaches you to be really good at noticing and remembering details. It's played by many groups, like Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides, and even in the military.

The game gets its name from a famous book called Kim, written by Rudyard Kipling in 1901. In the story, the main character, Kim, plays this game while he is learning to be a spy.

How Kim's Game Started

In the book Kim, the game is called the "Play of the Jewels" or the "Jewel Game." Kim is a teenager who is secretly being trained as a spy. He stays with a man named Mr. Lurgan, who seems to run a jewel shop. But Mr. Lurgan is actually involved in spy work for the British government.

One day, Mr. Lurgan puts a bunch of jewels on a tray. His servant tells Kim how to play:

Look on them as long as thou wilt, stranger. Count and, if need be, handle. One look is enough for me. When thou hast counted and handled and art sure that thou canst remember them all, I cover them with this paper, and thou must tell over the tally to Lurgan Sahib. I will write mine.

Kim and Mr. Lurgan play this game many times. Sometimes they use jewels, other times they use different objects or even pictures of people. It was a very important part of Kim's spy training. Mr. Lurgan believed it was worth doing many times until it was perfect.

Playing Kim's Game

Kim's Game is great for improving your memory and observation skills. It's often played in different ways depending on who is playing.

For Younger Children

When played with younger kids, like those aged 5 or 6, the game is often made a bit simpler. The goal is still to remember what's on a tray.

After everyone has looked at the objects on the tray, it is covered up. Then, one object is secretly taken away. The tray is uncovered again, and the players have to figure out which item is missing. This version helps young children learn new things, like different shapes or types of fruit.

In Scouting Groups

Robert Baden-Powell, who started the Scouting movement, wrote about Kim's Game in his book Scouting Games. He described how Scouts should play it:

The Scoutmaster should collect on a tray a number of articles – knives, spoons, pencil, pen, stones, book and so on – not more than about fifteen for the first few games, and cover the whole over with a cloth. He then makes the others sit round, where they can see the tray, and uncovers it for one minute. Then each of them must make a list on a piece of paper of all the articles he can remember... The one who remembers most wins the game.

This version challenges players to recall as many items as possible from a collection. It's a classic Scouting activity that helps develop sharp eyes and a good memory.

Kim's Game in Military Training

Kim's Game is also used in military training, especially for people who need to be very observant, like snipers. For example, the United States Marine Corps teaches this game at its Scout Sniper Instructor School in Quantico, Virginia. It's also part of sniper training at places like Camp Lejeune, Camp Pendleton, and in Hawaii.

Sometimes, in the military, the name "Kim's Game" is jokingly said to stand for "Keep In Memory." It's also used as a memory test for Royal Marines during their commando and sniper training. This shows how important observation and memory are in many different fields, just like in Kim's spy training!

Images for kids

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  Kim's Game is a memory exercise, played with a selection of stones or other distinguishable objects