Two fishponds are provided, a fishpond being just a curtain or a sheet drawn across one corner of the room. The heart are represented by clothespins, there being an even number in each pond. Each team is provided with a fishpole, this, too, being a very impromptu affair of stick with a line on it, with a bent pin on the end of each line. It is a good plan to test out the pins before the games starts, for some clothespins are heavier than others, and a real hook may be necessay.

Players are divided into two teams, the first playre in each team holding the fishpole. At the starting signal these first two players run over to their individual fish-ponds, fish for a clothespin, and when they catch one, run back to the starting point, deposit the pin in a pan put there for that purpose and give the line to the next player who does the same thing. This continues until all the players have fished for and caught a clothespin. The side whose last player first hooks a clothespin and deposits it in the pan wins the race.

Hooking a clothespin on a bent pin is a hard matter at best, but when, in addition there are serveral excited and scornful teammates hurrying you on, life becomes a complicated affair.