Boys were crouched on the earth playing mumble-the-peg.    From Wordnik.com.  [Margaret] Reference

There were shade-trees all along the street, that you could climb if you wanted to, or that you could lie down under when you had run yourself out of breath, or play mumble-the-peg.    From Wordnik.com.  [Boy Life Stories and Readings Selected From The Works of William Dean Howells] Reference

If you wanted to play mumble-the-peg, or anything, while your kite was up, you tied it to a stake in the ground, or gave it to some other fellow to hold; there were always lots of fellows eager to hold it.    From Wordnik.com.  [Boy Life Stories and Readings Selected From The Works of William Dean Howells] Reference