Most of our games have been played with about 80 infantry, 50 cavalry, 3 or 4 naval guns, and a field gun on either side, or with smaller proportional forces. We have played excellent games on an eighteen-foot battlefield with over two hundred men and six guns a side. A player may, of course, rearrange his forces to suit his own convenience; brigade all or most of his cavalry into a powerful striking force, or what not. But more guns proportionally lead to their being put out of action too early for want of men; a larger proportion of infantry makes the game sluggish, and more cavalry--because of the difficulty of keeping large bodies of this force under cover--leads simply to early heavy losses by gunfire and violent and disastrous charging. The composition of a force may, of course, be varied considerably. One good Fight to a Finish game we tried as follows: We made the Country, tossed for choice, and then drew curtains across the middle of the field. Each player then selected his force from the available soldiers in this way: he counted infantry as 1 each, cavalry as 1-1/2, and a gun as 10, and, taking whatever he liked in whatever position he liked, he made up a total of 150. He could, for instance, choose 100 infantry and 5 guns, or 100 cavalry and no guns, or 60 infantry, 40 cavalry, and 3 guns. In the result, a Boer-like cavalry force of 80 with 3 guns suffered defeat at the hands of 110 infantry with 4. SIZE OF THE SOLDIERS The soldiers used should be all of one size.
The one who first gets the 100 (or other number) now goes in for his pizings, which performance takes place thus:--The loser, so far, is lying about, and the winner goes back to drakes, and again tries to lodge in the hole; and if he succeeds, the game is up. If not, he lies still, and the loser tries for the hole; if he gets in he counts another 10, or if he should succeed in hitting the winner he scores his adversary s 100 to his own number, and then goes on for his pizings as the other had done. In failure of either securing the game thus, the process is repeated at drakes. When, however, the one who is on for his pizings manages to taw into the hole, the game is concluded.--Easther s _Almondbury and Huddersfield Glossary_. Hunt the Hare A game among children, played on the ice as well as in the fields (Brockett s _North Country Words_). Strutt (_Sports_, p. 381) says Hunt the Hare is the same game as Hunt the Fox. In this game one boy is permitted to run out, and having law given to him--that is, being permitted to go to a certain distance from his comrades before they pursue him--their object is to take him, if possible, before he can return home. See Hare and Hounds.
4. The value of Ramsch shall be 20 points, to be charged to the player losing the game. If one player takes no trick, the loser shall be charged 30 points. If two players take no trick, the loser shall be charged 50 points. The winner of the last trick takes the skat cards. If there is a tie between two for high score, the winner of the last trick shall be the loser. If the last trick is taken by the low score, and the others are tied, the two high scores lose 20 points each. If all three are tied at 40 points each, there is no score. 5. In all games which are played “open,” the hand of the single player must be laid face up on the table before either adversary plays a card; but the adversaries shall not be allowed to consult, neither can they dictate to the player what cards he shall play.
2.] The second method of playing is best described by the Rev. Walter Gregor, from the Nairn game, which is known as The Gates of Babylon. Mr. Gregor writes as follows:-- This game may be played either by boys or girls. Two of the players join hands, and stand face to face, with their hands in front as if forming a gate. Each of these has a secret name. The other players form themselves into a line by clasping each other round the waist from behind. They go up to the two that form the gate, and the leader asks the first question, as in version No. 2.
Pray who will you send to take her away, Pray who will you send to take her away, On a cold and frosty morning? We ll send ---- to take her away, We ll send ---- to take her away, On a cold and frosty morning. --Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). III. Here we come gathering nuts in May, Nuts in May, nuts in May, Here we come gathering nuts in May, May, May, May. Who will you have for nuts in May, Nuts in May, nuts in May? Who will you have for nuts in May, May, May, May? [Bessie Stewart] for nuts in May, Nuts in May, nuts in May, [Bessie Stewart] for nuts in May, May, May, May. Very well, very well, so you may, So you may, so you may, Very well, very well, so you may, May, may, may. Whom will you have to take her away, Take her away, take her away? Whom will you have to take her away, Way, way, way? ---- ---- to take her away, Take her away, take her away, ---- ---- to take her away, Way, way, way. --Belfast (W. H.
=_ Although dice may be of any size, the standard pattern are half an inch square, of ivory or bone, with black spots one tenth of an inch in diameter. The opposite sides of the die always equal seven, and if the die is placed upon the table with the ace uppermost and the deuce nearest you, the four will be on the left and the three on the right. The positions of the three and four are sometimes reversed to enable sharpers to distinguish fair dice from those which have been doctored. At the beginning of any dice game, it is quite unnecessary to examine the dice to be used, because they are always fair. Crooked dice are _=rung in=_ during the game, and the player should make it a point to examine the dice frequently if he has any suspicions. First see that each die has all six figures upon it, for some dice are _=dispatchers=_, made with double numbers, so as to secure higher throws than the natural average. Double fives are great favourites with backgammon sharps. The next thing is to place the dice together in pairs, to be sure that they are exactly the same height each way. If dice are not square they can be made to roll over and over on the same faces. The faces should then be tested to see that they are not convex, even in the slightest degree.
_=Second Hand.=_ Play the best card you have second hand, and cover everything led if you can. With King and another or Queen and another, it is usually best to put up the honour second hand, on a small card led. _=Trumping.=_ It is seldom right to trump partner’s winning cards, unless he has ordered up the trump, and you think you can lead through the dealer to advantage. In playing against a lone hand, it is sometimes good play to trump your partner’s ace with an unguarded left bower or ace of trumps, as it may prevent the dealer from getting into the lead with a small trump, and may save a King or Queen of trumps in your partner’s hand. If you don’t trump, the dealer will probably get in and swing the right bower, and your trump will be lost. If your partner has ordered, made, or taken up the trump, and you have only one trump, even a bower, trump with it at the first opportunity. Trump everything second hand, unless it takes the right bower for a doubtful trick, or breaks into the major tenace in trumps. _=Discarding.
72. The penalty for a revoke-- I. Is at the option of the adversaries, who at the end of the hand may either take three tricks from the revoking player or deduct three points from his score, or add three to their own score; II. Can be claimed for as many revokes as occur during the hand; III. Is applicable only to the score of the game in which it occurs; IV. Cannot be divided, _i.e._, a player cannot add one or two to his own score and deduct one or two from the revoking player; V. Takes precedence of every other score--_e.g.
If you don t come now they ll all be gone. What s in my way? A bottle of hay. Am I over it? --Shrewsbury (Burne s _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 525). II. How many fingers do I hold up? Four, three, &c. [at random in reply]. How many horses has your father? Three [fixed reply]. What colour? White, red, and grey. Turn you about three times; Catch whom you may! --Deptford (Miss Chase).
With être, to be in the lead. Dans la main, applies to the possibilities of the hand. Placer la main, to place the lead. Make-up, to get the cards ready for the next deal. Make the Pass, to put the two parts of the pack back as they were before the cut. Maldonne, F., misdeal. Manche, F., one game of the rubber. Manque, the numbers from 1 to 18 at Roulette.
The head of the table is the end from which the players make their opening shots, and the foot is that on which the red ball is spotted. The baulk is the space at the head of the table behind a line drawn from the second diamonds or “sights” through the white spot. The “D” is the semicircle on the baulk line on English tables. American tables are made more difficult for championship games by drawing baulk lines 8 or 14 inches from the cushions, barring the rail nurse and the anchor shot. The English game is made difficult by making the cushions higher, the pockets narrower, and barring the spot stroke. The push shot is allowed in the English game, but in America it is permitted only in pool; never in the carrom game. The American carrom game cannot be played on an English table on account of the pockets. If the English game is played on an American pool table the red spot should be only nine inches from the bottom rail, and the “D” should be drawn with a radius of eleven inches from the white spot on the baulk line. The D is never marked on an American table, but the opening shot in the three-ball game must be made from within a semicircle of six inch radius from the white spot. In the four-ball game, and in all forms of American Pool, the player may place his ball anywhere within the baulk line.
The Giant rushes when he thinks all the children have knocked, and if he succeeds in catching one before they reach a place of safety (appointed beforehand) the captured one becomes Giant.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. Byford). See Wolf. Giddy Giddy, giddy, gander, Who stands yonder? Little Bessy Baker, Pick her up and shake her; Give her a bit of bread and cheese, And throw her over the water. --Warwickshire. _(b)_ A girl being blindfolded, her companions join hands and form a ring round her. At the word Yonder the blindfolded girl points in any direction she pleases, and at line three names one of the girls. If the one pointed at and the one named be the same, she is the next to be blinded; but, curiously enough, if they be not the same, the one named is the one. Meanwhile, at line four, she is not picked up, but is shaken by the shoulders by the still blindfolded girl; and at line five she is given by the same bread and cheese, _i.
=_ The player to the left of the caller should not lead trumps; but if the solo player has had a lead, and has not led trumps himself, the player on his right should take the first opportunity to lead them through him. The player to the left of the caller should not lead from suits headed only by the King; nor from those containing major or minor tenaces. The best leads are from suits headed by Q J or 10, even if short. With such high-card combinations as can be used to force the command in one round, such as K Q, or K Q J, the regular whist leads should be used. With suits headed by winning sequences, held by the player on the left, it is often right to lead them once, in order to show them, and then to lead a weaker suit to get rid of the lead. It is sometimes better to play winning sequences as long as it seems probable that the caller can follow suit. Many persons use the Albany lead to indicate a wish for trumps to be led through the caller. In response to such a signal the best trump should be led, whatever it is. When the adversary who leads in any trick is not on the left of the solo player, the caller will, of course, not be the last player, as at least one adversary must play after him. In such cases it is best to lead the longest suits.
| | . | | . | +---+-.-+---+-.-+---+-.-+---+-.-+ | | . | | . | | . | | .
| |18.|Silver and gold will |Silver and gold would |Silver and gold I have| | |be stolen away. |be stolen away. |not got. | |19.| -- | -- | -- | |20.| -- | -- | -- | |21.| -- | -- | -- | |22.| -- | -- | -- | |23.| -- | -- | -- | |24.
The qualifications for success in foretelling the future do not depend so much on the cards as on good judgment of human nature, unlimited assurance, a glib tongue, and a certain amount of ingenuity in making a connected story out of the disjointed sentences formed by the chance arrangement of certain cards, to which an arbitrary or fanciful meaning is attached. Speculation is considered by some persons an excellent training school for the commercial instincts of the younger members of a family, teaching them to form correct estimates as to the value of certain articles offered for sale in a fluctuating market. Authors is a very good game for the family circle, and does not require special cards, the ordinary pack being easily adapted to the distinctions of the game. Patience, or Solitaire, has probably claimed the attention of every card-player at some time or other, and one cannot fail to be impressed by the number and ingenuity of the patience games which have been invented. One of the most expensive works on cards ever published is devoted exclusively to Solitaire. Among all these odd games one should be able to find something to amuse all sorts and conditions of card-players. The only apparatus required in any of them is a pack of cards and a few counters, and for the latter corn or coffee-beans will form an excellent substitute. SOLO. Under the name of Solo, the Germans play a great many variations of card games, of which the following is the best known. _=Cards.
515. See Banger, Buttons. Hare and Hounds A boys game. One boy is chosen as the Hare. He carries with him a bag filled with strips of paper. The rest of the boys are the Hounds. The Hare has a certain time (say fifteen minutes) allowed him for a start, and he goes across country, scattering some paper on his way in order to indicate his track. He may employ any man[oe]uvre in order to deceive his pursuers, but must keep up the continuity of his paper track-signs. The Hounds follow him and try to catch him before he gets home, which is a place agreed upon beforehand.--London (G.
Bung the Bucket. Bunting. Burly Whush. Buttons. Buzz and Bandy. CACHE-POLE. Caiche. Call-the-Guse. Camp. Canlie.
34, reconstructed a copy of the original rhyme from the versions given by Halliwell and the _Mirror_, and gives the tune to which it was sung, which is reprinted here. The tune from Kent is the one generally used in London versions. The tune of a country dance called London Bridge is given in Playford s _Dancing Master_, 1728 edition. [4] Another informant gives the refrain, Grand says the little Dee. [5] I have identified this with a version played at Westminster and another taught to my children by a Hanwell girl.--A. B. G. Long-duck A number of children take hold of each other s hands and form a half-circle. The two children at one end of the line lift up their arms, so as to form an arch, and call Bid, bid, bid, the usual cry for calling ducks.
=_ Apart from the general principles common to all forms of Whist, such as the play of high or low cards, trumps or plain suits, etc., there are several points peculiar to Solo Whist which require attention. _=Proposing.=_ It is better to propose on two or three sure tricks, with strong probabilities of several more, than on a certainty of four only. For instance: The two highest trumps and two suits containing Aces, with no other trick probable, is not such a good hand for a proposal as one containing four average trumps, with one plain suit of K Q J x x, and another of K Q x x. It is not improbable that the latter may be good for seven or eight tricks. Nothing but experience will teach a player what combinations of cards are “probably” good for tricks; but K x x, or Q J 10 x or K Q, may be counted on. There should be some intelligible system of proposing, so that the players may understand each other. The eldest hand should not propose except on strong trumps, and this should be a warning to other players not to accept him on trump strength alone. Four trumps with two or three honours may be called strong; or five trumps, even without an honour.
The players bid for the privilege of naming the trump suit, or of playing without any trump but the joker. The number of tricks bid must not be less than six, and the suit must be named at the same time. The player having the most valuable game, regardless of the number of tricks or the suit, is the successful bidder, because a bid of seven in hearts, for instance, is worth more in points than a bid of eight in clubs, as will be seen from the following table. ---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------- If trumps are: |6 tricks.|7 tricks.|8 tricks.|9 tricks.|10 tricks. ---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------- Spades | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | 200 Clubs | 60 | 120 | 180 | 240 | 300 Diamonds | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 Hearts | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 No-trumps | 120 | 240 | 360 | 480 | 600 ---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------- The successful bidder always leads for the first trick, after he has taken the widow and discarded, and after the hand is played, he has the first count. If he has made as many as he bid, he scores it; but he cannot score more than he bid unless he succeeds in winning every trick.
He had kept his sanity by not thinking very much about his job, meeting the strains of the task whenever he had to meet them and thinking nothing more about his duties until the next emergency arose. Woodley never made a point of getting popular among the Partners. None of the Partners liked him very much. Some of them even resented him. He was suspected of thinking ugly thoughts of the Partners on occasion, but since none of the Partners ever thought a complaint in articulate form, the other pinlighters and the Chiefs of the Instrumentality left him alone. Underhill was still full of the wonder of their job. Happily he babbled on, What does happen to us when we planoform? Do you think it s sort of like dying? Did you ever see anybody who had his soul pulled out? Pulling souls is just a way of talking about it, said Woodley. After all these years, nobody knows whether we have souls or not. But I saw one once. I saw what Dogwood looked like when he came apart.
When _=Ramsch=_ is played, the object is to take less than either of the other players; but the cards rank as in the ordinary game, except that the four Jacks are the only trumps. In all other games the successful bidder undertakes to win; but his success does not depend on the number of tricks he takes in, but on the total value of the counting cards contained in those tricks. The total value of all the counting cards is 120 points, and to be successful, the single player must win at least 61. If he succeeds in winning 61 or more points, he wins his game, whatever it may be. If he can get 91 points, he wins a double game, which is called _=schneider=_. If he can take every trick, he wins a treble game, which is called _=schwartz=_. It is not enough to win 120 points, for if the adversaries win a single trick, even if it contains no counting cards, they save the schwartz. If the single player fails to reach 61, he loses. If he fails to reach 31, he is schneider; and if he fails to take a trick he is schwartz. These various results increase the value of the game, as will presently be seen.
It is a fatal error to beg on good cards, and gamblers have a saying that he who begs a point to-day, will beg a stake to-morrow. _=High=_ and _=Low=_ count to the player to whom those cards are dealt, and there is no chance to alter the fortunes of the deal except by begging and running the cards. These two points may both be made by the same card, if it is the only trump in play; because High is counted for the best trump out during the deal, and Low for the lowest, no matter what the cards are. _=Catching the Jack=_, or saving it, is one of the principal objects of the game, and as a rule a player holding the Jack should lose no opportunity to save such a valuable counting card. On the other hand, a player holding higher trumps will often have to use good judgment as to whether to lead them to catch the Jack, if it happens to be out; or to keep quiet until the last few tricks, when if the Jack is not out, such trumps may be useful to win cards that count for Game. _=The Game=_ is generally known as _=the gambler’s point=_, because it is the only point that must be played for in every hand, and its management requires more skill than all the others put together. The cards that count for Game are the four honours and the Ten of each suit. Every ace counts 4; every King 3; every Queen 2; every Jack 1; and every Ten 10. After the last card has been played, each player turns over the tricks he has won, and counts up the pip value of the court cards and Tens that he has won. Whoever has the highest number counts the point for Game.
VII. Tripping up the green grass, Dusty, dusty, day, Come all ye pretty fair maids, Come and with me play. You shall have a duck, my dear, And you shall have a swan, And you shall have a nice young man A waiting for to come. Suppose he were to die And leave his wife a widow, Come all ye pretty fair maids, Come clap your hands together! Will you come? No! Naughty man, he won t come out, He won t come out, he won t come out, Naughty man, he won t come out, To help us in our dancing. Will you come? Yes! Now we ve got our bonny lad, Our bonny lad, our bonny lad, Now we ve got our bonny lad, To help us in our dancing. --Middlesex (Miss Collyer). VIII. Stepping on the green grass Thus, and thus, and thus; Please may we have a pretty lass To come and play with us? We will give you pots and pans, We will give you brass, No! We will give you anything For a bonny lass. No! We will give you gold and silver, We will give you pearl, We will give you anything For a pretty girl. Yes! You shall have a goose for dinner, You shall have a darling, You shall have a nice young man To take you up the garden.
In the following directions the author has selected what appears to be the best French usage. The code of laws adopted by some of the English clubs is unfortunately very defective, and in many respects quite out of touch with the true spirit of the French game. The English are very fond of penalties; the French try to establish the status quo. _=CARDS.=_ Écarté is played with a pack of thirty-two cards, which rank, K Q J A 10 9 8 7. When two packs are used, the adversary shuffles one while the other is dealt. _=MARKERS.=_ In France, the game is always marked with the ordinary round chips or counters, never with a marker. As five points is the game, four of these counters are necessary for each player. _=PLAYERS.
Should such a combination occur there must be a new deal. If the player exposes cards himself, he has no remedy. _=15.=_ Should any player receive more or less than his proper number of cards, and discover the error before he looks at any card in his hand, or lifts it from the table, he may demand a new deal if no bet has been made; or he may ask the dealer to give him another card from the pack if he has too few, or to draw a card if he has too many. Cards so drawn must not be exposed, but should be placed on the top of the pack. If a bet has been made, there must be a new deal. Should the player take up his hand, or look at any card in it, he has no remedy. _=16.=_ Should a player take up a hand containing more or less than five cards, or look at any card in it, such a hand is foul, and he must abandon it, forfeiting any interest he may have in that pool. If one player has six cards and his neighbour four, neither having lifted or looked at any card, the dealer may be called upon to draw a card from the six hand and give it to the four hand.