One of the players has a ball, to which a string is fastened. He holds the string that he may easily draw the ball back again after it is thrown. The possessor of the ball then throws it to one in the circle, calling out the name of either of the elements he pleases. This player must, before ten can be counted, give the name of an inhabitant of that element. When Fire is called, strict silence must be observed or a forfeit paid.--Cork, Ireland (Miss Keane). The players were seated in a half-circle, and the possessor of the ball faced the others. There was no string attached to the ball, but it was necessary that it should hit the child it was thrown to. When Fire was called, Salamander and Ph[oe]nix were allowed to be said. The third time Fire was called, silence was observed, and every player bowed the head.
Any player going back further than the last trick turned and quitted, forfeits his entire score for cards. The player first correctly announcing that he has reached 1000 points, wins the game, no matter what his adversary’s score may be; but if the announcement is incorrect, he loses the game. Should a player score more than he is entitled to; as, for instance, scoring 80 for four Queens, his adversary may take down the superfluous score, 20 points in this instance, and may add it to his own score for a penalty. _=CHEATING.=_ Apart from the usual weapons of false shuffles, strippers cut to locate or pull out the binocle cards, and the opportunities always offered to the greek when the cards are dealt three or four at a time, the bézique family of games are particularly adapted to the use of marked cards. These will show the philosopher the exact value of both the cards in the next draw, and will enable him to vary his play accordingly. It is for this reason that in France the top card of the stock is always drawn by the same player, no matter which wins the trick. In Rubicon Bézique, a person should be very familiar with the movements peculiar to dealing seconds before he ventures to play in a public café, or he may find his adversary with the most astonishing run of repeated combinations, and will be rubiconed almost every game. Never play with a man who cuts the pack with both hands, watches the cards closely as he deals, or looks intently at the top of the stock before he plays to the current trick. Players who have a nervous affection which makes them pass over too many counters at once will also bear watching.
Evening Mail, and the Chicago Journal. A number of the weekly magazines offer similar competitions in England, but as a rule the problems in that country are of very poor quality. About 1910 it became the fashion not to play spades, it being considered a waste of time to play a hand for such a small amount as 2 points a trick, so the dealer was allowed to score 2 for the odd and 4 for honours, regardless of how the cards were distributed, the hand being abandoned. The objection to this practice was that many hands were worth much more than 2 points, and in some cases the spade make would have gone game at the score. This led to the practice of playing “royal spades,” which were played at 10 and then at 9 a trick, sometimes with a penalty of 20 if the declarer failed to make the odd. Shortly after this, later in 1910, there developed a decided rebellion against the dealer’s monopoly of the make, and in order to allow any player at the table who held good cards to get the benefit of them, whether he was the dealer or not, bidding for the privilege of making the trump came into vogue. This was the starting point of auction, its chief difference from the older game being that only the side that made the highest bid for the declaration could score toward game. The full number of tricks bid had to be made, and if they were not made, the adversaries scored in the honour column for penalties, the penalty being always the same, regardless of the trump suit. The great disparity in the values of the suits as then played practically confined the bidding to the hearts and royal spades. This soon brought about another change, which was to raise the values of all the suits except spades and to cut down the no-trumper.