, but does not give any reference to it. Halliwell quotes the four first lines, the first line reading Boys and girls, instead of Boys, boys, from a curious ballad written about the year 1720, formerly in the possession of Mr. Crofton Croker (_Nursery Rhymes_). Chambers also gives this rhyme (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 152). Branks A game formerly common at fairs, called also Hit my Legs and miss my Pegs. --Dickinson s _Cumberland Glossary_. Bridgeboard [Illustration] A game at marbles. The boys have a board a foot long, four inches in depth, and an inch (or so) thick, with squares as in the diagram; any number of holes at the ground edge, numbered irregularly. The board is placed firmly on the ground, and each player bowls at it.
_=CARDS.=_ Loo is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, which rank, A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2; the ace being the highest. _=COUNTERS.=_ Loo being a pool game, counters are necessary. They should be of two colours, white and red, one red banker, to sell and redeem all counters. Each player should begin with 18 red and 6 white, which is equal to 20 reds. _=PLAYERS.=_ Any number of persons from three to seventeen may play, but eight is the usual limit, and five or six makes the best game. The players take their seats at random. _=CUTTING.
After all the boys had jumped over the first boy s back, a cry of Foot it was raised, and the boy who had given the back placed one of his feet at a right angle to the other, and in this way measured a foot s length from the starting-place. All the boys then overed his back from the original line, the last one crying Foot it, and then the measuring ceremony was again gone through, and the game commenced again, and continued in the same manner until one of the boys failed to over the back, when he became Back. [Illustration] [Illustration: 1st position] [Illustration: 2nd position] [Illustration: 3rd position] Football The modern game of Football is too well known to need description here, and, like Cricket, it has become no longer a children s game. As to its origin, there are many ball games, such as Camping, which have been suggested as the original form of Football. Every school almost had some peculiarity in the method of playing, and Eton, Winchester, Uppingham, and Rugby are well-known examples. It is not a little interesting to note, now that Football has settled down into a national game organised by county committees, that one of the forms of play officially recognised is the old Rugby game, the other form, known as the Association, being arrived at by agreement of those interested in the game. To illustrate the ancient origin of the game, and its serious import as a local contest rather than a sport, some examples may be given. It is still (1877) keenly contested at Workington on Easter Tuesday on the banks of, and not unfrequently in, the river Derwent (Dickinson s _Cumberland Glossary_). At Derby there was a football contest between the parishes of All Saints and St. Peter s.
8. Cradle as at first. The different orders or arrangements must be taken from the hands of one player by another without disturbing the arrangement.--A. B. Gomme. (_b_) Nares suggests that the proper name is Cratch Cradle, and is derived from the archaic word _cratch_, meaning a manger. He gives several authorities for its use. The first-made form is not unlike a manger. Moor (_Suffolk Words_) gives the names as cat s cradle, barn-doors, bowling-green, hour-glass, pound, net, diamonds, fish-pond, fiddle.
| -- | -- | | 5.| -- |So early in the | -- | | | |morning. | | | 6.|Fair maid, pretty |Fair maid, pretty |Please let one of your| | |maid. |maid. |daughters come. | | 7.| -- | -- |Come and dance with | | | | |me. | | 8.|[See below.
Jamieson adds: This game is called King s Covenanter in Roxburgh. He also refers to the game of King and Queen of Cantelon, recorded by Mactaggart. He considers the origin of this game to be representative of the contentions about the Debatable Lands on the border. This game was played at University Coll. School, London, under the name of Kings (A. Nutt). See How many miles to Barley Bridge? King Cæsar. King o the Castle One boy is chosen as King. He mounts on any convenient height, a knoll, or dyke, or big stone, and shouts-- A m King o the Castle, An fah (who) ll ding (knock) me doon? The players make a rush at the King, and try to pull him down. A tussle goes on for a longer or a shorter time, according to the strength of the King and his skill in driving off his assailants.
There was no effective cover whatever upon my right that would have permitted an advance up to the church, and so I decided to concentrate my whole force in a rush upon Hook s Farm, while I staved off his left with gun fire. I do not believe any strategist whatever could have bettered that scheme. My guns were at the points marked D C E, each with five horsemen, and I deployed my infantry in a line between D and E. The rest of my cavalry I ordered to advance on Hook s Farm from C. I have shown by arrows on the sketch the course I proposed for my guns. The gun E was to go straight for its assigned position, and get into action at once. C was not to risk capture or being put out of action; its exact position was to be determined by Red s rapidity in getting up to the farm, and it was to halt and get to work directly it saw any chance of effective fire. Red had now sighted us. Throughout the affair he showed a remarkably poor stomach for gun-fire, and this was his undoing. Moreover, he was tempted by the poorness of our cover on our right to attempt to outflank and enfilade us there.
” Whether it is because the game has been found ‘slow,’ or because its more attractive forms are little known, it is certainly true that writers on whist pay little or no attention to dummy. The English authors mention it only in connection with laws and decisions. No American text-book makes any allusion to the game, and there is no reference to it in the American Whist League’s code of laws. In the first edition of this work, written in 1895, the author ventured to prophesy that the day was not far distant when dummy would supersede all other varieties of whist among the most expert players; either in the form of the charming Mort or the fascinating Bridge. Very few persons who have played either of these games sufficiently to appreciate their beauties care to return to the platitudes of straight whist. At that time, bridge was unknown in America except to the members of The Whist Club of New York and their friends. In the short space of ten years it has become the card game of the world; but in spite of its present popularity it has its defects, and it would not be surprising to see its place usurped by another game, not a member of the whist family, which has been steadily gaining ground among those who have the intellectual capacity for card games of the highest class, and that is skat. The first text-book on bridge was a little leaflet printed in England in 1886, which gave the rules for “Biritch, or Russian Whist.” “Boax” came out with a little “Pocket Guide” in 1894, followed by “The Laws of Bridge” in 1895. The Whist Club of N.
The winner of the trick takes in the cards, turning them face down, but before he leads for the next trick he has the privilege of announcing and scoring any one of certain combinations that he may hold in his hand. After, or in the absence of any such announcement, and before leading for the next trick, he draws a card from the top of the stock, and places it in his hand, without showing or naming it. His adversary then draws the next card, so that each player restores the number of cards in his hand to twelve. This method of playing, announcing, and drawing from the talon is continued until the stock is exhausted. The A 10 K Q J of each suit have certain counting values, which will be described further on. All combinations announced and scored must be laid face upward on the table; but the cards still form part of the player’s hand, and may be led or played at any time, although they must not again be taken in hand until the stock is exhausted. _=Irregularities in Play.=_ If either player leads out of turn, and his adversary plays to the lead, whether intentionally or otherwise, the trick stands good. If the adversary calls attention to the error, the card may be taken back without penalty. If at any time it is discovered that a player has too many cards, his adversary may either claim a fresh deal, or may compel him to play without drawing from the talon until the number of his cards is reduced to twelve.
If the dealer accepts the first proposal, and gives cards, subsequent proposals and refusals do not affect the score; the winner of the odd trick scoring one point, and the winner of the vole two points. In no case can a player make more than two points in one hand by tricks. If the dealer refuses the first proposal, and the pone makes the vole, it counts two points only. If the pone should play without proposing, and the dealer should mark the King and win the vole, it would count him only three points altogether. The player first reaching five points wins the game. If a player has four scored, and turns the King, that wins the game, provided the King was the eleventh card. Rubbers are seldom played. _=CHEATING.=_ The methods of cheating at Écarté would fill a volume. There are many tricks which, while not exactly fraudulent, are certainly questionable.
Each ball pocketed scores one point for the striker and the game is usually scored upon the string of buttons over the table, as in regular billiards. Penalties are paid through deducting points from the offending player’s score or string of buttons, instead of forfeiting a ball to the table as in regular pyramid pool. The numbers on the balls are simply used for convenience in calling the number of each ball which the player intends to pocket, and do not in any way affect the score of the player. ENGLISH PYRAMID POOL. This differs from the American game in several points. There are no “call shots,” the player being entitled to every ball he pockets, whether he played for it or not. All balls in hand must be played from a D, 21 to 23 inches in diameter. There is no rule about driving two balls to the cushion on the opening shot. When all the red balls but one are pocketed, the red and white balls are used as cue balls alternately. If there are only two players, and only two balls on the table, the red and white, if either player makes a miss or goes in the pocket himself, that ends the game; but if there are more than two players another red ball is spotted, as in the American game.
Merrils. Merritot. Merry-ma-tansa. Milking Pails. Mineral, Animal, and Vegetable. Minister s Cat. Mollish s Land. Monday, Tuesday. Moolie Pudding. More Sacks to the Mill.
Auction Euchre is exactly the same as the ordinary four or six-handed game, except that the trump is not turned up, the players bidding in turn for the privilege of naming the trump suit. The bidder names the number of tricks he proposes to take. There is no second bid, and the player who has made the highest bid names the trump suit. No matter who is the successful bidder, the eldest hand leads for the first trick. The number of points won or lost on the deal are the number of points bid, even if the bidder accomplishes more. If a player has bid 3, and he and his partner take 4 or 5 tricks, they count 3 only. If they are euchred, failing to make the number of tricks bid, the adversaries count the number of points bid. Fifteen points is usually the game. This is probably the root of the much better games of five and seven-handed Euchre, which will be described further on. PROGRESSIVE EUCHRE.
84) describes this, and says, A sport of this kind was in practice with us at the commencement of the fourteenth century. He considers it to bear more analogy to wrestling than to any other sport. He gives illustrations, one of which is here reproduced from the original MS. in the British Museum. The game is also described in the Rev. J. G. Wood s _Modern Playmate_, p. 12. [Illustration] Knocked at the Rapper The girl who spoke of this game, says Miss Peacock, could only remember its details imperfectly, but as far as she recollects it is played as follows:--The players dance round a centre child, leaving one of their number outside the circle.
See Drop Handkerchief, French Jackie. Kit-Cat A game played by boys. Three small holes are made in the ground, triangularly about twenty feet apart, to mark the position of as many boys, each of whom holds a small stick, about two feet long. Three other boys of the adverse side pitch successively a piece of stick, a little bigger than one s thumb, called Cat, to be struck by those holding the sticks. On its being struck, the boys run from hole to hole, dipping the ends of their sticks in as they pass, and counting one, two, three, &c., as they do so, up to thirty-one, which is game. Or the greater number of holes gained in the innings may indicate the winners, as at cricket. If the Cat be struck and caught, the striking party is out, and another of his sidesmen takes his place, if the set be strong enough to admit of it. If there be only six players, it may be previously agreed that three _put outs_ shall end the innings. Another mode of putting out is to throw the Cat home, after being struck, and placing or pitching it into an unoccupied hole, while the in-party are running.
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These four methods of winning tricks suggest four systems of play, which are those in common use by experts at the present day: 1st. Playing high cards to the best advantage, so as to secure the best results from such combinations as may be held. This is the basis of all _=systems of leading=_. 2nd. Leading from the longest suit, in order that higher cards may be forced out of the way of smaller ones, leaving the smaller ones “established,” or good for tricks after the adverse trumps are exhausted. This is called the _=long-suit game=_. 3rd. Trumping good cards played by the adversaries. This is called _=ruffing=_. When two partners each trump a different suit, it is called a _=cross-ruff=_, or _=saw=_.
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He bids whatever amount he is willing to pay for the privilege of changing the suit, without naming the suit he prefers. The next player then has a bid, and so on in turn, the dealer bidding last. There are no second bids. The player making the highest bid pays into the pool the amount he has bid. He then names the suit to be avoided, and leads for the first trick, regardless of his position with respect to the deal. The dealer’s position is a great advantage, on account of its having the last bid. After the hand is played, those who have taken in any cards of the suit announced to be avoided, pay one counter to the pool for each of them. If any one player gets clear, each of the others having at least one of the tabooed suit, he takes the entire pool. If two get clear, they divide the pool, leaving any odd counter to form the basis of a Jack, as at Sweepstakes. If one player takes all thirteen, it is a Jack; but instead of the next choice being sold to the highest bidder, the one who named the suit on the hand that made the pool a Jack has the choice of suits again for the next deal, and he must select some suit without paying anything further for it, until some player wins what he paid for the choice in the first place.
Each player counts up the pip value of his three cards, reckoning the aces for eleven, and court-cards as ten each. The player coming nearest to thirty-one takes the third pool. Ties are decided in favour of the eldest hand, as before. In some places a further variation is introduced by allowing the players to draw cards for the third pool, in order to increase the pip value of their hands. Beginning with the eldest hand, each player in turn pays into the pool a counter for each card he draws. These cards are given by the dealer face up, and one player must be given all he needs before passing to the next. Should a player pass thirty-one, he is out of the pool. Some judgment is necessary in drawing in this manner, for all the hands are exposed, and each player knows exactly what he has to beat. In _=American Brag=_, there are eight braggers; the Jacks and nines of each suit, and they are all of equal rank when used as braggers. Pairs or triplets formed with the aid of braggers outrank naturals, so that three Jacks is an invincible hand, beating three aces.
I came to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, I came to see Jenny jo, is she within? Jenny jo s washing clothes, washing clothes, washing clothes, Jenny jo s washing clothes, and ye can t see her to-day. Oh but I m sorry, I m sorry, I m sorry, Oh but I m sorry, I can t see her to-day. Farewell ladies, O ladies, O ladies, Farewell ladies, and gentlemen too. [Then the same verses are repeated for-- (1) starching clothes, (2) smoothing clothes, (3) dead, the four lines above being repeated after each, and the verses proceed with--] What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? What shall we dress her in? Shall it be black? Black for the sweeps, the sweeps, the sweeps, Black for the sweeps, and that shall not do. What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? What shall we dress her in? Shall it be blue? Blue for the sailors, sailors, sailors, Blue for the sailors, and that shall not do. What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? What shall we dress her in? Shall it be red? Red for the soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, Red for the soldiers, and that shall not do. What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? What shall we dress her in? Shall it be orange? Orange for the Orange-men, Orange-men, Orange-men, Orange for the Orange-men, and that shall not do. What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? What shall we dress her in? Shall it be white? White for the corpse, the corpse, the corpse, White for the corpse, and that will just do. We have lost a soldier, soldier, soldier, We have lost a soldier, and the Queen has lost a man. We will bury him in the bed of glory, glory, glory, We will bury him in the bed of glory, and we ll never see him any more.
But as there was nevertheless much that seemed to us extremely pretty and picturesque about the game, we set to work--and here a certain Mr M. with his brother, Captain M., hot from the Great War in South Africa, came in most helpfully--to quicken it. Manifestly the guns had to be reduced to manageable terms. We cut down the number of shots per move to four, and we required that four men should be within six inches of a gun for it to be in action at all. Without four men it could neither fire nor move--it was out of action; and if it moved, the four men had to go with it. Moreover, to put an end to that little resistant body of men behind a house, we required that after a gun had been fired it should remain, without alteration of the elevation, pointing in the direction of its last shot, and have two men placed one on either side of the end of its trail. This secured a certain exposure on the part of concealed and sheltered gunners. It was no longer possible to go on shooting out of a perfect security for ever. All this favoured the attack and led to a livelier game.
Should a player by mistake roll on the wrong alley, or out of his turn, or be interfered with in his play by another bowler or spectator, or should any of the pins at which he is playing be displaced or knocked down in any manner before his delivered ball reaches the pins, or should his ball come in contact with any foreign obstacle on the alleys, then the ball so delivered by him shall be immediately declared a dead ball by the umpire, and such ball shall not count, and shall be immediately re-rolled by the player after the cause for declaring such ball dead has been removed. Pins which are knocked down by a fair ball, and which remain lying on the alley or in the gutters, are termed dead wood, and shall be removed before the next ball is rolled. Should a standing pin fall by removing dead wood, such pin or pins shall be at once respotted. Should a pin be broken or otherwise badly damaged during the game, it shall be at once replaced by another as nearly uniform with the set in use as possible. The umpire shall in all such cases be the sole judge in the matter of replacing such pin or pins. Each player shall roll two balls in each frame except when he shall make a strike, or when a second strike or spare is made in the tenth frame, when the player shall complete that frame by rolling a third ball. In such cases the frame shall be completed on the alley on which the first strike or spare is made. A strike is made when the player bowls down the ten pins with his first ball delivered in any frame and is credited and designated in the score by an X in the upper right hand corner of the frame, and the count in such frame is left open until the player shall have rolled his next two balls, when all pins made, counting ten for a strike, shall be credited therein. A spare is made when the player bowls down all the pins with his second ball in any frame, and is credited and designated with / in the upper right hand corner of the frame in which it is made. The count in such frame is left open until such player shall roll his next ball in the succeeding frame, when the number of pins rolled down thereby shall be added to the ten represented by his spare, and the total shall be credited therein.
He cannot enter the man on the five-point, because it is covered by the enemy: so he must enter upon the deuce point, which is not covered, and must move some other man five points for the throw upon the other die. If both the five and deuce points were covered, Black could not enter on either of them, and as he cannot play until the man on the bar is entered, the throw would be lost, and he would have to wait until his adversary threw and moved in his turn. If two men are upon the bar, both must be entered before any man can be moved. A man may enter and hit a blot at the same time. If a player could get his men round the board without any of them being hit, seventy-seven points on the dice thrown would bring them all home; but as every man hit has to start all over again from his adversary’s home table, it may take a great many throws to get all the men home. For this reason it is obvious that each player should leave as few blots as possible, in order to save his men from being hit; and at the same time he should strive to cover as many points as possible, in order to prevent his adversary from moving round the board freely. It is still more important to cover points in the home table, so that when an adverse man is hit he will have fewer points upon which to enter. It is, of course, unnecessary to say that one can always enter or play on points covered by his own men. [Illustration: +-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |⛀|⛀|⛀|⛀|⛀|| | | | | | | | |⛀|⛀|⛀|⛀|⛀|| | | | | | | | | | |⛀| |⛀|| | | | | | | | | | | | | || | | | | | | |⛂| | | | | || | | | | | | |⛂ || | |⛂| | | | | || | | | | | | |⛂| | | | | || | | | | | | |⛂| | |⛂|⛂| || | | | | | | |⛂|⛀|⛂|⛂|⛂| || | | | | | | |⛂|⛀|⛂|⛂|⛂| || | | | | |⛀| +-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+ ] _=Throwing Off.=_ When either player has succeeded in getting all his men home, he removes them from the board two or four at a time, according to the throws of the dice, provided he has men on the points in his home table corresponding to the numbers thrown.
Among the many games of which everyone has heard, and which many thousands have been advised to play, is one which, strange to say, is not to be found described in any work on card games, and that is Old Maid. There was a time when the result of this game was supposed to be final and conclusive, and parties of young men have been known to substitute a Jack or King for the discarded Queen, in order to learn what the future had in store for them. Under such circumstances the game became Old Bachelor, of course. For those who believe in the verdict of the cards, there are other sources of information. Fortune telling, whether for the purpose of amusement or self-deception, has undoubtedly interested many persons in all stations of life ever since Eittella first explained the art, away back in the sixteenth century. The meanings attached to the cards individually, and the manner of their arrangement, is all that can be given in a work of this kind. 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.
Dishonest players, in collusion with the banker, have certain means of informing him of their point, so that he may win all the money staked upon that side of the table by the other players. This may be done in many ways. The player may ask the one sitting next him whether or not he should draw, which shows that he has 5. Or he may make a movement as if to expose his first two cards, and then correct himself. This shows the banker that the player has baccara, and is pretending that he thought he had 9. In addition to this system of communication, which Parisians call tiquer, marked cards, second dealing, and prepared stocks which can be palmed on the true cards, or substituted therefor, are all in common use. If Baccara is honestly played it is one of the fairest of all banking games, but the opportunities for cheating are so many and so easily availed of, and the money to be won and lost is so great, especially at Chemin de Fer, that few who know anything of cheating at cards can resist the temptation to practice it at Baccara. _=The Laws=_ of Baccara are very long and complicated. As no official code exists, and as each gambling club makes its own house rules, it is not necessary to give them here, the directions contained in the foregoing description being sufficient for any honest game. _=Text Books.