| -- | | 11.| -- | | 12.| -- | | 13.|We will give you pots | | |and pans. | | 14.|.....
Here is War, done down to rational proportions, and yet out of the way of mankind, even as our fathers turned human sacrifices into the eating of little images and symbolic mouthfuls. For my own part, I am _prepared_. I have nearly five hundred men, more than a score of guns, and I twirl my moustache and hurl defiance eastward from my home in Essex across the narrow seas. Not only eastward. I would conclude this little discourse with one other disconcerting and exasperating sentence for the admirers and practitioners of Big War. I have never yet met in little battle any military gentleman, any captain, major, colonel, general, or eminent commander, who did not presently get into difficulties and confusions among even the elementary rules of the Battle. You have only to play at Little Wars three or four times to realise just what a blundering thing Great War must be. Great War is at present, I am convinced, not only the most expensive game in the universe, but it is a game out of all proportion. Not only are the masses of men and material and suffering and inconvenience too monstrously big for reason, but--the available heads we have for it, are too small. That, I think, is the most pacific realisation conceivable, and Little War brings you to it as nothing else but Great War can do.
The winner of the rubber scores 100 points extra. _=MISERY BRIDGE.=_ This is a game for two players, who sit opposite each other. Four hands of thirteen cards each are dealt, the dealer beginning on his left. Before declaring, the dealer may discard any number of cards from one to four, laying them on the table at his left, but face up, where they so remain during the play of the hand. In place of this discard, the dealer takes an equal number of cards from the top of the hand on his left. These are not shown to the adversary. Having discarded and drawn, the dealer declares. There is no doubling; but the dealer himself may undertake to win at least eight of the thirteen tricks, and if he announces “eight tricks,” he can score them at double value if he succeeds. If he fails to get the full eight, his adversary scores ten points penalty, the dealer scoring nothing at all.
| | 3.| -- | -- | -- | | 4.| -- | -- | -- | | 5.| -- | -- | -- | | 6.|Your grass is so |The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.| | |green. | | | | 7.|The fairest damsel | -- | -- | | |ever seen. | | | | 8.
=_ The aim of the players is to get rid of the cards dealt them and those they draw from the stock by laying face upward on the table any combinations of three of a kind, or three in sequence and suit. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The player to the left of the dealer begins by taking into his hand the card that is face up, if it suits him, or the top card of the stock. If he takes the top of the stock, he puts it into his hand without showing it. He may then lay out any combination of three cards that he holds, but he is not obliged to do so. Whether he lays out anything or not, he must discard a card, face up, to take the place of the one drawn. This discard is always placed beside the stock, and of course covers up any card already there. _=LAYING OUT.=_ After drawing from the stock and before discarding, a player may lay out any three cards, but no more than three at one time. Or he may add one card from his hand to any combination already laid out by another player, but he cannot add more than one card in this way.
A free bid in a losing suit shows the high cards; in a winning suit it shows the tricks in hand. _=A Forced Bid=_ is one that is necessary to over-call, such as two diamonds over a heart. This does not mean that the caller would have bid two diamonds originally. A player who must indicate a lead against a no-trumper makes a forced bid. _=The Original Lead.=_ The first card must be played before dummy’s hand is exposed. _=OPENING LEADS.=_ The position which we have first to consider is that of the eldest hand, usually designated by the letter “A,” who sits on the declarer’s left. [Illustration: Pone +-------+ | B | Dummy |Y Z| Declarer | A | +-------+ Leader ] _=Selecting the Suit to Lead.=_ If your partner has declared a suit, lead the best card you hold of it, regardless of number, unless you have an ace-king suit of your own, in which case lead the king first and have a look at dummy.
And as for precognition, as Simonetti said, more than their fair share is possessed by wild-looking women. Like Sniffles, I thought suddenly. Well, Rose said, turning back to his partner. Let Sime and me talk it over. Maybe we should get a PC. Nuts, Simonetti told him. I ll think it over, too, I said. See you tomorrow. I turned to go. Simonetti and Smythe followed me out, each for his own reasons, I guess, leaving Rose behind in the cube of glass on the roof, looking like he was going to turn belly-up and take a bite out of the PBX on his desk.
42. The dealer, having examined his hand, must declare to win at least one odd trick,[8] either with a specified suit, or at no trump. 43. After the dealer has declared, each player in turn, beginning on the dealer’s left, must pass, make a higher declaration, double the last declaration, or redouble a declaration which has been doubled, subject to the provisions of Law 54. 44. A declaration of a greater number of tricks in a suit of lower value, which equals the last declaration in value of points, is a higher declaration; _e.g._, a declaration of “three spades” is higher than “one club.” 45. A player in his turn may overbid the previous adverse declaration any number of times, and may also overbid his partner, but he cannot overbid his own declaration which has been passed by the three others.
Some would stop, and turn to the whipper and say, Let s have a pennyworth, and he would guard and parry off the lashes with his shinney stick. When the whipper was successful in lashing him he demanded his penny, and continued lashing until he paid. This was continued until five o clock, then the game terminated. This was suppressed, I believe, in 1847. At that period it was a prevalent idea that it could not be abolished, as it was connected with an old charter. It is believed in the town that this custom was to commemorate the driving out of the Danes from the Newarkes at the time they besieged Leicester.--Leicester (Robert Hazlewood). See Bandy, Camp, Football, Hood, Hurling. Hoges The hoges, a boy s game played with peeries (peg-tops). The victor is entitled to give a certain number of blows with the spike of his peerie to the wood part of his opponent s.
=_ Cribbage is distinctly a game for two players, although three may play, each for himself, or four, two being partners against the other two. When two play, one is known as the _=dealer=_, and the other as the non-dealer, or the _=pone=_. _=CUTTING.=_ The players cut for the choice of seats, and for the first deal. The lowest cut has the choice, and deals the first hand. The Ace is low. If a player exposes more than one card he must cut again. Ties are also decided by cutting again. _=STAKES.=_ Cribbage is played for so much a game, lurches counting double.
Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, The fairest young lady that ever was seen; I ll wash you in milk, And I ll clothe you with silk, And I ll write down your name with a gold pen and ink. O Sally, O Sally, your true love is dead, He sent you a letter to turn round your head. --Berrington, Oswestry (_Shropshire Folk-lore_ p. 510). III. Around the green gravel the grass is so green, All the pretty fair maids are plain to be seen; Wash them in milk, and clothe them in silk, Write their names down with a gold pen and ink. All but Miss Jenny, her sweetheart is dead; She s left off her wedding to turn back her head. O mother, O mother, do you think it is true? O yes, child! O yes, child! Then what shall I do? We ll wash you in milk, and dress you in silk, And write down your name with a gold pen and ink. --Derbyshire and Worcestershire (Mrs. Harley).
7. In cutting, the ace is the lowest card. All must cut from the same pack. If a player exposes more than one card, he must cut again. Drawing cards from the outspread pack may be resorted to in place of cutting. SHUFFLING. 8. Before every deal, the cards must be shuffled. When two packs are used, the dealer’s partner must collect and shuffle the cards for the ensuing deal and place them at his right hand. In all cases the dealer may shuffle last.
There is no variation of the amount of the ante under any circumstances, and the buck is passed round the table in this manner irrespective of the deal, which is taken by the player winning the pool. The laws for the deal and its irregularities are the same as in Draw Poker, except that it does not pass to the left. The cards dealt, each in turn, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer, may either bet or pass. Should all pass, the holder of the buck antes, making a double pool, and passes the buck. The deal then passes to the left. Should any player make a bet, each in turn, beginning with the one on his left, must call it, raise it, or abandon his hand. Players who have passed the first time, must now decide. The rules for seeing, raising, calling, and showing hands are precisely the same as at Draw Poker. Owing to the absence of the draw, there is no clue to the strength of an opponent’s hand, except his manner, and the amount of his bet. The hands shown are much weaker than the average of those at Draw Poker, being about equal to hands that a player in that game would come in on.
If the player who makes the trump has them, he is said to play _=with=_ so many; if his adversaries hold them, he is said to play _=without=_ just as many as they hold. The difficult thing for the beginner at Skat to understand is that whether a player holds the Matadores or not, the number of them has exactly the same influence on the value of his game. If one player held these cards [Illustration: 🃛 🂫 🂱 🂺 🂷 ] and wished to make hearts trumps, he would be playing “with two.” If another player wished to make the same suit trumps with these cards:-- [Illustration: 🂻 🃋 🂾 🂽 🂹 🂸 ] he would be playing “without two,” and the value of each game would be exactly the same, no matter which player actually made the trump. Matadores must be held; they do not count if won from the adversaries in the course of play. _=MARKERS.=_ Counters of any kind are not used in Skat, as the score is kept on a writing pad, which should be ruled into vertical columns for the number of players engaged. _=PLAYERS.=_ Skat is played by three persons. If there are four at the table the dealer takes no cards, but shares the fortunes of those who are opposed to the single player, winning and losing on each hand whatever they win and lose.
Dummy and Double-dummy are simply whist with a limited number of players, necessitating the exposure of one or more hands upon the table. The French game of Mort is dummy with a better system of scoring introduced. Favourite Whist simply changes the value of the tricks in scoring, according to the trump suit. Cayenne and Bridge introduce the first changes of importance. In Cayenne, the dealer and his partner have the privilege of changing the trump from the suit turned up; in Bridge they name the trump suit without any turn-up, and play the hands as at dummy. In Boston, and Boston de Fontainebleau, in addition to making the trump suit instead of turning it up, further departures are introduced by naming the number of tricks to be played for, allowing the player to take all or none without any trump suit, and by ‘spreading’ certain hands, without allowing the adversaries to call the exposed cards. French and Russian Boston are simply varieties of Boston. Solo Whist is an attempt to simplify Boston by reducing the number of proposals and the complications of payments, and eliminating the feature of ‘spreads.’ Scotch Whist introduces a special object in addition to winning tricks--catching the ten of trumps; that card and the honours having particular values attached to them. This variety of whist may be played by any number of persons from two to eight; and its peculiarity is that when a small number play, each has several distinct hands, which must be played in regular order, as if held by different players.
[Illustration: +--------+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-------++-+-+-+ +-+ | | +-+-+ | | | | | | | | | +--------+---+-+ +-----+-+ N +-------+ +----------+ | | | | +-------+ | | | | | | +-------+--+ +----------+ | | | | +----------+ +----------+ | | | | +-------+ | +----------+ | | | | | +-------+ | +--+-------+ | | | | | | +-------+ | | +-------+ | | | | | +-------+--+ W E +--+-------+ | | | | | +-------+ | | +-------+ | | | | | | +-------+--+ | +-------+ | | |X | +----------+ +----------+ | | | | +----------+ +----------+ | | | | +----------+ +--+-------+ | | | | | | +-------+ | | | | +----------+ +-------+ S +-+-----+-+-+---+--------+ | | | | | | | | | +-+-+ | | +-+ +-+-+-++-------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+--------+ ] N & S 6; E & W 7. East has made a mistake in turning the fifth trick. _=COUNTERS.=_ In some places 13 counters are placed on the table, the winner of each trick taking down one. This system often leads to disputes, as there can be no check upon it, and there is nothing to show in which trick the error occurred. _=COUNTING TRICKS.=_ At the end of each hand, the players sitting North and South score the _=total=_ number of tricks they have taken; instead of the number in excess of a book. Their adversaries, sitting East and West, do the same. Each player then slightly shuffles his 13 cards; so as to conceal the order in which they were played, and the four separate hands of 13 cards each are then left on the table, face down; the trump being turned at the dealer’s place. _=TRAYS.
They walk round. At the seventh line the two in the centre each choose one child from the ring, thus making four in the centre. They then sing the remaining four lines. The two who were first in the centre then go out, and the game begins again, with the other two players in the centre. (_c_) Miss Burne says this game is more often played as Three Jolly Fishermen. At Cheadle, North Staffs., a few miles distant from Tean, this game is played by grown-up men and women. Jolly Hooper I. Here comes a [or one] jolly hooper, Ring ding di do do, Ring ding di do do. And who are you looking for, In a ring ding di do do, In a ring ding di do do? I am looking for one of your daughters, In a ring ding di do do, In a ring ding di do do.