The soldiers did not stand well on an ordinary carpet, the Encyclopedia made clumsy cliff-like cover , and more particularly the room in which the game had its beginnings was subject to the invasion of callers, alien souls, trampling skirt-swishers, chatterers, creatures unfavourably impressed by the spectacle of two middle-aged men playing with toy soldiers on the floor, and very heated and excited about it. Overhead was the day nursery, with a wide extent of smooth cork carpet (the natural terrain of toy soldiers), a large box of bricks--such as I have described in Floor Games--and certain large inch-thick boards. It was an easy task for the head of the household to evict his offspring, annex these advantages, and set about planning a more realistic country. (I forget what became of the children.) The thick boards were piled up one upon another to form hills; holes were bored in them, into which twigs of various shrubs were stuck to represent trees; houses and sheds (solid and compact piles of from three to six or seven inches high, and broad in proportion) and walls were made with the bricks; ponds and swamps and rivers, with fords and so forth indicated, were chalked out on the floor, garden stones were brought in to represent great rocks, and the Country at least of our perfected war game was in existence. We discovered it was easy to cut out and bend and gum together paper and cardboard walls, into which our toy bricks could be packed, and on which we could paint doors and windows, creepers and rain-water pipes, and so forth, to represent houses, castles, and churches in a more realistic manner, and, growing skilful, we made various bridges and so forth of card. Every boy who has ever put together model villages knows how to do these things, and the attentive reader will find them edifyingly represented in our photographic illustrations. There has been little development since that time in the Country. Our illustrations show the methods of arrangement, and the reader will see how easily and readily the utmost variety of battlefields can be made. (It is merely to be remarked that a too crowded Country makes the guns ineffective and leads to a mere tree to tree and house to house scramble, and that large open spaces along the middle, or rivers without frequent fords and bridges, lead to ineffective cannonades, because of the danger of any advance.
Suppose a player has called eight tricks. An adversary hesitates in his play, and another reaches over and counts the tricks in front of the caller, finding he has seven. This is tantamount to saying to the player who hesitates: “If you don’t win that trick, the call succeed.” In such a case, the single player may at once demand the play of the highest or lowest of the suit; or that the adversaries trump or refrain from trumping the trick. In all calls except misères and slams, the hands should be played out, in order to allow the players to make what over-tricks they can; but the moment a misère player takes a trick, or a slam player loses one, the hands are thrown up, and the stakes paid. It is usual to show the cards to the board, in order to satisfy each player that no revoke has occurred. When Little Misère is called, each player discards one card, which must not be shown, and the hand is then played out with the remaining twelve cards. When Spreads are called, the caller’s cards must be placed face upwards on the table before a card is played. If it is a Little Spread, the discard of each player must remain unknown. The adversaries have no control of the manner of playing the exposed cards, which cannot be called, and may be played in any manner suited to the judgment of the single player, provided he follows suit when able.
--Stixwold, Lines. (Miss M. Peacock). See Who goes round my Stone Wall? Level-coil Nares, in his _Glossary_, says this is a game of which we seem to know no more than that the loser in it was to give up his place to be occupied by another. Minshew gives it thus: To play at _levell coil_, G. jouer à cul levé: _i.e._, to play and lift up your taile when you have lost the game, and let another sit down in your place. Coles, in his _English Dictionary_, seems to derive it from the Italian _leva il culo_, and calls it also Pitch-buttock. In his _Latin Dictionary_ he has _level-coil_, alternation, cession; and to play at _level coil_, vices ludendi præbere.
| | . | | . | | . | +---+-.-+---+-.-+---+-.-+---+-.-+ | | . | | . | | .
And after the joint had lost enough dough that way, Rose and Simonetti would have had to sell out. Only the buyer would have been a dummy for Rose and Smythe, using money Smythe had lifted off the tables. The whole TK business was just a smoke screen to keep matters confused, I concluded. How come they dared send for a TK like you? Why weren t they scared you d catch them, just like you did? It took a little more than TK, I reminded her. TK is just a power, one more ability in life. It doesn t make you God. Once in a while it gives you a little more vigorish than the other guy has, that s all. And sometimes it s not enough. But you had enough vigorish to catch them, she pointed out. In a way, I said.
| | . | | . | | +-.-+---+-.-+---+-.-+---+-.-+---+ | . | | . | | . | | .
The diagram in the margin will give a very good idea of a faro tab for a complete deal. The Queen was soda, the Five split out, and the Eight was in hoc. A | 0 0 1 0 2 | 0 1 1 1 3 | 0 0 1 1 4 | 1 0 0 0 5 | 0 0 X 6 | 1 1 1 1 7 | 0 1 1 0 8 | 1 1 0 - 9 | 0 1 0 1 10 | 0 0 0 0 J | 1 1 1 0 Q | . 0 1 0 K | 1 0 1 1 _=Systems.=_ On the manner in which the cards will go, a great many systems of play are based. There are sixteen different ways for a card to “play,” which are simply the permutations of the stroke and the cypher arranged in rows of four at a time. If a player is betting _=three on a side=_, he will take each card as it becomes a case, and bet that it either wins three times and loses once, or loses once and wins three times. In the foregoing deal he would have bet on the A 3 4 6 9 J to lose on the fourth card out of the box, and would have bet on the case cards of the 2 7 8 10 Q K to win. The Soda, it must be remembered, is really a winning card. Of these bets he would have won 5 out of twelve, taking back his money on the 8, as that card was left in hoc.
F. Foster. * Whist, A monthly journal; pub. Milwaukee, Wis., U.S.A. DUPLICATE WHIST. Duplicate whist is not a distinct game, but is simply the name given to that manner of playing whist in which a number of hands are played over again with the same cards, but by different persons. _=CARDS.
Addy). This game was also played in London. The _dramatis personæ_ were a mother, an eldest daughter, the younger children, a witch, and a pot was represented by another child. The Mother names the children after the days of the week. She tells her eldest daughter that she is going to wash, and that she expects her to take great care of her sisters, and to be sure and not let the old witch take them. She is also to look after the dinner, and be sure and not let the pot boil over. The Mother then departs, and stays at a little distance from the others. The eldest daughter pretends to be very busy putting the house to rights, sweeps the floor, and makes everything tidy; the younger children pretend to play, and get in the elder sister s way. She gets angry with them, and pretends to beat them. Now, the girl who personates the Witch comes and raps with her knuckles on a supposed door.
When we played this game we said always genteel after genteel lady, and varied the formula. For instance, the first player would say, I, a genteel lady, always genteel, come from a genteel lady, always genteel, to say she lives in a house with twelve windows, or words were used beginning with the letter A. Each player must repeat this, and add something else in keeping with a house; or sentences had to be made in which words beginning with the letter A must be said, the other players doing the same alphabetically.--London (A. B. Gomme). Mr. Newell, in writing of this game, says that the lamp-lighter or spill was lighted when placed in the hair of the players who made mistakes. He does not mention forfeits being exacted.--_Games_, p.
At last they were one again. In a tiny remote corner of his mind, as tiny as the smallest toy he had ever seen in his childhood, he was still aware of the room and the ship, and of Father Moontree picking up a telephone and speaking to a Scanner captain in charge of the ship. His telepathic mind caught the idea long before his ears could frame the words. The actual sound followed the idea the way that thunder on an ocean beach follows the lightning inward from far out over the seas. The Fighting Room is ready. Clear to planoform, sir. THE PLAY Underhill was always a little exasperated the way that Lady May experienced things before he did. He was braced for the quick vinegar thrill of planoforming, but he caught her report of it before his own nerves could register what happened. Earth had fallen so far away that he groped for several milliseconds before he found the Sun in the upper rear right-hand corner of his telepathic mind. That was a good jump, he thought.
Short-stop players are those who are good enough to play in halls hired for the purpose, but who stop short of the championship class. Shuffling, any method of disarranging the cards so that no trace remains of their order during the previous deal or play. Sights, the diamonds on the rail of an American billiard table. Signalling for Trumps, playing a higher card before a lower in a plain suit, when no attempt is made to win the trick. Singleton, one card only of any suit. Skin Games, those in which a player cannot possibly win. Skunked, whitewashed, schwartz, beaten without having been able to score a single point. Slam, winning all the tricks. Little Slam, winning 12 out of 13 possible. Sleeper, a bet left or placed on a dead card at Faro.
FATHER S Fiddle. Feed the Dove. Find the Ring. Fippeny Morrell. Fire, Air, and Water. Fivestones. Flowers. Follow my Gable. Follow my Leader. Fool, Fool, come to School.
_=C=_ and _=D=_ pass. _=E=_ bids 3 in clubs; and _=F=_ says 4 in hearts. It is evident that _=F=_ is bidding on _=B’s=_ offer in hearts, and intends to choose him for a partner. _=G=_ finds in his hand four good spades and the Joker, but neither Bower. He may safely bid 5 or 6, taking _=E=_ for a partner if successful, as _=E=_ very probably has one or both the black Bowers. If he bids 5 only, the dealer, _=A=_, would have an excellent chance to bid 6 in hearts, and to take _=B=_ and _=F=_ for two of his partners, and _=G=_ for the third, trusting to find him with the Joker, or at least protection in one or both black suits. If the successful bidder has had no previous bids to guide him in his choice of partners, he should take those who have the lowest scores, if the scores are known; because it is to his advantage to avoid advancing those who are perhaps already ahead. When the scores are not known, there is nothing but luck to guide one, unless a person has a very good memory, and knows which players are probably behind. _=Leading.=_ If the successful bidder wants 6 or 7 tricks, and holds the Joker, he should lead it at once.
She is called the Ghost. The children run away in affected terror, calling out, The Ghost! Whoever she catches becomes Jenny Jones in the next game. This incident is also played in the Barnes, Northants, Annaverna, co. Louth, Enborne and Liphook versions. (_c_) This game is played very generally throughout the country, and I have other versions collected from Earls Heaton (Mr. H. Hardy), Barnes (A. B. Gomme), Cambridge (Mrs. Haddon), Hampshire (Miss Mendham), Frodingham (Miss Peacock), Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E.
The first of these games is a double, Y-Z having 6 points up. The two others are quadruples, put down on the score-sheet thus:-- A-B | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | | | | Score: | | | | | | | | Y-Z | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | [Illustration: A-B’S, 3 GAMES, 2 POINTS. Y-Z’S, 1 GAME, 0 POINTS.] In the next hand let us suppose clubs to be cayenne. Y deals, and plays in colour, spades. Y-Z win 6 by cards, and 4 by honours; 10 points multiplied by 3, = 30. For this they score three games, the first being a triple, and the others quadruples. These three games win the rubber, for which they add 8 points, and 4 points for the little slam. This is all put down on the score-sheet:-- A-B | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | = 10 Score: | | | | | | | | Y-Z | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 4 = 25 Both scores being added up, the value of the rubber won by Y-Z is found to be 15, after deducting the 10 points made by A-B. _=CUTTING IN.
His side must make at least three tricks, whether he plays alone or not, or it is a euchre, and the adversaries will count two points. In case an adversary of the dealer plays alone, he must distinctly announce it when he orders up the trump. The usual expression is: “_=I order it alone=_.” His partner then lays his cards face downward on the table and takes no further part in the play of that hand. If he exposes any card of the abandoned hand, the adversaries can call upon him to take up the hand and play it, leaving the exposed card on the table as liable to be called. This of course prevents the lone hand. If the dealer’s partner wishes to play alone, instead of assisting, he says: “_=I play this alone=_,” and the dealer lays down his cards, leaving the trump on the pack. _=PLAYING ALONE.=_ No player but the one that takes up, orders up, or makes the trump can play a lone hand. If the dealer takes up the trump card of his own accord, he can play alone.
The winner of the _=last trick=_ scores fifty points for it immediately. _=SCORING.=_ Each deal is a complete game in itself, and the winner is the player who has scored the most points for carte blanche, combinations, and the last trick. The brisques are not counted, unless they are necessary to decide a tie, or save a rubicon. The value of the game is determined by deducting the lesser score from the higher, and then adding 500 points to the remainder. In this deduction all fractions of a hundred are disregarded. For instance: A’s score is 1830; while B’s is 1260. A wins 1800, less the 1200 scored by B, which leaves 600; to this must be added the 500 points for game, making the total value of A’s game 1100 points. If the scores are very nearly equal, being within one or two hundred points of each other, the tricks taken in by each player are turned over, and the brisques are counted, each player adding to his score ten points for every brisque he has won. Suppose that after the last trick had been played and scored, A’s total was 1260, and B’s 1140.
Turning up the _=Jack=_ of trumps. 2nd. Being _=given=_ a point by the dealer. 3rd. Holding the _=Highest=_ trump. 4th. Holding the _=Lowest=_ trump. 5th. Winning a trick with the _=Jack=_ of trumps in it. 6th.
Suppose five play, and A observes that B and C constantly draw to small pairs, while D and E never come in on less than tens. If A has the age, B, D, and E having anted, A may be sure that there are at least two good hands against him, and will guide himself accordingly. But if B and C are the only players in, A may safely draw to a small pair. It can be mathematically demonstrated that what is called an _=average go-in hand=_ should be at least a pair of tens; but a player who waits for tens in a liberal game, in which others are drawing to ace high, will ante himself away if there are many jack pots, and will get no calls when he gets a hand. _=BETTING.=_ Good players are guided by the general character of the game in which they take part. Some parties play a very liberal game, and the players bet high on medium hands, and give every one a good fight. It is best to have liberal or lucky players on your right; because if they sit behind you, they will continually raise you, and you will be forced either to overbid your hand on the same liberal scale that they adopt, or lose what you have already put up. If a liberal player sits on your right you will often be able to make large winnings on moderate hands. In a close game, when the players bet in a niggardly manner, the liberal player is at a great disadvantage; for he can win little or nothing on his good hands, but will lose large amounts when he runs up the betting on a good hand which is opposed to one that is better.
2, under the name of _level-sice_:-- By tragick death s device Ambitious hearts do play at _level-sice_. In the margin we have this explanation: A kinde of Christmas play, wherein each hunteth the other from his seat. The name seems derived from the French _levez sus_, in English, arise up. Halliwell s _Dictionary_ says that Skelton, ii. 31, spells it _levell suse_. Libbety, Libbety, Libbety-lat A child stands before a hassock, and as if he were going up stairs, he puts on it first his right and then his left foot, gradually quickening his steps, keeping time to the words-- Libbety, libbety, libbety-lat, Who can do this? and who can do that? And who can do anything better than that? --Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 59). Limpy Coley A boy s game undescribed.--Patterson s _Antrim and Down Glossary_. Little Dog I call you A number of girls stand in a line with their backs to a wall.
Penny loaves will melt away. Build it up with iron and steel. Iron and steel will bend and bow. Build it up with silver and gold. Silver and gold I have not got. What has this poor prisoner done? Stole my watch and broke my chain. How many pounds will set him free? Three hundred pounds will set him free. The half of that I have not got. Then off to prison he must go. --Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss E.
Third Hand winning first round has the choice of four lines of play: 1st. To lead trumps, if he is strong enough. 2nd. To return the best card of his partner’s suit if he has it. This is imperative before opening any other suit but trumps. 3rd. To lead his own suit, if he can do anything with it. It is considered better play for the Third Hand to return the original leader’s suit than to open a long weak suit of his own such as one headed by a single honour. 4th. To return his partner’s suit even with a losing card, in preference to changing.
=_ If the balls are disturbed accidentally through the medium of any agency other than the player himself, they must be replaced and the player allowed to proceed. _=6.=_ If in the act of playing the player disturbs any ball other than his own, he cannot make a counting stroke, but he may play for safety. Should he disturb a ball after having played successfully, he loses his count on that shot; his hand is out, and the ball so disturbed is placed back as nearly as possible in the position which it formerly occupied on the table, the other balls remaining where they stop. _=7.=_ Should a player touch his own ball with the cue or otherwise previous to playing, it is foul, the player loses one, and cannot play for safety. It sometimes happens that the player after having touched his ball gives a second stroke, then the balls remain where they stop, or are replaced as nearly as possible in their former position at the option of his opponent. _=8.=_ When the cue-ball is very near another, the player shall not play without warning his adversary that they do not touch, and giving him sufficient time to satisfy himself on that point. _=9.
[Then follow verses beginning with the following lines--] Lime and stone would waste away. Build it up with penny loaves. Penny loaves would be eaten away. Build it up with silver and gold. Silver and gold would be stolen away. Get a man to watch all night. If the man should fall asleep? Set a dog to bark all night. If the dog should meet a bone? Set a cock to crow all night. If the cock should meet a hen? Here comes my Lord Duke, And here comes my Lord John; Let every one pass by but the very last one, And catch him if you can. --Cork (Mrs.