Try to force out his trumps on your plain-suit cards if you can, and avoid giving him discards of his weak suits. With a long trump suit, it is often advantageous to lead it through the player, but seldom right to lead it up to him. In Solos, the adversaries should lead Aces and winning cards, and change suits frequently. If you are playing against a Grand, and have two trumps, one of them the best, lead it, and then play your long suit; but if you have the two smallest trumps, lead the long suit first, and force with it every time you get in. The partners should always scheme to protect each other’s Tens by keeping the Aces of plain suits. For this reason it is very bad play to fatten with the Ace of a suit of which you have not the Ten, or to play an Ace third hand when there are only small cards in the trick, and the Ten of the suit has not been played and you do not hold it. If the player is void of a suit, continue leading it, no matter what you hold in it. This will either weaken his trumps, or, if he is between you, will give your partner discards. If the player leads a Wenzel, it is usually best to cover it if you can; but do not play the club Jack on the diamond Jack unless you want the lead very badly. When the single player does not lead trumps, but plays his Aces and Tens, the Germans call it “auf die Dörfer gehen;” that is, getting to the villages, or getting home; equivalent to our expression, “getting out of the woods,” or “getting in out of the rain.
_=The Last Twelve Tricks.=_ When the stock is exhausted all announcements are at an end, and the players take back into their hands all the cards upon the table which may remain from the combinations declared in the course of play. Should a player take up his cards before playing to the last trick, he may be called upon to lay his entire hand on the table. The winner of the previous trick then leads any card he pleases; but for the last twelve tricks the second player in each must not only follow suit, but must win the trick if he can, either with a superior card or with a trump. Any player failing to follow suit or to win a trick, when able to do so, may be compelled to take back his cards to the point where the error occurred, and to replay the hand from that point on. The penalty for the _=revoke=_ varies in different places, but the general rule is for the revoking player to lose his entire count for “cards.” The winner of _=the last trick=_ scores ten points for it; and the players then turn over the tricks they have taken, and count their score for “cards.” _=Cards.=_ The five highest cards in each suit count toward game for the player winning them. The Ace is worth 11 points, the Ten 10, the King 4, the Queen 3, and the Jack, 2, no matter what the suit may be, so that there are 240 points for cards to be divided between the players in each deal.
Any bid or any bet once made can neither be taken back nor amended. If any bid is made out of turn in any partnership game, it must be assumed that undue information is conveyed, and the player in error, or his partner, must lose his bid. In round games there is no penalty. _=Exposed Cards.=_ No player can exact a penalty for his own error, so that if an adversary of the dealer exposes one of his own cards he cannot claim a misdeal, but the dealer’s side may. There should be no penalty for a player’s having exposed a card unless he can derive some benefit from the exposure, such as from his partner’s having seen it. If there is no partner, there should be no penalty, because the player injures himself only. All exposed cards must be left on the table, and may be called upon by the adversaries to be led or played. The same principles apply to _=Leading out of Turn=_. If the player in error has no partner, or his partner is a dummy, and the lead is taken back, no harm is done except to the player himself, and there should be no penalty.
There is no penalty for a revoke made by either Dummy; but otherwise the laws of bridge govern. _=DRAW BRIDGE.=_ This is double Dummy; but instead of laying Dummy’s cards face up on the table, each player is provided with a holder in which he places his partner’s cards in such a manner that his adversary cannot see them. As it comes to Dummy’s turn to play to each trick, a card is drawn from the holder. All four hands are responsible for revokes. _=KING’S BRIDGE.=_ This is sometimes called _=Four Hand Bridge=_, each player being for himself. The movements of the players are the same as those described in Pivot Bridge, one player sitting still all the time, while each of the others in turn becomes his partner for four deals. The dealer declares. If he passes, the player sitting opposite him must make it according to the mechanical rules given in Bridge for Three.
The player who remains to the end, having a card when his adversary has none, wins the pool. If two players remain with a card each, the winner of the trick draws from the stock, and the card so drawn wins the game, his adversary having none. EARL OF COVENTRY. This game is sometimes called Snip Snap Snorem, by those who are not of a poetical turn of mind. Any number of persons may play, and a full pack of cards is dealt out, one at a time. If some players have a card more than others, it does not matter. The eldest hand lays upon the table any card he pleases, and each player in turn pairs or matches it, if he can, with another of the same denomination, accompanying the action with a rhyme. Suppose the first card played is a King; the person playing it would say: “There’s as good as King can be.” The first player to lay down another King would say: “There is one as good as he.” The player holding the third King would say: “There’s the best of all the three,” and the holder of the fourth would then triumphantly exclaim: “And there’s the Earl of Coventry.
Here was where the skill and speed of the Partners came in. She could react faster than he. She could see the threat as an immense Rat coming direct at her. She could fire the light-bombs with a discrimination which he might miss. He was connected with her mind, but he could not follow it. His consciousness absorbed the tearing wound inflicted by the alien enemy. It was like no wound on Earth--raw, crazy pain which started like a burn at his navel. He began to writhe in his chair. Actually he had not yet had time to move a muscle when the Lady May struck back at their enemy. Five evenly spaced photonuclear bombs blazed out across a hundred thousand miles.
See Mother, Mother, the Pot Boils Over, Witch. Gled-wylie The name of a singular game played at country schools. One of the largest of the boys steals away from his comrades, in an angry-like mood, to some dykeside or sequestered nook, and there begins to work as if putting a pot on a fire. The others seem alarmed at his manner, and gather round him, when the following dialogue takes place:-- They say first to him-- What are ye for wi the pot, gudeman? Say what are ye for wi the pot? We dinna like to see ye, gudeman, Sae thrang about this spot. We dinna like ye ava, gudeman, We dinna like ye ava. Are ye gaun to grow a gled, gudeman? And our necks draw and thraw? He answers-- Your minnie, burdies, ye maun lae; Ten to my nocket I maun hae; Ten to my e enshanks, and or I gae lye, In my wame I ll lay twa dizzen o ye by. The mother of them, as it were, returns-- Try t than, try t than, do what ye can, Maybe ye maun toomer sleep the night, gudeman; Try t than, try t than, Gled-wylie frae the heugh, Am no sae saft, Gled-wylie, ye ll fin me bauld and teugh. After these rhymes are said the chickens cling to the mother all in a string. She fronts the flock, and does all she can to keep the kite from her brood, but often he breaks the row and catches his prey.--Mactaggart s _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_.
Y sees his danger, and by leading a Pedro to A, forces him either to pass it, or to get into the lead and free the other Pedro. A-B score nothing: Y-Z score 7 for Jack, Game, Pedro; and 8 in addition, for points bid but not made by A-B; 15 altogether. _=No. 2.=_ At trick 2, Y sees that he cannot save Low, and the lead would be a great disadvantage, because either A has all the remaining trumps, or Y’s partner has an unguarded Pedro. At trick 3, A knows that if Y has Ace, and Z Pedro, A can still make his bid by catching Jack, and saving his own Pedro. If the Pedro was not with Z the small trump is still the best lead, for it puts the lead on A’s left. B gets rid of cards which might get him into the lead to his partner’s disadvantage. Unfortunately, Z is unable to take the lead away from Y at trick 4. As Y is still in the lead, there is no necessity for A to save his Pedro, for Y cannot possibly catch it, and A must catch Y’s, no matter how Y plays.
2nd. In order to avoid forcing partner. 3rd. In order to avoid forcing both adversaries. 4th. Because it is hopeless, and there is some chance in another. 5th. To prevent a cross ruff, by leading trumps. _=Simple Inferences=_ from the fall of the cards usually supply the best guide in the matter of changing suits. If the Jack is led from K Q J x x, and wins the trick, partner may be credited with the Ace; and if the original leader has four trumps, and a card of re-entry, he should quit his established suit, and lead trumps to defend it.
He must win a trick. _=Melds.=_ All the combinations have the same value as in the ordinary game, but all melds are laid upon the table before a card is played. When he lays down his cards, a player may make as many combinations with them as he can, just as he would in the ordinary game if he had plenty of time. If he has the trump sequence, he may lay down the marriage first, then the A 10 J. If he has double binocle, he may lay down the single first, and then the other, claiming the count for both. Four Kings and four Queens count 220. The trump sequence counts 190. No player is allowed to meld after he has played to the first trick. If he discovers he had more to meld, but has played a card, the unannounced score is lost.
When the card is taken it is turned face up, and left on the table in front of the person to whom it belongs. Only one card may be drawn by any player, and all the hands are then exposed. Ties are a stand-off. The banker pays all bets on the side that is nearer 9 than himself, and wins all on the side which is not so near 9 as himself. The players on the opposite sides of the table have nothing to do with each other; each wins or loses with the banker alone. It should be observed that if a player had 4 originally, and draws a 9, his point is not 13, but 3, because all 10’s count for nothing. There is no such thing as being créve, as at Vingt-et-un. _=Irregularities.=_ If the banker gives two cards, face up, to the player on his right, the player may retain which he pleases, throwing the other into the waste basket. If two cards are given to the player on the left, he may select which he pleases, and the banker must take the other.
| Belfast. | Halliwell s Version | Crockham Hill. | | | | (No. 2). | | +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ | 1.| -- | -- |Draw a bucket of | | | | |water. | | 2.|Sift the lady s |Sieve my lady s | -- | | |oatmeal. |oatmeal. | | | 3.
| | 21.| -- | -- | -- | | 22.| -- | -- | -- | | 23.| -- | -- | -- | |[8.]| -- | -- | -- | | 24.|You shall have a nice |You shall have a young|She shall have a nice | | |young man. |man. |young man. | | 25.| -- | -- | -- | | 26.
Halliwell gives this rhyme as No. ccclvii. of his _Nursery Rhymes_, but without any description of the game beyond the words, A game of the fox. It is probably the same game as Fox and Goose. Fox and Goose (1) In Dorsetshire one of the party, called the Fox, takes one end of the room or corner of a field (for the game was equally played indoors or out); all the rest of the children arrange themselves in a line or string, according to size, one behind the other, the smallest last, behind the tallest one, called Mother Goose, with their arms securely round the waist of the one in front of them, or sometimes by grasping the dress. The game commences by a parley between the Fox and Goose to this effect, the Goose beginning. What are you after this fine morning? Taking a walk. With what object? To get an appetite for a meal. What does [will] your meal consist of? A nice fat goose for my breakfast. Where will you get it? Oh, I shall get a nice morsel somewhere; and as they are so handy, I shall satisfy myself with one of yours.
and Q._, ii. 518, says it is now (1850) danced with a handkerchief instead of a cushion as formerly, and no words are used, but later correspondents contradict this. See also _N. and Q._, iii. 282. (_d_) Two important suggestions occur as to this game. First, that the dance was originally the indication at a marriage ceremony for the bride and bridegroom to retire with the bowster to the nuptial couch. Secondly, that it has degenerated in Southern Britain to the ordinary Drop Handkerchief games of kiss in the ring.
III. Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, To see your dear mother lie dead at your feet. I won t rise, I won t rise off of my poor feet, To see my dear mother lie dead at my feet. Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, To see your poor father lie dead at your feet. I won t rise, I won t rise off of my poor feet, To see my poor father lie dead at my feet. Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, To see your dear sister lie dead at your feet. I won t rise, I won t rise off of my poor feet, To see my poor sister lie dead at my feet. Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, To see your poor brother lie dead at your feet. I won t rise, I won t rise off of my poor feet, To see my poor brother lie dead at my feet. Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, To see your dear sweetheart lie dead at your feet.
What shall I wash in, wash in? Wash in a thimble, mother. A thimble won t hold my night-cap. Wash by the sea-side, mother. Suppose the clothes should blow away? Get a boat and go after them, mother. But suppose the boat should turn over? Then that would be an end of you, mother. --Bocking, Essex (_Folk-lore Record_, iii. 169). III. Mother, please buy me a milking-can, A milking-can, a milking-can! Mother, please buy me a milking-can, With a humpty-dumpty-daisy! [Then follow verses sung in the same manner, beginning--] Where s the money to come from, to come from? Sell my father s feather bed. Where s your father going to lie? Lie on the footman s bed.
It is mentioned by Newell (_Games_, p. 223). Giants A Giant is chosen, and he must be provided with a cave. A summer-house will do, if there is no window for the Giant to see out of. The others then have to knock at the door with their knuckles separately. 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.
Alluding to the first described form, he says it is probably a more modern game, and quotes Cotgrave _sub voce_ Chastelet as authority for the earlier form in the way he describes it (_Dictionary_). Addy says the nuts were hardened for the purpose. When a nut was broken it was said to be cobbered or cobbled (_Sheffield Glossary_). Evans _Leicestershire Glossary_ also describes it. Darlington (_South Cheshire Words_) says this game only differs from Cobblety-cuts in the use of small nuts instead of chestnuts. George Eliot in _Adam Bede_ has, Gathering the large unripe nuts to play at Cob-nut with (p. 30). Britton s _Beauties of Wiltshire_ gives the Isle of Wight and Hants as other places where the game is known. See Conquerors. Cock One boy is chosen Cock.
On clubs the result would depend on how often spades were led. In hearts, he has a very good hand, especially as he has a missing suit to discard in. As he is the last bidder he can make sure of the choice for 27, which he bids, and pays into the pool. The result of the play is given in Illustrative Hand No. 4. (As the cards happen to lie, had A been the successful bidder and made it clubs, Z would have won the pool.) ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. _=No. 1.=_ Sweepstake Hearts.
In the latter game the five is the best trump; but as there is no five in a piquet pack, that trump was probably disregarded, leaving the Jack the best. Taking up, or “robbing” the turn-up trump, is another trait common to both Spoil Five and Euchre. Spoil Five and Triomphe are mentioned in the earliest works on card games. Triomphe can be traced to 1520, when it was popular in Spain; and the origin of Maw, the parent of Spoil Five, is lost in the mists of Irish antiquity. It was the fashionable game during the reign of James I. The old Spanish game of Triomphe, now obsolete, seems to have undergone several changes after its introduction to France. At first it was played either by two persons, or by two pairs of partners. If one side had bad cards, they could offer to abandon the hand, and allow the adversaries to count a point without playing. If the adversaries refused, they were obliged to win all five tricks or lose two points. It was compulsory to win the trick if possible, and to trump, over-trump, or under-trump if the player had none of the suit led.
If the pips on the card drawn, added to those already in his hand, make his total greater than 21, he is créve, and passes over to the dealer his stake, throwing his cards in the centre of the table, still face down. If the total is not 21, he may draw another card, and so on until he is créve or stands. The first player disposed of in this manner, the dealer goes on to the next one, and so on until he comes to himself. He turns his two cards face upward, and draws or stands to suit himself. If he overdraws, all the other players expose their first two cards to show that they have 21 or less, and he then pays each of them the amount they have staked. If he stands, either before or after drawing, the others expose their cards in the same way, and those that have the same number are tied, and win or lose nothing. Those who have less than the dealer lose their stake; those that have more than the dealer, but still not more than 21, he must pay. When the result is a tie, it is called _=paying in cards=_. _=The Banker.=_ The banker for the next deal may be decided upon in various ways.
_=IRREGULARITIES IN THE DEAL.=_ If any card is found faced in the pack, or if the pack is incorrect or imperfect, the dealer must deal again. If any card is found faced in the pack, or is exposed in any manner; or if more than thirteen cards are dealt to any player, or if the last card does not come in its regular order to the dealer, or if the pack has not been cut, there must be a new deal. Attention must be called to a deal out of turn, or with the wrong cards, before the last card is dealt, or the deal stands. There are no misdeals in auction. That is to say, whatever happens the same dealer deals again. Minor irregularities will be found provided for in the laws. The cards being dealt, each player sorts his hand to see that he has the correct number, thirteen; and the player or players keeping the score should announce it at the beginning of each hand. _=STAKES.=_ In auction, the stake is a unit, so much a point.