Part 12

2.--Eight wood, bone, or ivory cubes of the size of dice, marked on one side only, six of which are numbered respectively with the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6; the other two cubes being marked, the one with a bell, and the other with a hammer.

3.--A dice box with which to throw the cubes.

4.--A hammer for knocking down the cards to their respective purchasers, which are disposed of by auction, as set forth hereafter.

5.--A bag of counters.

The game may be played by an unlimited number of players, the more the better, it being especially advisable that at least seven should join in the game. The mode of procedure is as follows:--One of the players is to be selected as cashier, and to him has to be entrusted the bag of counters. A considerable number of these should be equally divided among all the players, and if it is desired they may be taken to represent value. Nuts make good substitutes for counters, as to those players not yet troubled with indigestion they possess in themselves a certain value, especially if it be understood that all winnings may be retained (or eaten).

[Illustration: The Materials for Schimmel.]

A pool has to be formed, into which each player pays twelve counters. It is then the duty of the cashier to sell by auction to the highest bidders the five cards, the produce of which also is paid into the pool. Each player is at liberty to purchase as many of the cards as he may be inclined, and, moreover, he is not bound to pay for all, but is at liberty to take credit for a certain portion of his purchases if they exceed the number of counters originally dealt out to him; only payment of the debt so incurred must be considered as a first charge on subsequent winnings. The cards will, by experience at the game, be found to be of various values; but the number of counters to be paid for each is determined by the speculative natures of the players, and it, indeed, often happens that those players who invest in no cards at all are at the end of the game the richest in the matter of wealth as reckoned by counters. The respective values of the cards are as follows:--The white horse ranks first, and immediately after him comes the inn, the cards representing respectively the bell and the hammer are of about equal value, and come next, while that representing both the bell and the hammer is lowest in the scale, and is worth just half that at which either of the two cards on which are painted the single figures is valued.

The cubes are then to be thrown by the players alternately, their order having been previously arranged, it being always allowed, however, that the possessors of cards take precedence over the other players, and over each other, according to the relative values of their cards. It should be stated rather that each player alternately is entitled to a throw of the cubes or dice, for any player is at liberty to sell his throw to any other player inclined to speculate therein. When the cubes are thrown and show uppermost all blanks, all the players have to pay one counter each to the holder of the white horse, and he again pays one to the holder of the inn. If the cubes turn up with the bell or the hammer, or with the bell and the hammer, the holder or holders of these cards pay one counter to the white horse. When the bell, hammer, or bell and hammer are thrown accompanied with numbers, the amount of the numbers thrown has to be paid in counters to the holder or holders of the cards out of the pool; if numbers are thrown unaccompanied with either bell or hammer, or bell and hammer, the thrower of the cubes receives from pool the number of counters indicated by the cubes.

It is when the pool is becoming exhausted that advantages accrue to the holder of the inn, and this indeed is usually found to be a very speculative holding. If any player in his throw shows numbers combined greater than the number of counters remaining in the pool, he receives nothing from pool, but pays to the holder of the inn the difference between the number of counters remaining and the number indicated by the cubes; for example, if five counters are remaining in pool, and seven are shown uppermost on the thrown cubes, the player who threw the cubes pays two counters to the holder of the inn, and leaves the five counters in the pool. So on the play proceeds, until some figure is thrown which, clearing the pool, concludes the game.

After the holder of the inn card begins to receive payment, should all blanks be thrown, the players throwing the cubes pay nothing; but instead, the holder of the white horse pays one counter to the holder of the inn; should the bell or hammer, or bell and hammer be thrown with the blanks, the holder or holders of the card or cards indicated each pays one to the holder of the inn. If numbers are thrown accompanying the bell, &c., the holder of that card pays to the inn the number thrown in excess of the number of counters remaining in the pool.

SHOVEL BOARD.

The game of Shovel Board was once a very important national pastime, and was much played among fashionable people. Master Slender, in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," makes a reference to the game, from which it would appear that Shovel Board was in Shakspere's time both popular and fashionable.

The game was formerly played upon a long, low table that usually stood in the large hall of a gentleman's house, but was soon adapted to smaller tables, and was indeed frequently played on the floor, the necessary limits being chalked out on the bricks. The following description of the game will be found applicable, whether it be played on the floor or on the orthodox table or board, it being premised that the space marked out on the floor should be about twenty-five or thirty feet in length and three feet in breadth, a space corresponding with the size of an ancient Shovel Board.

The tables on which the game is now played vary somewhat in length, but are usually three feet to three and a half feet wide. At one end of the table a line is drawn parallel with the edge, and three or four inches from it; at four feet distance another line is made over which it is necessary for the weight to pass when shoved or thrown. The players stand at the end of the table, opposite to the two lines above mentioned, each having four flat metal weights, which they alternately shove from them one at a time. The object of the play is to give sufficient impetus to the weight to carry it beyond the mark nearest to the opposite edge of the table, but so as to keep it on the table. If the weight is shoved so that it hangs over the edge without falling, three are counted towards game; if between the line and edge, without hanging over, two are scored; if on the line one only is credited to the player. The game is usually eleven when two play, but when more than two are jointly concerned that number should be increased.

[Illustration: Shovel Board.]

Those weights that glance off the side of the table, that do not pass the first line, or that fall off the table at the opposite edge, it will be seen do not score. It is sometimes allowed that all weights passing the first, or four-foot line, score one, instead of making it incumbent that the second line should be reached.

The following description of the game, which differs somewhat from the above, appears in the "English Cyclopædia":--"The origin of the game Shuffle, or Shovel Board, is doubtful; it has been practised for many generations ... and has lately been largely introduced into America.... The board, or alley, is thirty feet long by twenty inches wide, perfectly level, like a billiard table, and constructed of some wood which will not warp. Before commencing to play, it is sprinkled with fine sand, and five inches from each end a line is drawn across the board, parallel with the ends. Eight weights or pieces are required, divided into two sets of four each, and marked with distinctive features. The game is played by four people, two against two, one on either side standing at each end of the board. Twenty-one points have to be scored to win a game; each piece which lies over or inside the line, at the end of a round being 'in,' and scoring two points in favour of the side to which it belongs, whilst a piece partly projecting over the end of the board scores three points. Should no piece be 'in' at the end of a round, that nearest the line counts as one point, and a piece lying exactly on the line is counted 'in.' The players '_shuffle_' alternately from each end of the board, the great object of each competitor being to 'shuffle' his own piece in, or drive his opponent's off the board."

SKITTLE CANNONADE.

The game of Skittle Cannonade, or Indian Skittle Pool, is a capital game for boys. It is in its higher development played on an ordinary billiard-table, but a bagatelle board will answer all the purpose, or it may even be played on a common dining-table, provided that round its edges are placed such cushions as are supplied with a Table Croquet set.

[Illustration:

*3

*4 *5 *2

*1

Plan of Skittle Cannonade.]

Two white balls, one red, and one blue ball are used in the game, and five small skittles are placed in the centre of the board or table. The skittles are of different values, and are numbered as follows (as shown in the accompanying plan). The first opposite to the baulk is one, that to the right two, that opposite to the first, three, the one opposite to the second, four, and the centre skittle, five. The points are made by knocking down the skittles, as shown hereafter, each skittle knocked down counting points according to its number. In commencing to play, the red ball is placed as in the ordinary cannon game of billiards, the blue one beneath it, and the two white balls are retained for the two players who play first. The white balls should be played with alternately by the players, and no score is made except from a cannon, that is, the ball struck with the cue must hit some other ball before the skittle is knocked down; but it does not then matter by which ball the skittle or skittles are knocked down. The first player is bound to strike the red ball, and the second player the blue ball, but afterwards either ball may be struck at. A ball being knocked off the table, or into a pocket when a billiard-table is used, destroys all the points made by the stroke, and if the ball knocked off is either the red or blue ball it must be again placed as in starting the game. The skittles are replaced after every stroke, if necessary. Thirty-one points, neither more nor less, win the game; any one scoring beyond that number is dead and out of the game; or the survivor from amongst all the players wins the game if no one player scores the exact thirty-one required. Any player knocking down the four outside skittles, leaving only the centre one standing, wins the game, having made what is technically called "the royal." After each win a new game is started.

The player who first reaches either twenty-nine or thirty points has the right to stop scoring on his declaring to do so, and any point which he may subsequently make counts to the advantage or disadvantage, as the case may be, of the previous player. This right to stop scoring can only be exercised by one player in each game, and if he who first reaches the required number of points refuses to exercise that right, it passes to the next who attains the required number, and so on.

There is also another version of the game of Skittle Cannonade played on a board specially prepared, and the result of which depends entirely upon chance. A teetotum, as in the game of Cannonade, is used instead of balls and a cue, or sometimes a top is made to do duty for the teetotum. Nine specially-made skittles are used, each of which is placed on a spot inscribed with a number. When the skittles are placed, the top or teetotum is smartly spun at one corner of the board by each player alternately, and the scores are made according to the numbers which are laid bare by the skittles being knocked off them. The great point in the game is to give the top or teetotum a smart jerk when spinning it, so as to make it retain its power of movement as long as possible. This description of the game is far inferior to the version described above, but the whole of the materials form a pretty toy, and much amusement for the youngsters is to be obtained from the game.

SLATE GAMES.

There are a few simple slate games which have been in the past, and no doubt will be in the future, the means of affording innocent amusement to many a youngster. They are none of them very elaborate, are usually intended for only two players, and are best grouped together under the one general heading of Slate Games. The first to be described is the game known as

_Birds, Beasts, and Fishes._--Two boys take their slates, and each one writes down the first and last letters of the name of some bird, beast, or fish, first stating from which category the name is selected, and puts a cross for each of the intermediate letters. For example, A elects to write down the name of a beast, and marks on his slate as follows--Hxxxe; B will perhaps select a fish, and mark on his slate Gxxxxxn; they then exchange slates, and each tries to guess the name of the beast or fish indicated, and fills up the blanks accordingly. It is evident that those indicated above are respectively Horse and Gudgeon.

_French and English._--A slate should be divided into three divisions, the top and bottom divisions each having a small compartment marked off therein, as shown in the annexed diagram. One of the two end divisions should be allotted to the English and the other to the French, and marks put therein to represent the soldiers of the respective nations. Each player having provided himself with a well-sharpened pencil, the game is played as follows:--The players decide the order of play, and he first selected, being supposed to be English, places the point of his pencil at the spot marked in the smaller compartment of the English division of the slate, draws it quickly across the slate in the direction of the opposing army. The pencil will, of course, leave a line marking its track, and all the men of the opposite side, through which the track passes, count as dead. Each player plays alternately, and he wins who first kills all the men on the opposite side. The track of the pencil must be rapidly made, and must be either straight or curved; any track in which there is an angle does not count. Sometimes the players turn their heads or close their eyes when making the track.

[Illustration:

+====================+ || * * * * | || || * * * |/\|| || * * * |\/|| ||------------------|| || English || || || || || || || || French || ||------------------|| || * * * *|/\|| || * * * |\/|| || * * * *| || +====================+

French and English.]

_Noughts and Crosses, or Tit-Tat-To._--This game, when played out of school-hours, should be wound up with the following rhyme by him who wins the game:--

Tit-Tat-To, my last go; Three jolly butchers, all of a row.

"When played out of school?" some readers will say. Yes; this qualification is necessary, for it is to be feared and deprecated that this game, as well as that of "Birds, Beasts, and Fishes," is frequently played in school-hours, to while away the weary time that ought to be devoted to the solution of arithmetical or algebraical problems. These slate games are undoubtedly little boys' games, but many are the big boys who indulge in them surreptitiously, if not openly.

[Illustration:

| | X | O | X ----+---+---- O | O | X ----+---+---- X | X | O | |

Noughts and Crosses.]

The game of Tit-Tat-To is played on a figure, similar to the annexed, made on an ordinary slate. The players alternately mark in the figure--the one a cross, and the other a nought; he who first obtains a row either horizontally, perpendicularly, or diagonally wins the game, and calls "the three jolly butchers, all of a row." The object of each of the players is equally to obtain such a row, and to prevent his opponent from obtaining one.

SPILLIKINS OR SPELICANS.

The game of Spelicans is similar to that of "Jerk-Straws." The spelicans are a number of thin pieces of ivory or bone, cut into odd and various shapes--some like saws, some like spears, some like hooks, &c. Each spelican is inscribed with a number, the lowest being 5 and the highest 40. The spelicans are taken up in the hand of any one of the players, except by him who plays first, and dropped upon the table in a heap; the other player or players, as the case may be, then alternately endeavour to remove a spelican from the heap either with the fingers, or by the aid of two small hooks provided for the purpose, without in the slightest degree disturbing any other spelican. At the end of the game each player adds up the numbers marked on the spelicans he has captured, and he who can show the highest number wins. Sometimes, instead of each player alternately trying to remove one spelican, it is allowed for one player to continue removing spelicans one by one until more than one spelican is disturbed in the same try, when the play passes as before.

SQUAILS.

In some places the game of Squails bears the name of Trails. It is an amusing round game, which can be played on any ordinary table by two or more players of an even number--not, however, exceeding eight. Each player is furnished with an equal number of coloured wooden pieces or discs, which are called squails, and these the player has to place at the edge of the table, half over the edge, and strike them with the open palm of the hand towards a small medal placed in the centre.

[Illustration: Squails.]

The players should be divided into sides, and one from each side should alternately strike a squail towards the medal. An imaginary circle should be drawn round the central medal, into which, if it is knocked out during the play, it must be replaced. The object of the game is to secure for one's own side the largest number of squails near to the central medal, and to obtain that it is legitimate not only to shove one's own squail towards the centre, but also to knock an opponent's squail away or a partner's squail near to the medal.

The game of Squails, for a year or two after its introduction, seemed in a fair way to rank among the most popular round table games, but it soon died out and is now but little played. It deserves, however, much more notice than it usually receives, and we would recommend it as a great improvement on most of the elaborate toy games that are patronised so extensively. A set of squails costs but a trifling sum.

SQUEAKER.

The Squeaker is an instrument with which it is generally supposed that the peculiar squeak of Punch, in the Punch and Judy show, is produced. To make it, get two little pieces of tin, each about an inch long, and half an inch broad, and bend them slightly inwards. Now wind a piece of tape round the pieces of tin when placed together, and fasten the whole together with thread. Blow through the instrument, and by the vibration of the central piece of tape a peculiar squeaking sound will be produced.

Another very simple squeaker is made by placing the two thumbs together alongside of each other, and laying as tightly as possible in the hollow between the thumbs a blade of common grass. If the piece of grass is then blown upon, the same horrible squeaking noise will be produced.

STEADY TAR.

The Steady Tar is another toy of the balancing order, several of which have already been described. To make this toy, stick a needle into a cork, and place the cork, needle upwards, tightly into a bottle. Carve the figure of a sailor--any other figure will answer equally well--out of light wood, cork, or pith, and mount him on a hard wood ball. (_See_ figure in the illustration.) Through the centre of this ball run a wire, which must be bent, as in the woodcut, into a half circle, and to either end of which a small leaden weight or bullet of equal weight must be attached. If the hard wood ball is then placed on the needle sticking out of the cork in the bottle, the figure may be spun round, and tipped in any direction; if properly made it will always recover its erect and steady position.

[Illustration: Steady Tar.]

SUMMER ICE.[1]

This is a capital new in-door game, founded on the celebrated Scottish game of Curling. The materials for the game are made and supplied by some of the toy manufacturers; but the game, which, although founded on Curling, has also some resemblance to Shovel Board, may be played on any ordinary table with a plain surface. The materials as supplied consist of a long mahogany folding board, at one end of which is a circle, and sixteen flat weights. It is the object of the players to hurl the weights along the board to reach the circle at the other end. After the players have delivered their weights, that side which has the greater number of stones lying nearest to the tee or mark counts one for each weight so lying. Thus, if side A has two weights nearer than any belonging to side B, the former would count two to their score.

[Illustration: Summer Ice.]

SYBIL.

_See_ "Prophet."

TABLE CROQUET.

_See_ "Parlour Croquet."

TARGETTA.

The game of Targetta is a drawing-room game, which is played on a target somewhat resembling a pedestal fire-screen, and similar to the illustration annexed. In the oval central part of the target are fixed a number of pins which are retained in their places by means of springs that are dislodged immediately upon the pins being struck. The pins are thrown at by a ball attached by a long string or cord to the top of the target, and scores are made according to the number of the pins dislodged.

[Illustration: Targetta.]

TEETOTUM.