After the trump card has been lawfully taken into the hand and the trump slip turned face down, the trump card must not be named nor the trump slip examined during the play of the deal; a player may, however, ask what the trump suit is. SEC. 5. If a player unlawfully looks at the trump slip, his highest or lowest trump may be called; if a player unlawfully names the trump card, or unlawfully shows the trump slip to his partner, his partner’s highest or lowest trump may be called. SEC. 6. These penalties can be inflicted by either adversary at any time during the play of the deal in which they are incurred before the player from whom the call can be made has played to the current trick; the call may be repeated at each or any trick until the card is played, but cannot be changed. SEC. 7. When a deal has been played the cards of the respective players, including the trump card, must be placed in the tray face down and the trump slip placed face up on top of the dealer’s cards.
_=Under-calling.=_ If a player holds an inferior sequence, quatorze or trio, which he knows is better than any his adversary can possibly hold, he may call it, and afterward score the better combination, provided he is correct in estimating the inferior one that he called as _=good against the cards=_. But if the adversary can demonstrate that the inferior announcement was not actually good against the cards, and that it was possible for him to hold a better, the score for the higher combination is lost. For instance: A player holds four Kings and three Aces, and on glancing over his hand and discards, sees that his adversary cannot hold any quatorze, so he declares the three Kings, instead of the four Aces. Suppose he mistook a Nine for a Ten, and overlooked the fact that his adversary might have had four Tens, the score for the four Kings would be lost, but the three Aces would be good if his adversary had discarded a Ten, and did not actually hold four. In the ordinary game, the higher combination is lost if it is not called. In play, every card led, whatever its value, counts one, and winning the trick counts one also. The last trick counts two, and the capot forty. Pic and repic are reckoned as in the ordinary game. _=Scoring.
What pins the bowler knocks down in the second frame with his first two balls must be reckoned as in Ten Pins, i.e., one for each pin bowled down, which pin or pins must be added to the strike and placed to the credit of the player in the inning where the strike was scored (the strike being computed as three); such strike must be added to pins knocked down with the two succeeding spare balls; thus, should the bowler score a strike, and should he in the next new frame knock down but one pin with his two spare balls, the strike and pin scored must be computed as 4--the strike counting 3 and the pin 1. Poodles, or balls rolled down the gutter, are fair balls, and any pin or pins which they may get must be counted and placed to the credit of the bowler; dead wood is removed from the alley, and any pins knocked down through dead wood remaining on the alley cannot be placed to the credit of the bowler. The maximum number which can be bowled is 90. COCKED HAT AND FEATHER. [Illustration: O O O O ] The pins are spotted as above, the centre pin being the feather. Ten innings constitute a game, and three balls (not exceeding 6 inches in size) must be used in each inning. All the pins except the feather have to be bowled down or the inning goes for naught. If the feather is left standing alone, the innings count one.
=_ Three of one kind, and two of another kind; no useless cards. [Illustration: 🃅 🂥 🃕 🂽 🂭] 693 to 1 _=Fours.=_ Four cards of one kind, and one useless card. [Illustration: 🃆 🂦 🃖 🂶 🂾*] 4164 to 1 _=Straight flush.=_ Five cards of the same suit, in sequence with one another. [Illustration: 🃈 🃇 🃆 🃅 🃄] 72192 to 1 _=Royal Flush.=_ A straight flush which is ace high. [Illustration: 🃑 🃞 🃝 🃛 🃚] 649739 to 1 When hands are of the same rank, their relative value is determined by the denomination of the cards they contain. For instance: A hand without a pair, sequence, or flush is called by its highest card; “ace high,” or “Jack high,” as the case may be. As between two such hands, the one containing the highest card would be the better, but either would be outclassed by a hand with a pair in it, however small.
There was no string attached to the ball, but it was necessary that it should hit the child it was thrown to. When Fire was called, Salamander and Ph[oe]nix were allowed to be said. The third time Fire was called, silence was observed, and every player bowed the head. We called it Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. A forfeit had to be paid for every mistake.--London (A. B. Gomme). It seems probable that a survival of fire-worship is shown by this game. Fivestones This game was played by a newspaper boy at Richmond Station for me as follows:--He had five square pieces of tile or stone about the size of dice.
MORT. WHIST À TROIS; OR FRENCH DUMMY. _=MORT=_ means simply the dead hand; and is the equivalent of the English word Dummy; the partner being known as _=Vivant=_, or the living hand. In these words the English usually sound the _=t=_, as they do in such words as _=piquet=_, and _=valet=_. _=CARDS.=_ Mort is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, ranking as at whist for cutting and playing. Two packs are generally used. _=MARKERS=_ are necessary to count the game points only. Four circular counters for each side, preferably of different colours, are employed, or the ordinary whist markers may be used. At the end of each game, the score of the points won or lost by each player must be transferred to a score-sheet, kept for that purpose.
When there are more than four candidates for play, the selection of the four is made by cutting. These cut again for partners, and the choice of seats and cards. _=CUTTING.=_ The usual method of cutting for partners, etc., at auction, is to shuffle the cards thoroughly, and “spread” them face downwards on the table; each candidate drawing a card, and turning it face upwards in front of him. The four cutting the lowest cards playing the first game, or rubber. [Illustration: SPREADING THE PACK.] The four having been selected, the cards are again shuffled and spread, and partners are cut for; the two lowest pairing against the two highest; the lowest of the four is the dealer, and has the choice of cards and seats. _=TIES.=_ As between cards of equal value in cutting, the heart is the lowest, diamonds next, then clubs and then spades.
The dialogue then proceeds to the end. The two then lift their arms as high as they can, still joined, and the line of players passes through. All at once the two bring their arms down on one and make him (or her) prisoner. The prisoner is asked in a whisper, so as not to disclose the secret name, which of the two is to be chosen. The one so captured takes his (or her) stand behind the one chosen. The same process is gone through till all the players are taken captive, and have stationed themselves behind the one or the other of the two forming the gate. The last one of the line goes through three times. The first time the word breakfast is pronounced; the second time dinner; and the third time supper. The player then chooses a side. The two sides have then a tug of war.
A player dealing out of turn may be penalized 10 points. ERRORS IN DEALING. 21. There are no misdeals. No matter what happens, the same dealer must deal again if it was his proper turn to deal. 22. If a card is exposed by the dealer during the deal, there must be a new deal; or if the cards of the players become confused, so that the dealer cannot separate them. 23. If the dealer gives too many or too few cards to any player, or neglects to lay out the skat cards in their proper turn, or does not give the right number of cards in each round, or gives three to one player and four to another, or fails to present the pack to be cut, there must be a new deal, and the dealer is charged 10 points for the error. THE SKAT CARDS.
The shinty or hummie is played by a set of boys in two divisions who attempt to drive with curved sticks a ball, or what is more common, part of the vertebral bone of a sheep, in opposite directions (_Blackwood s Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36). If one of the adverse party happens to stand or run among his opponents, they call out Hummie, keep on your own side. --Jamieson. Hundreds A game at marbles, which is carried on until one of the players scores 100 or some other high number agreed upon. Any number can play, but it is best described for two players, A. and B. First the players taw up to a hole; if both get in, they repeat the process until one is left out, say B.; then A. counts 10.
Douce in the _Illustrations of Shakespeare and of Ancient Manners_, 1807, i. 184:-- This game was sometimes called the _nine mens merrils_ from _merelles_, or _mereaux_, an ancient French word for the jettons, or counters, with which it was played. The other term, _morris_, is probably a corruption suggested by the sort of dance which, in the progress of the game, the counters performed. In the French _merelles_ each party had three counters only, which were to be placed in a line in order to win the game. It appears to have been the _tremerel_ mentioned in an old fabliau. See _Le Grand_, _Fabliaux et Contes_, ii. 208. Dr. Hyde thinks the morris, or merrils, was known during the time that the Normans continued in possession of England, and that the name was afterwards corrupted into _three men s morals_, or _nine men s morals_. If this be true, the conversion of _morrals_ into _morris_, a term so very familiar to the country people, was extremely natural.