Hoyle's Games Modernized

AUCTION BRIDGE.

A lively offshoot from the preceding game, which has recently become very popular in some of the London Clubs. So highly is it ranked in many quarters, that a well-known player has given it as his opinion that "in a year or two we shall only remember Bridge as the son of Whist and the father of Auction." Having in view the strong element of gambling which the latter game contains, and the expectedly heavy losses which may be incurred by the unwary player, the writer opines that a good many impecunious folk are likely to remember it only as being connected with their "uncle."

It is, in fact, a combination of Bridge and Poker. In all that takes place after the declaration has been finally determined, it is pure Bridge, with an extra infusion of "double dummy," due to inferences from the course of the bidding. In the bidding itself, which leads up to the final declaration, the qualities of the Poker-player are pre-eminent—cool but rapid judgment, shrewd reading of character, a happy instinct when to "lie low" and when to "bluff"; when to make a spurt forward for game, and when to egg the opponents on beyond the limits of discretion, and to leave them in the lurch!

By the adherents of the new game—who are head over ears in love with it, and are consequently blind to all its weak points—it is contended that the "gambling" argument brought against it is as fallacious as it was when urged against Bridge proper, and that, to redress the balance, it is only necessary to readjust the value of the points. This is not true. Poker is an excellent game, but no readjustment of values will ever place it on the same plane as games of science, because the qualities of brain and temperament upon which it is based are essentially distinct from the qualities of analysis and combination such as go to the making of (say) a first-class Chess-player. There is, undoubtedly, a greater difference in kind between Auction Bridge and Bridge than there is between Bridge and Whist; whether that difference renders Auction "inferior" or "superior," however, is a moot question which every card-player must decide for himself. There are many who regard the additional spice of hazard, not as a defect, but as a merit.

The Laws of the game, which for some time were in a state of flux, have now been settled as authoritatively as those of Bridge or Whist. It will only be necessary to set out verbatim those Laws which differ from the Laws of Bridge. As regards the remainder, the reader is referred to the preceding Bridge Code.

THE LAWS OF AUCTION BRIDGE.

(Framed by a Joint Committee of the Portland and Bath Clubs, 1908; and reprinted, by permission, so far as they differ from the Laws of Bridge.)

1. As in Bridge.

2. A game consists of thirty points obtained by tricks alone, when the declarer fulfils his contract, which are scored below the line, exclusive of any points counted for Honours, Chicane, Slam, or under-tricks, which are scored above the line.

3. As in Bridge.

4. When the declarer fulfils his contract, each trick above six counts, &c. (as in Bridge).

5 to 10. As in Bridge.

11. At the end of the rubber, the total scores for tricks, Honours, Chicane, and Slam obtained by each player and his partner are added up, 250 points are added to the score of the winners of the rubber, and the difference between the two scores is the number of points won, or lost, by the winners of the rubber.

12 to 46. As in Bridge.

47. The dealer, having examined his hand, must declare to win at least one odd trick, either with a trump suit, or at "no trumps."

48. After the dealer has made his declaration, each player in turn, commencing with the player on the dealer's left, has the right to pass the previous declaration, or to double, or re-double, or to overcall the previous declaration by making a call of higher value. A call of a greater number of tricks in a suit of lower value, which equals the previous call in value of points, shall be considered a call of higher value—e.g. a call of two tricks in Spades overcalls one trick in Clubs, or "Two Diamonds" overcalls "One No Trump."

49. A player may overbid the previous call any number of times, and may also overbid his partner. The play of the two combined hands shall rest with the partners who make the final call. Where two partners have both made calls in the same suit, the one who made the first such call shall play the hand, his partner becoming Dummy.

50. When the player of the two hands (hereafter termed the declarer) wins the number of tricks which were declared, or a greater number, he scores below the line the full value of the tricks won (see Laws 2 and 4). When he fails, his adversaries score, above the line, 50 points for each under-trick, i.e. each trick short of the number declared; or, if the declaration was doubled or re-doubled, 100 or 200 points respectively for each such trick. Neither the declarer nor the adversaries score anything below the line for that hand.

51. The loss on the declaration of "One Spade" shall be limited to 100 points in respect of tricks, whether doubled or not.

52. If a player makes a trump declaration out of turn, the adversary on his left may demand a new deal, or may allow the declaration so made to stand, when the bidding shall continue as if the declaration had been in order.

53. If a player, in bidding, fails to call a sufficient number of tricks to overbid the previous declaration, he shall be considered to have declared the requisite number of tricks in the call which he has made, and his partner shall be debarred from making any further declaration, unless either of his adversaries overcall, or double.

54. After the final declaration has been accepted, a player is not entitled to give his partner any information as to a previous call, whether made by himself or by either adversary; but a player is entitled to inquire, at any time during the play of the hand, what was the value of the final declaration.

55. Doubling and re-doubling affect the score only, and not the value in declaring—e.g. "Two Diamonds" will still overcall "One No Trump," although the "no trump" declaration has been doubled.

56. Any declaration can be doubled, and re-doubled once, but not more. A player cannot double his partner's call, or re-double his partner's double, but he may re-double a call of his partner's which has been doubled by an adversary.

57. The act of doubling re-opens the bidding. When a declaration has been doubled, any player, including the declarer or his partner, can in his proper turn make a further declaration of higher value.

58. When a player, whose declaration has been doubled, fulfils his contract by winning the declared number of tricks, he scores a bonus of 50 points above the line, and a further 50 points for every additional trick which he may make. If he, or his partner, have re-doubled, the bonus is doubled.

59. If a player doubles out of turn, the adversary on his left may demand a new deal.

60. When all the players have expressed themselves satisfied, the play shall begin, and the player on the left of the declarer shall lead.

61. A declaration once made cannot be altered, unless it has been overcalled or doubled.

62. As soon as a card is led, whether in or out of turn, the declarer's partner shall place his cards face upwards on the table, &c. (as in Bridge).

63 to 69. As in Bridge.

70. If, after the cards have been dealt, and before the trump declaration has been finally determined, any player exposes a card from his hand, the adversary on his left may demand a new deal. If the deal is allowed to stand, the exposed card may be picked up, and cannot be called.

71. If, after the final declaration has been accepted, and before a card is led, the partner of the player who has to lead to the first trick exposes a card from his hand, the declarer may, instead of calling the card, require the leader not to lead the suit of the exposed card.

72 to 89. As in Bridge.

90. The penalty for each revoke shall be—

(a) When the declarer revokes, his adversaries add 150 points to their score above the line,^[64] in addition to any liability which the revoking player may have incurred for failure to fulfil his contract.

(b) When either of the adversaries revoke[s], the declarer may add 150 points to his score above the line,^[64] or may take three tricks from his opponents and add them to his own. Such tricks, taken as penalty, may assist the declarer to fulfil his contract, but they shall not entitle him to score any bonus above the line, in the case of the declaration having been doubled or re-doubled.

Under no circumstances can a side score anything, either above or below the line, except for Honours or Chicane, on a hand in which one of them has revoked.

91 to 108. As in Bridge.

Hints to Players.

The "One-Spade" Convention.

In certain club circles where the game has been somewhat extensively played, a fixed idea has arisen that to be the first to make an effectual declaration is a positive disadvantage. Hence the "convention" has been established that (except in certain cases defined below) the dealer must begin with a nominal or fictitious call of One Spade, in order to obtain information from the opponents' calls as to the contents of their hands, or to induce them to undertake a contract which they are unable to carry out.

As it would never do for the dealer, under such a convention, to be left to play the hand at One Spade—which may be the very last thing that he desires—it is a further understanding that the dealer's partner must never fail to overcall. If he has nothing better to say, he must call "Two Spades," thus re-opening the bidding for the dealer to make a fresh start, in case the opponents also "lie low."

The effect of this convention, plainly, is as follows:—

The second player (by which is meant the player on the dealer's left) is quite certain that the bidding will come round to him again; therefore he never opens his mouth unless he is sure that it is to his advantage to do so. All that the dealer has done, therefore, is to shift on to his partner's shoulders the onus of opening, which is disadvantageous for the double reason that the new opener is debarred from One Spade, and that the second player has been given an unnecessary option.

The exceptional cases in which, under the convention, it is agreed that the dealer shall make a genuine call are (1) when he has a moderate or "guarded" No-trumper, when he is to declare One No-trumps; (2) when he has a strong suit to the ace, king, of Spades or Clubs, when he is to declare two in the strong suit as an invitation to partner to make a No-trumper.

Now, as it is conceded that to call first under such circumstances is an advantage, why give second player the option of enjoying the same advantage, which he might not otherwise have had?

By this convention, if it be adopted, the limitation of loss, under Law 51, is voluntarily annulled.

General Remarks.

It will be noticed that, if the player of Dummy fulfils his contract, his reward increases as in ordinary Bridge with the value of the declaration. If he fails, however, by the same number of tricks, he loses no more on a declaration of No-trumps than on a declaration of Spades, the penalty for failure being always 100 or 50 per trick, according as the opponents have, or have not, doubled. Assuming that your chance of winning tricks is the same, it is always better to play a high call than a low one. Conversely, it is very frequently wiser to leave the opponents to play out a black call, which you think you can defeat, than to incur risk of failure yourself by overbidding.

Do not forget that to double a call is to warn the opponents of their danger and to drive them to make another call which may not suit you so well. If dealer declares One No-trumps, and you, being second player, have eight clubs to tierce major, and you keep your mouth shut, and let No-trumps be played, you may be pretty sure of 100 above for two tricks "under." If you double, and they make it Two Hearts and win the odd trick, you are 50 points to the bad. A high declaration (Four, or even Three, in a red suit), which the opponents cannot get out of, may be doubled more freely, though the penalty under Law 58 must be borne in mind. Such doubles are often advisable on high-card strength in the plain suits, even when weak in trumps. Still more politic is what is known as a "free" double, that is, the double of a call which in any case will give the opponents game if they fulfil their contract. Conversely, a double which gives the opponents a game that they would not otherwise have secured is the worst double of all.

The most important point of all in the game is to remember that, in the majority of cases, it is more profitable to let your opponents fail than to score below the line yourself. The efforts of the skilled player are being always directed to driving the other side into a contract which they cannot bring off, and then leaving them to play it. It is in this kind of strategy that the Poker-player is pre-eminent: to know when to "bluff" the enemy into an indiscretion, and when to avoid a similar snare set for oneself, are gifts of nature not to be acquired from a book.

Suppose you have a strong hand, and call Two No-trumps, and win the first game from love with four by cards, and score 30 Aces, you have won 66 points, and have improved your chance of winning the 250 points for the rubber. If we reckon your chance of the rubber as 5 to 3 on (it certainly is not more), it is worth about 63 points more—say 130 in all.

This you may think a great success. But if you can get the opponents to overbid your Two No-trumps with Three Hearts, and you see that they can only get the odd trick, you will be better off if you double and let them play, even if they score 16 for honours. For 200 less 16 leaves you 184 points—and you are still 54 to the good.

As player of Dummy, aim first at fulfilling your contract. When this is accomplished, you may try for game.

As player against Dummy, aim first at saving the game. When there is no risk of that being lost, devote yourself to defeating the dealer's contract.

FIVE HUNDRED.

This is a game largely played in the United States and in Canada, but not so well known in this country as it deserves to be, though one variety of it has been played in London clubs. It is primarily and specifically a game for three players; and this is one of its greatest merits, for good three-handed games are rare.

"Five Hundred" has been characterised as a "patchwork" or "mosaic" game; but such expressions do not do it justice, as tending to create the impression that it is a thing of shreds picked up here and there, and indifferently joined together. It does, indeed, borrow its elements from sundry older games: Euchre, Loo, Nap, and Auction Bridge: but by combining these elements into a new and harmonious whole, it achieves a sum total that produces the effect of novelty without taxing our brains to assimilate unfamiliar and bizarre ideas.

It appears to many people to contain all the merits of Auction Bridge without the patent defects of the latter—the interminable length of the rubber, the undefined limits of loss, and the supersession of skill by "bluff."

In the following description, the typical form of the game is assumed, in which three players take part, each being opposed to both the others. The pack used is the piquet pack of thirty-two cards (cards below the seven being omitted) plus the Joker—thirty-three cards in all.

Those who are not Euchre-players must begin by familiarising themselves with the functions of the Joker, and with the peculiar rank and attributes of the Right and Left Bower.

When there are trumps, the Joker is the master trump; then follows the knave of trumps (the "Right Bower"); then the other knave of the same colour (the "Left Bower"); after which come the ace, king, queen, ten, nine, eight, seven of trumps, in descending order. The trump suit thus consists of ten cards; the plain suit of the same colour consists of seven only; the other two plain suits consist of eight each. The knaves of the latter two suits take their ordinary Whist and Bridge rank, between the queen and the 10.

When there are no trumps, all the cards, except the Joker, rank as in Whist or Bridge. The Joker remains the master card of the pack; if it is led, the leader names the suit which he elects it to represent, and the other players must follow suit accordingly.

In cutting for deal, the Joker is the lowest card, and an ace the next higher. After which come the 7, &c., upwards to the king.

After shuffling and cutting, the dealer distributes three rounds of three cards each to the three players, followed by one round of one card each. The remaining three cards are laid face downwards on the table, and constitute the "widow."

The bidding then begins. The eldest hand has the first right to declare how many tricks (not fewer than six) he will contract to win. At the same time, he must either name a trump suit or declare No-trumps. The eldest hand is not bound to bid, but may pass. Each successive player, in the usual Bridge order, may either overbid, or may also pass. A player who has once "passed" cannot subsequently bid. With this exception, the bidding and overbidding continue, until every one is content. If no player bids, the cards are played No-trumps, and in this case the "widow" remains unappropriated, the eldest hand has the first lead, and each player scores 10 points for each trick that he may make.

When the bidding, if any, is completed, the player who bid the highest,—thenceforward known as "the bidder,"—has the first lead.

The bidder, before playing, takes the "widow" into his own hand, and then discards any three cards out of the thirteen. These rejected cards are to be laid face downwards on the table, and may not be inspected by any one. There are penalties for discarding too many or too few cards, and for illegally looking at the discard.

The value of any bid depends, as in Auction Bridge, partly on the number of tricks contracted for, and partly on the declaration as to trumps. The best and most modern schedule (known as the "Avondale") is as follows:—

The scale is uniform, and easy to remember. The numbers increase downwards by 20 at a time, and horizontally by 100 at a time. It will be noticed that no two bids are numerically equal.

There are certain restrictions on the power of the Joker in the case of No-trumps. The leader of it cannot nominate it to be of a suit in which he has previously renounced; and if he plays it (not being the leader) to the lead of a suit in which he has previously renounced, it has no winning value.

When there are trumps, the Joker and both Bowers form part of the trump suit in the order of precedence already explained.

If the bidder fulfils his contract, or makes any greater number of tricks fewer than ten, he scores the number of points set out in the above table, but no more. If he wins all the ten tricks, he scores a minimum of 250; but if his bid be worth more than 250, he scores nothing extra. Should he fail in his contract, the value of his bid is set down in his minus column, and has to be deducted from his past or future plus score. In every case, each opponent of the bidder scores 10 points for every trick that he wins.

The winner of the game is he who first scores 500 points (hence the title of the game). If two players score more than 500 each in the same deal, one of them being the bidder, the latter is the winner. If neither is the bidder, he who first makes the trick that brings his score over 500 is the winner.

Each player keeps his score in three columns, one for plus points (headed "Won"), one for minus points (headed "Lost"), and the third for the net total.

Revokes.

The American rule is as follows:—

"Upon the revoke being claimed and proved, the hands shall be immediately abandoned. If it is an adversary of the bidder who has revoked, the bidder scores the full amount of his bid, while the side in error scores nothing."

Professor Hoffmann's rule is as follows:—

"If the bidder be the offender, he shall be set back the amount of his bid [i.e. the amount shall be scored in his minus column], each of the opponents scoring as usual for any trick or tricks he may have made, including any which, but for the revoke, would have fallen to him.

"If one of the opponents be the offender, the cards of the trick in which the revoke occurred, and of any subsequent trick, shall be taken back by their respective holders, and the hand played anew from that point. The bidder and the opponent not in fault shall each score according to the result of the play, but the offender can score nothing for that hand, and shall further be set back 100 points."

If a player finds that he holds the Joker, two knaves of the same colour, and any two other cards of the same suit as one of the knaves, he has four tricks certain, by declaring the three-suit trumps, unless all the other five trumps be in the same hand. Should he hold two more tricks in the side suits, he will be quite justified in bidding six.

The chances of getting another trump, by taking in the "widow," are an important element in arriving at sound decisions. The odds evidently vary with the number of trumps already held by the player. The following figures should be carefully borne in mind:

If a player holds four trumps, it is 8 to 5 on his finding one more at least in the "widow."

If he holds five trumps, the odds are only 7 to 6 in favour.

If he has six, he must not reckon on getting another, the odds being 6 to 5 against.

Book on Five Hundred.

Hoffmann, Professor.—Five Hundred: the popular American Card Game. Goodall & Son, Ld.

QUINTO.

This game is the invention of Professor Hoffmann. It has achieved immediate popularity in circles where it has been experimentally introduced, and it has been thought that it may even be destined to supplant Bridge. Waiving discussion, however, of the question whether Bridge is on the point of immediate deposition from its throne, no impartial person would deny that games could be devised that might run it very close, and bid fair to imperil its popularity. To invent such a game Professor Hoffmann, with his long and close experience of social pastimes of every kind, is exceptionally well qualified; and, whether or no we shall all leave off being Bridge-players and become Quinto-players, there is no denying that in the latter game there are several new and interesting elements, that it carefully avoids the fatal error of excessive complexity—the ruin of "Vint" and "Skat," for instance—and that it is compounded of skill and chance in very happy proportions.

It is a game of two partners against two, as at Bridge and Whist. The pack, however, consists of fifty-three cards instead of fifty-two. The place of the extra card (five "crowns"—known as "Quint Royal") which is included by Messrs. Goodall & Son in their "Quinto" packs can be supplied equally well by the "Joker," which all ordinary packs now contain. Similarly, the score-sheets (which resemble those of Bridge, except that no horizontal division is necessary) may be dispensed with, and their place supplied by ordinary paper and pencil, or by an ordinary cribbage-board.

After settling partners and deal in the usual way, the cards are shuffled and cut, and the dealer then lays aside the five top cards, face downwards, to form what is known as the "cachette." The remaining forty-eight cards are dealt out as at Whist, so that each hand contains twelve cards; but no trump card is turned up.

The players in rotation, commencing with the eldest hand, have then the option of once doubling the value of each trick, and of once re-doubling an opponent's double. The option passes round the table once only, and does not affect the value of the "quints," as defined below.

The normal value of each trick, reckoned irrespective of its contents, and counting to the side which wins it, is five points. Each side scores the number of tricks that it actually wins. If A B win 11 tricks, and Y Z 2, A B score 55, and Y Z 10. These values may, however, be doubled or quadrupled before the play begins, as previously explained. The winners of the twelfth trick take the "cachette," which itself counts as an extra trick. Thus the winning of the twelfth trick bears a double value.

So far as regards "trick" scoring. The "honours" are known as "Quints," and are (1) The five of any suit, a fifth "honour" being the "Joker" or "Quint Royal"; (2) An ace and four, or a deuce and trey, of the same suit, falling to the same trick. "Quints" count not to the side to which they are originally dealt, but to the side that wins the trick containing them. They are marked as they occur in course of play, according to the following scale: Quint Royal, 25; Quint in Hearts, 20; in Diamonds, 15; in Clubs, 10; in Spades, 5. The contents of the "cachette" (if of any value) are similarly scored by the side that takes it.

The play of Quint Royal is peculiar. It has no trick-taking value at all, and can be scored by the holder only if he can throw it on a trick won by his partner. This he is always allowed to do, whether he holds one of the suit led or not.

With the preceding exception, every player, having one of the suit led, must follow. If he has not, he may trump or over-trump. No selection is made of any particular suit for trumps, but for trumping purposes the suits ascend in power, in Bridge order, from spades to hearts. Thus any spade may be trumped by the deuce of clubs, which may be over-trumped by any other club or by the deuce of diamonds—and so on up to the one card, the ace of hearts, which is a winner against all the rest.

Game is 250 up. A distinction between quints and tricks is that the former are marked up as they occur in course of play, and that, as soon as the scoring of them brings either side up to or beyond 250, that game is at an end, and the rest of the hand is abandoned. The value of the "cachette" may make the winners of it game; if so, the tricks are not counted. If neither side is 250 up after counting all quints, the value of the tricks won is added in. Should such addition bring both parties beyond 250, the higher of the two totals wins. Those who first win two games win the rubber, and score 100 points extra therefor.

There is another method of scoring—by "single," "double," and "treble" games—but the former way has been preferred wherever the writer has seen the game played.

Before Quint Royal has been played, a player who does not hold it should be always on the alert to give his partner the chance of making it. The original leader, therefore (not holding Quint Royal himself), is always expected to start with the ace of spades, if he has it. If not, with the ace of clubs. The ace of hearts is certainly, and the ace of diamonds probably, too valuable to be led out in this way.

The establishment of a black suit is obviously a hopeless task, for both red suits cannot be got out of the way. Hearts, however, may sometimes be extracted for the benefit of a good long suit of diamonds.

Dummy (or Three-Handed) Quinto.

In the case of three players only, one plays a Dummy hand in combination with his own. This being a very decided advantage, the Dummy-player is handicapped 25, that number of points being scored to his opponents' credit before the game begins. Rubbers are not played, each game being settled for separately, and the three players take Dummy in rotation, game by game. The partner of Dummy always takes first deal of each game. When either of Dummy's opponents deals, the Dummy-player must look first at the hand from which he has to lead, and must double or re-double from his knowledge of that one hand only.

Book on Quinto.

Hoffmann, Professor.—Quinto: A new and original card game. Goodall & Son, Ld.

POKER PATIENCE.

This game, which has recently come into favour among card-players, consists essentially of the task of laying out twenty-five cards face upwards on the table, in five rows of five cards each. A full whist pack of 52 cards is shuffled and cut, and the cards are dealt by the player, one by one, in order from the top.

Each card, after the first, must be laid down, as it is dealt, next to one already on the table, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. That is to say, it must be placed immediately above, or below; to the right, or to the left; or corner to corner. The resultant oblong is considered as comprising ten Poker hands (of five cards each), five hands being reckoned horizontally (which we will call the rows) and five vertically (which we will call the columns). The object is to lay out the cards so that the aggregate total score of the ten Poker hands shall be as large as possible. The score-table is as follows (for definition of terms, see page 124):—

(It will be noticed that the relative values differ from those in Poker proper.)

The game may be played by two or more players, each against all. Each player is provided with a separate pack. One is appointed dealer; his pack is shuffled and cut in the ordinary way. The packs of the other players should, for convenience, be sorted out previously into suits. As a card is dealt, the dealer names it aloud; each of the other players then selects the same card from his own pack. Every one uses his own judgment as to the laying-out of the cards; and when the twenty-five are all played, and the tableaux are complete, the total scored by each player is added up, and the losers pay the winners on an agreed scale.

Supposing five players have scored as follows.—

A, 87; B, 81; C, 78; D, 78; E, 65. A is paid 6, 9, 9, 22 points by B, C, D, E respectively. B is paid 3, 3, 16 points by C, D, E respectively. C and D are each paid 13 points by E. Thus A, B, C, D win 46, 16, 1, 1 points respectively; and E loses 64.

Or we may proceed by adding all the scores together (making 389), multiplying each player's score by 5 (the number of players), and paying for the differences, above or below the total. If we multiply each player's total, as given above, by 5, we get A, 435; B, 405; C and D, 390; E, 325. The differences (by excess or defect) between these and 389 give the same result as before.

Serpent Poker Patience.

This is a "problem" variety of the above game introduced by Ernest Bergholt. In the preceding game, the cards are dealt "blind"—that is to say, when we lay down any given card, we are in ignorance of those that are to follow.

In "Serpent Poker Patience," the twenty-five cards are dealt, in fixed order, face upwards, and are all known to the player before he begins to lay them out. This is a pastime for one player only.

If there were no limitation of the rule for laying out the cards, the analysis would be too complicated to be practicable; hence the added restriction, which forbids the corner to corner contact, and enjoins that each card must be laid vertically or horizontally next to the one last played. We have, in fact, to make a "rook's path" on a chess-board of twenty-five squares, beginning and ending where we please.

While analysis is thus simplified, there still remains considerable scope for variation in the total score obtained. The art of play often consists in the sacrifice of valuable combinations in order to obtain others which, in the aggregate, will count a higher number of points; and curious results may thus be sometimes exhibited. I give the following by way of illustration: it is not difficult.

The twenty-five cards are dealt in the order specified:—

D.6, S.5, C.Q, D.Q, H.Q, H.10, C.10, H.6, C.3, H.J, H. ace, H.5, H.8, H.K, S.Q, H.4, C.2, D.2, H.7, S.J, S.3, H.3, D.3, S.6, H.2.

What is the highest score that can be made by laying out the above cards in serpentine order?

A few trials will suggest the following arrangement, with two straight flushes, intersecting in the ace of hearts, whereby a total of 78 may be secured:—

The rows count a straight flush (30), threes (6), a pair (1), threes (6); the columns count a straight flush (30), two pairs (3), pair (1), pair (1). Total, 78.

But the correct solution is as follows (abandoning one of the straight flushes):—

The rows count a straight flush (30), threes (6), a straight (12), threes (6). The columns count fours (16), full hand (10), pair (1). Total, 81.

BACKGAMMON.

Backgammon is played by two persons, on a special "board" with thirty "men," fifteen white and fifteen black (or red), similar to those used for the game of Draughts. The board (see Fig. 1) is square, usually of wood, lined with leather, and is divided into two equal compartments, each with a raised wall or border. It is usually made in two portions, hinged so as to fold together, and bearing on their outward surfaces the necessary squares for draughts or chess, so that the one board may answer both purposes.

The board is so placed in use that the two compartments, known as "tables," shall lie longitudinally between the players. One of these is known as the "outer," the other as the "inner" or "home" table. Which of the two is for the time being the inner and which the outer table is governed by the arrangement of the men at starting. With the men placed as in Fig. 1, the right hand is the inner or home table, and the left hand consequently the outer table. The portions of the two latter nearest to each player are known as his inner and outer tables respectively.

Each table is marked with twelve "points," six at either end. They are alternately of black and white, black and red, or other distinctive colours. The two points in the inner table farthest from the dividing partition or "bar" are known as the "ace" points, and those next in order as the two or "deuce" points, followed in succession by the three or "trois" points, the four or "quatre" points, the five or "cinque" points, and finally the "six"^[65] points, next the bar. The points in the outer tables are designated in like manner, but starting in this case from the dividing partition. The ace point in the outer table is more commonly known as the "bar" point.

A pair of dice (or sometimes a pair for each player) and a couple of dice-boxes complete the apparatus of the game.

The men are arranged at starting as shown in Fig. 1—viz., two of White's men are placed on the ace point in Black's inner table, five are placed on the six point in Black's outer table, three on the deuce point in White's outer table, and five on the six point in White's inner table. Black's men are placed in like manner on the points immediately facing these.

Playing.

The game is commenced by each player throwing on the centre of the board a single die, the higher throw of the two giving the right to begin. In the event of a tie, the players throw again. All subsequent throws are with both dice.

The thrower of the higher number may either adopt the points shown by the two dice as his own throw, or throw again. After throwing, he calls the number of the throw, the higher number first, as "six deuce," "cinque trois," "quatre ace," or as the case may be, and then proceeds to make his move in accordance with it. The movement of the men of each player is from the ace point in his opponent's home table towards the like point in his own, though for many purposes it suffices if he can play them into his own table, independently of their reaching any particular point therein, the object of the game being first to get all the player's men into his own inner table, and then to play them out of it again, according to certain rules to be hereafter stated. The number uppermost on each die entitles the player to move one man forward a corresponding number of points. Thus if he threw "six trois," he is entitled to move one man six points onward, and then the same or another man three points onward. In the event of his throwing the same points with both dice (known as "doublets"), he is entitled to play the throw twice over. Suppose, for example, that he throws two aces; he may move one or more men forward to an aggregate extent of four points. If he throw double deuces, he may move to an aggregate extent of eight points; if double threes, twelve points, and so on.

The right to move is subject to a certain qualification—viz., that a man can only be played to a point which is either vacant or occupied by one or more men of the player, or by one man only of the adversary. A player getting two men on a given point is said to "make" such point, and as he thereby secures such men from capture, and at the same time impedes the onward march of the enemy, it is always an object to do this. A single man on a given point is known as a "blot," and not only does not prevent the enemy playing to that point, but in the event of its being "hit"—i.e., reached by an adverse throw, it is "taken up" (placed on the bar between the two tables), and, however far advanced it may have been, has to begin its journey anew from the inner table of the adversary. Nor can such man again start on its journey until its owner is fortunate enough to make a throw corresponding with a vacant point or blot in such table. Until he does this, the play of his other men is suspended. If the adverse player's home table is completely full—i.e., each point occupied by two or more men, his play is altogether suspended, the adversary continuing to throw and move until the course of play again throws open one or more points in his table.

Any part of a throw which cannot be played is lost to the thrower, but every player is compelled to play the whole of his throw if it is possible to do so.

Bearing off the Men.