⚃⚂_Foster's Complete Hoyle: An Encyclopedia of Games Including all indoor games played to-day. With suggestions for good play, illustrative hands, and all official laws to date

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[Illustration:

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]

Double aces are the best, because they make up two of the most

important points at once. A first-class player will sometimes give an

adversary the odds of a first throw of double aces. Double sixes is the

next best, and five-ace is considered one of the worst.

Three of these throws require special mention, all of which would

be very bad openings in the American game, for reasons which will

presently be explained. These throws are five-ace, four-ace, and

deuce-ace, when played as follows:--

[Illustration:

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]

These are all unfortunate opening throws, five-ace being especially

bad, and the English players think the best, perhaps because the

boldest, way to play them is to leave one or two blots, one of which,

however, lays the foundation for possession of your five-point on the

next throw, always a great advantage if you can secure it. If neither

of the blots are hit, the Englishman pushes forward in the hope of

gammoning his adversary, and so winning a double game. In America,

where gammons count no more than hits, nothing is to be gained by

taking such chances, and the foregoing methods of playing these three

throws would therefore be considered very bad.

_=The English Game.=_ When the players count double and triple games,

it is not an uncommon thing to play for the gammon, especially against

inferior adversaries, or when one gets a decided advantage at the

start. The first thing is to secure your own or your adversary’s

five point, or both, and if you succeed in that you should play a

very forward game, and endeavour to gammon your opponent. After the

five-points, secure your bar point, so as to prevent your opponent from

“running” with double sixes. Some players think the bar point better

than the five point, but it must be remembered that points in the home

table are usually better than any outside. If you get the five and bar

points made up, try for the four point, and after that you may take

some risks to get your men home, and do not take up your opponent’s men

if you are ahead of him, because they may give you trouble when they

re-enter in your home table.

_=The American Game.=_ When a gammon or backgammon counts you nothing

more if you win it, and costs you nothing more if you lose it, the

tactics of the game are entirely changed. It is folly to take any risks

for the sake of a gammon, and any plays which leave unnecessary blots

are very bad; for which reason the three throws shown in the foregoing

diagram would be absurd in the American game. On the other hand, you

may risk being gammoned, or even backgammoned, if it is the only way to

save the game. An Englishman cannot take this risk, for he might lose a

triple game in attempting to save a single.

Secure the five point in your own and your adversary’s home table as

soon as possible, and then the bar and four points. After the first few

throws the player should take a general survey of the board, in order

to see whether he is ahead or behind, or if he has any advantage of

position. He must then decide whether he will play a _=backward=_ or a

_=forward=_ game. A glance at the relative positions of the men will

usually show if one side is much more advanced than the other, without

going into any minute calculations as to how many points nearer home

one side _may_ be.

If, at the beginning of the game, one player makes two or three large

throws in succession, while his adversary gets small throws only, the

latter will have little chance of winning the game simply by running

for home, whereas the former’s best chance will be to follow up his

early advantage and get home as fast as possible. The only hope for

the man who is behind is that he can pick up some of his opponent’s

men, setting them back, and in order to do this he must keep behind his

adversary, so as to meet as many of his men as possible.

This enables us to formulate the great principle of the American game,

which is that when a player is ahead he should go ahead as fast as he

can; and when he is behind, he should stay behind as long as he can.

In the first place he is playing a forward, and in the second place a

backward game.

_=The Forward Game.=_ The great point in this game, after having

obtained the advantage of several good throws in the opening, is to get

home as rapidly as possible without unnecessarily exposing your men by

leaving blots. Do not take up your adversary’s men if you can help it,

because by so doing you place obstacles in your own path, and assist

him by allowing him to stay behind, which is just his game. Get past

all his men if possible, especially if he has moved his two men out of

your home table.

_=The Backward Game.=_ Exactly the opposite tactics are of course the

best for the player who is behind. He should keep two or three men in

his adversary’s home table, preferably on the ace and deuce points, in

the hope of catching some of the enemy, and setting them back. The

result of these tactics, if successful, will be to offset the advantage

of the adversary’s high throws early in the game, because every man

captured not only has to start his journey over again, but is liable to

be picked up a second or third time. As it is to the advantage of the

forward player to avoid picking up men, the one who is behind can leave

blots with great freedom, and may even spread his men so that some of

them must be taken up. This intense back game is peculiarly American,

for in the English game such tactics would usually result in a gammon,

and often in a backgammon, and the player dare not risk so much just

to save a hit. In the back game it is very important to spread the men

freely, so that they may act as _=catchers=_.

[Illustration:

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]

In the position shown in the margin, for instance, White has already

thrown off three of his men, but one has been caught and set back. It

is impossible for Black to win unless he can catch this man again, or

capture one or two of those in White’s home table, keeping White from

throwing off any more men until Black gets home.

Suppose that in this position Black threw double threes. His play

would be to separate all his men in the outer table, so that no matter

what White might throw he could hardly escape being caught. The black

men might be placed on the points marked with small crosses, and then

if the white man cannot be caught and set back long enough for Black

to get home, the game cannot be saved. If Black succeeds in picking

up this man, he should then complete his home table as rapidly as

possible, still keeping his outside men spread, and not disturbing the

two men on White’s trey point until necessary.

_=Throwing Off.=_ Always throw off every man possible; never move up

instead of throwing off, unless there are some adverse men in your home

table. If you make a throw which will not take off a man, do not move

two men, but move up and take off one man if possible.

_=Chances.=_ Some players profess to attach great importance to the

chances of the dice, but such matters are of little practical value

except in a general way. It may be interesting to know that the odds

were thirty-five to one against a certain throw, but that knowledge

does not prevent your adversary from winning the game.

It should always be remembered that it is more difficult for your

adversary to hit a man that is very close to him or very far from him,

than one that is about half way. The odds against being hit by a given

number, either on one or on both dice, are given in the margin. The

throws given in the second column cannot be made without counting both

dice, and a player is therefore safer when it takes “double dice” to

hit him.

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|_Single Die._ |_Double Dice._ |

| 25 to 11 ag’st 1 | 30 to 6 ag’st 7 |

| 24 to 12 ag’st 2 | 30 to 6 ag’st 8 |

| 22 to 14 ag’st 3 | 31 to 5 ag’st 9 |

| 21 to 15 ag’st 4 | 33 to 3 ag’st 10 |

| 21 to 15 ag’st 5 | 34 to 2 ag’st 11 |

| 19 to 17 ag’st 6 | 35 to 1 ag’st 12 |

+------------------+-------------------+

LAWS.

_=1.=_ If the men are wrongly set up, the mistake may be remedied if

the player in error has not moved a man, otherwise they must stand as

set up.

_=2.=_ If a player begins with less than the proper number of men, the

error cannot be rectified after the player has made a throw for his

move.

_=3.=_ The players must each cast a single die for the privilege of

first move, the higher winning. Ties throw again.

_=4.=_ By mutual consent it may be agreed to let the higher throw play

the points on his own and his adversary’s die for the first move;

otherwise he must throw again with two dice.

_=5.=_ Each player must throw the dice into the table on his right

hand, and if either die jumps into the other table, or off the board,

both dice must be taken up and thrown again.

_=6.=_ To constitute a fair throw, each die must rest flat upon the

board, and if either die is “cocked” against the other, or against the

edge of the board or of a man, both dice must be taken up and thrown

again.

_=7.=_ If the caster interferes with the dice in any way, or touches

them after they have left the box, and before they come absolutely to

rest and the throw is called by the caster, the adversary may place

face upward on the die or dice so interfered with, any number he

chooses, and the caster must play it as if thrown.

_=8.=_ Before playing, the throw must be announced by the caster, and

if the throw is played as called it stands good, unless an error in the

call is discovered before the dice have been touched for the purpose of

putting them in the box again.

_=9.=_ If a player moves a man a wrong number of points, the throw

being correctly called, the adversary must demand that the error be

rectified before he throws himself, or the erroneous move stands good.

_=10.=_ If a man wrongly moved can be moved correctly, the player in

error is obliged to move that man. If he cannot be moved correctly, the

other man that was moved correctly on the same throw must be moved on

the number of points on the second die, if possible. If the second man

cannot be so moved onward, the player is at liberty to move any man he

pleases.

_=11.=_ Any man touched, except for the purpose of adjusting it, must

be moved if the piece is playable. A player about to adjust a man must

give due notice by saying, “J’adoube.” A man having been properly

played to a certain point and quitted, must remain there.

_=12.=_ The numbers on both dice must be played if possible. If there

are two ways to play, one of which will employ the numbers on both

dice, the other only one of them, the former must be played. If either,

but only one, of the two numbers thrown can be played, the larger of

the two must be selected.

_=13.=_ If a player throws off men before all his men are at home, the

men so thrown off must be placed on the bar, and re-entered in the

adversary’s home table, just as if they had been captured in the course

of play. The same penalty attaches to throwing off men while one is on

the bar.

RUSSIAN BACKGAMMON.

In this variety of the game, no men are placed upon the board at

starting, but each player enters his men by throws of the dice, and

both players enter upon the same table, so that all the men on both

sides move round the board in the same direction, and both players have

the same home table, which is always the one opposite the entering

table.

After having entered two men on the first throw, the player is at

liberty either to continue entering his men with any subsequent throws,

or to play the men already entered. In moving or in entering a player

may capture any blots left by his adversary; but he cannot enter upon a

point covered by two or more of the adversary’s men. If a player cannot

enter a fresh man with the throw made, he must play a man if he can.

When a man is captured, he must be re-entered before any other man can

be moved.

Except on the first throw of the game, doublets give the player a great

advantage. He can not only play the upper faces of the dice twice over,

as in the ordinary game, but the faces opposite them also, and can then

throw again before his adversary. Should he again throw doublets, he

would play both faces of the dice, and throw again, and so on. As the

opposite face is always the complement of seven, it is not necessary

to turn the dice over to see what it is. A player throwing double four

knows that he has four fours and four threes to play and will then get

another throw. The upper faces of the dice must be played first, and if

all four cannot be played the opposites and the second throw are lost.

If the upper faces can be played, but not all the opposites, the second

throw is lost.

If the first throw of the game made by either player is a doublet, it

is played as in the ordinary game, without playing the opposite faces

or getting a second throw.

The chief tactics of the game are in getting your men together in

advance of your adversary, and covering as many consecutive points as

possible, so that he cannot pass you except singly, and then only at

the risk of being hit. After getting home, the men should be piled on

the ace and deuce points unless there is very little time to waste in

securing position.

TEXT BOOKS.

Backgammon, by Kenny Meadows, 1844.

Backgammon and Draughts, by Berkeley.

Pocket Guide to Backgammon, by “Cavendish.”

Bohn’s Handbook of Games.

REVERSI.

This game requires a special board of sixty-four squares. Two players

are each provided with thirty-two men which are red on one side and

black on the other. The first player sets a man on any of the four

squares in the middle of the board, and then his opponent places

another man in the same four squares, each player having his own colour

uppermost.

After the first move on each side, the object of each player is so

to set his men that they shall be next to an opposing man, but with

one of his own men in a direct line on the other side, horizontally,

vertically, or diagonally, no matter how far off the man in line may be.

When a player succeeds in doing this, he reverses the colour of all the

intervening men, turning them to his own side. A man placed at an angle

may turn more than one line at a time. As soon as the board is filled,

each man counts up his colour, and the one that has the majority wins

the game.

HALMA.

This is played on a board with 256 squares, each player having nineteen

men of distinguishing colours. At the start the men are placed in an

enclosure at the corner of the board, called a “yard.” The object

of the player is to get his men out of his own yard and into his

adversary’s.

The men move one square at a time, like a king at chess, unless a man

gets to the square adjoining that occupied by another man with a space

beyond it. Whether the adjoining man is his own or his adversary’s, the

player can hop over it into the vacant space beyond, and he can make as

many hops as there are men and spaces. This being so, a player will try

to make “ladders” with his own men, placing them in a line diagonally,

with a space between each, and will then hop his men over them all.

As soon as he gets all his men into his adversary’s yard the game is

ended. Special directions always come with the apparatus.

GO-BANG.

This is played on a board of 361 squares. Each player has his own

coloured counters, and they draw for the first move. Each places a

man in turn, and the first to get five men in a row, horizontally,

vertically, or diagonally, wins the game.

MORELLES, OR NINE MEN’S MORRIS.

This game, sometimes called _=The Mill=_, is played on a board ruled

off into compartments, as follows:

[Illustration:

+----------+----------+

| | |

| +------+------+ |

| | | | |

| | +--+--+ | |

| | | | | |

+---+---+ +---+---+

| | | | | |

| | +--+--+ | |

| | | | |

| +------+------+ |

| | |

+----------+----------+

]

Each player has nine men, of distinguishable colours. They draw for

first move, and each in turn places a man on any one of the corners

or intersections of the lines. As soon as either player gets three

men in line, he can remove from the board any one of his adversaries’

pieces that he pleases, provided the piece is not one of three that

are already in a line. If there are no other men on the board, he can

remove one of a line.

After entering all nine of his men, the player can shift them about,

one at a time, but no man can be moved farther than to the adjoining

corner or intersection, and that must be vacant. As soon as a new line

is formed in this way, an adverse man can be lifted. It is possible for

one man to move back and forth in such a manner as to continually form

and reform a line of three. When one player has only three men left, he

can jump any of them to any vacant space on the board, no matter how

far off. As soon as either player is reduced to two men, the game is

over and he has lost.

DOMINOES.

Although properly a game for two persons, Dominoes is sometimes played

by four, two being partners against the other two. There are also some

round games in which any number from three to six may play, each for

himself.

_=The Sets.=_ A set of dominoes is a number of pieces of bone, usually

about 1½ inches by ¾, and ⅜ thick. These bones have upon their faces

the permutations of the numbers from six to blank, taken two at a time.

Some sets begin at double nine, and others at double twelve; but the

standard set is double six, and is composed of twenty-eight pieces.

_=The Suits.=_ All the dominoes with the same number upon either end

belong to the same suit; the seven bones with a 4 forming the 4 suit;

those with a 6 the 6 suit, and so on. The number of pips in each suit

may be easily remembered by observing that the ace suit has the same

number of pips as the pieces in the set, 28; and that each suit above

the ace has seven pips more than the number of pieces in the set, while

the blank suit has seven pips less, so that each suit progresses in

regular order, seven pips at a time, as shown in the margin.

Blank 21

Ace 28

Deuce 35

Trey 42

Four 49

Five 56

Six 63

_=Shuffling and Cutting.=_ Dominoes are provided with a small brass

pin in the centre of the face, which enables one to spin them round,

push them about on the table, and so to shuffle them thoroughly. There

are three methods of determining who shall have the first play, or

_=set=_, as it is called: _=1.=_ The player having the higher double;

or, failing any double in either hand, the _=heavier=_ domino, that

is, one with a greater number of pips on its face than any held by his

adversary. _=2.=_ One player selects any two dominoes, face down, and

pushes them toward his adversary, who chooses one. Both are then turned

up, and whichever gets the lighter domino has the first set. _=3.=_

Each player draws a domino, face down, and the one getting the lower

double sets first. If neither draws a double the lighter domino sets.

Foster's Complete Hoyle: An Encyclopedia of Games Including all indoor games played to-day. With suggestions for good play, illustrative hands, and all official laws to date · 第 61 / 70 段