just as in ten pins. Only two dice are used, and they are rolled from
a box. Sixes count nothing, and are “off the alley.” Each player has
three balls or rolls, and he can leave either one or both dice at the
end of any throw. If he leaves one he picks up the other and throws
it again, but he must abide by the figures appearing on the two dice
at the end of his third throw. Suppose he throws double fives on his
first throw; that is a _=strike=_, and is so scored, and the total pips
appearing on the two dice at the end of his second throw on the next
frame will count on the strike. Suppose he rolls five-deuce the first
time. He leaves the five and rolls the other die again, getting another
five. That is a _=spare=_, and the total pips on his first throw on the
next frame will count on the spare. If he does not get a spare, it is a
_=break=_, and the total pips on his two dice at the end of his third
throw are scored.
It is usual to take up anything but fives on the first throw, on the
chance of getting a spare. If a spare is not thrown on the second
throw, most players leave anything as good as threes, and always leave
fours; but ace and treys are always thrown again.
BASE BALL WITH DICE.
There are two forms of this game. In the simpler any number of persons
may play, and three dice are used. Each player throws in turn, the
three dice representing his three strikes. Nothing but aces count, but
each of them is a run; and as long as a player makes runs he goes on
throwing. When each player has had nine innings the game is ended, and
the highest score wins.
The more complicated form of the game is to have a rough diagram of a
base-ball diamond. The players take sides, and each is provided with
three markers of different colours, such as red and white poker chips.
Only one die is used, and it is thrown from a box. The captains of the
teams throw for the first time at the bat, the higher throw winning the
choice. Each player in turn of the side at the bat has one throw, and a
marker is placed on the base he reaches. Ace, deuce, and trey count for
first, second, and third bases respectively; four is a home run. When
a five or six is thrown, the result depends on the number of men on
bases, but the striker is always out. If there are no men on bases, or
if all the bases are full, the player is out if he throws five or six.
If there is only one man on the bases and a five is thrown, the striker
is _=caught out=_, and the man on the base is also caught. If six is
thrown, only the striker is caught out, and the man holds his base. If
there are two men on bases, they must be in one of three positions: on
first and second; on first and third; or on second and third. In any
position, only the striker is out on six thrown. In the last position,
if five is thrown, the striker only is out, as the men cannot run. If
there are men on first and second, and five is thrown, the striker is
out, and the man on second is caught trying to steal third; while the
man on first holds his base. If five is thrown when there are men on
first and third, the striker is out, and the man on third is safe, but
the man on first is caught trying to steal second.
When bases are thrown, they are safe hits, and all the men on bases are
advanced as many as the man at the bat throws. As soon as three men on
each side have struck or been caught out by throwing five or six, the
side is out, and all men left on bases count for nothing. As long as
three men are not out, the side continues to send its men to the bat in
regular order.
GOING TO BOSTON.
This game is known in the colonies as Yankee Grab, or Newmarket. Each
player has three throws with three dice, and the highest die in each
throw is laid aside. If two are equally high, only one is retained. The
others are returned to the box and thrown again. The higher of these
two is retained, and the third die is thrown again. The final total
of the three dice is the player’s score, and the highest wins. In the
colonies the ace counts as seven. The game is usually played for a pool.
ACE IN THE POT.
Any number can play, and two dice are used. The game is for a pool,
which is won by the final possessor of a single counter. At the
beginning each player has two counters, and each in turn throws the
two dice. If he throws an ace he pushes one of his counters into the
pot; two aces gets rid of both. If he throws a six on either die, he
passes a counter to his left-hand neighbour, who will have the next
throw. Two sixes passes both counters if the caster still has so many.
The players throw in turn until all the counters but one have been
placed in the pot. If a player has no counters, the throw passes him
to the next player on his left who has counters in front of him. The
last counter of all cannot be put in the pot by throwing an ace; but it
must be passed along to the left when a six is thrown. The player with
the last counter in front of him must throw both dice three times in
succession, and if he succeeds in avoiding a six, he keeps the counter
and wins the pool. If he throws a six, the player who gets the counter
must throw three times, and so on, until some one throws three times
without getting a six. Instead of a pool, it is sometimes agreed that
the final holder of the last counter shall pay for the refreshments.
MULTIPLICATION.
Any number can play, and three dice are used. Each player throws in
turn, and the highest die is left on the table; if two are equally
high, only one remains. The two other dice are thrown again, and the
higher left. The sum of these two is then added together, and the third
die is thrown as a multiplier, the result of the multiplication being
the player’s score.
ROUND THE SPOT.
Any number can play, and three dice are used. Nothing counts but the
spots that surround a centre one; so that ace, deuce, four, and six
count as blanks. The trey counts as 2, and the five as 4. Each player
has three throws with the three dice, and the highest total wins.
VINGT-ET-UN.
Any number of persons can play, making up a pool for the winner. A
single die is used, and each player in turn throws as often as he
pleases. The object is to get as near twenty-one as possible without
passing it, and it is usually considered best to stand at 18, but to
throw again at 17. If a player goes beyond 21, he is out of it. The one
getting nearest 21 takes the pool; ties divide it.
CENTENNIAL.
Two persons or sides play with three dice. The object of the game is
to secure pips on the dice, or multiples of pips, which will make the
figures from 1 to 12 in numerical order, and afterward the numbers from
12 to 1 again. The first side to accomplish this wins the game. There
must be an ace in the first throw or nothing counts; that obtained,
any following numbers may be made singly, or by adding two or more
together. Suppose the first throw is 4, 2, 1. The 1 and 2 will make 1,
2 and 3. Then the 4, 1, 2 will make 4, 5, 6 and 7. Each side continues
to throw until it fails to score, when the box must be passed to the
adversary. If a combination is overlooked by one side, the other may
count it if it continues the sequence on their side.
HELP YOUR NEIGHBOUR.
Six persons play, with three dice, and five points is Game. Each player
has a number, from 1 to 6, and is provided with five counters, and the
first to get rid of them wins. Each player in rotation has one throw,
and no matter what he throws, the player whose number appears on the
upper face of any die thrown counts one point toward game. If No. 2
should throw a four and two sixes, for instance, he would count nothing
himself, but No. 4 would count 1, and No. 6 would count 2 points toward
game.
PASSE DIX.
Any player can be the banker for the first round, and he holds his
position as long as he wins. When he loses, he passes the box to the
player on his left hand. He has three dice, which he throws in one
cast, after the players have made their bets. If he gets ten or more,
he wins. If he gets less than ten, he loses. His advantage lies in
winning when he gets ten exactly; because that gives him nine throws
that win for him out of the sixteen possible with three dice.
SHUFFLE BOARD.
Shuffle Board is played on a table 30 feet long and 20 inches wide,
with a gutter running all round it. The board is sprinkled with very
fine sand. Four weights are used by each side, marked A and B to
distinguish them. These weights are of iron or brass, 2½ inches in
diameter, and ½ inch thick. Five inches from each end of the board and
parallel with it is the deuce line.
The object of the game is to push the weights from one end of the board
to the other, each side playing one weight alternately until all four
weights on each side are played. All pieces over the deuce line count
2, but if a piece hangs over the end of the board it is a _=ship=_, and
counts 3. If there are no ships or deuces, the weight lying nearest to
the deuce line counts one point. Only one ship or deuce can be counted
in each round, so that only one side can score. The ship that overhangs
the most, or the deuce nearest the edge, counts. Twenty-one points is
game. The sides play from each end alternately.
_=On ship board=_, the pieces are wooden disks, six inches in diameter,
marked with oughts and crosses. These are pushed along the deck with
long sticks that have enlarged and flattened ends to fit the pieces.
The object is to get each piece to settle fairly and squarely within
the borders of some one of a number of spaces which are chalked out on
a diagram about 10 feet by 6, which is about 30 feet from the player.
These spaces are numbered from 1 to 10, and some of them are marked
“minus.” Each side has four shots with four separate pieces. Fifty
points is game.
BILLIARDS.
_=THE TABLE.=_ The standard American billiard table for championship
games is ten feet by five; but that in common use is nine by four and a
half. The old tables for the four-ball game had only four pockets, but
all modern pool tables have six. The English billiard tables are all
twelve feet by six, with six pockets, which are used for both billiards
and pool. The head of the table is the end from which the players make
their opening shots, and the foot is that on which the red ball is
spotted. The baulk is the space at the head of the table behind a line
drawn from the second diamonds or “sights” through the white spot. The
“D” is the semicircle on the baulk line on English tables.
American tables are made more difficult for championship games by
drawing baulk lines 8 or 14 inches from the cushions, barring the rail
nurse and the anchor shot. The English game is made difficult by making
the cushions higher, the pockets narrower, and barring the spot stroke.
The push shot is allowed in the English game, but in America it is
permitted only in pool; never in the carrom game.
The American carrom game cannot be played on an English table on
account of the pockets. If the English game is played on an American
pool table the red spot should be only nine inches from the bottom
rail, and the “D” should be drawn with a radius of eleven inches from
the white spot on the baulk line. The D is never marked on an American
table, but the opening shot in the three-ball game must be made from
within a semicircle of six inch radius from the white spot. In the
four-ball game, and in all forms of American Pool, the player may place
his ball anywhere within the baulk line.
_=THE BALLS.=_ The American standard balls are 2⅜ inches in diameter,
while the English are only 2-1/16. Billiard balls should be carefully
protected from sudden changes in temperature by being laid away in bran
or sawdust in cold weather. It is a mistake to soak the balls in oil;
all they need is to be wiped off with a damp cloth, and polished with
chamois skin. The three balls employed in both the English and American
games are known as the _=red=_, _=white=_, and _=spot white.=_ In play
they are distinguished as the _=cue ball=_, which is the one struck
by the player; the _=object ball=_, which is the one that the cue ball
first comes into contact with; and the _=carrom ball=_, which is the
second ball struck by the cue ball in making a carrom.
_=THE SHOTS.=_ There are three shots common to billiards: The
_=carrom=_ or _=cannon=_, in which a count is made by the cue ball
striking both the other balls on the table. The _=winning hazard=_,
in which the object or the carrom ball is driven into a pocket. The
_=losing hazard=_, in which the cue ball goes into a pocket after
contact with another ball. There are five ways of making the principal
shots at billiards, and they should be thoroughly mastered by every
player. These are: The force, the follow, the draw, the massé, and the
side stroke.
[Illustration]
The first great principle in billiards is that the cue ball will always
travel in the _=direction=_ in which the cue is pointed. Holding the
cue upward, downward or sidewise makes no difference; the line of
travel will be a prolongation of the line of the cue. In the three ways
of striking the cue ball shown in the diagram in the margin, the ball
will go in the direction of the arrow in each instance.
[Illustration]
If the cue is held nearly level with the surface of the table the ball
will be pushed or rolled along; but if the cue is held perpendicularly,
and the ball is struck directly on the top, the ball will be
_=pinched=_ to the table, as in the first figure in the margin, and
will not move. If the ball is struck off the centre, as in the second
figure, it will travel only a short distance, as a result of the cue’s
being forced past it toward the cloth, and will then return with a very
strong retrograde motion after touching the object ball. If the cue
strikes too near the top, the pinch will be too strong for the cue ball
to reach the object ball, and if the cue is not held perpendicularly,
the ball will not return. If the cue points toward the centre of the
ball, as in the third figure, the ball will be driven forward, without
any tendency to return after striking the object ball. The latter shot
is useful in making a “close follow,” to avoid making a foul.
_=The Force Shot.=_ The beginner at billiards should strike his ball
always exactly in the centre, until he learns the angles. With
moderate strength the effect of the stroke is to cause the ball to roll
naturally along the cloth until it reaches the object ball, after which
it will be deflected from its original course according to the angle
at which the object ball is struck. If the cue ball is struck very
hard, however, and very slightly below the centre, it will slide for a
certain distance before beginning to roll, and if it reaches the object
ball before this sliding motion ceases it will simply come to a stop,
or go off at a right angle if the object ball is not struck exactly in
the centre. This method of forcing a ball to go off at a right angle is
called “screwing” in England.
[Illustration]
_=The Follow Shot.=_ If the cue ball is struck above the centre, the
rolling motion is set up at once, no matter how hard the ball is
struck, and the effect of contact with the object ball is simply to
check the motion for a moment, after which the cue ball rolls forward
again, deflected only by the angle at which the object ball was struck.
The great art in making follow shots is to let the cue follow the ball,
the tip passing at least three inches beyond where the ball stood, as
shown by the dotted lines in the diagram. When the balls are very close
together the cue must be lifted, and the ball struck very much on one
side, the cue being behind the centre, as shown in the third position
in the diagram of pinch shots.
[Illustration]
_=The Draw Shot.=_ This is exactly the reverse of the follow shot, the
ball being struck below the centre, and the cue passing at least three
inches beyond where the ball stood, as shown in the diagram. This gives
the cue ball a retrograde motion, similar to that imparted to a child’s
hoop by spinning it backward while throwing it forward, so as to make
it return. If the object ball is reached before this retrograde motion
is exhausted, the effect will be to stop the forward motion of the cue
ball, and to give what is left of the retrograde motion full play,
making the cue ball return. The two great mistakes made by beginners in
playing draw shots are that they pull the cue back, instead of driving
it clear through the ball aimed at, and that they strike so hard that
the forward motion of the cue ball is too strong for the retrograde
motion to overcome it, or the object ball to stop it. It is never
necessary to strike harder than sufficient to reach the object ball and
get back to the carrom ball, unless one is playing for position.
When the balls are so close together that to run the cue through the
ball would make a foul shot, the draw may still be made by pointing
the cue off to the side, and pushing it past the cue ball, instead of
through it. This will secure the retrograde motion, but accompanied by
a great deal of twist, which must be calculated for if the cue ball is
to strike a cushion. A short draw may also be made by using the pinch.
[Illustration]
_=The Massé.=_ Most players imagine this to be a very difficult shot,
but it is extremely simple if the principle of the direction of the cue
and the effect of the pinch are kept in view. If we place the three
balls in a straight line, about four inches apart, we have the simplest
form of the massé. To find the exact spot at which the cue ball must be
struck, join the centres of the cue and object balls by an imaginary
line A-B. At right angles to this will be a line A-E, and no matter
which side of the ball B you wish to massé upon, your cue must strike
the ball A somewhere on the line A-E. Suppose you wish to massé to the
left, as shown in the diagram. The pinch must be made on the ball about
a quarter from the top, the cue being pointed in the direction in which
you want the ball to go, which will be to the extreme edge of B, on the
line C-D. The cue must be held at an angle of about 70 degrees. A firm
but light blow with a well chalked cue will pinch your ball toward E;
but the direction of the cue will propel it toward D. If the cue has
been held at the right angle, and you have not struck too hard, the
ball will feel the effect of these two forces equally, which will make
it move toward a point half way between D and E, which will be F. The
retrograde motion being stronger than the propulsion of the pinch, will
gradually overcome it, and the ball will return toward G. Contact with
the ball B will cause it to lose all but the forward motion, and it
will roll easily toward H, making the carrom.
_=The Side Stroke.=_ It is a popular delusion that the only way to
change the course of a ball is by giving it “twist,” “English,” or
“side.” Side has little or no influence on the cue ball until it
touches a cushion. Striking above or below the centre is all that is
necessary. If it is required to vary the angle at which the object
ball is to be struck, the distance below the centre will change the
angle of direction in the cue ball without any side stroke. The art
of accomplishing this is called _=compensation=_, an illustration of
which is given in the diagram, A being the cue ball, and B the object
ball. This is a half draw or force shot, the ball being struck about
half way between its centre and the cloth. If we draw imaginary lines
connecting the centres of A-B and B-C, and bisect the angle, we get the
point D, which the cue ball must strike to make the carrom. This will
drive the object ball in the direction D-E; but if it is desirable that
the object ball should go more in the direction G-F, so as to secure
a better position for the next shot, the cue ball will have to strike
at G, which will make a draw shot, bringing it back in the direction
H, securing the position, but missing the count. In this position the
ignorant player puts on side, but all that is necessary to compensate
for this deviation in the point of impact is to approach the point of
the cue toward the centre of the ball the exact distance that the point
G is from the point D. The higher the point of the cue is raised, the
further the ball will go from the line D-H. If struck much above the
centre, it will follow through the object ball, passing beyond the ball
C altogether.
[Illustration]
When side is put upon a ball, it spins in that direction. If it is
struck on the left, and then goes to a cushion directly in front of it,
it will tend to fly off the cushion toward the left, making the angle
wider. If a ball spinning to the left goes to a cushion on the left,
it will tend to make the angle smaller, and the effect so produced is
called _=reverse English=_, which tends to slow the cue ball.
THE AMERICAN GAME.
In the American game every carrom counts one point, and the number of
points that will constitute a game must be agreed upon before play
begins. The players string for the lead, the one bringing his ball
nearer the head cushion having the choice of balls and of the first
shot.
The great art in the American game is to keep the balls in front of
you, so as to leave yourself a comparatively easy shot. Every time
you get the cue ball between the two others you will find yourself in
difficulties; but whenever both the balls are in front of the cue ball,
there will be some chance to score. When there is a choice of several
ways of making a shot, the balls being wide apart, it will usually be
found that one of them will bring the balls into better position than
the others, and for that reason it is called a _=gathering shot=_.
The expert tries to get the balls on the rail by a series of these
gathering shots, and if any of the three positions shown in the diagram
can be arrived at, a large run may be made by the _=rail nurse=_.
When the balls are not left in one of these positions they are said
to _=break=_, but there are several positions in which they may be
recovered by a kiss or a massé shot. In No. 4, the player must be
careful to come back on the proper side of the carrom ball, so as to
get back to position 2, if possible.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
When the player reaches the corner, there are three principal positions
for accomplishing the turn. In the first shown, the spot white must
be touched very lightly on the left side, the cue ball going to
the cushion with a strong English on the right side. In the second
position, the red ball is barely touched. The third position is a light
force shot but would be a half follow if the spot white were further
out.
BAULK-LINE BILLIARDS.
Professionals became so skilful in rail nursing that the baulk-line was
introduced to keep the balls away from the rail. This is a chalk line,
10, 12, 14, or 18 inches from the cushions, according to agreement,
dividing the table into eight baulk spaces, as shown in the diagram.
[Illustration]
It is foul if more than two successive shots are made on balls both of
which are within any one of the eight interdicted spaces. Both balls
being within the space, the striker can play on them once without
sending either out; his next stroke must send at least one out. Should
it return, and both balls be again inside, he can play one shot, as
before, without sending either out. This process may be repeated _ad
libitum_. Should the second stroke fail to send a ball out it does not
count, the striker’s hand is out, and the next striker plays at the
balls as he finds them.
[Illustration]
The great art in baulk-line nursing is to get the object and carrom
balls astride the line, and then to follow the principle of the rail
nurse. The _=anchor=_ shot is now barred in championship games. It
consisted in getting two balls frozen to the cushion astride of one end
of a line, and then just rubbing their faces with the cue ball. In the
baulk-line nurse there are three principal positions, and two turns,
as shown in the diagram. In No. 3 the red ball must be driven to the
rail and back with great accuracy, leaving the balls in position No. 1
again. The turns are very difficult.
CUSHION CARROMS.
This is a variety of the three-ball game in which a cushion must be
touched by the cue ball before the carrom is completed. The cushion
may be struck first, and the object ball afterward, or the object ball
first, and then the cushion. In the _=Three-cushion Carrom Game=_,
three cushions must be touched by the cue ball before completing the
count. In the _=Bank-shot Game=_, the cue ball must strike at least one
cushion before touching the object ball.
The _=Four-ball Game=_ is now obsolete. It was first played on a table
with corner pockets, and afterward on a carrom table, two red balls
being used, one spotted on the red and the other on the white spot. Two
carroms could be made on one shot.