Several ways are mentioned in this book of finding out which month is
to bring you some particular portion of luck, and here it is proposed
to describe a game of dominoes that tells you the month in which
you are to be married. Nothing is told you about the year of your
nuptials--merely the month, and it is an amusing game for unmarried
people only.
Get out the dominoes and ask an unmarried friend to take a hand with
you. When you have played to the finish, the result will provide one
of you with the name of your marriage month, whichever was previously
decided on. Then, it is usual to play a second game, so that the second
of you may receive enlightenment on the same point.
The game is played in practically the ordinary way that one takes a
hand at dominoes. All the cards from double-six to double-blank are
shot on the table, pips down, and shuffled. Then, each player selects
five cards at random and examines them. The player who is seeking
information lays down any card he or she chooses and then the game
consists in matching the two ends with other cards bearing a number
that will match. This is done by the two players in turn.
If at any point in the game one of the players while still holding a
card cannot match at either end, he or she must draw cards, one by one,
from the heap on the table, until it is possible to match, but one card
must always be left in the heap.
The game ceases when one player has disposed of all his or her cards,
or when the game is shut (i.e., there are no more cards available that
will match seeing that they have all been used) or when neither player
can "go" and there is only one card left in the heap.
As soon as the game is finished, the pips at the two ends of the
formation are added together, and, whatever the addition happens to be,
stands for the number of the month. Thus, if there is a five at one
end and a two at the other, this gives an addition of seven, and the
seventh month is July. It should be remembered that when a "double"
card figures at one end, only the single number is reckoned; thus the
total can never exceed twelve, as two sixes, one at either end, is the
highest possible score.
It will be very quickly appreciated that the thing to avoid is to stop
the game with a blank at both ends. What this means will be perceived
by all players.