ODD GAMES.
There are quite a number of odd games of cards, which come and go as favourites from time to time, and pass round the world from one country to another under many different names. The origin of most of these games is lost in the weedy undergrowth of variations, but the chief family trait in some of them can be traced back to the alpha of cards.
Among the oldest of games was Ombre, immortalised by Pope, the only survivor of which is a variation played by the older Germans, under the name of Solo; a game which still faintly resists the exterminating influence of Skat. The ancient and honourable games of Comète, Hoc, and Nain Jaune survive to the present day in a large and prosperous family, ranging from Commit to Fan Tan, the latter being to-day quite a favourite among those who like simple and amusing games, free from mental effort. Fan Tan is unfortunately named, as many persons confuse it with the Chinese banking game, and it would be much better under its older name, Play or Pay.
Among the many games of which everyone has heard, and which many thousands have been advised to play, is one which, strange to say, is not to be found described in any work on card games, and that is Old Maid. There was a time when the result of this game was supposed to be final and conclusive, and parties of young men have been known to substitute a Jack or King for the discarded Queen, in order to learn what the future had in store for them. Under such circumstances the game became Old Bachelor, of course.
For those who believe in the verdict of the cards, there are other sources of information. Fortune telling, whether for the purpose of amusement or self-deception, has undoubtedly interested many persons in all stations of life ever since Eittella first explained the art, away back in the sixteenth century. The meanings attached to the cards individually, and the manner of their arrangement, is all that can be given in a work of this kind. The qualifications for success in foretelling the future do not depend so much on the cards as on good judgment of human nature, unlimited assurance, a glib tongue, and a certain amount of ingenuity in making a connected story out of the disjointed sentences formed by the chance arrangement of certain cards, to which an arbitrary or fanciful meaning is attached.
Speculation is considered by some persons an excellent training school for the commercial instincts of the younger members of a family, teaching them to form correct estimates as to the value of certain articles offered for sale in a fluctuating market. Authors is a very good game for the family circle, and does not require special cards, the ordinary pack being easily adapted to the distinctions of the game.
Patience, or Solitaire, has probably claimed the attention of every card-player at some time or other, and one cannot fail to be impressed by the number and ingenuity of the patience games which have been invented. One of the most expensive works on cards ever published is devoted exclusively to Solitaire.
Among all these odd games one should be able to find something to amuse all sorts and conditions of card-players. The only apparatus required in any of them is a pack of cards and a few counters, and for the latter corn or coffee-beans will form an excellent substitute.