Parlor Games.
SQUAILS is a modern English game. The incompleteness of the original rules, and the ridiculous terms employed in the game have prejudiced many sensible people against it. Relieved of these absurdities, the game is an interesting one.
Materials.
The materials for this game consist of sixteen squails, a target, and a gauge. The squails are small discs of wood, about two inches in diameter, eight of light and eight of dark colored wood. The squails are designated by four distinct colors—two light and two dark of each color. The target is of ivory, about one inch in diameter, and loaded so as not to be easily moved or overturned. The gauge is a measure three inches long, made with a convenient handle.
The method of the game is as follows: The company being seated around a dining table, the squails are distributed to them, and the target placed in the center of the table. Now the object of each player is to drive his squails as near the target as possible, by allowing the squail to project over the side of the table about one-fourth its size, and striking it with the palm of the hand.
Vocabulary of Terms.