RULES
- Vacancies in the cushion are only refilled after the first deal, but not after any subsequent deal.
- No two cards of the same value may be used in making each combination of eighteen.
- Even when there are three cards on the cushion which make the required sum, these cards cannot be removed unless the cushion contains a court card to crown them. They must in that case remain in their places until a court card appears on the cushion.
- Court cards are excluded from the combinations, which must be made with the pips of minor cards, the court cards crowning each packet.
- Only the uppermost cards of the cushion are available, but their removal releases those underneath.
PLAY
Withdraw the eight aces and place them in the form of a cross (see tableau). Next, deal out twelve cards in two horizontal rows beneath, but leaving room for the circle to be placed as in tableau. These twelve cards are called the cushion. The object is to make as many combinations of the sum of eighteen as possible with cards in the cushion. Each combination must be composed of three cards (Rule IV) and no two cards must be of similar value (Rule II). Some of the combinations, for example, might be 2, 7, 9, or 3, 5, 10, or 2, 6, 10, and so on.
When any three cards make the required sum, take them up together, and put any court card that may be in the cushion at the top, and place the packet thus crowned, face upward, on one of the spaces reserved in the circle. Should there be no court card, the combination cannot be made (Rule III). As you withdraw cards to place on the circle, refill the spaces from the pack in hand.
When no more combinations can be made, you proceed to deal out twelve more cards, covering those already forming the cushion, and to make fresh combinations with all available cards (Rule V); but when vacancies are now made they cannot be refilled. (Rule I.) Cards, therefore, in this and the subsequent deals may have to be dealt on to empty spaces from which other cards have been withdrawn.
You continue to deal out fresh rows following the same rules, and must never make combinations until each deal is complete.
If the game succeeds, the final tableau will show the cross of aces in the centre, surrounded by a circle of twenty-four court cards.
There is no re-deal.
