Cassell's Book of In-door Amusements, Card Games, and Fireside Fun

by Various

The materials required are—

1.—Five small cards, on each of which are drawn or painted one of the following figures: On one card a white horse, on another an inn, on the third a bell, on the fourth a hammer, on the fifth a bell and a hammer.

2.—Eight wood, bone, or ivory cubes of the size of dice, marked on one side only, six of which are numbered respectively with the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6; the other two cubes being marked, the one with a bell, and the other with a hammer.

3.—A dice box with which to throw the cubes.

4.—A hammer for knocking down the cards to their respective purchasers, which are disposed of by auction, as set forth hereafter.

5.—A bag of counters.

The game may be played by an unlimited number of players, the more the better, it being especially advisable that at least seven should join in the game. The mode of procedure is as follows:—One of the players is to be selected as cashier, and to him has to be entrusted the bag of counters. A considerable number of these should be equally divided among all the players, and if it is desired they may be taken to represent value. Nuts make good substitutes for counters, as to those players not yet troubled with indigestion they possess in themselves a certain value, especially if it be understood that all winnings may be retained (or eaten).

The Materials for Schimmel.

A pool has to be formed, into which each player pays twelve counters. It is then the duty of the cashier to sell by auction to the highest bidders the five cards, the produce of which also is paid into the pool. Each player is at liberty to purchase as many of the cards as he may be inclined, and, moreover, he is not bound to pay for all, but is at liberty to take credit for a certain portion of his purchases if they exceed the number of counters originally dealt out to him; only payment of the debt so incurred must be considered as a first charge on subsequent winnings. The cards will, by experience at the game, be found to be of various values; but the number of counters to be paid for each is determined by the speculative natures of the players, and it, indeed, often happens that those players who invest in no cards at all are at the end of the game the richest in the matter of wealth as reckoned by counters. The respective values of the cards are as follows:—The white horse ranks first, and immediately after him comes the inn, the cards representing respectively the bell and the hammer are of about equal value, and come next, while that representing both the bell and the hammer is lowest in the scale, and is worth just half that at which either of the two cards on which are painted the single figures is valued.