A similar game is, I believe, known in many parts of the East, and was formerly much played even by Malay slaves, who used to make the double row of holes in the ground when no board was obtainable.
The Malay game of Draughts (main dam) is played, I believe, in exactly the same manner as the English game. Backgammon (main tabal), on the other hand, is played in two different ways.
The “Tiger” Game (main rimau), or “Tiger and Goat” Game (main rimau kambing), is a game which has a distinct resemblance to our own “fox and goose,” there being usually four tigers to a dozen of the goats.
Cards
“Cards are called Kĕrtas sakopong. The Malays are fond of card games, but few Europeans have taken the trouble to understand or describe them. The late Sir W. E. Maxwell contributed the following description of daun tiga ’lei to the Notes and Queries of the Journal of the Straits Asiatic Society. It refers to the game in question as played in Perak:—
| “Hearts, | Lĕkoh. | King, | Raja. |
| Diamonds, | Retin. | Queen, | Bandahara |
| Clubs, | Kalalawar. | Knave, | Pekah. |
| Spades, | Sakopong. | Ace, | Sat. |
| To shuffle, | Kiyat, mengiyat. |
| To deal, | Membawa. |
| To cut, | Kĕrat. |
| To sweep the board, make everyone pay, | Mengĕlong. |
“Three cards are dealt out to each player. The highest hand counting by pips is that which contains the greatest number of pips after the tens are deducted. Thus a knave, ten, and nine is a good hand.
“The best hand is three aces, Sat tiga.
“The next best is three court-cards, Kuda; naik kuda.