GAME ON - TRADITIONAL PUB GAMES TABLE SKITTLES
Said to have originated in China, the game arrived into the UK from France - the word ‘Domino’ is the French word for the black and white head covering used by priest. Consisting of 28 tiles ranging from the double six to the double blank, the aim of the game is to play your dominoes until no more are available.
And there’s more… The following games are very specialised and are often local to a particular area. Pitch Penny – Players take turns to throw a coin against a wall (without touching it) and the person closest to the wall wins.
Devil among the Tailors
The alternate name for this game is ‘Devil among the Tailors’ where a small wooden ball is suspended on a chain from a gallows arrangement and it swings between the 3 x 3 arrangement of skittles. There is a variation to the table skittles game in the Midlands where ‘Hooded Skittles’ is played and it consists of throwing wooden discs called cheeses at skittles in a hooded area similar to a pram hood.
Ringing the Bull – A favourite in the East Midlands it involves swinging a ring held on a string suspended from WKH FHLOLQJ RQWR D KRRN RQ WKH ZDOO ,W¶V YHU\ GLI¿FXOW Toad in the Hole – A speciality around Lewes in Sussex, where brass discs are thrown at a lead-covered table with the aim of them landing in a hole. Knurr & Spell – A Yorkshire game to launch a ball into the air and hit it with a bat similar to a golf club.
CRIBBAGE
Cribbage Board
Bat and Trap – A Kent game which involves launching a ball in the air to be hit with a bat which is a cross between a table tennis bat and a tennis raquet.
For many years this was the only card game that was allowed to be played in a pub for modest stakes. Invented in the 17th Century by Sir John Suckling, it uses a wooden board with small pegs to keep score.
DOMINOES
Goblin - This game was a favourite amongst Bristol miners, the aim being to throw pegs into two receptacles.
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