Web Page  No 2284

29th July 2016

Top Picture: Tiddly Winks

Second Picture: Snakes and Ladders

Third Picture: Ludo

Forth Picture: Dominos

A Wet Sunday Afternoon

 What do you remember about a wet Sunday at home when you were a child ? Nowhere to go, nothing to do, is that right? Then it was time for the parlour games and there were dozens, so let us look at a few.

Firstly one of the oldest must be Tiddly Winks an indoor game played on a flat felt mat with sets of small discs called "winks", a pot, which is the target, and a collection of squidgers, which are also discs. Players use a squidger  to shoot a wink into the wink. The objective of the game was more winks into the pot than your opponents. Tiddlywinks is sometimes considered a simpleminded, frivolous children's game, rather than a strategic, adult game However, the modern competitive adult game of tiddlywinks made a strong comeback at the University of Cambridge in 1955 when it held a series of competitions. The game was invented in 1888.

Snakes and Ladders: This is based on an ancient Indian board game and is regarded today as a worldwide classic. It is played between two or more players on a gameboard having numbered, gridded squares. A number of "ladders" and "snakes" are pictured on the board, each connecting two specific board squares. The object of the game is to navigate one's game piece, according to dice rolls, from the start (bottom square) to the finish (top square), helped or hindered by ladders and snakes respectively. The game is a simple race contest based on sheer luck, and is popular with young children. The historic version had root in morality lessons, where a player's progression up the board represented a life journey complicated by virtues (ladders) and vices (snakes). A commercial modern updated version without the morality lessons was produced by Milton Bradley is named Chutes and Ladders.

Ludo from Latin ludo, "I play" is a board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens from start to finish according to dice rolls. Like other cross and circle games, Ludo is derived from the Indian game pachisi, but simpler. The game and its variants are popular in many countries and under various names. In North America, the game is sold under the brand name Parcheesi and there are other variations of the game which are sold are sold under the brand names Sorry!, Aggravation, and Trouble.

In Germany, this game is called "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" which means "Man, don't get irritated", and has equivalent names in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, and Slovene. In Iran, the game is called "منچ" [Mench] which is probably an adaptation of the German name. In Polish it is more commonly referred to as Chińczyk ("The Chine(s)e").

In Estonia, it is called "Reis ümber maailma" (Trip around the world).

In Greece, the game is called "Γκρινιάρης" ("Grumbler") referring to typical player behaviour.

In Malaysia and Singapore, it is called "飞机棋".

In Macedonia, the game is called "Не лути се човеку", meaning "Don't get angry, man".

In Sweden it is known as "Fia", a name derived from the Latin word fiat which means "so be it!" but in Denmark and Norway the game is known as Ludo.

In Vietnam, it is called "Cờ cá ngựa".

In Spain it is called "Parchís" and in Catalonia "Parxís" and is a very popular family board game.

There and you thought is was a simple child’s game!!!!

Chinese Checkers (US and Canadian spelling) or Chinese chequers (UK spelling) is a board game of German origin (named "Sternhalma") which can be played by two, three, four, or six people, playing individually or with partners. The game is a modern and simplified variation of the US game Halma.

The objective is to be first to race one's pieces across the hexagram-shaped board into "home"—the corner of the star opposite one's starting corner—using single-step moves or moves that jump over other pieces. The remaining players continue the game to establish second-, third-, fourth-, fifth-, and last-place finishers. Like other skill-based games, Chinese Checkers involves strategy. The rules are simple, so even young children can play.

Despite its name, the game is not a variation of checkers, nor did it originate in China or any part of Asia. The game was invented in Germany in 1892 under the name "Stern-Halma" as a variation of the older American game Halma. The "Stern" (German for star) refers to the board's star shape (in contrast to the square board used in Halma). The name "Chinese Checkers" originated in the United States as a marketing scheme by Bill and Jack Pressman in 1928. The Pressman Company’s game was originally called "Hop Ching Checkers". Strangely the game was introduced to Chinese-speaking regions mostly by the Japanese.

Then if all else failed it was out with the Dominos!  You could always tumble them!

Keep in touch

Peter

gsseditor@gmail.com

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News and Views:

On this day 29th July 1960-1965

On 29/07/1960 the number one single was Good Timin' - Jimmy Jones and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/07/1961 the number one single was Temptation - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/07/1962 the number one single was I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/07/1963 the number one single was Confessin' - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/07/1965 the number one single was Mr Tambourine Man - Byrds and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.