Shut the Box is a traditional dice game played with special equipment used for tracking results and then for determining scores. It is known by several other names, including Canoga, Batten Down the Hatches and Tric Trac (although, this latter name is also often used for a French variant of Backgammon).
Shut the Box is at least 200 years old and probably originated in Normandy and/or the Channel Islands. I've read some unsubstantiated claims that the game may date back to the 12th century, but this seems unlikely. The game was spread throughout the world by sailors and fisherman, with variants to be found in Europe, Africa and Asia. It was brought to England from the Channel Islands in the 1950s, and soon became a popular pub game, often played to decide who would pay for the next round of drinks.
To play the game, you need a pair of dice and a special "box" with numbers printed on it that can be covered with either flippers or slides. Examples of Shut the Box equipment can be viewed by clicking "The Quality Gameboard Shop" link at the top right of this page. Various equipment options exist, including 9, 10, 11 and 12-number versions. Based on my research, the 9-number version is the original game that came out of the Channel Islands. With a 12-number box, you can play any of these versions simply by covering the higher numbers you do not want to include.
To play the game according to the most widely-accepted basic rules, start with the numbers you are using uncovered. Roll the dice, and choose the numbers you want to cover. This can be any set of numbers that, when summed, equal the total rolled. A single number can be covered or multiple numbers. You continue to roll and cover numbers until you are unable to use a full roll. At that point, you calculate your score based on the numbers you have left uncovered. There are various ways to do this, including simply counting or summing the numbers left. Once your score is recorded, you uncover the numbers and your opponents take their turns. After all have played, the one with the lowest score wins. A predetermined number of turns can be played with the combined total determining the winner.
Variations on this basic theme exist, which I will explore in more detail in a later post. Some of these include the use of a double Shut the Box set for simultaneous head-to-head play. Other variants include awarding bonuses for rolling doubles, or allow the use of individual die counts in special cases. These more complex versions increase the importance of skill and judgment and decrease the importance of luck, which plays a large role in the basic game.
Cheap versions of Shut the Box can be found, but the game is enhanced by investing a little more to get a finer quality set. Some available versions of the game play off of its history as a game of sailors and fisherman, with a nautical look and feel. Others are made with finer woods and nicely felted areas for rolling the dice. You can find examples of these in The Quality Gameboard Shop. An interesting variant of the game, called "Two Bridges", can also be found in the shop. This beautifully-made game adds some additional equipment and a fascinating new approach to play.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
The Captain's Mistress
At one time or another, most of us have played the game Connect Four. You might remember the thin blue plastic vertical "board" with seven channels into which plastic checkers are dropped. The first player to get four checkers in a row (vertically, horizontally or diagonally) wins.
Connect Four was trademarked by Milton Bradley in the mid-1970s. What most people don't know is that this game has a long, but cloudy, history. One source suggests that the game is actually hundreds of years old, but I've not been able to find firm evidence of this. The earliest confirmed example I've seen was owned by games historian R.C. Bell. In one of his many books, he has a photograph of the game (see http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Four-in-a-row.htm). He called the game "Four Balls". It is in the form of a mahogany box with seven wooden chutes attached to the inside of the lid. Birch balls, stained in two colors, are kept in the box. These fit into the chutes, which are open in front to allow the colors to be viewed. Mr. Bell believed his version of the game to have been made in the early 20th century.
An interesting legend persists about this game, that cannot be confirmed or disproved. As the story goes, Captain Cook enjoyed playing the game onboard ship with his science officers, the naturalist Joseph Banks and botanist Daniel Solander. Reportedly, he played the game so much each evening that the crew began to joke that he had a mistress in his cabin. Hence, some versions of the game are called "The Captain's Mistress".
This is truly a game for which fine quality materials add immensely to the enjoyment of play. Whenever I play the game on flimsy plastic sets, I find myself dropping the checkers in the slots without taking enough thought, and not really caring that much when I lose.
Years ago while living in England, I bought a version of the game offered by a company called Nauticalia that looks very much like the one owned by R.C. Bell - a wooden box with chutes on the inside of the lid and wooden "rounds" to drop in the chutes. A removable "gang plank" is used to hold the rounds in place and then release them into the box after play. My version is not made of mahogany and birch, but is still of very fine quality, and a delight to play. The top of the lid has a beautiful piece of inlaid polished burl and a brass knob used to open the box.
When I play with my fine wooden version of The Captain's Mistress, the game takes on a whole new personality. I am carried back to a former day, when games held a more important role in an evening's entertainment. The sound of the wooden rounds falling in the chutes and striking each other is very pleasant. I take much more thought about each of my moves, and therefore, play a much better game. And I really care whether I win or lose.
I have located a currently available version of The Captain's Mistress that is very much like the one I own. You can research this by clicking on the link (above right) to The Quality Gameboard Shop and looking in "The Captain's Mistress" area. This area also includes a couple of less expensive versions that are still a big step up from the plastic game. I hope you find enjoyment in them.
Connect Four was trademarked by Milton Bradley in the mid-1970s. What most people don't know is that this game has a long, but cloudy, history. One source suggests that the game is actually hundreds of years old, but I've not been able to find firm evidence of this. The earliest confirmed example I've seen was owned by games historian R.C. Bell. In one of his many books, he has a photograph of the game (see http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Four-in-a-row.htm). He called the game "Four Balls". It is in the form of a mahogany box with seven wooden chutes attached to the inside of the lid. Birch balls, stained in two colors, are kept in the box. These fit into the chutes, which are open in front to allow the colors to be viewed. Mr. Bell believed his version of the game to have been made in the early 20th century.
An interesting legend persists about this game, that cannot be confirmed or disproved. As the story goes, Captain Cook enjoyed playing the game onboard ship with his science officers, the naturalist Joseph Banks and botanist Daniel Solander. Reportedly, he played the game so much each evening that the crew began to joke that he had a mistress in his cabin. Hence, some versions of the game are called "The Captain's Mistress".
This is truly a game for which fine quality materials add immensely to the enjoyment of play. Whenever I play the game on flimsy plastic sets, I find myself dropping the checkers in the slots without taking enough thought, and not really caring that much when I lose.
Years ago while living in England, I bought a version of the game offered by a company called Nauticalia that looks very much like the one owned by R.C. Bell - a wooden box with chutes on the inside of the lid and wooden "rounds" to drop in the chutes. A removable "gang plank" is used to hold the rounds in place and then release them into the box after play. My version is not made of mahogany and birch, but is still of very fine quality, and a delight to play. The top of the lid has a beautiful piece of inlaid polished burl and a brass knob used to open the box.
When I play with my fine wooden version of The Captain's Mistress, the game takes on a whole new personality. I am carried back to a former day, when games held a more important role in an evening's entertainment. The sound of the wooden rounds falling in the chutes and striking each other is very pleasant. I take much more thought about each of my moves, and therefore, play a much better game. And I really care whether I win or lose.
I have located a currently available version of The Captain's Mistress that is very much like the one I own. You can research this by clicking on the link (above right) to The Quality Gameboard Shop and looking in "The Captain's Mistress" area. This area also includes a couple of less expensive versions that are still a big step up from the plastic game. I hope you find enjoyment in them.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
The Joy of Playing Finely Crafted Games
Imagine yourself playing a game of chess on one of those cheap magnetic travel sets - you know, the ones with flat plastic disks that have drawings of the pieces they represent. Now picture yourself playing with large turned boxwood and ebony pieces, weighted and felted on the bottom. Instead of a smelly little piece of plastic with a checkerboard embossed on it, you are playing on a large board made of beautiful inlaid woods.
In both of these hypotheticals, the game being played is the same - chess - but how different the experience. The crafted board and pieces are a joy to look at and handle. The smell of the fine woods, and the sound as you gently tap your opponent's queen upon capture, add immensely to the pleasure of the competition.
Not only is the experience richer, but the potential moves and game tactics are much easier to see and grasp. The scope of the game seems larger. When you've finished, you feel as if you have fought a real battle and participated in a contest of significance.
Such is the joy of playing quality games with finely crafted components. This blog is dedicated to helping you learn about, purchase and play such games. Classic games are most often made to such a standard; it's today's fad that you can only find made out of cardboard and cheap plastic. So, we will focus mostly on games that have stood the test of time. We will also occasionally explore the beautiful playthings of bygone days - antique games made of fine woods, bone, ivory and beautiful early artificial materials, like Bakelite.
I hope you will join me as we explore these fine quality games. Hopefully, I will be able to help you find a few examples that you will want to purchase, play and pass down to your family.
In both of these hypotheticals, the game being played is the same - chess - but how different the experience. The crafted board and pieces are a joy to look at and handle. The smell of the fine woods, and the sound as you gently tap your opponent's queen upon capture, add immensely to the pleasure of the competition.
Not only is the experience richer, but the potential moves and game tactics are much easier to see and grasp. The scope of the game seems larger. When you've finished, you feel as if you have fought a real battle and participated in a contest of significance.
Such is the joy of playing quality games with finely crafted components. This blog is dedicated to helping you learn about, purchase and play such games. Classic games are most often made to such a standard; it's today's fad that you can only find made out of cardboard and cheap plastic. So, we will focus mostly on games that have stood the test of time. We will also occasionally explore the beautiful playthings of bygone days - antique games made of fine woods, bone, ivory and beautiful early artificial materials, like Bakelite.
I hope you will join me as we explore these fine quality games. Hopefully, I will be able to help you find a few examples that you will want to purchase, play and pass down to your family.
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