INTRODUCTION Readers of The Mill on the Floss will remember that whenever Mr. Tulliver found himself confronted by any little difficulty he was accustomed to make the trite remark, "It's a puzzling world." There can be no denying the fact that we are surrounded on every hand by posers, some of which the intellect of man has mastered, and many of which may be said to be impossible of solution. Solomon himself, who may be supposed to have been as... more...

Part I GAMES FOR SCHOOLS CHAPTER I SCHOOLROOM GAMES For Primary Pupils Cat and Mouse One pupil is designated to play the role of cat, another that of mouse. The mouse can escape the cat by sitting in the seat with some other pupil. Thereupon that pupil becomes mouse. Should the cat tag a mouse before it sits in a seat, the mouse becomes cat and the cat becomes mouse, and the latter must get into a seat to avoid being tagged. Aviation... more...

GOING SHOPPING A lively game of "talk and touch." The company is seated in a circle, and one who understands the game commences by saying to his neighbor at the right: "I have been shopping." "What did you buy?" is the required response. "A dress," "a book," "some flowers," "a pencil"—whatever the first speaker wishes, provided always that he can, in pronouncing the word, touch the object mentioned. Then the second player addresses his... more...

In issuing this volume of my Mathematical Puzzles, of which some have appeared in periodicals and others are given here for the first time, I must acknowledge the encouragement that I have received from many unknown correspondents, at home and abroad, who have expressed a desire to have the problems in a collected form, with some of the solutions given at greater length than is possible in magazines and newspapers. Though I have included a few... more...

CHAPTER I. CHEVALIERS D'INDUSTRIE, OR POLITE SHARPERS. Chevaliers d'industrie, or polite and accomplished sharpers, have always existed in every city, from the earliest times to the present. The ordinary progress of these interesting gentlemen is as follows. Their debut is often difficult, and many of them are stopped short in their career. They only succeed by means of great exertion and severe trials; but they endure everything in order to be... more...

To the readers of the present generation much of this book will, doubtless, seem incredible. Still it is a book of facts—a section of our social history, which is, I think, worth writing, and deserving of meditation. Forty or fifty years ago—that is, within the memory of many a living man—gambling was 'the rage' in England, especially in the metropolis. Streets now meaningless and dull—such as Osendon Street, and streets... more...

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. DESCRIPTION OF THE CHESS-BOARD AND MEN—ARRANGEMENT OF THE MEN—THE KING—THE QUEEN—THE ROOKS OR CASTLES—THE BISHOPS—THE KNIGHTS—AND THE PAWNS—THEIR MOVEMENTS, POWERS, METHOD OF CAPTURING AN ADVERSE MAN, ETC. DESCRIPTION OF THE CHESS-BOARD AND MEN. The game of Chess is played by two persons, each having at command a little army of sixteen men, upon a board divided into... more...

“NAP,” OR “NAPOLEON.” ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ The game of Napoleon, or as it is more generally and popularly called “Nap,” was introduced into this country from the United States, it is believed, about 1865, although it is recorded that the game had previously been played for high stakes at some of the more notorious gambling clubs. It is named after the great Napoleon, as the... more...

INTRODUCTION "Let the child imbibe in the full spirit of play. There is nothing like it to keep him on the path of health, right thinking and mind development." That is the guiding purpose of the author. The reader will find in this book a collection of old and present day games. The student of Play has long realized that there are no new games, that all our games of today are built on the old timers. The purpose of My Book of Indoor Games... more...

PAPER BUILDING CARDS Make your building cards of ordinary writing-paper. You may have as many cards as you like, though twelve are all that are used to make the things shown in our photographs. Fig. 1—Cut an oblong out like this. Fig. 2—This is the building card. For each card cut an oblong of paper five inches long and two and a half inches wide. This is a very good size, but you can make them a little larger or smaller. Always... more...