Not quite "Everything you wanted to know about darts and dominoes, but were afraid to ask."

Games are very much an integral part of the social activity in pubs. What the visitor can play will depend on where he or she goes. Some pubs boast an enormous array of available games ranging from the more traditional Darts, Skittles, Shove Ha'penny etc., through to chess, backgammon and draughts, and even as far as more modern board games like scrabble, monopoly or trivial pursuits. In others you might be lucky to find just a pack of cards. It depends on the Landlord and what his regular customers want.

Traditional Pub Games

• Darts
• Skittles
• Dominoes
• Shove Ha'penny
• Snooker and Pool
• Cards
• Gambling

Darts Undoubtedly the King of pub games which has grown in popularity in the US as much as in Britain, and increasingly in other countries as well. The origins of the game appear to date back to the middle of the nineteenth century when it first appeared as a fairground attraction, using a form of blowpipe. Different versions of the game evolved as the popularity of darts spread across the country. There were boards from Yorkshire, Burton, Grimsby, Kent, Manchester, Lincoln and Norfolk, each using different values, sizes and numbers of beds, and having varying diameters and sequences of numbers. Standardisation came with the advent of mass production techniques. Sisal boards were developed which were cheaper, more durable, and easier to stick a dart into. The National Darts Association was formed in 1924, and the London pattern board was chosen as the competition standard. This board has now become established throughout the World. The game remains as popular as ever in pubs and clubs across the UK. With the advent of television coverage of major championship events, professional darts players have become household names.

 

Skittles The origins of this game can be dated back to the 14th century. As with darts, skittles evolved with many local variations of the game, but only three regional forms survive. West Country is by far the most common version. Similar in concept to American 10-pin bowling, it is played by rolling a ball at nine wooden pins. The balls can be made of wood or composition rubber, and the alleys, which vary in length but are generally around 40/50 feet, have either a wooden or concrete base. The game is still played regularly throughout the South and West of England where competitive skittles leagues are widespread. The Long Alley version of the game is usually to be found in the East Midlands, and is played with a hardwood "cheese" which is hurled, but has to bounce. Old English, once common in London but now virtually extinct, also uses a "cheese" of anything up to 6lb, but unlike Long Alley, the cheese should not bounce. The pins are mounted on a plinth and the alley is 21 feet long. In some pubs you will occasionally come across a table version of skittles. The pins are placed on a wooden base and are struck with a small ball swung on a chain attached to a long upright pole.

 

Dominoes This game is thought to have originated in Spain or France and probably developed from various forms of dice. Most pubs will have a set of dominoes available for the use of customers. Generally a set comprises of 28 pieces ranging from double 0 to double six, but there are also versions using nine or twelve spot dominoes. Local rules can vary, but a game usually involves four players. The dominoes are shuffled face down, and each player draws six pieces. Normally the player with double six starts and the next player must then put down a piece whose spots match one side or other of the first piece played. If he cannot do so, the turn passes to the next player. The winner is the first to dispose of all his pieces. Points are scored on the basis of the number of spots on the dominoes still held by the other players.

 

Shove Ha'penny You can still come across a shove ha'penny board in many pubs across the country. It probably evolved from an alley game played on an indoor court during medieval times, and has some similarities with the games of curling, and shuffleboard which is played on cruise ships. The shove ha'penny board is usually made of slate or wood, and a smooth, even surface is essential. A number of parallel lines run horizontally across the board creating "beds" into which the ha'pennies must be "shoved" using only the hand. There are five ha'pennies, each about the size and shape of a pre-decimal halfpenny. The object of the game is simply to "shove" three ha'pennies into each of the beds. It sounds easy, but it's a lot trickier than you might think.

 

Snooker and Pool With a standard billiards or snooker table measuring 12 feet by 6 feet, it's probably not surprising that you are unlikely to encounter either game in a conventional pub these days, although both games remain very popular in private social clubs which have more space available. Bar billiards is a version which takes up rather less room, but this is very rarely seen nowadays. Pool, on the other hand, has grown in popularity since its introduction to the UK in the late 50s/early 60s, and is now a very common feature in pubs across the country.

 

Cards On request, most pub landlords will be able to provide his customers with a pack of cards. The range of card games played is far too great to list here, and many will be peculiar to a specific locality, but one which is worth specific mention is Cribbage. Cribbage is a thoughtful game which requires a fairly sharp mathematical mind. Scores are achieved in a variety of ways and are recorded using a wooden peg board. Watching a group of experts playing cribbage can be quite a bewildering experience, but anyone taking the trouble to learn the game (the rules are far too complex to attempt to explain here) will be rewarded with one of the most enjoyable ways of spending an evening in a pub with a few friends and a good pint of beer.

 

Gambling The laws on gambling are very strict in the UK. Pub games can be played for what are described as small stakes so playing a game of darts with a pint of beer as a side wager, or a penny a point at dominoes is generally acceptable. If you want anything more, try Las Vegas!!