Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-08
PLAYED WITH LETTERS.
Simple Enough for Children and Diff
ficult Enough for Gray Boards.

From the New York Tribune.
A new game, which affords good deal of
amusement. to many people and also imparts
considerable instruction to the young III the
formation of words, is played in the following
manner with the letters Of the alphabet:
Half dozen sets of all the letters Of the alpha
bet provided, each letter on a small piece
Of pasteboard or wood. One player then
gathers all the letters before him on the table
and the other players sit around the table, as
at cards. The player who has all the letters
then turns them face downward and proceeds
to deal them out one by one to the others. be-
ginning with the player sitting at his right
hand and continuing around the table in order.
As he deals a letter out he turns its face up,
SO that all may see that 1t 10 IN, for instance.
The nextplayer goes on TO-" suppose, and he
received by the first player, will form the word
mo-" He announces that fact and claims the
m" This is surrendered to him and he forms
the word mo" on the table in front Of him and
must leave it there undisturbed until some
other player gets q letter, which, added to the
word mo-" will form some other word.
Suppose, for instance, that the third letter
dealt out ig .'w." Then the owner of the
'w" may claim the word mo" and adding hia
''w' to 1t make 1t snow" The:fourth letter
breathes q sigh Of relief as he thinks he will
hold on to his word, for little while anyway,
for the snow" and the ~" don't seem to make
anything. Perhaps several letters follow, out
Of which no combination can be made which
will spell q correct word, until some one gets
an ''s." This letter, in connection with NOW"
will spell ''snow," but if the lucky owner of
the ''s" is sharp enough, he will also claim the
~" from his other rival and spell SNOWY"
The examples given here are simple words,
as they show more clearly to young minds how
the game may be played easily; but when q
plumber of letters have been dealt out the most
kkillful spoilers may find scope for their abili-
ties, and many are the combinations which will
escape the notice of all who are gathered
around the table, for o time, until some one
discovers them, as il by accident, and then the
wonder will be that they were not seen before.
One player may not claim from another any
letter or letters which have been worked up
into word without taking that whole word
and using IL all, though its letters may be en-.
tirely transposed, to make o different word
The range Of words may wander over half y
dozen Languages il the players 90 agree, and
then the game becomes difficult enough for Q
Boston blue-stocking or Q college professor.
The winner OF the game 10 tho player who
has the most complete words spread out on
the table in front Of him when the dealer has
turned up the last letter he has in his pile.
Long words count NO moro than short words,
and II two players ste" they set TO work break
ing up their long words into short ones and
this disposes Of the tle nine times ont Of ten.
For large number OF players large number
OF letters IT, OF course, required, but two people
will often play the game for half an hour be-
fore exhausting half . dozen complete alpha
bets.