The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-11-10

\ grand solo Ia worth
An open grand Is worth "a
" there are no trumps at all
\ guCtl nullO II worth ......... ............,.,..iS
\ nilo out ~ hand Is worth ......."........ 70
IN open guCki nullO Is worth ......,........ ~
IN open nuliO solo Is worth. ......,........ ~
When the penalty for losing a ranisch
vas only ten points 4 was n not TO be
severe enough to prAyent "mauTerS from
refusing to bid ON their haudR, so II has
lately been raised 20 20. and II one player
takes no trick il il 30; while II one player
takes all the tricks il il 80.
But no matter how much they slmplliled
the game values there was still the bugnboo
of adjusting the scores az the end Of the
game so as TO ascertain how much each
individual player had Lust and won. This
NEAT ter Of fixing the scores at the end has
probably done more 10 discourage learn
prs than any other part Of the 9nme
There are three ways Of doing this. zach
requiring "a certain amount OF arithnetical
skill and n clear head. II A finishes with
pOO plus. X with i2O minus, 4 with 100 plus
and ID with l20 plus it needs quite "a little
expert figuring to discover that the wand
ing o. the players with regard to one an
other il that A IL 272 plus. while Is, Z and ID
are alt minus and owe A the respective
sums Of l0O, AZ and o.
When people are done playing they want
10 know the result and go home, not TO
spend an hour over the adjustment Of the
brOTet. III OTueT 10 WFtl ltlo ODJCNllNh w
the game a system of scoring has been
suggested which is based on the principle
that what people like is what they should
have when they are playing for Yun.
A akat has always been scored, and as
il is stated in all the text books and by all
the teachers il must be scored. nothing II
put down but the score of the single player.
II he wins his game, II Ia put down plus; n
he loses il. IL il put down minus O~rdeducted
from his previous total.
Now. any person Who has played bridge
naturally objects TO this and seems 10 think
that If one beats a player, one should get
credit for IL somehow. and n IL not az all
satisfactory To win a game and get, appar-
emily, nothing for doing IL.
We beat him" they say. why don't we
get something for it?"
Strictly speaking. if the single player
wins Il game worth "a. at table of four per-
SONS, he wins from each of the others, and
is therefore y plus. Conversely. If he
loses "a game worth p. he loses IL to three
persons, and il therefore 70 minus; but in
either case. as sknt IL now scored. does he
put down anything but %. h ADJUST
ment Of the scores which will make him y
minus or plus will not come until the game
in over. therefore no one knows, during the
play, exactly how he stands.
The new way of scoring il TO put down the
exact value of the game To the credit Of the
player or players that win IL and never to
put down a minus score. There is some
InlnK IN human nature WHICH TtptlH ul -
minus score, and in bridge games for charity
you will never see them deduCting the lower
score from the higher. They simply put
down what they win and keep il all.
II is proposed to use precisely the same
system in skat IL "A player wins a game
worth - he puts down q, whether there
are three, four or five players at the table.
n he loses "A game Of "a each Of the others
at the table puts himself down - plus, be-
cause they beat him.
At first sight it seems that a player who
loses - and has il put down three times
by three separate players stand as having
lost - and hat he would nave to win three
games Of - each 10 get even. But such is
not the case. because If we suppose that he
plays another game worth % and wins IL.
putting il down 10 his credit. IL will make
all the scores even. Three persons put
down p each when he lost; he alone puts
down p when he wins making all square.
BY this method no one puts down any
minusss and every one that wins "A game.
whether he is the single player or n Of
the adveTslriss. puts It down to his own
at once. There is no dCduCting
lower scores from higher AT the end; all
the players have to do il 70 add up, just rs
they do in bridge, n the top score takes
the first prize.
This system has already been tried at
several social skat parties, and IL has teen
found TO work well. With it's Introduction
one of the grCatCst Obstacles in the way
of skat becoming a popular social game
has been cmOvCd