''Francis Willughby's Book of Games'' is a book published in 2003 that printed for the first time a transcription of a seventeenth-century manuscript written by

Francis Willughby Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, la, Franciscus Willughbeius) FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithologist and ichthyologist, and an early student of linguistics and games. He was born and raised at M ...

that was held in the library of the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

. The modern edition was edited by Jeffrey L Forgeng, Dorothy Johnston, and David Cram, and was published by Ashgate Publishing Company with . The manuscript was left incomplete when Willughby died at the age of 36, but even in its unfinished state it provides an unrivalled insight into the sports and games of his period. Among the features of the book include descriptions of

card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...

s that are otherwise only known from reference in literature. It also includes the first formal study of children's

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

s to be written in a European language; investigation of the original manuscript has revealed that some of the descriptions of children's games were actually written by an unknown child, with later corrections being made by Willughby.

Card games

There is a general introduction about card games and then the following are described in detail: * One and Thirtie (Thirty One) * One and Thirtie Bon Ace * Hannikin Canst Abide It, an English version of Quinze * Laugh & Ly Downe * Nodde, also spelt Noddy, a precursor to Cribbage *

Cribbidge Cribbage, or crib, is a card game, traditionally for two players, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. It can be adapted for three or four players. Cribbage has several distinctive features: the cribbag ...

(Cribbage) and variants called "A New Cribbidge or Nodde" and "Double Hand Cribbidge" * Ruffe & Trump, a form of Ruff and Honours * Gleeke, also spelt Gleek * Beast, or Le Beste, English version of the French ''La Bête'' * Loosing Lodum and a variant called Winning Loadum * Ging or Seven Cards * Put, an old English gambling game * Wheehee, a children's game

Tables games

There is a general introduction, "Tables", on the equipment used for

tables games Tables games are a class of board game that includes backgammon and which are played on a tables board, typically with two rows of 12 vertical markings called points. Players roll dice to determine the movement of pieces. Tables games are among ...

followed by detailed accounts of the following: * Dublets *

Ticktack Ticktack or Tick-Tack, is an historical English tables game for two players using a board similar to that used today for Backgammon and other tables games. Like its much more elaborate French counterpart, Trictrac, it has the unusual feature that ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, the immediate ancestor of Backgammon * Back Gammon (Backgammon) * Long Laurence, not a tables game but a gambling game with an elongated die

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Forgeng, Jeff, Dorothy Johnston and David Cram (2003). ''Francis Willughby's Book of Games''. Ashgate Press. {{ISBN, 1 85928 460 4. *

Willughby, Francis Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, la, Franciscus Willughbeius) FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithologist and ichthyologist, and an early student of linguistics and games. He was born and raised at M ...

. ''A Volume of Plaies.'' (Manuscript in the Middleton collection, University of Nottingham, shelfmark Li 113.) c1665-70. * Willughby, Francis, volume containing descriptions of games and pastimes ("Francis Willughby's Book of Games"), c.1660-1672. Manuscript in the Middleton collection, University of Nottingham; document referenc
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Books about board games 2003 non-fiction books Card game books Ashgate Publishing books