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The 1888 card game by McLoughlin Bros, Game of Old King Cole, includes 32 cards within its small 3.5×4.5 inch box. It’s colorful cover features King Cole known from the popular nursery rhyme. The most common version of the rhyme, dating back to 1708, is as follows:
Old King Cole was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl;
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler he had a fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh there’s none so rare, as can compare,
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.
The cards of the game include elements of the rhyme. The 3×1.5 inch cards, in two different suits (differentiated by the colored number in the corners of the cards (one blue, the other red)), and with 4 cards of each in each suit are: Old King Cole, Old King Cole’s Fiddlers, Old King Cole’s Bowl, and Old King Cole’s Pipe.
The game is played by shuffling the cards and dealing 5 cards to each player. The remaining cards are set in the center face down in a pile. This is the drawing deck. After each trick, players draw one card from the pile until all are gone. Then players take from their hand until all cards are played.
The person to the left of the dealer begins and plays one of his cards into the center of the table from his hand. Each player follows with the goal of taking certain tricks to build the most points to win the game. After initial start, whoever takes the trick, leads the turn.
Points are gained by achieving the following:
*3 King Coles of any suit count 10 points
*Each additional card of King Cole count 5
*Each set of four different cards count 10
If at any time during play (initial dealing or while drawing cards), a player finds in his hand, the following points are awarded. (players would place them down for game)
*Any four cards consisting of one of each kind count 10
*Any four cards of Old King Cole count 15
*Any three cards of Old King Cole of THE SAME SUIT count 20.
It’s as simple as that to play. The game is a perfect example of how leisure time was enjoyed in the past.
Play a game, any game, today!
