Card game, invented in the 17th century by
the English poet John Suckling, which is
played with a holed board for keeping score.
It can be played as singles or in pairs, the
number of cards per player depending upon
number of players. There is always a `spare
hand', which each player takes in turn to
`own'. Cards are discarded one at a time
until the face values of
discarded cards total 31. When all players
have discarded their cards, the total of each
player's hand is calculated according to the
cards held, whether they be in pairs, three
of a kind, four of a kind and so on.