Читать книгу Montegue Blister’s Strange Games: and other odd things to do with your time - Alan Down - Страница 42

Imagine, if you will: there is a thunderstorm outside, all the power in the house is out and all the batteries in the children’s Nintendos and iPods have mysteriously gone flat. How will you ever keep them entertained? The answer lies in the use of the dining-room table and three of the finest table-top games ever invented.

To play Thimble Soccer, clear the table and give each player four thimbles. These should be worn on the index and middle fingers of each hand and will form the boots on the footballers’ feet. Raid the sewing box again for cotton reels to use as goalposts. A table-tennis ball is fine as the football. The obligatory rule is that players must keep all thimble-clad fingers on the table when the ball is in play; they must not lift their fingers or slide them around but must walk or run to get to the ball. (It’s a fascinating way to discover whether you are two-footed and learn how to dribble.) And, of course, fouling and playacting can all play their part in the game.

Table Hockey recreates the sport of ice hockey but by using only a dining-room table and some cutlery. Use an old table that doesn’t mind if it gets a scratch or two, a supply of tablespoons, some Blu Tack to form the goals and a checkers counter for the ball. Each player uses his tablespoon to dribble and pass the puck (quite difficult skills to acquire) with the ultimate aim being to propel it into the opponent’s goal. As in real ice hockey, there are frequent clashes as players fight over the same puck and, again just as in the real game, if a fight develops you have a handy weapon readily available.

A massively popular game in America since the 1930s, Paper Football is virtually unheard of in the UK. It is best described as what you would get if you mixed origami with Subbuteo and added conversions and field goals. Any smooth table is suitable to form the pitch, whilst the football is formed from an A4 piece of paper, which with the correct folds can be formed into a small, flat, isosceles triangular ball.

Kick-offs are made by holding the ‘ball’ in the palm of your hand and throwing it into the opponent’s half; where it lands is where they start. Players then take it in turns to flick the triangle, aiming for it to finish with any part of it hanging over the opposite edge of the table—a touchdown. This will win you six points. If no part of the triangle is over the edge it is the other player’s turn. If a player scores a touchdown they can then attempt a conversion. Their opponent makes the goalposts by holding out both hands with their thumbs together and index fingers pointing upwards. The shooting player holds the ball in their palm and tries to flick it over the posts.

The Paper Football Association, the game’s governing body (see Internet Resources), has a full set of instructions for play, including the very sensible advice to wear safety glasses when defending against a field goal!