Skittles
Skittles is played in a manner somewhat similar to the preceding game, but the number of pins is only four. These are very large, and are arranged on a square framework, so as to present one of the angles to the player. The bowl used for playing this game is of the shape of a cheese, and is usually made of lignum vitae, as being very heavy and hard wood. The game requires more bodily strength than nine-pins, as the bowl must be thrown upon the skittles, and not rolled up to them.
The best play is to throw the bowl with a round-handed swing of the arm, so as to strike the nearest skittle at the right of its upper third. The ball then springs to the second skittle, and from this generally twists to the third, while the fourth skittle is sent down by the roll of the one first struck. It is very difficult to make this throw successfully, and many players prefer driving down the first and third skittles with a straightforward shoot, and then making their second ball spring across from the second to the fourth. This latter stroke appears very difficult, but is soon learnt; the great point being to throw the bowl high, so that it may drop as perpendicularly as possible on the left of the upper third of the second skittle. In the long run, the constant repetition of this practice will overbalance occasional brilliancy of play.