Shove ha'penny
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Shove ha'penny (or shove halfpenny) is a pub game for two players or for two teams.
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[edit] The board
Shove ha'penny is played on a small, rectangular, smooth board made of wood or stone. A number of parallel lines or grooves run horizontally across this board, separated by about one-and-a-half coin diameters. Five Ha'pennies or similarly-sized coins or metal discs are placed one-by-one at one end of the board slightly protruding over the edge and are 'shoved' with a blow from the palm of the hand.
[edit] The Dorset long board
In parts of the South Coast of England, primarily Dorset and Hampshire, the board is made of slate and lubricated with arrowroot powder or French chalk, which makes the polished ha'pennies glide with a very light touch. The five-coin turns are alternate and the coins are cleared between turns so there is no nudging of opponents' coins. Indeed, both players use the same coins, and it is a serious mistake to move the coins back to the bottom of the board before one's opponent has had a chance to check the scoring, as they may be distracted by drinking their pints and so suspect one of cheating. Sometimes teams compete, playing in sequence, but scoring is as for single players. Experienced players on the slate board find that merely placing the coins between the lines is too easy so that to score they must be placed almost exactly in the centre of the bed. An exact placement by a single shove, rather than by nudging into position by subsequent shots, is called a 'flopper' and will command applause, especially if it is a winning shot. In competition games a scoring placement is judged by a referee. In times past considerable sums could be wagered on games of shove ha'penny and influencing the referee - whether actual or suspected - could result in sudden and violent confrontations. Because of this some public houses have a strong antipathy to games of shove ha'penny and will only allow trusted locals to play, sometimes keeping the board in a back room and denying its existence to strangers. This is particularly common in the case of the 'Dorset long board', making it difficult even for a shove ha'penny enthusiast to ascertain how many pubs still have this archaic board. It is believed that the Dorset long board was the 'game of shufflegroat' at which King Henry the Eighth is legendarily alleged to have lost large sums to his more-dubious drinking companions.
[edit] The game
Each player shoves five coins or metal discs (Ha'pennies) up the board in each turn. To prepare each coin to be pushed, the player positions the Ha'penny at the front of the board with the rear of the coin just sticking over the front edge of the board. Any part of the hand can then be used to shove the coin up the board. If a coin does not actually reach the first line on the board, that coin does not count as having been played and can be shoved again.
At the end of the turn each coin that is completely within a 'bed' (between two horizontal lines and within the bordering vertical lines) scores a point for that player in that bed. The points are scored with chalk marks in the squares at either end of the bed on the edge of the board, one player owning the right side, the other, the left. The aim is to get three chalk marks in each of the squares - three scores in each of the nine beds. However, once three scores have been made in a bed, any further scores in that bed will be given to the opponent instead, unless the opponent already has three scores in the bed. The one exception to this is the winning point which must be scored properly by the winning player, not given away.
Good players will attempt to cause a coin to knock onto one or more previously pushed ha'pennies in an effort to improve their position as well as trying to make a score with the Ha'penny being played. A little thought is also required - it is not usually a good move to score the third coin in a bed until towards the end of a game....
[edit] Local custom
Players on a slate shove ha'penny board in an English pub will usually have commandeered it for the evening and it is not possible for outsiders to get a game in the same way as one would for Pool or Billiards by challenging the players or by placing money on the board. However, you may certainly be a spectator, and if you show a polite interest you may be invited to play. These days any wagers on the outcome of a game should never be more than a pint of beer, and you should be very wary if you are invited to bet anything more than that.
If you are fortunate enough to be invited to play by the locals in a Dorset pub you will find that the judging of a scoring shot by how close it is to the middle of the bed enables good players to play with less-experienced opponents in friendly games whilst preserving a healthy element of competition. As a newcomer you will be expected only to clear the dividing lines by the thickness of the coin, while the experts will have to hit the middle of the bed. Also remember that spilling beer on a slate board, either by splashing or by placing your glass on the board, is a major crime.
