One player is blindfolded placed in the center (on the hub of the wheel) and turned around several times to confuse his sense of direction. He then walks around inside the rim while counting twelve or repeating the verse –

“Dickery dickery dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck ten
He ran down again
Dickery dickery dock.”

He stops on the last word and the number of the space in which he stands is scored to his credit for instance if he stops in section eight it scores eight points for him if in section three it scores three points etc. Should he stop with one foot on a line or outside the circle he scores nothing. The players take turns each having but one trial at a turn. The game is won by the player first scoring twenty-five or fifty points as may be decided.

“How many horses has your father in his stable ”
He replies “Three.”
“What color are they ”
“Black white and gray.”
“Turn around three times and catch whom you may.”

The blindfolded player is then spun around so as to confuse his sense of direction. He then says “Still pond no more moving ” whereupon the other players must stand still being allowed only three steps thereafter. The blindfolded player begins to grope for the others. When he catches one he must guess by touching the hair dress etc. whom he has caught. If he guesses correctly the player changes places with him. If incorrectly he must go on with his search. The players may resort to any reasonable devices for escaping the hands of the groping blind man such as stooping or dodging so long as they do not take more than three steps. When caught a player may try to disguise his identity by making himself shorter etc.

“Tip tap toe here we go
Three jolly sailor boys all in a row.”

At the close of the verse the player places the point of the pencil on the diagram still with his eyes closed. He then opens his eyes and should the pencil have touched one of the numbered spaces he marks down to his score the number written in that space and crosses out that figure on the diagram. Thereafter that space does not count in playing. Should the pencil touch a dividing line or the line forming the circumference of the circle or fall outside of the circle or fall in a space in which the number has been crossed out the player scores nothing and loses his turn the next one taking up the play.

When all of the spaces have been crossed out the player wins who has the largest score but should any player at any time touch his pencil to the center of the circle he wins the game.

OUT OF DOORS.–This game may be played out of doors by drawing the diagram on the earth with a sharpened stick which is used afterwards as a pointer as a pencil is used on the paper diagram. If on hard earth the figures may be marked in the spaces as on a paper diagram but the diagram should be drawn considerably larger than when on paper.

This is an admirable game for playing on the hard sand of the seashore. In that case little pebbles or shells are placed in the different spaces instead of numerals one in the first space two in the second three in the third etc. When a player places his stick or pointer in a space he removes the pebbles from that place to a little pile and the score is counted at the end by counting this pile of pebbles. Any space from which the pebbles have been removed is thereafter out of the game as when the figures are crossed out on the paper diagram.

This game is supposed to have originated in early methods of allotting land.