Mornington Crescent Contributions Section

Please can you explain the Hammersmith jink, especially when played after Broad Green? Paul Matthews.

No! I'm sorry, I haven't a clue what the Hammersmith jink is. PLEASE no more questions asking me to explain arcane variations.

Has anyone got a copy of the 1952 Pocket A-Z? I'll pay! jjj@aol.com

Please reply direct to jjj.

The "French" game Eclu is not French. It was an English game that became popular in France and given a French name - and naturally the French then claimed to have invented it. This was the inspiration for Mornington Crescent and may, consciously or not, have influenced the naming of the programme. Jason D'Arbo.

Thanks, Jason.

Hello. You may be interested to know that at the Hammersmith club we play the original rules but using the 1971 A-Z as the 1952/3 Compact is hard to come by. Also, none of us has ever heard of the Hammersmith jink. Membership of the club is growing with youngsters joining all the time. We also organise social events including visits to recordings of ISIHAC. John Pickering, Membership Secretary. jp@hamers.demon.co.uk

Keep up the good work, JP.

Are there any internet sites where you can play the game? The one I used closed down without warning. Mateus Zeiger.

If anyone knows please email and we'll add a link.

Hi from the USA. We listen to ISIHAC on the net. Many sites talk about the rules but is there one which explains the fundamentals? P.S. Found the site by the guy who reckons there are no rules. We have guys like that in the States who say we never went to the moon. "Bezzy" CA.

Bezzy: see list of links below.

Well, did you find them in the attic? Jane Green.

Ah. No not yet. Will have another look. (Big attic)

Is John Pickering's club for kids? No experienced player actually uses the A-Z! "Mycroft"

Steady on, Mycoft.

Would anyone be interested in forming a Mornington Crescent club in Darlington? Please email Alan Atkinson

Good luck Alan.

Mycroft: you're right, of course. Reference to the actual A-Z is of course forbidden during matches. What I meant to say was that new members are loaned a copy to bone up on and the Referee uses the 1971 edition for Dispute Resolution. However, since a Challenge to the Referee's decision leads to expulsion from the club if the Referee is proven to be correct on reference to the hardcopy, we have very few Disputes and we haven't had a Challenge for years. This, and the fact we've banned playing for money means we have a very harmonious club and avoid the problems I know some clubs have. JP.

Good advice for all you club secretaries out there.

Is New Brunswick allowed in the Original Rules (1952 Edition)? "Phil".

No. But NO MORE questions about the minutiae PLEASE.

We play Mornington Crescent also in Poland using Moscow Underground and streets only name Prospekt. "Piotrq"

Good for you, Piortq. Maybe we should lobby to make it an Olympic sport? And let the IOC hammer out a consistent set of rules. Now there's a thought...

How would you suggest a complete novice who knows nothing about the game, apart from hearing it on the radio, gets started? Janet Etherington.

Tottenham Court Road is usually recommended for complete novices.

Am I right in thinking that at Crewkerne we are the only club in the country playing Real Geography? Much more of a challenge than Beck's Schematic but all the better for that. Makes verticals almost impossible, but can be done particlarly if you allow some of the Mortimer Variations. Malcolm Stanford Smith.

The gauntlet is down...

Eclu is essentially a gambling game. Imagine it as a cross between Monopoly and Mornington Crescent. It's actually pre-Revolutionary 18th century, not 19th century as you suggest. It was very popular amongst the aristos. The rules were simple. Player 1 rolls the dice to give the Arrondissement. He then rolls 1, 2, 3, or 4 dice, the number of dice being chosen by the other player, to give an initial (e.g. 1=A) of a street which he then names. Player 2 does the same. The players take it in turns to argue that their rue, or a house on it, would have a higher rent than the other player's, the winner being decided by the onlookers. Large sums were frequently wagered. You can see why the game lead to so many duels and also to the infamous Romanoff-LeClerc incident which caused such tension between France and Russia for a time. Tom Heap.

Tom, very interesting, thank you.

I've never seen Stovold's Mornington Crescent Rules and Origins but a friend who has has told me it is a very long book for the same reason books about chess are very long: Strategy. The rules of chess are fairly simple, but strategies endless and complicated! In much the same way that PK4 can be followed by a dozen or so possible moves and the number of possible games is astronomical, so the traditional novice's Tottenham Court Road can be followed by between one and twenty(?) moves depending upon the opponent's move and the Rules/Variations being played. In fact the number of possible games of Mornington Crescent far exceeds the number of possible chess games (if you discount repetitive stalemate moves) which probably explains why Stovold is so long. Jim Jepherson.

Ok, Jim, I bow to your greater knowledge. Obvious when you think about it.

Just a word to anyone thinking of buying the Mornington Crescent board game. Don't! It's rubbish and doesn't stick to any accepted Mornington Crescent rules. Gary Biddle.

Is there more than one board game out there, I wonder? Maybe some of them are fine, I don't know.

Please may I plug the Stovold Almanac? Available through Amazon and others. "Graeme"

You just did. If you'd like to send us the Amazon URL I'll put it on this page.

Can anyone tell me when this year's meeting at the station is please? Clive.

That should be an easy one... [A link has now been added at the bottom of this page]

Re Tom Heap's interesting comment about Eclu. This sounds a bit like "Rent-Bob" popular in London in the early 1700s and much played in coffee houses. In this game onlookers would shout out the streets that the two players had to argue the higher rent for, the winner being decided by popular vote. Like Ready Steady Cook but a lot rowdier I daresay! Now you might think that a player given Whitechapel would stand no chance against a player given Mayfair but it was all down to the calibre of the argument, who could make the best case, who could make the funniest case. Shades of Mornington Crescent: if it's entertaining you can usually get away with bending the rules by remembering a gambit or whatever. Thus "The King has declared Buckingham Palace is to be moved to Whitechapel" might win the underdog the game. It is said that when Haydn visited London he and Handel played a game of Rent-Bob - hilarious as neither knew Kensington from Kennington and neither spoke much English. History does not record who won. Pete Humby.

No doubt this is the game the French adopted and embellished. Does anyone know if there was a Mornington Crescent in London in the 1700s? I wonder if this perhaps had some special significance in the "Rent-Bob" game and therefore in some way lead to the modern game?

This is the link to the Mornington Crescent Almanac on Amazon. Mornington Crescent Almanac. Thank you. Graeme.

You're welcome.

Re the Annual Get Together this year. Aim to arrive (horizontals, verticals and diagonals all allowed!) at 1.30. For those who haven't been before, novices usually start at Tottenham Court Road. Extra points for anyone who can figure out how to approach on a direct diagonal! See yawl there. Herby.

Thanks, Herby.

I have not seen any reference to Mornington Crescent in any of the documented accounts of Rent-Bob. Pete Humby.

Oh well, just a thought.

We have played Mornington Crescent but you know the rules are not so precise and this is difficult for us in Germany. Can I find some precise rules? Klaus.

Try the sites listed below. Failing that you could try John Pickering to see if they have written rules used by the club. Or if you're going to be in London pop in to the Hammersmith club?

I live in London but was not aware of the 'get together'. Do you have any more info? Darren.

We've had so many requests for information about the get together that Herby, Roger and Paul have kindly written it up and we have posted the details here: Please click here for details of the Mornington Crescent 2008 Annual Get Together.

Has anyone played the Mornington Crescent card game? Ronald.

Anyone like to review it for us...?

It is said that Nelson Mandela developed a solo, patience like version of the game, which had originally been brought to Africa by English soldiers and played at Rourke's Drift to calm nerves while awaiting the Zulu attack. Nelson Mandela called his version Morning Time Pleasance. He played one move in the morning and countered it in the afternoon. His game is said to have lasted throughout his internment and he was rather peeved when, about to play the winning move, he was released. If anyone has further details or corroboration please let me know. Pete Sanpher.

Pete, thank you, very amusing. I think you might have quite a wait for that corroboration though...

Re this year's Annual Get Together. What a great event it was. I don't know what last year was like, but even though attendance was smaller than I had expected we all had a really good time. It seems a shame to wait a whole year until the next. How about arranging a second get together later in the year. Maybe when it's warmer (or colder - but definitely not the same temperature). Geoff.

Good idea. Chances are you'll get your wish - it will be warmer or colder next time.

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