Pit (game): Difference between revisions
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'''Pit''' is a fast-paced [[card game]] for three to eight players, designed to simulate [[open outcry]] bidding for [[commodities]]. The game was developed for [[Parker Brothers]] and first sold in 1904. This popular version of the game was developed by [[Edgar Cayce]],<ref>{{cite book | last = Bro | first = Harmon | title = A Seer out of Season | publisher = St. Martin's | location = New York | year = 1997 | isbn = 0-312-95988-5 |page=305}} citing article {{cite news|title=The Pit: Copies of Game Invented by Bowling Green Man Received Here|publisher=Bowling Green Times Journal|accessdate=2009-03-24|year=1904}}</ref> who would also become famous for his psychic predictions.<ref name=boardgamegeek>[http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/140 History of Pit] at boardgamegeek.com. Accessed August 2007</ref> |
'''Pit''' is a fast-paced [[card game]] for three to eight players, designed to simulate [[open outcry]] bidding for [[commodities]]. The game was developed for [[Parker Brothers]] and first sold in 1904. This popular version of the game was developed by [[Edgar Cayce]],<ref>{{cite book | last = Bro | first = Harmon | title = A Seer out of Season | publisher = St. Martin's | location = New York | year = 1997 | isbn = 0-312-95988-5 |page=305}} citing article {{cite news|title=The Pit: Copies of Game Invented by Bowling Green Man Received Here|publisher=Bowling Green Times Journal|accessdate=2009-03-24|year=1904}}</ref> who would also become famous for his psychic predictions.<ref name=boardgamegeek>[http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/140 History of Pit] at boardgamegeek.com. Accessed August 2007</ref> |
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The inspirations were the |
The inspirations were the [[Chicago Board of Trade]] (known as 'The Pit') and the US [[Corn Exchange]] and it was likely based on the very successful game '''Gavitt's Stock Exchange''', invented in 1903 by Harry E. Gavitt of [[Topeka, Kansas]] (and reprinted in 2004 in an authentic "heirloom" edition by [[Out of the Box Publishing]]).<!-- "Out of the Box" entry is the Disney kids' show --> Versions of the game have been marketed under the names '''Billionaire''', '''Business''', '''Cambio''', '''Deluxe Pit''', '''Quick 7''', and '''Zaster'''.<ref name=boardgamegeek/> |
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==Contents== |
==Contents== |
Revision as of 14:32, 16 July 2012
Pit is a fast-paced card game for three to eight players, designed to simulate open outcry bidding for commodities. The game was developed for Parker Brothers and first sold in 1904. This popular version of the game was developed by Edgar Cayce,[1] who would also become famous for his psychic predictions.[2]
The inspirations were the Chicago Board of Trade (known as 'The Pit') and the US Corn Exchange and it was likely based on the very successful game Gavitt's Stock Exchange, invented in 1903 by Harry E. Gavitt of Topeka, Kansas (and reprinted in 2004 in an authentic "heirloom" edition by Out of the Box Publishing). Versions of the game have been marketed under the names Billionaire, Business, Cambio, Deluxe Pit, Quick 7, and Zaster.[2]
Contents
Each deck consists of 74 cards with nine cards each of eight different commodities. The specific commodities have varied over the various editions of the game, but those used in most modern editions are Barley, Corn, Coffee, Oranges, Oats, Soybeans, Sugar and Wheat. The classic version has flax, hay, oats, rye, corn, barley, and wheat. Two special cards are also included, the Bull and the Bear.
Versions of the game starting in the 1970s contained a bell used to start trading. The first player to hold all nine cards of a commodity would ring the bell.[2]
The Bull and the Bear
The Bull card is considered wild and can be used to complete any set. If the player has the full nine cards as well as the Bull, the player earns double the score for that round. A player cannot win if they hold the Bear, and at the end of each round, the player holding the Bear and any losing player holding the Bull each lose 20 points.
The game ends when either a set number of rounds have been played, or when a player reaches a certain agreed upon point total.
Variations
The original edition contained only seven commodities.
Commodity | Value |
---|---|
Wheat | 100 |
Barley | 85 |
Corn | 75 |
Rye | 70 |
Oats | 60 |
Hay | 50 |
Flax | 40 |
Newer versions include seven or eight commodities, replacing Flax, Hay and Rye with Oranges, Coffee, Sugar and Soybeans.
Commodity | Value |
---|---|
Wheat | 100 |
Barley | 85 |
Coffee | 80 |
Corn | 75 |
Sugar | 65 |
Oats | 60 |
Soybeans | 55 |
Oranges | 50 |
The 100th anniversary edition released in 2004 included a reproduction of the original edition as well as a brand new edition that featured 8 "modernized" commodities.
Commodity | Value |
---|---|
Cocoa | 100 |
Platinum | 85 |
Gold | 80 |
Cattle | 75 |
Oil | 65 |
Rice | 60 |
Silver | 55 |
Gas | 50 |
Phrases often used during play
- Chasing the bear
- When one attempts to follow the progress of the bear after trading it away by watching the following trades.
- Going for a hay ride
- When one attempts to pick up all of a commodity that one has little of, because one has traded enough of it back and forth that one has an idea where it is all located.
- Slip him/her the bull/bear
- When one trades away the bull/bear, usually just before the game ends.
- The granary
- A player's hand.
- Getting flaxed
- Inadvertently acquiring an abundance of flax, the commodity with the lowest value.
- Flaxing out
- Cornering the market on flax.
- Bear trap
- Receipt of the Bear just preceding the ring of the bell to signify the game's end; doubly nasty if receipt of the Bear was part of the final trade that facilitated the winning hand.
References
- ^ Bro, Harmon (1997). A Seer out of Season. New York: St. Martin's. p. 305. ISBN 0-312-95988-5. citing article "The Pit: Copies of Game Invented by Bowling Green Man Received Here". Bowling Green Times Journal. 1904.
{{cite news}}
:|access-date=
requires|url=
(help) - ^ a b c History of Pit at boardgamegeek.com. Accessed August 2007